Page 140 of Stone Cold Touch

Maddox’s face blurred as he shook his head no, and my heart cracked all over again. This time, I welcomed the nothingness.

I had no idea how long I was out this time around, but when I came to, I wasn’t under the compound any longer. The little bit of relief was quashed when I remembered what Maddox had said and realized just where I was.

It was one of the places in the city where the Wardens brought demons for interrogations. Fear trickled over my skin, seizing my insides. Oh, this was bad....

Part of me wasn’t surprised that they’d brought me to this warehouse. They wouldn’t want to take care of their...dirty work on their own premises. Why would they want that kind of reminder?

There was a chain around my neck that connected to the one that secured my wrists behind my back. Not just any chain—but iron. No demon, not even an Upper Level one, would escape these chains.

I was lying on my side. The room I was in was empty with the exception of a tall folding table. From my position, I couldn’t tell if anything was on it. Knowing what happened in this place, my stomach dipped at the prospect of all the horrible instruments of torture that could be there.

My thoughts were disjointed and I wasn’t sure if it was due to the bloodroot or the lack of food and the injuries I could tell still hadn’t begun to heal. Each breath I took hurt and, as my head started to clear a little, I recalled the way Maddox had shaken his head when I asked about Zayne. My worst fear swamped me, threatening to drag me under. A sob worked its way up, spilling into the air.

“You’re awake.”

I forced my head back and saw boots and leather-clad legs. And then hands were on my shoulders, sitting me up so I was leaning back against a wall.

My head was fuzzy, as though every thought was covered in wool, and my tongue felt thick as I tried to speak. “What... Zayne...?”

The Warden backed up, coming into my line of vision. After the pearly glow faded, I saw that it was Maddox. I didn’t see any other Warden. He strolled over to the table. “I’ll make a deal with you, Layla. An answer for an answer.”

I rested my head against the wall. The position wasn’t comfortable, with my arms secured the way they were, but it was the least of my pains.

He picked up something from the table and light reflected off it in a way that caused nausea to crawl up my throat. When he turned to me, I saw he held an iron dagger in his hands.

Oh crap.

“Tell me where Tomas is, Layla.”

That question? Of all questions, it had to be that? Sweat dotted my brow. If I answered the question honestly, then it implicated me and like I needed that right now, but Ineededto know about Zayne.

Maddox knelt by my legs, which were curled in an awkward way. “Tell me what happened to him and I will tell you about Zayne.”

It was crazy and would only serve to make everything worse for me, but I had no other option. “Tomas...isn’t here.”

His jaw hardened. “He’s dead?”

I swallowed, eyes squeezing shut in concentration. “The night...you all came...he cornered me in an...alley. I tried to tell him... I wasn’t a threat, but he wouldn’t...listen.”

“What happened?” His voice was hard.

My chest rose in a ragged breath. “He stabbed me...and Bambi—the tattoo—attacked him.”

He drew in a sharp breath. “The familiar is not on you now?”

“No.” My eyes opened into thin slits. “Bambi ate him...she was protecting me.”

“Ate him?” The disgust in his voice was like muddied water on my skin. “That’s how he died?”

Feeling a little more stable, I nodded. “What...about Zayne?”

Maddox didn’t answer for a long moment, and I lowered my chin. He met my gaze. “You’ll never see him again.”

My world shattered. I dragged in a breath, but it didn’t go anywhere. “No.”

He didn’t say anything as he rose at the sound of a door opening. Fresh tears swelled in my eyes and fell. Never seeing him again could only mean one thing. I hadn’t just taken part of Zayne’s soul.

I had killed him.

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