I had forgotten he wasn’t with us when we met Lena and Emil in the pub, and we didn’t have time to get into all the details now.
“She’s a friend,” I stressed. It was a question, a challenge. Lifting my eyebrows, I waited for her response.
“I wouldn’t have risked coming here if I wasn’t.” She swallowed, glancing again over her shoulder, nervous energy twitching her feet and hands. “But I can’t stand aside; they wouldn’t want me to.” Her voice broke at the end.
“Who wouldn’t?”
Her eyes lifted to mine, watery and grieved. “Emil is gone.”
“Gone?” Dread sunk my stomach.
“His wife told me he was ordered to do something for General Markos a week ago. He never came back.”
“Do you know for what?”
She shook her head. “No, and I know not to even ask.” She brushed at her eyes, trying to hold back the tears. “I think he’s dead.”
Sorrow bowed my head; I wasn’t sure how to respond. Comforting people wasn’t something I was used to. “You don’t know that.”
She scoffed, using her long skirt to pat at her eyes again.
“Let’s not bullshit each other.” She cleared her throat. Stern. To the point. “The land of hopes and dreams is for people who can afford the luxury of wishing. My brother is most likely dead. My children have been threatened, and if I don’t do everything Markos wants...” Her steady gaze met mine. There were no longer tears or grief. “He will kill my mother.”
I jerked back. “What?” The image of a short, sweet woman with kind yet stern eyes, a mini version of the woman I considered a grandmother, stood before me.
My lids closed briefly, my head shaking, realizing I underestimated Istvan’s conniving ways again.
“I am always ten steps ahead, Brexley. Always.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t see it earlier.”
“What?” Lena asked me.
“It’s why you and Emil were even picked for this job in the first place. He had you marked from the beginning.” I ran my hands through my snarls, pinching my scalp in frustration. I felt so stupid. “Istvan doesn’t do anything without a reason. With Maja living under his roof, he had knowledge of your family, and he knew all he had to do was push down on a pressure point, and you would have to do everything he asked.”
She glanced down with a dip of her head, as if she felt the burden of all of this.
“I owe you a lot, Brexley. However, my family comes first. Whatever I have to do, I will do.” It was a warning.
“What is happening?” Warwick snarled, his hands wrapping tighter around the bars. “Do you know?”
Her mouth tightened, a slight tremor in her jaw at his violent energy. “In my debt to you.” She faced me. “I came here to warn you, warn both of you. Tomorrow evening, the leaders from Bucharest, Prague, and I think Ukraine will be coming here.”
“Why?” My voice strangled out, trepidation souring the food lumping in my stomach.
“Because.” She inhaled, her hands twisting together. “Tomorrow night is a presentation. A show...” She gulped. “It isn’t just Caden he plans to show as proof, changing him to fae with your essence and blood.” Her gaze darted to Warwick and back to me. “Istvan plans to do the experiment on himself, live in front of them.”
Cold ice poured down my lungs.
Fuck.
Of course, Istvan hadn’t taken the pills or done the essence exchange yet. He would let others be the guinea pigs. Let them die. But now he thought he had the perfect formula in Warwick and me.
But that girl had died today.
“When—when did he plan this?” I gripped onto the bars.
Lena frowned, perplexed by my question.
“As far as I know, the night you were brought in.”
Before the testing was done on the girl. Was that why Dr. Karl had freaked out so much? If he didn’t provide the perfect results, his life was on the line too.
Istvan was too narcissistic. He had already declared this event, had spoken with cockiness instead of waiting for results.
“That’s not all. There’s something else you should know. He has someone locked up—” A bang echoed down the hall, making her jump, her head darting back at a sound. She pushed away from the cells. “I have to go.”
“No. Wait!”
“You can’t tell us anything else?”
Warwick and I spoke at the same time, and she looked between us, sorrow in her eyes.
“I’m so sorry. I wish I could do more,” she uttered before darting away, vanishing into the dark shadows.
“Fuck.” Warwick grunted under his breath, tension infusing the stuffy air.
