Page 68 of Trapped to Tame
She looked up at him, listening to them but didn’t speak. Perhaps she’d been wrong about them. She hoped she was.
‘You think they knew what she is all along?’
Drax nodded. ‘I think they knewwho she is.’
‘He probably had her brought here,’ Priest said. ‘Her mother didn’t escape to this realm at all.’
‘But even a half fae child is precious to our dwindling numbers,’ Fie said, frowning. ‘Why would he do such a thing? Why would he risk the Council finding out?’
‘You know how little he values humans,’ Drax answered.
Eve looked at them in question. ‘Who are you talking about?’ she asked aloud.
All three of them looked at her as if they’d forgotten she was even there.
‘Your father,’ Drax said.
‘But you said it could be any number of fae,’ she said to Priest.
He didn’t meet her eyes.
‘Eve, we’ve known who your father is since the day we met you, since we first smelled your blood,’ Drax said.
‘Tell her all of it,’ growled Fie.
Eve took a breath. How much more was there? How much had they not told her?
‘We knew you’d be able to open portals before you yourself did because your father’s family line is known for that particular skill.’
‘And you believe he left me here to be raised as human?’ she asked.
Drax looked at the others and then at her. ‘Eve,’ he said gently, ‘You father likely gave you to Talik in return for something. Payment for a debt.’
She breathed out slowly, struggling to sit up, wondering how she was going to get out of these bonds before the Bull came back. She was not going to simply sit here and wait for him to return to wreak havoc upon her. She would not be defiled by him anymore. She would no longer be a pawn for a father she'd never met, for Talik, for the Bull, and not for these three men. She meant nothing to them.
Although it hurt, she began to pull at the chain, hoping it wouldn’t take much to destroy it. She could feel the iron in the metal now that her fae side was so much stronger, and though it was of a higher grade than her previous bonds, it was nowhere near as pure as Talik seemed to think it was. They underestimated her. She was stronger than she’d ever been before. The metal began to burn her flesh where the links bit into her skin, but she ignored the pain. Worse was in store for her at the hands of the Bull.
The bonds snapped with a clang and her hands came free. Immediately, she began to feel better, at least in body. She stood on shaky legs and hobbled across the cellar.
She was tempted to leave them. She should, but she might need them to escape. And, though she knew she was a fool, she couldn't let them be sold to the Horde.
‘How do I free you?’ she asked on a sigh.
Priest was one who answered. ‘Break the circle,’ he said. ‘Don’t touch it with your hands or you’ll be caught as well but move one of the stones and we’ll no longer be trapped.’
She nodded, limping to the back of the cellar, searching for something she could use. Upstairs, the door opened, and she heard the Bull’s heavy footsteps as he began to come back down.
Frantically, she looked around. There was nothing save some old bricks in a pile. She grabbed one and she threw it as hard as she could at the stones of the circle, pushing one of them just enough for Drax to step through.
He went to her immediately and grabbed her, thrusting her at Fie. ‘Keep her safe,’ he ordered.
He and Priest hid in the shadows as the Bull descended. She pulled herself from Fie’s arms and was glad when he let her go easily. She was not going to let them do this for her and perhaps he understood that she needed to avenge herself. Her strength had already returned enough that she knew she could kill him.
And she would.
As soon as she saw him, she leapt at him, dragging her nails down his face. He bellowed and tried to thrust her away from him, but she locked her legs around him and wouldn't let go. She grabbed his shoulders and butted him in the face with her head. Blood sprayed from his nose, and he screamed for Talik.
She sneered at him. Talik was even more of a coward than he was. He wouldn't come without guards now that there was danger.
