Page 42 of Villains and Vengeance
The unnatural urge to run is gone and all I’m left with is pain … and fear.
Iron looms over me and I feel the vulnerability that I thought I’d left behind a long time ago. I’m reminded of something I’ve tried hard to forget. That I am in fact just a weak human in a world of powerful supes who can do whatever they want with me on a fucking whim.
I’ve lived in their spheres since I was a kid and I survived – more or less. I’ve spent eighty days in a maximum security supe prison and I did okay, but two minutes with Iron was all it took for him to steal the smoke and mirrors that made me feel strong inside.
I’m sobbing quietly, I realize, and I try to stop, but I can’t.
He’s oddly gentle as he lifts me off the floor and lays me on the bed on my front.
‘Idiot,’ he mutters as if he didn’t justmakeme hurt myself. ‘Your shoulder is bleeding.’
I bury my head in the musty pillow as I feel him remove the bandage covering my back.
‘Axel dressed this.’
* * *
Jayce
‘Yes,’I hear her whisper from where her face is pushed into the pillow.
My gut is twisting. We’ve … well, mostlyI’vebeen taking care of her for days while she was a thrashing, incoherent mess. I’ve fed her, cleaned her up, made her swallow the meds Maddox found for her, kept watch over her.
She’s just a prisoner, I tell myself. I took care of her because Maddox ordered me to; we need the information in her brain. That’s all. But this doesn’t feel right. Interrogating her nowdoesn’t feel right.I didn’t like seeing the things Iron made her feel and do. I didn’t like seeing her crying and broken on the floor.
She’s too weak for this. Usually, I enjoy watching Iron work on our enemies, but not today. Sure, there are less broken bones with this new method and his fae side seems to have some power behind it now, but why doesn’t he just use his magick to get this over with?Makeher tell us what we want to know instead of these games?
‘Did no one think to check the wound before this?’ he growls with a curse as he leans over her.
‘Maddox did. It was clean and not the source of the illness, so he left it,’ I say, taking a step closer.
I decide to ask him straight.
‘Why don’t you just compel her to answer your questions?’
Then this would be done faster and she could sleep ...at least until we hand her over to the demon king.
‘Because this is more fun.’
I frown at his back. I can see that he’s not enjoying this. Why is he lying? Maybe he doesn’t have complete control yet. Don’t get me wrong. He’s very good at his job even without the fae magick, and he’s doing great breaking her now …
My fingers curl into fists at the thought.
I don’t understand. Ishouldhate her. Idohate her. So why did the sight of her falling make me want to rush to help her. Why is the blood leaking from her wound making me feel sick?
I move back until I’m standing just inside the room, watching as Iron carefully exposes the hole in her back to our eyes. It’s small but bleeding freely even though it’s been packed with white moss.
So the araniawasgathering it for her as we suspected … or, rather, for Axel.
‘Why would Axel help you?’
She’s quiet.
‘Speak or I make you run again,’ Iron snarls.
He’s bluffing. I’m almost sure of it. Hethoughtthis would be fun, but he’s not having a good time at all. He doesn’t want to hurt her. He will if he has to, but he won’t like it. Fortunately, the threat is enough for her now that he’s shown her what he can do.
‘He had to,’ she replies quickly. ‘He was afraid I was going to die and then …’
