Page 9 of The Depraved Prince
A boar? A snake?
I twist my keys urgently, and the engine roars. As soon as I look into the rearview mirror to reverse out of the parking space, I seehisice-blue eyes staring right back at me. The creepy guy outside my window last night is inside my car in the backseat, grinning at me…with sharp teeth and glowing eyes that remind me of lasers. Before I can think or breathe, I scream at the top of my lungs.
3
MILLIE
Before I can screamany longer or move an inch, at least attempt to escape my car, my screams are muffled by the stranger’s freezing hands. His hand presses so hard against my squirming flesh that I bite my tongue on accident, and iron floods my mouth.
“Don’t worry, darling. I won’t hurt you...yet.” His cold breath clouds my neck. His voice doesn’t sound human; it’s laced with profound horror.
My eyes are wide with fear, and hot tears start pouring out. My chest hurts, probably from my heart thundering so hard and tight. I try to sneak breaths through my nose, but my breaths are muffled by his large, freezing hand. I can barely breathe by the way he’s pressing it against me. I stare back at the familiar dangerous man through the rearview mirror, with fright written all over my pale face. He inches closer to my neck, over the seat.
What do I do?How do I get out of this?Why does he have really sharp teeth coming out of his mouth?
I’m hoping Cole turns back around. My wishful thinking is going hundreds of miles an hour. We’re essentially in the middle of nowhere with new construction.
His lips trail my skin, and his nose dips into my neck as he smells me.
What the hell is going on?
With shaking muscles, I try to reach with my right hand for my phone. I need to call for help. I need the police!
It’s in my purse that I dropped in the passenger seat. Hoping he’s distracted by his strange decision to sniff me, I take advantage. I close my eyes and continue to cry softly against his hold, and I lift my hand quietly, my fingers reaching in the direction of my purse.
I barely make it over the center console when his hand quickly snatches my wrist and twists it until a loud pop bellows into the car. Excruciating pain drills into my senses, and I scream harder.
He broke it.
He broke my wrist.
“You humans are so weak, so delicate, so tempting.” He roars with laughter like a monster, and before I can try to run away or call for help again, everything goes black.
“Are you sure she’s a Valkyrie?”
“I’m sure of it. Her scent is strong. She has the blood.”
“There’s only one way to find out if she’s a Valkyrie. I will take her to King Davenport myself. I’m the one that found her.”
Voices.
That’s how I know I’m conscious again.
I hear two men around me. One of their voices is familiar—the one that broke my wrist.
I guess I’m still alive. He must have knocked me unconscious somehow in my car.
Where am I?
I hesitate to move.
Fuck, have I really been kidnapped? The possibility alone makes me not want to wake up and face my new reality.
Do it. Just get it over with. You need to find out where you are.
Finally, I suck in a small breath and open my eyes slowly, careful not to make any sudden movements that will attract their attention.
Dark blue fabric.
