Page 91 of The Guardian's Curse

Ruby pushed up her sunglasses and sighed. “I really didn’t want to do this,” she said. Even with her blurry vision, Shoshanna could see the faint red glint to Ruby’s eyes. “But Elliott wants you, and I have to do it.”

Horror washed over Shoshanna. “Ruby, please don’t do this.” But her words were garbled mush, and she felt her eyes closing against her will.

“He’s not going to hurt you,” Ruby said. “He promised. Now, I have to keep my promise.”

* * *

Shoshanna woke slowly, with the foul taste of licorice and battery acid on her tongue. She opened her eyes to a blurry, dark room. Fear erupted in her chest as she lurched to her feet, only to find her hands tied to the arms of a chair. Her ankles were tied to the legs of the chair, and she managed only to bump her hips a few inches out of the chair.

“Hey!” she bellowed into the darkness. She squinted around her, barely making out the boxy shape of some piece of furniture. Under her bare feet, she found the rough grain of carpet. The room smelled of a familiar blend of herbs and Calvin Klein perfume. That was Ruby’s smell.

The last thing she remembered was Ruby carrying her out of Alistair’s house and talking about Elliott. Had they turned her into a vampire?

No. She walked in the sun, so Elliott had to have enthralled her by giving her blood. She should have known he would try something insane. He knew where Ruby worked, and where half of Shoshanna’s friends and family members lived. And she’d just been playing house with Alistair like there was nothing else going on.

Her head pounded. She tried to shake off the drugged haze. If Elliott came in here for her, she’d incinerate him just like she did in her apartment. She twisted awkwardly, trying to direct the palms of her hands toward the tight bindings. She had decent aim when she could actually see, but this was less than ideal. There was a good chance she’d light herself on fire.

Then again, a little pain was better than ending up in Elliott’s possession. Burns would heal, and she could survive with one useable hand, even if it meant never playing the piano with Alistair again.

Straining against the bindings on her wrist, she twisted her right hand, trying to work up the nerve. Mettrez à feu, she recited in her head, not quite working up the nerve to say it aloud. Her fingers tingled with the gathering energy, ready to answer her call. She’d get maybe three shots before she passed out, so she had to make it count.

“Shoshanna?” Ruby said quietly. The electronic glow of her smart watch cast a bluish glow on her face. Her form was blurry, but Shoshanna could make out the gleam of light reflecting from her eyes. “Are you okay?”

“Ruby, what the hell? You’ve got to let me out of here,” Shoshanna said, pulling against the bindings. “Please.”

A lamp flicked on, casting a warm yellow light around the room. Shoshanna squinted, trying to take in her surroundings all at once. Small bedroom, probably in an apartment. The sparse furnishings and plain dark bedspread confirmed that she wasn’t in Ruby’s eclectic apartment.

A wad of fabric shoved at her lips, and she gasped in surprise. Ruby pushed the gag into her mouth, then quickly tied a strip of cloth around her head and tied it tight. Shoshanna coughed and tried to shove it out with her tongue, but it was tight enough to tug painfully at the corners of her lips. “Sorry, honey. He didn’t want to risk you burning him again.” She slid her finger under the ropes on Shoshanna’s wrists and tugged lightly. “This isn’t cutting off your circulation, is it?”

Shoshanna let out a muffled sound of indignation. Ruby stepped aside, then said, “It’s safe.”

Footsteps shuffled behind her, and she craned her neck to see Elliott circling her. “Shoshanna York,” he said, sitting down on the bed across from her. Though she could barely make out his features, she would recognize that smug drawl anywhere. “I’m glad to see you again.”

“Fuck you,” she said. Her words were garbled, but she imagined that the harsh consonants and fury made her intent perfectly clear. She lurched in the seat, managing to scoot it forward an inch before it jolted up her spine. Elliott planted one foot on the edge of the chair, between her legs.

“Tied up and gagged is a nice look for you,” he said. “Maybe we’ll get to that later. When you’re feeling more agreeable.” Disgust rolled over her like a wave of steam, leaving her feeling sticky and filthy. “You’ve made this incredibly difficult, you know. I made you a great offer, and you snubbed me for a dusty old court that’s still stuck in the eighteenth century.”

She mumbled at him. Elliott sighed. “This is very unsatisfying. I’ve changed my mind. Ruby, untie that thing and then come sit with me.”

Ruby untied the gag, pulling at Shoshanna’s hair. She hurried around Shoshanna as she struggled to spit out the offending cloth, then settled into Elliott’s lap. There was a little whimper, but Elliott chuckled. “You like this, don’t you, Ruby?”

“Yes,” she said calmly. The flat voice was so un-Ruby that it made Shoshanna want to scream in fury.

Shoshanna squinted, trying to make out Ruby’s features. Both of them were both a featureless blur; Elliott a wash of alabaster and Ruby a faint golden streak. “What did you do to her?”

“I gave her my blood and made her my thrall,” Elliott said. “And she’s been very appreciative. If it makes you feel better, she was very resistant about coming to get you. But with enough blood in her system, she really doesn’t have a choice, do you, sweetheart?”

“No,” Ruby said.

“You better not have touched her,” Shoshanna said.

“Or what? What will you do, little witch?” Elliott said. “Your scary alpha vampires aren’t here to swing their dicks this time.”

“She has nothing to do with this,” Shoshanna said.

“She’s here because you forced my hand,” Elliott said. “I told Cristiano I could deliver a witch, and you made me look like a fool.”

“You made yourself look like a fool,” she said. “You know I work for the Auberon now. When they find out what you’ve done, there are half a dozen vampires that are going to fight over who gets to tear your face off.”

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