Page 37 of Detonation
"Clean this blood up and take his body to the pit. This is no sight for your queen."
Chills run the length of my body at his voice—simultaneously so familiar and so chilling. I knew he was here but nothing could prepare me for this, for him. He’s standing outside that door—the monster who raped me in the body of the man I love.
My body trembles at the thought of facing him. I thought I'd be able to handle seeing him again but my stomach churns at the thought of him putting his hands on me again.
Fuck!I have no choice.Ash.
There's something wrong with me, Lana.
There's something dark in me.
It's as if I'm living my life through someone else's eyes.
It's like I'm not in control.
I have to do this. There’s no world in which I can survive with the reality that my mate is imprisoned inside his own body.
Taking deep breaths to center myself, I force myself to run through all my options.
How am I going to handle this? How am I going to act around him?
I can't actually castrate him or maim him because that's Ash's body.
You have to be smart about this, Lana.Play along and act like I’ve had a change of heart? Fuck, I won’t be good at that but it's my only option at this point.
The doors to the dungeon creak open and, suddenly, I’m face to face with him. He strides into the room, eyes focused on me, carrying himself with an assured arrogance that makes me want to vomit right in his face.
He's dressed in black slacks and a white button-down shirt, reminiscent of the clothes in the Earth realm. Blood is smattered along the crisp white material, the stark contrast of the colors drawing my attention.
As he approaches, my heart is beating so fast, I feel like it could burst out of my chest.
He crouches down to eye level once he gets to me, tilting his head, running his emerald eyes over my body. Blood drips onto the floor from one of his hands and I seethe at the sight of him disrespecting my mate’s body, sullying Ash’s hands with his disgusting actions. Since I can’t choke him out, my next instinct is to open my dumbass mouth with a snarky comment. "Is that blood on the floor or are you just happy to see me?"
Give me strength to make this plan work, Gaia.
His pupils dilate at my voice, completely misinterpreting my mocking sarcasm.Maybe that's for the best.
He reaches out and traces a finger down my face. “Oh, how I've missed you, my beloved. What a pleasant surprise it is to see you in such good spirits, despite being placed in a dungeon.” Anger twists inside his gaze. “Don’t fret. I will handle Sebastian.”
Overwhelming fear assaults me at the simple touch and tears spring to my eyes. It feels like someone’s shoved their hand in my chest and is squeezing my heart in their death grip.
He smiles indulgently. "No need to cry, Oslana. We're reunited now. Nobody will be able to take you from me ever again. We've waited too many years to have this moment."
Anger eclipses my fear, one fire extinguished but another replacing it, burning like a supernova within me.
He's so fucking delusional but I need to swallow the bile in my throat to use his warped sense of reality to my advantage.
Not trusting myself to speak, I nod at him, hiding my grimace.
"Let's get those chains off you. Do you promise to not cause mischief?"
When I hum my agreeance, he accepts that at face value, dropping his head to kiss me on the forehead, shocking the hell out of me.
Does he not remember how we left off in our last moment together? Does he truly believe I'd just be putty in his hands and not put up a fight?
He removes one shackle at time, and as he does, I glance around at the other prisoners. Can I do anything for them once these shackles are off? Could I fight him and give them time to escape?
Ignorant of the layout of this castle, I don't have enough knowledge to know if that would work or not. My best bet is to play along with him, gain his trust, and figure out a safe escape route for them.
