Page 30 of Wicked Enemy

I glanced down at the words written in messy handwriting on the otherwise spotless piece of paper that must have been taken from Gemma’s private stash.

My lungs stopped working as I read the letter.

I came for your healer but got another prize. Wavy light brown hair, brown eyes, gorgeous face and a very hot body. Ring a bell? She says her name is Eve Sterling. If I don’t get your healer, I will worldwalk her to my castle in the north and torture her to death. Got it? Good. Since I don’t know when you’ll see this note, I’ll show you a little mercy and give you two days. Bring your healer to that flat stretch of grass outside the gate the day after tomorrow, at exactly eight in the morning. I get the healer and worldwalk her out. Then I’ll come back with your precious Eve Sterling. Sounds good? Good. See you soon. Christian White.

Once I had finished reading, I just stood there, staring at the paper for another minute while my mind tried to process everything. It felt like a massive ball of twine that had been cut into tiny little pieces, and now I had to somehow piece them all together to make sense of the full picture.

A worldwalker had come to kidnap Gemma. Aworldwalker.

And he had found Eve instead. What the hell had she even been doing at Gemma’s house in the first place?

Then this worldwalker had abducted Eve and taken her… somewhere. Why had he taken her? And where?

And he was going to kill Eve unless I gave him Gemma.

At long last, the final piece of information settled into place. The final, most important, piece of information.

Someone was going to kill Eve.

Chapter14

My head was pounding and my mouth was so dry that it felt as if someone had poured sand down my throat. I glanced towards the pitcher of water on the table. It had been two days since I was brought here, and my captors had given me precious little to drink and even less to eat. My stomach was twisting with hunger, but the terrible thirst was by far the worst.

“Ey, stop cheating!” Pollux snapped, and slammed his massive hand down on the wooden table. He was smaller than White, but still built like a block of stone. Since he was also blond and blue-eyed, I had started to wonder if they might be related by blood. “I saw you pocket that card.”

Joshua, the guy with the injured arm, snorted. “You didn’t see shit.”

“If you’re gonna cheat, at least be good at it,” Karim said as he flashed him a mocking smile.

I glanced longingly towards the water pitcher again but kept my mouth shut because I didn’t want to draw their attention. These three were a vicious bunch, and especially when their master wasn’t around to keep them in line. My whole left side still ached from the beating they had given me yesterday when I pointed out that they couldn’t trade me if I died of dehydration.

“What the hell are you looking at, bitch?” Pollux said, his blue eyes suddenly locked on me.

I quickly snapped my gaze away from the water.

“She’s staring at the water pitcher, you idiot,” Karim said. Pausing, he studied me for a few seconds while scratching the dark stubble on his chin. “Hey, whenwasthe last time we gave her some water?”

“Yesterday, I think,” Joshua replied, his tone bored as he shuffled his cards around in his hand.

Karim’s dark eyes gleamed as he watched me in silence for a while. I kept my expression blank, but my heart hammered in my chest. Outside the windows, branches rustled as a strong wind whirled through the landscape, dragging the thick gray clouds faster across the heavens.

“Do you want some water?” he asked at last.

Deep down, I knew that I was being set up somehow. That this was a trap. They were sadists, the lot of them. But I desperately needed water so there really was only one answer to his question.

“Yes,” I croaked, barely getting the word out. Clearing my throat, I tried again. “Yes.”

Wood grated against wood as he slowly pushed his chair back and rose to his feet. I shifted my weight on the bed while my pulse thrummed nervously. I was sitting with my back to the wall. My hands were still shackled, and the handcuffs had been threaded through the wooden bars in the headboard, locking me to it.

I resisted the urge to lick my dry lips as Karim picked up the water pitcher and started towards me. The other two dark mages turned slightly in their seats so that they could watch the events that were about to unfold. Their matching grins told me that I wasn’t going to like whatever was about to happen.

Karim stopped in front of the bed and twitched his fingers at me. “Come closer.”

Once again, I knew this was some kind of trap, but I still shifted onto my knees and moved as close to the edge of the bed as the manacles would allow.

“Open your mouth,” he said.

With my heart pounding in my chest, I drew in a bracing breath and then did as he said.