Leaning my head on the bars, I ground my teeth so tight together my jaw cracked.
“The girl today,” I started, coming out in barely a whisper. “She died. My blood killed her.” I squeezed my lashes together. “Violently.”
“Then it might do the same to Istvan.” The bars on his cell rattled as he leaned against them. “Problem solved.”
“And Caden?” My voice shot up with anger, terror, and helplessness. “What about him? He’d be worth sacrificing for Istvan, am I right? You’re probably happy to get him out of the way.”
He stayed quiet, not taking the bait, which only made me lose it more.
There was no winning. At every turn, we were pounded with more grief, pain, and loss. The moment we thought we climbed out of one pit; we were tossed into another.
“Well, I’m sorry. I won’t kill my best friend because of your ego. Do you care about anything other than yourself?” I spat. I was lashing out, saying things I didn’t mean. I didn’t care. Pain was a ticking bomb inside me, ready to collide and knock down everything in its path.
“What do you think, princess?” His shade growled angrily in my ear, stronger than before. The feel of his breath, the heat of his form, sent shivers down my body. Desire clenched my thighs. I was vulnerable to him. Needy for him. Dependent on him.
The bomb detonated inside.
“Fuck off!” I batted away at his shade, striking a firmer physique than I was thinking would be there. Whipping around, my gaze fell on his enormous frame behind me, aqua eyes blazing into me. He was far from completely solid, but it was a lot stronger than it had been earlier.
I was noticing when my emotions pitched—in terror, fury, or desire—it shot energy through me, bubbling the magic between us to the surface and knocking it out of its slumber.
Fight or fuck.
Love or hate.
We walked the line between.
“You think I’d even be here if I only cared about myself?” His shoulders expanded, anger flaring his nose. “You’re right, I might not give a shit about Caden, but you do. If I didn’t give a shit about anybody, I’d be with a dozen women right now, letting them fuck my brains out instead of being tortured and used as a science experiment.”
“Then go! I’m sure the mighty Legend could rip the hinges off the wall and walk right out.” I waved my arms to the doors. “I wouldn’t dare try to keep you away from your thirsty harem.”
“My harem? That’s rich.” He scoffed, his head dipping, prowling for me. “You’re the one with a fucking harem, princess. How many boyfriends are you up to now?”
“Jealous?” I sneered, my feet retreating as he strode for me, my spine slamming into the wall.
His boots tapped mine, his frame looming over me, glaring down with fire and fury.
“No.” He gripped my jaw, leaning closer, growling in my ear. “Because I know who your pussy belongs to.”
The power of his words never ceased to rip the air from my lungs. My body reacted as though he owned the rest of me as well. My nipples hardened, skin flushing with need, my core pulsing. How easily he had me panting. An obedient puppy. It was me on the leash. He tugged, and I came running.
“Stop.” He tugged on my chin, forcing me to look up. “Mad at the world, take it out on me. You’re hurting, hit me. Want to cry and scream? I will be here through it all. I can take whatever you dish out, princess.” He pressed in closer, making me feel the outline of his hardness, which I knew still couldn’t compete with the real thing. “But don’t for one moment say I don’t care. I can see through your bullshit. There are no walls between us. We’re done with that.” He slid a hand up my jaw, cupping the back of my head with a tug. “Though we can fight like hell in the bed and outside.” He yanked my head back, forcing my mouth to open as his crashed down on mine, devouring me with hunger, feeling much more solid than I expected.
Flames scorched my skin, burning me alive. His tongue flicked and tangled around mine, sucking until a low groan pushed from my lungs. With every lick, bite, and attack of his mouth, he felt more and more concrete. Weaving inside me, scraping through my soul, forcing a gasp from my lips as my nerves trembled under the intense sensation.
“Oh, gods,” I groaned, an orgasm hinting just from that.
“Been called worse.” Warwick slid his mouth down my neck, tugging my prison uniform top and sports bra over my head and tossing them on the ground, his mouth claiming my breast, flicking the nipple with his tongue.