Page 65 of A Dawn Of Blood

I only manage to grab onto the edge of the table before I drop to the ground.

All of a sudden, I can’t move and I’m struggling to stay conscious.

There’s a moment of silence before I hear Jaeger inhale sharply.

I grit my teeth. There are people here. They’re not saying anything, but I can hear them untying Jaeger.

Mustering all my strength, I try to get up. My body only slumps back to the floor.

“I’m sorry,” I hear someone say, in a familiar voice filled with tension. “I gave him a dose that would knock a mammoth out cold, he really should’ve remained unconscious the entire time.”

It takes me a moment to place the voice, but when I do…

That fucking soldier I found torturing Jaeger. Number 2307. Sieger, Alaric.

And then there’s the image of the glass of water on my desk swimming before my eyes.

Gritting my teeth, I pledge to kill the bastard with my own two hands. But the next thing I know, the world around me is turning pitch black.

*

My head is throbbing and my body is urging me to go back to sleep, but there’s this vague sense of something not being quite right that makes my eyes fling open.

I don’t move. It’s even before the world around me comes into focus that the realization hits me. I’ve been caught and taken somewhere. I’m lying on my side on some kind of straw bed, the sight I’ve woken up to unfamiliar to say the least. I’m still shaking the fog off, but I’m in a cage in a room in what looks like a castle.

And I need to find a way out, stat.

My eyes dart to the person getting out of a chair placed next to my cage. This blond fale mae I don’t recognize. His eyes glued to me, he cautiously walks backwards and out of the room, probably to alert the higher-ups of the fact that I’m awake.

As soon as he’s out of sight, I push myself off the bed and spring to my feet. I quickly scan the room, coming to the conclusion that this is Grimm Academy, which means that my captors must be the Resistance.

Then I give myself a quick once-over as well. It’s obvious the intention wasn’t to kill me, but there’s not a single bruise, let alone a more serious injury on me, which means they’ve been careful not to hurt me in getting me here. And considering I’m not bound in any other way, I think as my eyes scan the bars, it must be the cage they’re relying on to make sureIdon’t hurtthem.

So it’s the nature of the cage that’s my first concern.

But just as I walk over to its front side, a scent enters my nostrils, making me freeze in place, then double back.

It’s her. Lilith Tower was the first and only time I’ve ever actually smelled her, but I’d be able to recognize that scent anytime, anywhere.

And she’s getting closer by the second, sending my heart racing.

*

Gritting my teeth, I tell myself to get it together. After all, this is the moment that will determine my worth.

But I don’t get a chance to prepare. The very next moment, she walks through the archway and stops, her eyes landing on me. Just like last time, the very sight of her makes my breath catch.

And when she says, “Hello Cain,” her voice once again proves to me that none of it was a lie. There’s magic in her,allof her.

Just ignore it, I tell myself, and while she’s still standing over there, seemingly waiting for me to say something, I take the opportunity to subtly try to use blood magic on her.

The cage just absorbs it.

I don’t let this affect me, but when I hear her awkwardly clear her throat and start moving towards me, however slowly, I ball my hands into fists.

“First of all,” she starts in a hesitant, apologetic voice, capturing all my attention, “I’m sorry for kidnapping you. I hope you believe me when I say I wish there had been another way. There’s no need to worry, though. I only want to have a conversation with you, and as soon as I do, I’ll be letting you out of there.”

I almost let out a scoff. Then, as soon as she stops walking, once again seemingly waiting for me to say something, I force myself to ignore her and go back to the task at hand.

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