Page 54 of Sins of the Fathers
“The last time that’s needed,” Ophelia said, looking at Grady as if eyeing a meal. “Once the mound is opened, that won’t be necessary anymore.”
“You are correct, my lady,” Daelin said. “After that happens, you won’t need to borrow power ever again.”
Ophelia seemed to take the fae’s words as a promise. Grady read the ominous intent immediately.You won’t need to borrow because you’ll already be dead,he thought.Not like I’m going to warn her. She wouldn’t believe me anyhow.
The witch and the fae left the room, talking quietly, and stepped outside, leaving the two goons in the cabin’s small kitchen. Grady slumped against the wall, devastated at this new twist.
Opening the mound and letting the dark fae loose will kill everyone—and I’m the battery she’ll use to level up,Grady thought miserably.
If they told the truth about shooting Daw, then at least we won’t be apart for long.
That thought nearly made his heart stop, and the ache punched the breath from his lungs.No, they had to be lying. I don’t want to believe he’s gone. I won’t. Since I’m not going to get the chance to find out, I choose to believe he’s alive. He has Denny and Colt and Knox to take care of him if he got hurt. He’ll be a mess with me gone, but they’ll keep him from being alone.
At least we found our way back to each other. We had this year together. Friends, again. Partners. Lovers. Not a bad last year on earth, but I want so much more time together.
I want us to get old and quit hunting and spend our days fishing and reading. Going for walks in the woods without chasing something or being chased.
All those honeymoon plans…vacations. Long weekends. Lazy days where we’d never get out of bed. I thought we had time.
I know he loves me, knows how much I love him. I wish we’d had the chance to get married.
Doesn’t look like I’m going to have long for regrets.
Grady needed to bide his time until the others weren’t watching him closely. He focused on his memories of Dawson, from long ago, and then this last, wonderful year together. He skipped the times they’d been at odds and only relived the best moments.
I don’t want to leave Daw. So I’ve got to fight to survive—and get back to him.
Footsteps roused him from his memories. He didn’t open his eyes, although he knew it had to be Ophelia.
“Pretend to sleep if you want. I don’t care. I’ll save most of your energy for tomorrow, but you’re so luscious, I can’t resist. I need to have a taste.”
She came closer, and Grady tensed, expecting a blow. He wondered if he could knock her down and strangle her with his chain.
“You can’t overpower me. Don’t try,” she warned. “I’d hate to damage you before the ritual, but my men can beat you senseless without killing you.”
Grady considered making an attempt, even if he was doomed to fail.If I get the shit beat out of me, I can’t make a break for it tonight. I’ll take whatever she does to me to have a chance to get away.
Ophelia moved closer, backing him against the wall. She knelt in front of him and straddled his knees.
Grady kept his eyes shut and turned his face away. He didn’t know what taking his energy involved, but he knew that anything Ophelia did would be a violation.
Ophelia cupped his face in her cold hands. Grady braced for pain, expecting to be forced to open his mind to Ophelia.
Instead, he felt icy tendrils slide into his thoughts from every direction, black tentacles that wormed into his brain despite how he tried to close himself off to her power.
Trapped again by her spell, Grady couldn’t move or speak. He knew Ophelia enjoyed his helplessness, reveled in having the son of her enemy completely at her mercy.
He felt the energy drain like giving blood, a sudden chill in his veins. Ophelia moaned, and Grady wondered if there was a sexual component to her magic.
One of the goons cleared his throat loudly. “Ma’am. Remember tomorrow.”
With a snarl, Ophelia pulled her hands away abruptly, ripping her magic from Grady’s mind. He gasped. Every tendril of her power felt like it left a bloody trail behind.
Ophelia crawled off him, and Grady fell forward. His chains clanked against the floor. The paralysis spell eased, but he had no will to move.
What will it feel like when she drains everything from me? Will I go cold and tired, like bleeding out?
There are worse ways to die. Burning, like my grandparents and Daw’s parents. Bitten by a werewolf and then shot, like Dad. Maybe I’ll go to sleep and not wake up. Not a bad death, considering the options. And no blood—easier on Daw when he finds my body.
