Page 84 of Bought to Break
It had been days. Days since Sorin had been taken, and Lana was at her wit’s end. Kane and Viktor talked in hushed tones on the other side of their room by the fire, so calm that she wanted to shake them, yell in their faces and demand that they do something to help him. Now!
They’d found Viktor at an inn in the Forge, a large town at the foot of the mountains. He had tracked the men who had taken Sorin to the town itself, but then they’d disappeared. They had no idea where he was exactly – only that he was close by. They would know soon, though, or at least she would.
She had told Kane of her plan first while they travelled, hoping to make him see that it was the best option before she was outnumbered by Viktor. Over the days, he had been steadfastly against it. They had bickered heatedly while they rode, but then at night there had been a very different sort of heat. Lana’s face coloured as she remembered. She’d been afraid that that first night together might have been a one-time occurrence, but on the second night Kane had pulled her to him as soon as they’d made camp and proceeded to show her that that wasn’t the case. He did the same on the third and fourth nights. Very thoroughly. She shivered in spite of the warmth as she thought of those nights they had spent together.
‘You’ll wear out the floorboards pacing like that, woman. Sit down,’ Kane said suddenly, and she realised their chatter had gone silent.
‘I can’t. I can’t sit. I can’t rest. I don’t even want to eat. Why has the agent not sent us a message? Do you think he sensed a trap? I told you my bindings were not tight enough!’ She knew she was being unfair to them, but she couldn’t help it.
‘It’s not been long enough. Once he speaks to the Collector, then he will send word of a location.’ Viktor sighed. ‘Come, little bird.’
She padded over to where he sat in a chair by the hearth and he pulled her onto his knee.
‘I’m afraid,’ she said softly into his shoulder as she inhaled the scent of him.
‘I know you are, but he is one of us. He’s been through worse than this since joining the Army.’
Lana nodded, though in her heart she didn’t believe him. Sorin was in the hands of the man – nay, monster – who had broken him. What if they were too late? What if she couldn’t save Sorin? What if she couldn’t get the Vessel away from Vineri? If he was too powerful … if she failed the goddess, would she take her power back or would she simply kill her? Could she really do this by herself? Even if the Brothers helped her, the odds were against them.
‘I don’t understand something, Kane.’ He didn’t answer but stopped polishing the knife in his hands, so she continued. ‘Why don’t you just make Vineri and his men do what you want the way you did with my – my father’s men in the forest?’
He and Viktor shared another look and she put her hands on her hips, daring him not to answer her.
‘I can’t,’ he answered finally, his voice and face cleared of all feeling. ‘I tried the night I found Sorin.’ He shook his head. ‘I don’t know why, but it doesn’t work on him nor on any of his men.’
The goddess had said that the Collector had amassed many artefacts of power. Perhaps that was why. The more Lana learned, the more she was certain that she had to do more than save Sorin and take the Vessel. She had to find a way to destroy their enemy completely.
‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ Kane asked her for the hundredth time.
‘Yes!’ she said, exasperated. ‘How else are we going to find him?’
‘There are other ways.’
She rolled her eyes at him. ‘We’ve already talked about this. My plan is the quickest way to save him. The longer it takes, the more chance he –’ Her voice broke and she turned her face into Viktor’s shoulder.
‘I know you think –’ Viktor began, but Kane raised a hand and looked towards the door.
Footsteps.Their door rattled as someone pounded on it noisily.
‘I have a message,’ called the innkeeper.
Lana sprang from Viktor’s lap like a startled doe. They’d made a show of parading her around with her arms bound behind her. Her head turned this way and that as she searched the room wildly. No one could see her free like this, but there was no time.
An idea coming to her; she sprinted lightly to the corner and slid to the floor with her hands behind her back. She stared at the floor, trying to look despondent.
Kane tore open the door with a scowl. ‘Can’t you fucking wait?’
The innkeeper stepped into their room unapologetically, looking straight at the bed and then seeking her out immediately. ‘I thought you might be enjoying your prisoner’s company.’ His gaze wandered over her and she tried not to let the disgust she felt show on her face.
Kane’s frown deepened. ‘The message.’
The man didn’t even look at Kane or Viktor; his beady black eyes were riveted on her. ‘He says to meet him by the river. Under the second bridge at sundown,’ he mumbled distractedly. Finally, he glanced at the Brothers. ‘If you two need to leave your prisoner here, I’d be glad to watch her for you.’
Viktor stood, blocking the man’s view of her. ‘Get the fuck out.’
Kane slammed the door and pulled the bolt.
Lana sighed, getting to her feet. ‘So the agent wants to see you. What does that mean?’
