There was no way of telling how long we've been in that cave. It could be minutes, it could be hours, but all I knew was my ass was hurting like a bitch from sitting this long. Clemmy has been uncharacteristically quiet and hasn't spoken for... I had no idea. If only there was a gap in the roof, a crack in the wall, or anything that could help me determine how long it's been since the ball.
"I'm hungry," Clemmy whispered behind me. It was the first time I heard her voice in Goddesses know how long.
My stomach cramped at the thought of food. I haven't had anything to eat since the afternoon before the ball. "Yeah, me too."
I didn't expect Lucine to bring us food or anything. We're her prisoners to toy with until she grows bored and kills us. When she'll kill us was also a mystery. I imagined she was pissed at me for nearly ruining her ten-year plan of conquering the werewolf world. I could also imagine she had a lot of frustrations she needed to take out on someone.
The wound on my arm stung as a reminder of how Lucine burned me with a single touch. It crossed my mind that, if not treated soon, the wound might get infected. Chances of survival; minus one. And if it was up to Lucine; minus seven.
"What was that?" Clemmy asked warily.
"Just calculating how chances of survival," I replied, realizing I must have said all of that out loud.
"And are the odds in our favor?"
"Not really."
She exhaled slowly and said with determination, "Rheon will find us. He will get us out of here."
A frown tugged at my lips. "He would if he could. Lucine said no one would find us here and even if he could, Rheon has no sense of smell. The curse is permanent now. I failed."
"Oh no, don't start with the 'I'm a failure' act." Her sharp tone of voice surprised me. "I know you think you're responsible for saving everyone, but you're not, Ash." Clemmy sucked in a deep breath before continuing, "Lucine deprived Rheon of his sense of smell so he couldn't find his mate. But you found him. Somehow, even while human, you found a loophole. You can still break the curse."
"In case you haven't noticed, we're tied up by magic," I pointed out, "I don't think there's a loophole to that."
"Maybe she can't keep the spells up when she's unconscious," Clemmy wondered out loud, "Listen, that night at the ball when you and Rheon snuck out, Kenna and I followed you and we saw Edda turn into Lucine. I told Kenna to go tell the others while I try keeping Lucine distracted long enough for the packs to show up. They know we're gone, and they know who took us. If all the packs work together, they'll find us. I just know it."
"That was actually clever," I admitted, truly impressed by her strategy. There was only one problem. "But how do you suppose we knock Lucine out long enough to escape - that is if she drops the magic."
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Clemmy look upwards at the stalactites dangling from the cave ceiling. "Those seem a bit unstable, don't you think?"
A tiny spark of hope ignited within me as I recalled how they rattled as I screamed when Lucine burned me. And there were hundreds of them above us.
"I don't think I can scream that loud, though," I muttered.
"No, but I can howl."
The plan wasn't perfect, but it could work. It's all we had. All we had to do now was wait until Lucine returned.
It turned out we didn't have to wait long either. The cave floor flooded with dark red smoke to announce Lucine's arrival. It pooled around her ankles as she emerged out of the dark with her brother short on her heels. The torch against the wall flickered at her presence and I swear I could feel the air turn colder.
Lucine dragged her nails across our shoulders, scratching at the holes she left on mine with a satisfied smirk. I gritted on my teeth as tears pricked in the corner of my eyes while Clemmy bared her fangs at the half-witch.
"Someone needs to learn some manners," she tutted and seized Clemmy by the throat.
I thrashed against the invisible bonds when her screams shook the walls and the smell of burnt flesh hit my nose. "No! Stop it, leave her!"
Only when Clemmy's screams turned hoarse, did Lucine stop. The young Balfour uttered a sob, her breaths coming out in pants and heaves. I felt sick, my stomach churning as Lucine stepped back to pick the charred skin off her fingers.
"Why don't you kill us already?" Clemmy choked between sobs.
"Kill you? Now?" The half-witch frowned, "Now where's the fun in that? Don't get me wrong, I am going to kill you eventually. I just want your pack to be present for the show." My heart dropped to my stomach as she leaned down to meet my eyes. "I want Rheon to watch me tear you apart, watch as his world bleeds out at my feet, knowing he can't do anything to save you."
Her hand latched onto the burn wound on my arm and my cries echoed through the cave as she squeezed. Lucine's smile was sinister as she dragged a finger up my arm, watching the smoke swirl from my skin in curiosity. I was a thrashing, screaming mess. My vision clouded with dots as she enclosed her hand around my upper arm, scorching the flesh until only raw tissue remained.
At last, Lucine stepped back to admire her handiwork, "Beautiful. You wanted a mark so badly, now you have it." Patting my cheek, she stepped back towards her brother. "You've met Blake yesterday, didn't you? He told me he has something special planned for you while I prepare for my descent on Craven Pride."
Clemmy went frigid behind me at the thought of her pack being in danger.
"Time to go," Lucine chirped and strutted off, patting Blake's shoulder as she passed him, "I'm handing them over to you. