Page 11 of Rising Darkness

“Tye.” The vampire commanded his attention.

“Sire,” Tye responded in kind

Oh, fuck.The deception was staggering, but the truth was right in front of me. Elan was using this vampire to control his son. And did he just saysire?

My mate’s eyes glowed brighter with the vampire’s compulsion, snapping back to himself when it was over.

Tye stumbled toward me, his expression bleeding into terror when his mind cleared enough to recognize where he was and who he was with. “Lorn,” he rasped.

I tried to go to him, but the magick binding me tightened, cinching my legs together and making it impossible to walk. Tye threw himself away from me.

“You sick bastard,” Tye snarled at his father. “I-I won’t.”

“You will. You and I both know you have no choice, son,” Elan replied. “And Lorn won’t be fighting back either.” A small bottle glinted in the dim light as he joggled it. “Avaranthian.” He paced along the wall, every bit a professor giving a lecture. “One of the only things witches are good for. Their potions. Just a few drops and it suppresses powers. Those wounds you had on your hands,”—he nodded toward me—“were infected with it. It burned its way into your bloodstream when you touched the bars in your cell, as I knew you would. Now, you’re no better than a mundane. Powerless against me, as you always have been.”

Sweat broke across Tye’s forehead. “Lorn. Fuck!” he screamed and grabbed his head in agony.

Elan leaned against the wall and crossed his legs and arms, settling in to enjoy the shitshow. “Strap her to the table, Tye,” he ordered, his patience evaporating.

Tye moved robotically toward me, battling every step. I backed into the wall, but I could barely move, and there was nowhere else to go.

Tye stalked closer, his jaw clenched tight. He braced his hands on either side of me, his fingers digging into the drawings. They crumpled, and the wall crumbled from how hard he fought to resist.

Tye’s nose skimmed my hair, and his whisper was labored. “You should have run,” he accused. “You should have left me behind.”

“Your my fucking mate.” The confession was angry and desperate. Because I knew he was right. There was more at stake here than our fucked up relationship. Maybe I should have left him behind. But asking me to run and abandon him was asking me to forsake a piece of my heart. Like it or not, this man belonged to me as much as the others.

“And now you’re going to die for me,” he growled furiously low.

“I’d die for any of my mates.”

Tye’s muscles spasmed, and he banged a fist against the wall.

“I don’t have a fucking choice,” he rasped, voice strained from the effort of holding back.

“I know.”

We were out of time.

Tye threw me over his shoulder to do his father’s bidding. Everything in me rebelled against hurting him, but I pounded against his back anyway and used his fresh wounds against him. This was life or death, and I was going to fight. For my life. For his life. Forhim.

Despite my weakened powers, I still managed to thrash, but Tye was stronger. Leather straps locked around my arms and legs, and he trapped me like a butterfly with its wings pinned.

Those dark tendrils of power finally released me. I writhed against the cuffs, but it was no use.

Elan handed Tye a dagger, and a scream lodged in my throat as my mate lifted it above me.

Chapter Five

Lorn

Icould barely move my arms and legs, but I rocked the table with my struggle. “Tye, you have to fight,” I begged.

My mate stood over me like a god; tall, dark, and seductive. His hand shook with the effort to drop the blade. Sweat fell from his forehead to drip onto my cheek.

“Fuck!” he roared with the effort to overcome the compulsion. Elan laughed, and Tye surprised me by bending over me and slamming his mouth to mine. His lips were smooth and insistent, and his mouth opened. Demanding. Taking. Stealing my breath. But when he broke away, he whispered, keeping his instruction between the two of us. “Hold still.”

Hand shaking, he turned to his task and brought the sharp blade to my forearm.

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