Page 86 of Hidden Sacrifice
“I think things are even worse now,” I said with a grimace of a smile. “Justice and I were just in the human realm, with Fachnan.”
I felt the emotions pouring off Jax and Jace. Anger. Concern. Fear.
“Justice poisoned the fractures. When Fachnan came back to retrieve them, Justice incapacitated Fachnan and then chained it up in one of his dungeons,” I launched into an explanation before their minds could get too carried away. “Justice secured Fachnan and then came to get me so I could work through some of my anger.”
“You didn’t think that was something we all should have been part of?” Jace asked as he leaned against the hallway wall opposite Jax. Standing in mirrored positions, the thought struck me again just how similar they were.
I turned a hard stare to Jace, “considering Jax was lying in a bed unconscious, with half his damn face melted off, while my other mates tried to hide his injuries from me. No, I didn’t think it wise to come back to Hell and get the rest of you. Justice had Fachnan secured, and I attempted an interrogation.”
Jax didn’t make a sound. Instead, he just stood there and stared at me. I could feel his emotions, though; no matter how well he schooled his features, he would never be able to hide his feelings from my power. Shame and guilt were mixed in with the underlying current of fear.
“What do you mean by attempted an interrogation?” Jace asked, humor lacing his emotions.
“Fachnan wouldn’t answer my questions,” I huffed out. Wrapping my calm mental shield even tighter around me to keep the simmering rage under my skin from bubbling forward.
Jace raised an eyebrow as he tried to hide a faint smile. “You expected answers just because Fachnan was caught?”
“I’ve never tortured anyone before,” I exclaimed.
“Torture? I thought you were interrogating Fachnan?” Jax asked.
“Torture and interrogation are the same things,” Jace supplied as he motioned with his hand for me to continue.
“Well, I was asking questions, and when I didn’t get an answer, I used some techniques of inflicting pain as an incentive for answers,” I said to Jax.
His mouth formed a thin line of disapproval, but he didn’t say anything else.
“Instead of answering my questions, Fachnan started goading me and asking if Jace died and shit like that. I lost control over myself,” I admitted, only feeling a slight bit of shame. I didn’t regret what I had done to Fachnan, only that it managed to escape.
“Did you kill Fachnan?” Jace asked with a shine in his eyes, depicting the excitement that ran through him.
“No,” I sighed. “Fachnan couldn’t heal, and the injuries I made knocked it unconscious. Justice was going to bring Fachnan back to the Hell realm. The Hell dungeon has many more tools than the human realm dungeon.” I paused, taking a deep breath to beat back some of the rage that had begun to rise in renewed waves as I mentally recalled stepping back into the dungeon and finding Fachnan gone. “Justice and I left Fachnan hanging unconscious in the dungeon while we went for a chase through the woods. When we returned, Fachnan was gone, assisted by someone.”
The room was left entirely silent as I finished. Jax’s arms were still firmly crossed over his chest as he looked me up and down. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and his frame looked slightly leaner than before. I’m guessing he rearranged his skin to cover his face, more than being healed.
“How much power do you have left?” Jax finally asked, breaking the silence.
“Just a little power that trickled in since returning to the realm,” I said quietly. Part of me had known draining my power for the pleasure of keeping the scrapes and bruises for longer than a few moments was a risky move.
Jax opened his mouth to speak and then thought twice, his mouth fixing back into a thin line. Wordlessly he turned, pushing off the wall, and headed back towards the bedrooms.
“Where are you going?” I said, exasperated. He stopped suddenly, and I watched the muscles in his back tighten before he turned around, his expression hard.
“A demon without power is no better than a human,” Jax snapped as he headed straight for me.
Jace moved in an instant, placing himself between Jax and me. I watched the muscles in Jace’s back tighten. They were so similar, yet so different.
Jax halted, looking at Jace with anger. “I’m not going to hurt her,” he hissed.
“She’s just healed from the bruises. She needs power. So do you,” Jace said.
The anger rolling off Jax was palpable, brushing up against my shield, making me want to disrobe from the calming sensations and simply feel all the rage.
“Did Fachnan hurt you?” Jax asked, his neck craned to the side to see more of me around Jace’s body.
“Not Fachnan, and I asked for it,” firmly.
Jax narrowed his eyes as his mind worked things out. “I’m going to rip his hands off.”
