Page 138 of Bonds of Pain
“You smell like formaldehyde and the shit on my shoe, Thane. No wonder you have to chain people down.”
The Inquisitor’s fingers still mid-cut.
For a heartbeat, the only sound is the beeping of monitors and Cillian’s ragged breathing.
Then he sets the scalpel down with deliberate care. “You think provoking me will distract me from him?”
“It’s worth a shot.” I rock back on my heels and offer him a cold smile. “Why don’t you come over here and we can discuss it.”
“You’re in such a hurry to be back on my table, then?” He picks up a syringe, tapping it to clear the air bubbles. The liquid inside is amber, thick like syrup. “Never fear, darling. Breaking you will be the crescendo of my masterpiece.”
Cillian whimpers—a thin, desperate sound.
“Hey. Hey!” My voice cracks, sharp enough that the Inquisitor looks up. “If you’re going to kill me, just do it. Stop playing with your food like a cat with a half-dead bird.”
The Inquisitor tilts his head. “And if I told you I wasn’t planning to kill you? That what comes next will be so much worse?”
A shiver skates down my spine.
But I bare my teeth wider. “I’d say let me out of this cage and hand me that scalpel, so we can really have a conversation.”
The Inquisitor sighs. “Ah, Maya. Still fighting. Still delightful.” He thrusts the needle into Cillian’s arm. “Pity Logan couldn’t break that out of you.”
Cillian seizes, back bowing off the table. His scream this time is soundless, mouth stretched wide, veins standing out in his throat.
The bond stays silent.
And I realize, with a sickening lurch, it’s not just that the bond has broken.
It’s that Cillian is dying.
I stare at the Inquisitor through the bars, my throat dry as sandpaper. “Why would you expect Logan to break me when you couldn’t?”
The words come out steadier than I feel. My fingers grip the cold metal until circulation cuts off, but I keep talking because silence feels like surrender.
“I nearly killed you the last time we were alone together, or don’t you remember?”
Thane’s eyebrows lift with genuine surprise, then settle into something like appreciation. He holds up the scalpel, pointing it directly at me through the bars.
“Your bad behavior will be addressed, I assure you.”
The blade catches the fluorescent light, throwing silver reflections across the sterile walls. I’ve seen that instrument before, felt its bite against my skin in this very facility. My stomach clenches, but I force myself to meet his gaze without flinching.
He lowers the scalpel back to Cillian’s exposed chest, tracing a line just above his heart. “First, we finish what we started here.”
“You must be so disappointed,” I call out, letting mockery drip from every word. “After all the time you devoted to trying to make me the perfect Omega.”
Thane’s hand stills. A thin smile spreads across his lips, cold and calculating.
“Oh, my dear Maya.” He sets the scalpel aside and turns to face me fully. “You have no idea just how much time I devoted to that cause.”
Something in his tone makes my blood run cold.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
His smile widens, revealing teeth too perfect and too sharp. “How much do you actually know about your own birth, Maya? About the circumstances that led to your particular...gifts?”
I roll my eyes despite my growing unease. “I assume you’re about to tell me.”
