“You?” I ask, completely confused. I never saw him.
“Someone had to replace Gavin when the Queen’s circle got him. I just happened to be one who is smart enough to get on the strongest side.”
He reaches behind him, and orbs form over my hands.
“Easy, hybrid bitch. Just getting something for you to put on.” He pulls out the familiar metal collar, and my gut sinks as he tosses it toward my feet.
I spent so long trying to break free from its hold.
“Put it on.”
My eyes snap up and narrow on him. “That’s not how this works. Where is she?”
He smirks before Kimber suddenly appears at his side, her hands bound and her mouth gagged. Her eyes meet mine, looking all too much like her own. But I’m not stupid.
“Get it out of her,” I tell him. “I’m not putting on that collar until that thing is gone and she’s in control of her own body.”
He clutches his chest, mocking offense. “Look at her eyes, hybrid. She’s in control. Now put on the collar.”
“If she was in control, she’d be fighting. No daughter of Drackus would be looking as scared as she does right now. Get it out of her or I will.”
Kimber’s eyes lose the panic, and the binds on her disappear as a dark smile graces her lips.
“I actually love this body. I think I’ll keep it for a while.”
They always did underestimate my abilities. Then again, I never wanted them to know the level of power or knowledge I held.
“I’d rather see you evicted.”
Her eyes widen, and a scream bubbles out as a searing sound emerges. Alex curses before launching an orb at me, but it hits my barrier that is not going to hold long. He’s too strong to be a dark user, damn it.
Kimber drops to her knees, still screaming as white smoke flows from her lips, and I continue pushing power out of me, branding her skin without touching her. The mark slowly etches onto her skin, forming on her neck as it crisscrosses and comes to life, crawling into the patterned circle with a Celtic symbol.
Her head drops, and when she looks up, I see the fight in her eyes. “Don’t!” I yell just before she spins to knock Alex’s feet out from under him. His fist slams into her cheek, sending her sailing into the woods, and I take a deep breath, knowing I can’t react without losing my barrier.
“Let her go. That was the deal.”
He scowls at me. “What did you do?”
“It’s rare to see someone walking around with that, but when you stare at stone walls for a year and a half, you learn to be very observant once you get pulled out for walks. I saw that mark more than once on anyone who had a psyche that could be linked to. Think I was too stupid to figure out what it meant? I was just on a leash, so I couldn’t use it.”
My brain has been so fuzzy, focusing on all the damage I did instead of the details. I could have prevented this from happening, but I was consumed by my own guilt.
But I can fix that. I can give Thad his family back, and he can seek vengeance without fear of someone using her against them again.
“Put on the collar. Or I’ll kill her right now.”
He has the power, and right now, Kimber is unconscious on the ground, vulnerable to any attack.
“I’ll put it on,” I tell him while picking the collar up, stalling, hoping she wakes up.
Her head lifts, and her eyes widen as she points behind me. I never even get to see what it is before black speckles my vision, stealing my consciousness before my legs give out.
The last thing I see is Kimber vanishing through a portal, and a small smile graces my lips. I won.
***
ROSLYN