Don’t let him any further inside your mind!”
It was the first time Felix had addressed me by my given name throughout my entire abduction nightmare. Somehow it made him seem more human and allowed the meaning of his words to sink in, to cut through the fog encompassing me.
The stabbing pain stopped as Remy lifted his head from mine and affixed narrowed, disapproving eyes upon something—or someone —to my right.
“Break his arm,” Remy enjoined impassively. “Gag him and the others until Alex arrives.”
I heard the movement of what sounded to be multiple footsteps and noted a flurry of activity just beyond my peripheral vision. I was still unable to turn my head away from Remy’s visage. With all of my attention heretofore fixated on Remy, I’d not realized there were clearly numerous other occupants in the room with us—wherever it was that we were.
“Milena, please!” Felix cried out in a rush. “Please believe me? Your brother, Raul … we were friends once, I swear it … and he could resist their enthrallment!” It sounded like he was struggling as the words rushed out of him.
I heard a sickening crack. Felix screamed.
Terror lodged in my throat as I realized the first part of Remy’s cruel orders had been carried out, even as Remy gazed amiably down at me, a nonchalant smile quirking his lips as his fingers combed through my hair, massaging against my scalp in a manner I found unnervingly pleasurable given the fact I was becoming increasingly petrified of him with every passing second.
“Raul’s the only one we’ve ever known to resist their power,” Felix relayed quickly, his voice thick with torment. “Raul’s mind—it was special! Alex … Alex knew it! Yours might be, too … you have to try, Mil—” he pleaded, right up until his voice was muffled and reduced to grunts and groans of agony in the back of his throat as I presumed the second part of Remy’s order had been completed.
“Call Alcaeus down here,” Remy instructed as he turned on his heel. “And break his other arm.”
CHAPTER TWO
Remy covered my outer ear with his free palm, which served to simultaneously press my opposite ear more securely against his chest, effectively blocking my ability to hear whatever else was happening as he carried me away from my kidnappers and the frenzied commotion and palpable tension permeating the air.
It might’ve been only in my head, but somehow I swore I could still hear the sound of Felix’s other arm bone breaking behind us, along with his muffled scream.
Remy quickened his steps, shushing me and crooning words of comfort as his puzzled eyes searched my features. I hadn’t even realized I was crying until he’d deposited me upon a cushioned surface in another room and was wiping my tears away.
“Hey, hey now, it’s okay,” he consoled, concern pinching his brow. “Felix kidnapped you, Milena. He hurt you,” he stressed, as if I’d forgotten it.
For the first time since I’d awakened, I found I was able to look away from Remy’s face and observe my surroundings. Strange. Had I imagined I couldn’t do so before?
We were alone in a large and ornately decorated room. It might have been a fancy sitting or receiving room. One I imagined would be found inside of a grand mansion.
How had my brother ever come to know these people?
Remy stretched out alongside of me, half-seated, half-reclined, propped up on his side facing me, upon what seemed to be an oversized daybed.
“I’m not a fan of violence either, sweetheart,” he continued conciliatorily, dabbing a soft cloth over my tear-stained face, “but sometimes I need to take care of the bad guys.” He paused to regard me. “You understand, don’t you?”
He said it more as a statement than a question as his eyes scanned over me in a manner that made me feel profoundly exposed—like he was cataloguing every single subtle emotion I experienced as it played out across my face. Leaving me no choice but to
It was the first time Felix had addressed me by my given name throughout my entire abduction nightmare. Somehow it made him seem more human and allowed the meaning of his words to sink in, to cut through the fog encompassing me.
The stabbing pain stopped as Remy lifted his head from mine and affixed narrowed, disapproving eyes upon something—or someone —to my right.
“Break his arm,” Remy enjoined impassively. “Gag him and the others until Alex arrives.”
I heard the movement of what sounded to be multiple footsteps and noted a flurry of activity just beyond my peripheral vision. I was still unable to turn my head away from Remy’s visage. With all of my attention heretofore fixated on Remy, I’d not realized there were clearly numerous other occupants in the room with us—wherever it was that we were.
“Milena, please!” Felix cried out in a rush. “Please believe me? Your brother, Raul … we were friends once, I swear it … and he could resist their enthrallment!” It sounded like he was struggling as the words rushed out of him.
I heard a sickening crack. Felix screamed.
Terror lodged in my throat as I realized the first part of Remy’s cruel orders had been carried out, even as Remy gazed amiably down at me, a nonchalant smile quirking his lips as his fingers combed through my hair, massaging against my scalp in a manner I found unnervingly pleasurable given the fact I was becoming increasingly petrified of him with every passing second.
“Raul’s the only one we’ve ever known to resist their power,” Felix relayed quickly, his voice thick with torment. “Raul’s mind—it was special! Alex … Alex knew it! Yours might be, too … you have to try, Mil—” he pleaded, right up until his voice was muffled and reduced to grunts and groans of agony in the back of his throat as I presumed the second part of Remy’s order had been completed.
“Call Alcaeus down here,” Remy instructed as he turned on his heel. “And break his other arm.”
CHAPTER TWO
Remy covered my outer ear with his free palm, which served to simultaneously press my opposite ear more securely against his chest, effectively blocking my ability to hear whatever else was happening as he carried me away from my kidnappers and the frenzied commotion and palpable tension permeating the air.
It might’ve been only in my head, but somehow I swore I could still hear the sound of Felix’s other arm bone breaking behind us, along with his muffled scream.
Remy quickened his steps, shushing me and crooning words of comfort as his puzzled eyes searched my features. I hadn’t even realized I was crying until he’d deposited me upon a cushioned surface in another room and was wiping my tears away.
“Hey, hey now, it’s okay,” he consoled, concern pinching his brow. “Felix kidnapped you, Milena. He hurt you,” he stressed, as if I’d forgotten it.
For the first time since I’d awakened, I found I was able to look away from Remy’s face and observe my surroundings. Strange. Had I imagined I couldn’t do so before?
We were alone in a large and ornately decorated room. It might have been a fancy sitting or receiving room. One I imagined would be found inside of a grand mansion.
How had my brother ever come to know these people?
Remy stretched out alongside of me, half-seated, half-reclined, propped up on his side facing me, upon what seemed to be an oversized daybed.
“I’m not a fan of violence either, sweetheart,” he continued conciliatorily, dabbing a soft cloth over my tear-stained face, “but sometimes I need to take care of the bad guys.” He paused to regard me. “You understand, don’t you?”
He said it more as a statement than a question as his eyes scanned over me in a manner that made me feel profoundly exposed—like he was cataloguing every single subtle emotion I experienced as it played out across my face. Leaving me no choice but to
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