Page 48 of Fate of the Fallen

My gaze lifted to meet his. Without accepting his help, I stood to my feet, hearing the thick chains I’d been placed in rattle with each movement.

Blaise smiled and stood upright again. “Very well then.”

He didn’t bother offering the same to Beth as she, too, stood to her feet, knowing it would only earn him another rejection.

“We’ve just got a short walk ahead of us,” he said jovially.

At his command, the soldiers moved swiftly—most escorting us up the side of a steep, rugged hill, the others hopping back inside the two vans before continuing on down the road.

I had no idea where we were, how long we’d driven. I suppose that had been the point of dosing us. Well, that and the fact that we would have given the guards hell the entire way here. Even if it proved to be our last fight.

Beth passed a look my way and I noticed she didn’t seem as incoherent as before. I, too, felt clearer in thought and used that to my advantage, searching for any landmarks or details that might tell me where we were. When my eyes found hers again, she did a quick glance toward one of the soldiers and mine did the same, settling on something visible in his back pocket.

A knife.

The chains on my wrist were heavy, but getting lighter by the second, as the substance we’d been given wore off.

I swallowed hard, knowing that once we reached our destination, the odds of escaping were slim to none.

It had to be now.

Rightnow.

My thoughts aligned and I saw each action I took half a second before moving. Energy pulsed through my fingers as I prepared to lunge forward.

“I’d think twice about that if I were you,” Blaise growled, his voice breaking my concentrationandfoiling my plan to stab one of his men.

It might have been the last chance of escape Beth and I had.

“Myfathermay think you’re more valuable alive than dead, but make no mistake,” he warned, “I am not my father.”

Heat blazed in my neck and face. I hated him. For too many reasons to name. He seemed to sense this and smirked before barking a command at the soldiers leading Beth and I by our chains.

“Keep moving.”

We walked for miles, leaving the road quite some time ago. When we neared our destination, blindfolds were placed over our eyes and we stumbled our way onto pavement again. My only visual reference was my shoes through the sliver of open space beneath the material. The uncertainty was enough to raise my heartrate a little.

“Inside,” Blaise ordered.

A second later, a heavy, metal door screeched open and we crossed a threshold. Our footsteps echoed throughout, bouncing off unseen surfaces as Beth and I were led in. I could hear her breaths coming as quickly as my own. We were completely at the mercy of these men, and I couldn’t think of a worse scenario.

“Get them to the cell,” Blaise ordered.

The soldiers leading us didn’t ask questions, just followed directions. My wrists were tugged, pinching in the links of the chains that bound us. The pain was only a slight distraction from everything else—fear, regret, defeat.

A hard shove to my back and I tripped into the small space they brought us to. The blindfolds we wore were snatched from our eyes and I stood face to face with one of the guards as he retrieved a key from his pocket, unlocking my ankles, and then my wrists.

He backed away, waiting for his comrade to free Beth, and then both turned to leave the cell of what I could only guess to be an abandoned prison. And judging by the specs of the room—size, extensive security measures, single barred window—we were in solitary confinement.

The sound of the door being slammed shut was jarring, because of the startling noise, yes, but mostly because we had no clue what Sebastian had planned for us.

Outside the door, footsteps shuffled, some going quieter, others growing louder. I turned toward Beth and there were no words, there was no plan. All we could do was cleave to each other, so that’s what we did. My hand went into hers and we moved toward the back wall.

I could feel her shaking beside me and I was certain she could feel the same. While I wished she’d been able to get away, I was eternally grateful I wasn’t alone here.

The sound of a voice startled a gasp from my throat.

“What a lovely surprise,” the visitor crooned.