Page 87 of Sage Haven
He rested his forearms on his knees like this was a casual conversation. Like I wasn’t tied to a chair in a concrete room that stank of rust and rot.
“Say something,” he coaxed. “You’ve got that look.”
He said it like I was a puzzle. Like he enjoyed watching me struggle to find the answers.
I clenched my jaw, before I relented, “Where am I?”
My voice came out cracked and hoarse, but steady.
“Somewhere safe.” He replied simply, his grin deepened, like it was a private joke he wasn’t going to share.
I tugged at the restraints again, making the chains rattle, “Doesn’t feel safe to me.”
That earned a soft chuckle, before he spoke again, “That depends on how you look at it. But regardless, you have information we need, so your safety is most dependent on how you answer them.”
The memories of before I woke up here, came flooding back in a rush—the music pounding at the House of Music, the heat of the crowd, Castor behind me, the sharp sting at my neck... And then nothing.
That’s when I connected the dots.
He drugged me and dragged me here.
All for some ‘information’?
I wasn’t buying it.
“Information?” I scoffed. “You didn’t think to just ask?”
The accusation slipped out before I could stop it.
Castor tilted his head, his gaze flickering, “Would you have obliged?”
I didn’t answer.
Because we both knew the truth.
His smile thinned as he stated, “Exactly.”
My gaze flicked again to the base of his neck.
To the mark.
And this time, he noticed.
“You keep looking at something, sweetheart,” he said, voice lower now. Knowing. “What is it?”
I licked my lips and tasted copper as I spoke, “What’s on the back of your neck?”
A pause.
The air in the room changed.
Shifted.
Like the wind before a storm.
For the first time, Castor’s easy expression faltered. It was subtle—there and gone in an instant—but I caught it.
“That’s an interesting question,” he said slowly, like he was choosing every word with care.
