Page 44 of Rose and Shadows
Familiar voices—in a majorly fucking bad way—reached me, as I started to come to, fighting against a nasty heaviness wearing me down and trying to stop me from fully rousing awake.
“This is the last part I will play in your fixation with Remnant’s son. Do you understand me, Victor?”
“So long as that includes our blood vow.”
“Yes, yes, I won’t kill him. Nor will I reveal to Puritas that you have him captive. But they cannot know that I have facilitated this kidnapping for you.”
“Playing both sides, Morien… how devious and calculating. Why would I reveal that when I commend it? Besides, I’m essentially their enemy now. I had to draw a line or they would have murdered my pretty thing.”
“Your pretty thing… you really are deep in obsession with him.”
“Just stick to this last part of yours. I don’t need your commentary.”
“Even commentary warning that this won’t end well for you? As soon as word reaches Remnant, he will lay waste toeveryone and everything standing in the way of recovering his son.”
“Mmm… I was already hard just looking at my plaything all strung up so nicely and invitingly for me, now you reference Remnant losing control. After all these years, I can’t wait to taste it, to bear witness to that stoic, deadbeat sire of mine raging and raising hell.”
“Well, I suppose we all have our fantasies. I wish you well with yours coming true.”
I heard some shuffling around, then a spark of power.
“Here you are. The device is finished. It will work as you asked. A very potent form of inducement—known to the uneducated as pleasure magic. It will do nicely with the erotic torture you have in mind for your youngling toy.”
“Thank you.”
“That’s the end of it where this is concerned.”
“I heard you the first time.”
“Good. I will return within a few days following my tiresome days-long meeting with Puritas.”
“Ah, the price you must pay for ultimate power.”
“Indeed. It won’t be long now, though. And eradicating hybrid kind will serve us both well—with your obsession excluded of course.”
With that, I felt a flare of power, Morien obviously teleporting away.
I managed to rouse awake enough to open my eyes cautiously.
Victor had his back to me, so I tried to hurriedly take in the situation even as my mind was still feeling fuzzy, my eyes heavy. Come to think of it, my body was tingling in an almost painful way, like a pins and needles sensation rolling through my veins.
Some sort of drug he’d shot me up with? Or a spell from Morien?
I looked to see that I was shirtless, my tactical pants open, and I was barefoot.
My feet touched the fancy black marble floor, while my arms were wrenched above my head, my wrists encased in metal cuffs connected to chains that were screwed into the ceiling.
Shit.
There was light coming from a gold chandelier a few feet over from where the chains were screwed in, and I was just about able to make out the blacked out windows in my peripheral vision, heavy curtains covering them.
I swallowed hard as I caught sight of the four-poster bed just within the field of my peripheral vision. Gold snake effigies encircled the posts while black silk sheets and pillows decorated the massive thing, semi-sheer drapes hanging down. There was a seating area near Victor with a wraparound gold velvet couch and a black marble coffee table opposite. An open door along that wall led into a partially visible walk-in closet.
And there was one more door to the far left of where I was, which I could see a corridor through. Possible escape route. Just like busting through the windows.
“Acclimating back to consciousness nicely, Lazriel?”
I jerked in the chains overhead at the sudden sound of Victor addressing me.
