Page 453 of Shadowblood Souls
We really did it. We bargained with Balthazar… and got what we wanted.
Of course, he still needs to get whathewanted. We’ve just stepped inside when Toni appears in the shadowed hallway.
“The boss will have your directions now,” she says brusquely.
Andreas steps forward. “I can project my memory of the landmarks you need to look for to whoever you want to send for it. I can come along too, if you want that extra confirmation.”
She lets out a grunt that doesn’t sound entirely pleased but motions for him to follow her. As I watch him walk away, my heart wrenches even though this was always part of the plan.
I have to believe that Drey will come back to us like Dominic did. I have to believe that we can find our way out of this mess with our wits rather than by tearing everything apart.
All the anger that fueled me before didn’t get me anywhere except close to getting torn apart myself… and if I’d given in to that impulse, Dominic wouldn’t be standing here next to me.
We don’t need Balthazar dead. We don’t need revenge for the murders he’s committed or the torments he’s inflicted, as much as I’d still like to have those things.
All that matters is getting away. Rescuing the younger shadowbloods who are counting on us.
And then finding the freedom I’ve always dreamed of with the men I love.
We’ve just learned that we can negotiate at least part of our progress along that journey. There has to be a smart way of navigating this prison that’ll work better than the brutal method I imagined but couldn’t carry out.
Shoring up my resolve inside me and swathing it in the glow of joy and love sparked by Dom’s presence, I grab his hand and stride on.
Eighteen
Dominic
Riva glances from my plate to my face, worry and happiness flickering together in her expression. “Are you sure you’ve had enough?”
I consider the sandwich I’ve eaten about a quarter of, but my stomach rebels. I might not have eaten anything in weeks, but whatever the man who runs this house used to keep me alive, it didn’t starve me.
Some part of my body has forgotten that it needs food.
I shake my head and offer a smile I hope is reassuring to offset the refusal. “I think I’m going to have to work up to regular meals. My stomach probably shrunk while I was out. I feel full enough.”
Zian is watching me with obvious concern too, his own lunch long since polished off. “Are you feeling at all sick anymore?”
I redirect my smile to him. “Not at all. I seem to have healed myself up no problem. It’s just… a bit of an adjustment.”
I don’t exactly feel sore or unsteady now, not like when I first woke up. My power can’t sense any bacterial invaders to destroy or injuries to heal within my body.
But I can’t say I’m totally back to normal in the few hours I’ve been awake either. A vague sense of fatigue hovers at the edges of my senses.
It’s not like I’ve been the strongest of our group even at my best.
As I stand up,allof my friends look me over, the same worries echoing across their faces. My gut twists with guilt.
I was the weakest of the six of us. I was the one this Balthazar guy felt was expendable enough to be used as leverage against the others.
They haven’t talked in much detail about what’s gone on while I was in my coma, but I’ve gotten the gist. Even the brief accounts left me queasy.
I don’t know how to make up for the things they’ve done out of fear of what would happen to me if they didn’t. For the things they did in exchange for our new captor waking me up.
I don’t know how to make sure he doesn’t turn me into an unconscious hostage all over again.
Riva has gotten up too, grabbing my plate to carry it to the kitchen as if she’s afraid to leave me with even that minor burden. “There isn’t a ton to do here when we’re left to our own devices,” she says, “but one of the sitting rooms has some pretty packed bookshelves. There could be something in there you’ll find interesting.”
I tip my head in thanks and am about to ask her if she’ll join me when a middle-aged man appears in the dining room doorway. His bony frame and sharply pointed beard would give him a menacing vibe even if I were meeting him at a beach club rather than an isolated mountain villa.
