They’ll play by the rules as long as you do, but the minute you run,
they’ll chase you down. It’ll be a free for all.”
Meg thought about the fangs and the look of hunger in the
vampires’ eyes. She shivered. “I’ll stay close.”
At least she would be out of the chains and clothed. She wondered
where Beck was and if he’d changed his mind. He hadn’t been back
to see her, and it had been hours. No one else had been allowed to
touch her. When they tried, the gnomes explained that if they did not
follow protocol, they wouldn’t be allowed to fight. Meg didn’t ask
why Beck had been special.
Rhys allowed his wife to unchain her. Meg sighed as she began to
get circulation back into her wrists. “Where am I?”
“You really don’t know?” Cara asked with a look of sympathy on
her face.
Meg shook her head. For the first time, she tried to look at these
people as something other than her captors. If she was going to save
herself, she needed them. While she was chained, it had occurred to
her that if she were going to run, she should gather as much
intelligence as possible first.
Cara brought over a gossamer robe and handed it to her. It was
really more of a caftan, Meg decided as she pulled it over her head.
The fabric was the softest she had ever felt against her skin. Though it
was practically sheer, Meg felt it warming her skin.
The dress-like robe cut a deep V at the neck, showing off her
breasts. She tried to tug it closed, but it didn’t work. Cara moved in
behind her and expertly tied it in the back. The garment molded to her
curves. It was utterly unlike the shapeless clothes she preferred at
home. Her ex-husband, Michael, had always said she needed to lose
28
Sophie Oak