Page 127 of Pretty Little Prey
Luna’s hair stood on the back of her neck. Something about this woman’s presence put her on edge. Maybe it was the eerie crooked smile. Or the way the cloaked woman flopped down on the bed and waved her arms back and forth as if making a snow angel. The intruder was utterly relaxed, like two shifter kings were not fighting to the death just outside the doors.
“Who are you?” Luna asked. “What are you doing here?”
“I will answer only one question.” The woman’s white and silver eyes emitted a flash of light. “Choose one.”
Damn it. Luna wanted multiple answers. If this woman truly was a seer, then she would know who would win the contestation fight. She would know if Luna would ever get turned back into a prey.
Luna exhaled choppily, making a final decision, and asked, “How can I escape from this room?”
The strange woman threw her head back; the hood of her cloak fell from her as she cackled. She wiped at her eyes as if the question was hysterical. “Easy! You get captured and taken away.”
Excuse me?“The only men who would want to capture me are outside the door, fighting.”
The seer tsked, wagging a finger in her direction. “False.”
A chill licked the length of Luna’s spine. “Then, who?” Rohan was dead. No way he survived Kobe ripping his body to shreds.
“Prey are very hard to find nowadays.” The seer sat up from the bed and took slow steps toward Luna. “Especially Duttur. All the sheep herds were wiped out.”
Luna could hear yells and hits and bones breaking from outside the door.Don’t want to hear this. Impatiently, she asked, “Your point is?”
“Do you wish to remain a vampire and stay with the men who chose their pride over a future with you? Or do you wish to escape as a prey?”
What kind of question was that? “Can you reverse the vampirism?”
Lightning struck outside, rattling the panes of glass in the room. The seer’s eyes narrowed as her expression grew angry and vicious. Her lips curled over her mangled teeth as she admonished, “Your time for questions has ended. Now answer mine.”
Luna shivered. She could feel the tingling electricity of magic—of dark power—swirling around the room.What does this seer want with me?
Lightning struck again, lighting up the dim room. “Answer!” the seer shouted.
“I—I wish to escape as a prey.”
The electricity in the air waned, settling into nothing. The seer’s glower turned into a sloppy, crazed smile. “You wish to be loved as you are. Do not fear. The kings will not kill each other…tonight.”
A pang shot up Luna’s side, and she gasped, clutching it. Her lungs twisted behind her ribs, which ached like the bones were bruised.
“They do care for you. Deeply,” the seer said as Luna convulsed in pain. She moved closer, circling her. “But sometimes men need to lose a woman to fully grasp their true feelings.”
“W-What are you doing to me?” Luna cried as she collapsed onto the floor, holding herself up on her hands and knees. She writhed as the pain moved up her body. As if knives were slicing through her every pore. Even her mouth ached—torturous agony—like a dental visit from hell.
The seer shrugged. “I am giving you your wish.”
“S-Stop,” Luna whispered, but darkness seeped into her vision, blotting out all color. Her mind blanked as she fell face-first to the floor.
“Oh, how they’ll miss you,” the seer gave a blissful sigh, holding a hand over her heart. “Don’t worry, you thank me for this in about three centuries. At least…I think you do. Unless I’m confusing two futures again.”
Chapter 50
Luna woke, her mind fighting through a groggy fog as she blinked and took in her surroundings. Pain. Pain in her ear. Harsh, wet pain. Her hand flew up to touch the area. Her fingers tapped against a triangle; the material of it felt like thick, hard plastic. It was also damp.
She moved her hand back to gaze at the red wetness on her fingertips. Blood. Her blood.
Someone pierced a fuckingtagthrough my ear?
That damn seer! Luna jolted up, gazing all around for the woman. Yet, all she saw were metal bars and cracked, gray cement walls. She was no longer in the grand castle. She was locked in a cage. No windows. Underground? What the hell was going on?
Wait. Blood. She touched the throbbing wound again.I’m not healing. She swiped her tongue over her teeth. No fangs.I’m not a vampire anymore.
