Chapter 6

Elara'S POV

My hands and arms were numb, long past the point of tingling. The metal cuffs bit into my wrists, dragging a dull ache through my bones. I had no idea how long I’d been chained to the wall half-suspended, half-hanging but it felt like forever.

The cell door screeched open.

The sound ripped through the silence and I flinched. Heavy boots approached, each step echoing off the damp stone until they stopped directly in front of me. My gaze crawled upward leather-clad legs, a broad, powerfully built torso, a chest like carved stone until it hit his face.

Pale skin. Pink scars, like claw marks, raked diagonally from his forehead to the opposite side of his square jaw. Shoulder-length silver-blond hair framed features too harsh to be attractive. And then those cold, storm-grey eyes met mine, assessing me like a threat or a prize.

“You a whore?” he asked, voice deep and abrasive.

My mouth fell open. “Wh–what?”

Idiot, I scolded myself. Stop stuttering.

His eyes dragged down me, taking in the tight little black dress, the low neckline, my bare legs. When his gaze returned to mine, his brow creased.

“You’re dressed like a rich man’s whore. Who do you belong to?”

“I’m not ”

“Doesn’t matter.” He lifted his hands, palms glowing a vivid purple-blue. Fae magic. “Soon you’ll have no secrets from me.”

His hands slid to either side of my head, brushing my hair back. His stormy eyes locked onto mine.

“Now… you’re going to show me everything.”

A searing pain lanced through my temples.

I screamed.

The agony tore through old memories of my father's death, my mother’s feelings I’d buried years ago clawed to the surface, raw and consuming. The Fae pushed deeper, but I fought back, imagining a barrier slamming down inside my mind. His magic scraped against it, turning the pain blinding, punishing.

I shrieked until my own voice broke.

Then nothing. A void. Weightless, dark, terrifying. In the swirling emptiness, Orion’s face flashed behind my eyelids, fear, desperation, pain flooding me so fast I couldn’t breathe.

Suddenly his magic withdrew.

I sagged in the chains, my body limp and trembling. I couldn’t open my eyes yet, but I felt him still standing there, looming. Warm tears slid down my cheeks, turning icy in the cold room.

Rough fingers gripped my chin, forcing my head upright.

“You dare block your mind from me?” His breath warmed my chilled skin. “How did you do that?”

“I… I don’t know.”

“You’re a witch, right? Not Fae?”

“I’m a witch.” Lying to a Fae was pointless, they felt emotion too easily.

He touched my locket. “This has Fae magic on it.”

“Yes,” I whispered. “Inside… it’s pictures of my parents. My mother gave it to me before she died.”

“Was she Fae?”

“No. A witch. Like my father.”

He grunted. “Do you work for Eclipse? They send you to spy?”

“What? I don't know what Eclipse is? Who are you?”

He released me. My head dropped forward uselessly.

“No one,” he said.

The cell door screeched open, then clanged shut, leaving me alone once more. Relief shuddered through me followed quickly by a crushing sadness.

This was why I kept everything buried. Surviving meant locking emotions away, not letting them eat me alive. Now, thanks to him, they were loose, roaring inside me, impossible to ignore.

And I had nothing to do but drown in them.

I didn’t know if I passed out or drifted into some restless, exhausted sleep, but rough hands woke me.

Two men fiddled with my chains. One of them blue-eyed, smug was the same Fae who’d slapped my ass earlier.

The cuffs finally released. I stumbled forward, too lightheaded to trust my legs. The blue-eyed bastard caught me before I face-planted. The other slapped fresh cuffs onto my wrists this time in front and the two of them hauled me out of the cell.

I didn’t fight. Couldn’t. My body felt hollowed out, my mind sluggish. Panic flickered. How long had I been here? Had I missed my pill? Or was this awful fog leftover from the Fae scraping around inside my head?

We passed rows of empty cells. Then we turned a corner with more, and in the last one

My breath faltered.

A figure hunched in the corner.

“Orion?” My voice barely escaped.

The figure jerked up. “Elara!”

Strength rushed back in a surge of adrenaline. I stomped down hard on the blue-eyed guard’s boot. He yelped and loosened his grip. I twisted free and slugged the other guard my fist cracked against his nose, sending him stumbling back with a howl.

I sprinted to Orion’s bars.

“You okay? What happened?”

“It was just a dare,” he whispered, voice breaking. Tears filled his eyes. “I’m so sorry, Em.”

“Shh.” I cupped his face through the bars. “It’s okay. I’m going to get you out.”

His head shook frantically. “No. You need to run. This place… these men… they’re monsters.”

Hands yanked me backward. I didn’t resist now. I’d seen Orion alive. Half my terror dissolved just knowing that. I’d figure out the rest.

Maybe these men could be reasoned with. Maybe they weren’t hunters. Maybe…

Unless they were.

Then we were both dead.

The stairs led up into a wide hallway. Clean air cut through the haze in my mind, sharpening everything. Had I been lured here by magic? Had the hunters already caught me?

“Who are you?” I demanded of the two guards. “Are you hunters?”

They stayed silent. The one with the broken nose glared like he’d love to break something of mine in return.

We reached a pair of double doors. They shoved me through into a grand room.

