Page 32 of Blood Freed

Mom grabs the edge of the dining room table to support herself, knocking a water glass. “I don’t know how much more I can take of this,” she whispers.

Part of me wants to comfort her. The rest of me is contemplating this new development with horror.

If they kill Soren, they might be killing me too.

And as crazy as it seems, right now, I don’t know which feels worse.

11

Chapter 11

Soren

I’m taken from mycell under the cover of darkness. Not that this is unusual. As a vampire, I wouldn’t be moved during the day, anyway.

“Get a move on,” a witch guard growls gruffly, shoving me between my shoulder blades. I barely feel it. Even weakened, my strength outstrips his by miles. It’s the indignity of it that gets to me. Being manhandled and pushed around…it’s meant to be demoralizing. To be honest, I’ve had better days, but their handling isn’t what’s bothering me right now.

Mia.

I can’t shake the feeling of her from my mind.

You’ll get used to it. Over time.

Part of me finds that hard to believe. Every time I sense her reaching out, I feel like every cell in my body is reaching back.The Maker’s Bond was just as compelling, but this is different. Harder to resist.

“Get in!” someone instructs, and I realize that I’ve been led to a parking bay and I’m facing a gleaming black vehicle. The door swings open, and I see Lucien in the back seat.

Surprise, surprise.

“Ah. Soren.” He smiles smoothly. “We won’t be needing those,” he says to the guard, flicking an eye at my cuffs. I try not to flinch as the silver is unshackled, freeing my wrists. My flesh is raw and bloody, welts and blisters flayed open. I ignore it. I’ll heal.

Lucien gestures into the car. “Come in. Join me.” He makes it sound like a cordial invitation. It’s not. I climb in, staring straight ahead.

“I’m sure you’ll be relieved to be home,” he says as the car glides out onto the road. I sense the group of vehicles falling in behind us. He brought backup.

“You’re trying to tell me you’re taking me home?” I shoot a quick look at him before returning my eyes to the road ahead.

“Well, home in the broad sense,” he says. “Back to vampire territory, where you belong.”

“Nice to see you’ve taken time out of your busy schedule to escort me there,” I tell him.

“Least I can do,” he responds.

“Sure. For the man whose head is about to roll in place of yours,” I grit out.

“Don’t be dramatic, Soren. Your head won’t roll. You’ll be ash,” he smirks.

I snort, not bothering to respond. We travel in silence for a while. I can feel his eyes on me. Cold. Assessing.

“You must be pleased you got her out,” he says eventually.

“Very.” I set my jaw.

“You know, it was all for nothing. I’ll get her back.”

My nails extend, leaving tracks in the leather of the seat. “I’ll die before I see that happening,” I growl.

“You’re going to die anyway, Soren.” Lucien chuckles. “But it doesn’t bother me either way. Even if you were around, you wouldn’t be able to stop me.”

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