Page 108 of Of Mercury and Mist

Returning to his side, I lifted one of his arms and ran my finger around the shackle but couldn’t find a latch or other mechanism with which to free him. My efforts had zero effect on the magical bindings.

“I don’t know what to do. I have no idea how to get you out of here,” I stated. “Help me help you. If you can. They’ll notice I’m gone, soon.”

The chains dragged against the metal as he stirred. “You’re not going back to Samuel. I’m going to separate his head from his body.”

I scoffed. “Not like that, you’re not.”

“Wanna bet?” Another clank of metal as he pulled a leg up, bending it at the knee. “Come here.”

I moved back beside the table, placing a hand on his chest again. You’d never know I’d stabbed him. His skin was unmarred, other than some faint silvery marks he must’ve acquired sometime in the past by his shoulder. I’d never noticed the blemishes before and traced one line with a finger.

He hefted himself slightly on his side, making a racket and my head swiveled to the entryway. “Please tell me what to do,” I begged him, facing him again.

His eyes were muted and my heart slammed against my ribs. He looked like a statue come to life, only with long, sharp fangs and glossy hair. “Closer,” he said.

I bent down, my face practically touching his as he thrust his fingers into my hair and grabbed me. His lips felt foreign, cold and rubbery, as they trailed along my cheek. “You really are an angel now,” he murmured, right before he bit me.

His arm wrapped around my neck, one hand covering my mouth when I screamed. He wasn’t gentle or careful when he sank his teeth into my flesh. My legs gave out and I held onto the table with all my might as he drank down my blood. My vision went white while he lapped at me with his tongue. His grip on me loosened as he viciously swallowed me down.

I sank into him when the pain subsided, transforming into something else. I felt life leaving my body as it was replaced with a soothing warmth, wrapping around me like the softest blanket. I felt him sucking in my spirit, the same as Samuel had often done. But instead of being terrified and feeling violated, all I wanted was to give Micha my all.

Before I knew what happened, I was on the table and in his arms, tangled up in the iron chains right along with him. He’d stopped drinking from me and was covering my neck with kisses, one hand caressing and stroking my side, starved to touch me. I pressed into him, desperate for more contact, a willing sacrifice.

His tongue was in my mouth and my hand at his waistband before he said, “He didn’t fucking touch you.”

The comment pulled me out of the moment and reality set back in. We were seconds away from fucking on an embalming table. I stifled the ill-timed giggle that fought to come up when I realized Micha meant Samuel hadn’t fucked me. “No, not like that. You’re the last person.”

Isaac had fucked my brains out. Repeatedly.

“But he fed from you. I’m going to erase him. You won’t remember where you start or end by the time I’m through with you.”

“He won’t let me go,” I warned him. “You need to get out of here. Go back to Josiah.”

I began untangling myself. “Drink some more from me,” I ordered, shoving my curls over my shoulder. “He won’t think anything; he keeps me drugged to oblivion. There’s no telling what I do in that state.”

Micha’s eyes glittered, the nourishment he’d extracted from me starting to do its job. “You’re coming with me.”

A chill ran down my spine while my pulse raced. No matter what I did, I was going to die. My eyes welled with tears as I gave him a small smile. If I had a choice of executioners, I’d choose Micha every time. That had never changed.

An electronic chirp beeped somewhere in the distance, and I hopped off the table. Micha’s gaze swung toward the door before focusing on his wrists. I watched as the air wavered around the bonds before the heavy metal dropped to the floor.

He sat up and I backed away, watching as he got his bearings. He stretched out his hands, clenching and unclenching his fists, skin changing from snow white to ivory as his color returned.

Micha beckoned me with two fingers, and I approached him slowly. “What now?” I quietly asked.

Footsteps sounded and we were running out of time. He held his hand out and I placed mine in his. “Look at me,” he demanded.

Soon, this would all be over. The might and power of the Second Realm held no quarter for people like me, people who broke the rules. Micha may have been strong enough to break the chains with the magic he contained but the two of us didn’t stand a chance against an army and he’d broken the most important rule when he killed Ezra.

I met his gaze as he flipped my palm over and lifted my wrist to his mouth. “Keep your eyes on me.”

His teeth punctured my skin with a popping noise, and I winced. His eyes softened while he licked and sucked. I was trapped between his legs, his thighs flexing to keep me close with one hand holding my hip to keep me still.

My legs trembled as I weakened and I gripped his knee, attempting to remain upright. “Enough; you’re going to have to carry me,” I protested. My eyes shut and I let my head loll against his torso before I was weightless.

Faintly, I heard something fall to the floor right before a crashing sound. Shouting. A bloodcurdling scream and the sound of ripping flesh. It didn’t matter what was happening around me—everything went black.

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