“I won’t share you, if that’s what you’re afraid of. The power you’ll give me, plus the pleasure…” Dusk’s eyelids flutter, an expression of bliss overtaking him as he imagines what it’ll be like. God, I want to hurl. “I’ll take you for mine. You’ll move cells again, of course, so it’ll be easier for me to come to you. You’ll see that there are benefits to belonging to me. Believe me, Elle. Now let me touch you.”
He sounds like Veron. And that squashes some of my terror as anger replaces it.
I’ve always been a people pleaser, willing to do what I’m told. I have a hard time saying no; I usually dance around a question and hope people forget that I’ve been asked it. But whoa if you piss me off...
My hands curl into tight fists at my side. I tilt my head back, glaring up at Dusk. I’m not avoiding his lecherous gaze anymore. Nope. I meet his stare dead on.
“I’m not a pet.”
He laughs. The bastard actually laughs.
“Of course you are. You’re not my mate, but that doesn’t mean I won’t keep you at my feet where you belong. You’re human. It’s more than you should expect. Not all of us are human lovers like the traitor. You should be grateful that I’m even willing to brand you at all.”
Being angry helps. There’s no time to be scared, letting the what-if’s and what-is-he-doing’s cloud my mind. I’m actually thinking clearly for the first time and, at the mention of my cellmate, I suddenly remember what he gave me the other day.
And how I purposely tucked it under the cot for safe-keeping.
“Rys…” His name escapes me, a soft murmur.
Oops.
Dusk doesn’t like that. With a scoff, he tells me coldly, “He can’t protect you now. And by the time he returns, you’ll be mine. Now, come, human.” He softens his tone, trying to convince me to agree. Yeah. Fat chance. “Let me touch you and, I vow, you’ll enjoy it. Make me take it and...”
His unsaid threat lingers in the too-small space between us.
I swallow, side-stepping Dusk as he reaches for me.
His scowl burns brightly. It’s dark in here, thanks to his shadows, and I watch as his skin starts to glow, too.
Uh-oh. That can’t be a good sign.
“One way or another, I will have you.”
He really thinks so, doesn’t he?
He might. He’s bigger than me, stronger than me, and he has all the power.
But there’s one thing that I have that he doesn’t. Two, really, if you count the element of surprise.
I move quicker than I ever thought I could. Throwing myself to the floor, I snap my hand under the bed, grabbing the small, metal lantern that Rys gave me. The charmed flame flickers inside, a tiny ember, and I really hope this fucking works because it’s the only chance I have.
I roll out from under the bed, cradling the lantern against my chest, protecting it. Once I’m on my belly again, I pop up on my knees, flick the front of the lantern open, and aim it directly at Dusk.
“Yeah? Take this!”
8
I’ll never forget the way he screams.
It all happens so quickly. Right after I aim the open lantern at Dusk, the fire stream out so quickly, there’s no way to stop it. It’s like the little metal box turned into a flamethrower or something. The tiny fireball blossoms and blooms into something massive.
Within seconds, Dusk’s entire form is engulfed in flames. The strange thing is, I don’t feel any heat. I’m on the floor, my back pressed against the cot, and I see the fire. I feel nothing, though.
Dusk’s blistering screams of agony tell me that he does.
I scramble off of the floor. My momentary paralysis wears off and I join in on the screaming. I can’t help it. I shout for help, hoping that someone in another wing can hear me. The cell is locked. Even if it wasn’t, the doors leading to the next part of the prison are.
We’re trapped in here together.