Page 42 of Loving Nightmares
“They did something to our power,”Zain said.
‘Did something’ was an understatement—I couldn’t even feel my nightmare form under my skin. It didn’t feel permanently damaged or broken, just shackled.Much like us.
Because of my past, there were few things I hated more than being imprisoned.
Although that was a grossly simplistic explanation of how I felt, of how the memories flashing through my mind made my throat nearly close with panic. Yet, despite how uncomfortable I was, there was nothing in this world that could incite a strong reaction in me like the idea of Arabella being in danger.
Something she was very much in right now.
It was also something I directly blamed Ashur for. I didn’t care how it happened or who had started it. Because of him, Arabella was now in a world of trouble, and there wasn’t a damn thing we could do about it.
Because the group that she was being hunted by?We’d been captured by them. Since arriving at ISS, I had been absolutely free, so losing that was not only infuriating but panic-inducing,especially since our magic had been completely nullified for the moment.
So how had the group of us been captured? By the island’ssis metasand their nightmare mates. Something that shouldn’t have been possible because we had far more power physically…but we learned quickly that in a large group,sis metastruly did have the ability to momentarily negate even Saint’s magic.
Which is how we ended up in these warded cages.
That alone hadn’t been that bad—in fact, we’d been halfway to convincing them to let us go. We’d told them that we were the only intruders, that no one else—as in Ashur and Arabella—had come with us. Although considering the type of island it was, I knew they’d doubted us, wondering how we’d made our way here or even known about it. We hadn’t quite navigated our way out of that bullshit yet when the explosion of power Ashur and Arabella created caused them to go searching for her.
I suppose we could have told them the truth about Arabella from the start, but I hadn’t trusted them with that knowledge when their reaction was to immediately lock us up. Now everything had gone to hell, and I was fucking livid.
I would say that I was seconds away from shifting, which would be disastrous considering the small cage we were in, but that wasn’t even possible. I felt absolutely no power under my skin, just silence. It was eerie.
“I’m going to kill him.” Razar’s voice was filled with malice, and I offered him a look but kept quiet. As much as I shared the sentiment, it was plain to see Ashur wasn’t going anywhere—especially if that power explosion had been because they mated.
The bastard clearly had zero control. He should have known it would draw attention. Then again, I didn’t really have a right to talk, did I?
“Not before I do,” Blackwell muttered.
Damian was silent next to him, both he and Amun studying the village we’d been imprisoned in the center of, no doubt trying to find a means to escape. I didn’t think there were any unless we were released from this cage. A cage that hadn’t been used for years judging by the metal’s discoloration from exposure to the elements.
“I hope she’s alright,” Zain added, and Saint offered an amused chuckle that had me grimacing.
“Arabella is more than fine; that’s not the issue. In fact, I have a feeling that once they clock in on her magic, they’ll be celebrating her arrival,” Saint pointed out. “If anyone is in trouble, it’s us.”
I understood his point, but I didn’t fully agree. What if they didn’t recognize what she was? What if Ashur’s magic overshadowed it? I didn’t know how any of that worked, and that wasn’t even counting the delicate state that Arabella could be in.
We should have never let her off that boat.
No. She had wanted this, and Arabella got whatever she wanted. We should have never trusted Ashur to stay with her on the beach.
“It’s weird, isn’t it?” Damian asked, lost in his own thoughts. “Seeing all these Class A nightmares with families? I know it’s possible, especially now with thesis metathing, but I’m just not used to seeing it.”
He wasn’t wrong; it was beyond odd to see. At the same time, it settled a part of me that would have been far more happy and at peace—if we weren’t imprisoned. Once all of this was straightened out, I had no doubt that Arabella would love this place…at least in theory. Even if the people sucked.
It was beautiful. The lush tropical forest sheltered a large gathering of well- constructed houses, and around the center pavilion were public spaces like cafes, stores, and even a school. Despite our imprisonment and the Class A nightmareskeeping guard on us, everyone else was going about their lives as if we weren’t there. Mothers talked to each other, children ran around, and fathers exchanged laughter about things their children were doing. It was beautiful, I just would have preferred to see it from outside of this cage.
“I know we understood she could carry to term,” Amun said, “but seeing it, seeing all these families, is very different.”
It also made me feel far better about the idea of her being pregnant. Don’t get me wrong, the idea of Arabella round with my child was perfection, but I don’t think many of us had thought about what pregnancy entailed, what could go wrong throughout it, and then the eventual labor. All of that was terrifying when I considered how small Arabella was and how large nightmares could be…
“You put my mates where?!”
Instantly my chest relaxed, my gaze snapping to the path the retrieval group had run down. Arabella stormed into the town center, furious. That fury was music to my fucking ears because there was no fear, which shouldn’t have been surprising, but she also didn’t look hurt. In fact, she was practically glowing. Ashur was right behind her, looking far more tense than she was as he tried to shield her from thesis metason all sides and the nightmares behind them. While the majority ofsis metaswho lived here were women, there were some men as well.
“In a cage,” one of the leaders explained. “We didn’t realize they were your mates—they didn’t even mention you were here.”
Arabella shook her head, mumbling, “Of course they didn’t.”
