Page 39 of Angel Lost

This is it.

I fixate on the key as he slots it in the door.

His back to me, he speaks quickly, quietly.

“Don’t try too hard, Lorelei Bal. Sometimes death is the better option. The more honorable one.” With that, he flings the door open.

Glancing from his impassive face to the room beyond, I can only manage a strangled squeak. Pressing on the small of my back, he propels me forward, then the door shuts firmly behind me.

The light in the chamber is so bright I have to shield my eyes. Slowly, my vision adjusts.

“Congratulations, young Lorelei.” The voice, neither regal nor loud, worms its way into my brain. I’m not sure if the words were spoken aloud or directly to me, directly inside my head. “You are a powerful aether, worthy of an audience with me. Whether you are quite powerful enough for more remains to be seen.”

The king.

I squint around, bobbing a stupid half curtsy into the brightness and tripping over my own feet.

“Your etiquette needs work, I see,” he says, wry amusement in his voice. “Before we meet in person you must complete the final trial. Be aware, things that happen here have lasting consequences. Should you be injured,you are injured. Should you die…well…it is an honor to do so in the name of the king.”

The voice reverberates around my head before sinking into silence. More death. My mind plays over the child. The angle of his neck. My failure. At least this sounds like the risks here are mine.

I chew on my lip, feeling cautiously for my magic. The boys are good to their word: In my gut is an aching emptiness. Hell, I’m going to needsomemagic to survive this. I give a sharp tug, nausea washing over me at the tearing sensation. A sliver of magic rushes down the slave bond. They’re paying attention.

Something’s wrong. I can’t name it, can’t pin it down, but the wrongness claws at me, sending goose bumps across my skin. The room is too bright—so bright I can’t even see where it ends. My pulse kicks up as I take a few cautious steps, casting around, searching.

Then I see it. Barely.

A thin wisp of smoke, nearly transparent, curling up from the ground. It snakes around my ankles, winding higher, coiling up my body. I swipe at it, stumbling back, only to find more tendrils slithering toward me, reaching, seeking.

They surge up—into my ears, my mouth, my nose. A sharp, sour tang coats my tongue. My stomach lurches.

Then—

Darkness.

My heart pounds. In the dark I pause, letting my pulse settle, centering myself. My gums prickle, fangs itching to drop.I’ve got this.I may only be half vamp, but my sight is still damn good in the dark, idiot king. Shadows shift ahead. Instead of waiting, I glide forward, silently, into the blackness.

Chapter Thirteen: Lorelei

“Thought you’d done with me did you, skinny?” I freeze.Frank. “What pretty lies you told yourself.”

Strolling toward me, Frank’s bigger and meaner looking than I remember. Like my foster dad finally beefed up, hit the gym; like he got off the booze and took some steroids instead. I edge away.

“You’re going to pay for what you did to me, Skinny,” he snarls.

My nostrils flare and I force down the panic, standing my ground. Frank is dead. I killed him. The bitter taste washes over my tongue again. I roll my tongue around my mouth. That’s it. Bitter apple. The king is in my memories, my fears. The asshole is using them against me.

I square my shoulders. Frank is not real.

He backhands me across the face. My head cracks sideways and my lip splits. Copper fills my mouth. I whirl to face him again, throwing my arms up to cast. But nothing comes. The cuffs. Shit. No fire, no air. Frank leers at me. Lightning quick, his meaty fist connects with my stomach.

Pain. So much pain.

I land in the dirt, the air knocked out of me. My chest constricts. Nothing, no air. This can’t be happening. I strain to breathe, and finally, a wheeze of oxygen reaches my lungs. Then Frank is on me.

He was never this quick when he was alive. I pull my legs under me, tensing. He kicks out with vicious speed, and I dive sideways, barely avoiding another blow. I roll, ending flat on my back, Frank towering over me. No one is this fast. I’m half vampire and he’squicker?!

Reaching inside, pushing the nausea down, I haul up my aether and fling it at him. A feeble spark flickers from my fingertips, dying before it reaches Frank’s feet. My stomach turns and I retch. Above me, Frank laughs. Then, he rains blows down. My sides, my kidneys, my head. I curl up. Black spots dance in front of my eyes.

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