Three men waited inside.

One was the scarred Fae.

The guards pushed me forward before retreating to the entrance. I stood unsteady, trembling slightly.

The room was elegant dark mahogany furniture, crimson-patterned rug, a roaring fire. Wealth oozed from every detail.

My gaze locked first on the cruel Fae. His face gave away nothing.

Next, the man beside him tall, leaner, skin a deep number that glowed in the firelight. His face was beautiful, framed by long black dreadlocks. Too beautiful. When he met my eyes, my pulse jumped. Something dangerous, predatory, watched from behind his almost-black irises.

And then I saw the fangs.

Vampire.

I tore my gaze away to the third man thickly built, tan skin, cropped brown hair, shoulders like a wall. A predator’s stillness clung to him. Wolf shifter.

The vampire spoke. “What’s your name?”

“E–Elara.” Damn it, stop stuttering.

He wasn’t lying; there was genuine curiosity in his expression.

“Why are you here, Elara?”

“I came to find my brother. He went missing at Banner Forest Park. I couldn’t find the park, my car broke down, I saw lights… I was just looking for help.”

“She speaks the truth,” the Fae said.

Hope sputtered to life. “Of course I am. I have no reason to lie. You have my brother in your dungeon. You have to let him go.”

“Do I?” the vampire murmured.

My stomach tightened.

“Your brother stole from us,” he continued. “And we don’t tolerate that.”

“What did he steal?” I blurted. “I’ll pay you back.”

He smiled fully, fangs gleaming. “No amount of money could pay for it. And payment isn’t the point. It is the principle.”

My heart sank.

“And who are you?” I asked quietly.

“We are the Penumbra Syndicate,” he said. “I am Xavier Nero. This is Kaelen Frost.” He motioned to the scarred Fae. “And Lysander Hale.”

Crime syndicate.

Oh my god.

“What… what’s his punishment?” My voice shook.

“Death,” Xavier said, as casually as if he were discussing the weather.

“Death? For what? What did he steal?”

“A rose,” Xavier replied.

I stared. “A what? A rose?” My disbelief scraped raw. “You kill people for picking flowers?!”

“These roses aren’t for the taking,” Kaelen snapped. “Your brother, Orion Vance, knew exactly what he was doing.”

“How do you know his name?”

“I saw his memories.” Kaelen’s expression hardened. “He didn’t resist like you.”

I stiffened. The bastard had gone rummaging through Orion’s head and seen everything. Our life. Our fear. Our desperation.

He would know nothing I said would change their minds.

Unless…

I swallowed, breathing through the tidal wave of dread.

“Let me take his place.”

Silence dropped like a stone.

Three pairs of eyes drilled into me. Lysander’s hazel eyes glowed faintly, wolf magic stirring.

Xavier tilted his head. “You’d do that?”

“Yes.” My voice was steadier than I felt. “He’s young. He has his whole life ahead of him.” Unlike me. “I’ll take his punishment. Just release him.”

The men shared a long look silent, unreadable before Xavier stepped closer.

“You will give us your life? Willingly?”

My pulse fluttered. “I will. And I do. As long as you free him.”

Xavier smiled, slow and dark. “Then it is done.”

He nodded at Kaelen. “Conjure the contract.”

Kaelen crossed the room, pulled a sheet of paper from a drawer, and summoned swirling gold magic across it until words materialized.

My stomach tightened as he brought it to me.

I read it carefully. It said exactly what I’d expected.

My life for his.

“How do I sign?” I whispered.

“With blood.” Kaelen flipped open a knife.

I hesitated only a heartbeat before slicing my thumb.

He caught my hand suddenly. “You’re engaged?” He inspected my diamond ring. “This has magic.”

“I’m not… it’s complicated.” My words are tangled. “It has a tracking spell. Maybe more. I can’t get it off.”

Kaelen touched it with glowing fingers. The ring slid free effortlessly.

“There. You are no longer bound.” Then he reached for my locket.

“No!” I jerked it back, covering it with my palm. “I will die with this on.”

He studied me, then nodded. “Very well.”

I pressed my bleeding thumb to the contract. The wound throbbed in time with my heartbeat.

It was done.

Kaelen rolled the paper and returned to the others.

“You must have a very special bond,” Xavier murmured. Then snapped his fingers. “Set the boy free.”

“I want to say goodbye,” I said shakily. “Please.”

“No.” His silver-rimmed eyes were already locked on the blood trailing down my thumb.

Pain pricked at my chest, but I swallowed it. Orion was free. That was enough.

Chin lifted, I asked, “What happens to me now? Are you going to kill me? Or use my blood?”

Xavier’s gaze raked over me like a physical touch. “That… and more, sweetness.”

The words hit me like a fist. My vision tunneled for a second. They weren’t going to kill me quickly. They were going to keep me. Use me. Own me.

I forced myself to stand firm.

“I made a deal,” I murmured. “I’ll honor it.”

Xavier’s smirk deepened. “For now, you’ll return to the dungeon.”

The floor seemed to drop out beneath me.

The dark. The cold. The chains.

I would rot down there until they wanted to feed… and then eventually, I would die.

I had never imagined this was how my life would end.