Page 5 of Rebel Fae
It seemed he’d been harboring some anger, too. In one move, he reached in and grabbed my arms with both of his large hands. As if I weighed nothing, he lifted me out of the van, whirled me around, and set my feet roughly on the ground as my wings fluttered in a vain attempt at stopping him. But, even with me out of the van, he didn’t let go of my arms. Instead, he held me, his chest heaving, his eyes roving over my face.
“Don’t think I won’t be hard on you while we’re together during this session,” he growled. “I don’t owe you anything, Tally. If anything, I should be harder on you than anyone. The fresh meat can’t suspect us, remember? Adaline said she wants their behavior to be unaffected by our presence.”
“Go ahead and be hard on me, Vaughn,” I growled. “I’ve had a lot of time in my cell to think about ways I could pay you back for what you did to Arryn and me. I can’t wait to try some of them out.”
His hands tightened on my biceps as he held me close, staring into my face. I stared back, wondering how I’d ever desired him, how I’d let those lips rove over mine, or let those hands explore my body.
How stupid I had been.
He continued to hold me as emotions seemed to flit over his face. For a moment, it seemed as if he might pull me close and kiss me. Did he still want me? Maybe it was a power play or a way to show his dominance over me. If he did that, he would find out how sharp my teeth could be.
“Vaughn,” another guard behind us called.
He shook his head as if remembering himself and let me go. Then he whirled me around and pointed me toward the intake door. “Move.”
With the rage still pumping through me, I strode toward the door, grabbed the handle, and yanked it open.
Do or die, it was time we got this started.
I walked in the building, past the dingy office, and into the hallway. The door shut as I stepped into the magical strip search chamber. Gritting my teeth, I waited for the invisible hand to drag off my clothes and violate me in a veiled attempt at looking for contraband, but nothing happened. Instead, the far door opened. Through it, I could see the rest of the campers milling around.
Nervous, I stepped through and into an unfamiliar room that hadn’t been there before.
An older male with a shiny head and gray facial hair turned as I entered. He wore a brown suit and tie. “Ah, Tally. So good of you to join us. Come in. The others are already getting acquainted. Guard, please, cut her binding.”
Vaughn took a knife from his belt, quickly removed the plastic tie, and stepped aside.
Blinking, I glanced around, realizing that there was a spread of food on a long table: sandwiches, pizza, cookies, and cups filled with red liquid. Two campers were eating and drinking and talking to each other as if this were some sort of party.
What was this, a trick? Where were pissed-off Karen, strip searches, and angry, raging campers?
Stunned, I turned to the older man who’d first greeted me. “What’s going on?”
He blinked at me as if he’d misheard my words. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, where are the guards?”
The man took a sip from his cup, the liquid turning his mouth red in a way that reminded me of blood. “Tally, we’re trying something new. This time there are no rules.” He smiled at me, though the thin cut of his lips left me cold.
Who was this man? What was his role here? And what was he saying?
“But I don’t understand. Without rules, how will we know whatnotto do? How can we avoid the consequences?”
He patted me on the back, then squeezed my shoulder hard. “Loosen up, Tally. No one likes a party pooper.”
He let go and walked over to the girl with the red hair, smiling warmly this time. My body went cold. I thought I knew what to expect. Now, I realized I only knew one thing: I needed to stay on my guard because nothing on this island was ever what it seemed.
Chapter Three
I could not believe it.No rules? It had to be some sort of trick.
Standing off to the side, away from the new campers, I watched the door, waiting for Karen to file in with a host of her guards and their automatic weapons, but no other guards appeared. It was only Vaughn with the one knife strapped to his side, and his green eyes warily scanning the situation.
Frowning, he met my gaze. I could tell he had as many questions as I did. I glanced away. I didn’t even want to share my confusion with him.
But it didn’t matter. Rule or no rules, I had one goal and one goal only: keep the “fresh meat” safe, and I’d better get to work.
Even though I would have rather poked a dragon in its sleep, I turned my attention to the campers, wishing I knew more about them. To my surprise, I found they were wearing name tags. It felt absurd but still, I took advantage of the added information and committed the scribbled names to memory.
