Chapter Forty-Eight: BetrayedKriss was the one to knock on the Allises’ door, since there was a chance they didn’t know him. He was taking no chances of them recognizing Eli and trying to keep them out. They wouldn’t be denied entry, but he’d like to make things as quick and neat as possible.Carol was the one to open the door, and she left the chain on. “What is it? Do you have any idea what time it is?”“It’s time for you to tell us what you know.” Eli burst past Kriss, ripping the chain from its plate as he collided for the door.So much for subtlety. With a shrug, Kriss entered behind him and closed the door as the sound of bare feet running down the hall reached them. He stood with his arms crossed over his chest as he waited for Jim to join them.Eli held Carol by the back of her shirt, ignoring her ineffectual struggles. When Jim burst into the kitchen, he nodded at Kriss.Kriss moved quickly, intercepting Jim and twisting his arm behind his back before forcing him to stand wi
Chapter Forty-Nine: Memories (Lack Thereof)North woke with a throbbing headache. It hurt so badly that she couldn’t think clearly. The pain centered in a spot on top of her head, so she lifted a hand to touch it and flinched when she encountered something metallic in nature. She whimpered and started to thrash.“Enough, Nara. You must be calm.” The male voice was authoritative, but it didn’t make her want to listen.Instead, she wanted to run away. Panic filled her as she opened her eyes, unable to see anything. “What’s happening? Who are you? Where am I?” Who am I? That question echoed around in her head. He’d called her Nara, but that didn’t feel right. In fact, it felt wrong on so many levels that she rejected the name immediately.If she wasn’t Nara, who was she? She tried to think, but couldn’t remember anything beyond being certain her name was North.“Calm please.” The soothing female voice had a gentle touch to match. “Let me make some adjustments.”North froze as those hands
Chapter Fifty: FrenemyTwo weeks. Two miserable weeks had passed, and North was no closer to recovering her memory. Each time she had a flash of something important, Pytor seemed to realize it and ordered Kira to adjust her dose of the “solution.” She still had no idea what that was, but each dose made it harder to think and harder to resist his horrible orders.“Do it.” He raged at her, waving at the body crumpled on the floor. “Kill the yaogui.”She closed her eyes, her body trembling from the torture he’d already forced her to inflict on the small creature huddling on the floor before her. “Why?”“Don’t question. Never question me. You do as I say. Now kill it. Show me the range of your power.” His temples throbbed with the force of his anger.North looked down at the pitiful creature, which had been broken for at least an hour. She wished she could say it was the first time he’d made her use her magic to hurt others, but it wasn’t. This was the first time he’d told her to kill for
Chapter Fifty-One: AttackOrin paced around the cell, sick to death of the confines of the small room. They’d been trapped in there for two weeks, let out only on a one-by-one basis in order to shower and see to hygiene needs three times per day. He was amazed they still let them do that after the last couple of escape attempts, but perhaps Caius had some remaining compassion.Just not enough to risk weakening the Council to a level that made them uncomfortable even if it meant rescuing North from Pytor. He didn’t understand how Caius could justify that decision, even though the Council had little love for North. They should realize that the longer North was with Pytor, the more vulnerable she was to falling under his command. Apparently, that wasn’t worth risking their control.Before he could stop himself, he paused, rammed a fist against the bar, and cursed. The curse was a combination of frustration and pain from colliding with the bar. There were wards placed all around them, plu
Chapter Fifty-Two: Find Your WayNorth stared around, vaguely aware the place was familiar. When Pytor moved from her side, she felt nothing but a wave of relief. Even that was a dull sense, and emotions barely penetrated her. Her mind was thick and heavy, like it was shrouded in fog.She remembered opening the portal, and how it had drained her for several minutes. She’d had to regain her strength before Pytor could lead her through it. She remembered thinking she should resist, but hadn’t been able to do so.She remembered the moment when the portal had torn open, though it hadn’t been a neat hole. Even now, the edges were ripped, and the energy felt wrong to her. She still had her physical senses intact, even if she couldn’t really access her emotions. Her arm remained hanging, and she willed it to fall at her side, but couldn’t without his permission.Anger stirred in her that she needed his authorization for such a mundane task, and she glared at his back. It was easier to think
Chapter Fifty-Three: ReunionIt was over, and relief swept through her. Her spine stiffened, and she managed to stand upright again. “We’ll do our best.” Persephone nodded and disappeared into the crowd of people who were triaging survivors or stacking the dead to be jettisoned into Noirvald. North turned away from all the chaos, no longer wanting in part of it. Other people could clean up, but she needed the reassurance of her mates. “I need to be alone with you. All of you.”“Of course.” Eamon took the lead, and they ended up back in the bedroom she first used at her arrival at headquarters. North waited until the door closed before she started undressing.“North, maybe you shouldn’t…” Ryland looked uncertain.She managed a small smile. “I should. I definitely need to. I was denied contact with you for the last two weeks, and I need to renew our bonds. This is what I need right now. Trust me.”At her words, their resistance evaporated, and they started undressing too.Orin was the f
Chapter One: Crisis North was chopping wood when she heard a crash from the small cabin she shared with her father, Sam. He’d been feeling under the weather for the last few days, and she muttered to herself as she stopped chopping to scoop up the few pieces of wood she’d split. He needed to take better care of himself and also let her take care of him too. He was so stubborn, and he’d probably decided to spare her the trouble of looking after him by fixing his own soup. She just hoped he hadn’t fallen, because she wasn’t certain how she would get him up on her own. “Are you up when you’re not supposed to be?” She called the question as she stopped by the bin in the mudroom to dump the wood and strip off her stocking cap. When he didn’t answer, her concern grew, and she rushed into the kitchen. He was passed out in the middle of the floor, and his lips were blue. North rushed to his side, falling to the floor with a sharp jar to her knees that barely registered in her frantic rush t
Chapter Two: Loss North walked with her, feeling almost claustrophobic with all the people around her. She wanted to keep her thoughts centered firmly on her father, but it felt like every eye in the room was focused solely on her. It was surely her imagination, since she wasn’t used to being in a situation where there was anyone besides her father, but it was still nerve-racking. She sat down when the registrar named Liz, according to her name tag, gestured for her to do so. North took the box of Kleenex the woman handed her with a smile, only then realizing tears dripped steadily from her eyes. She ripped a few out of the box and swiped at her face. Liz sat down across from her, putting a reassuring hand on her wrist. “You look terribly distraught. May I do something for you, dear?” North blinked through the rest of the tears, successfully quelling them after a moment. “I’m fine, but thank you.” She appreciated the doctor asking his friend to watch out for her, and she appreciate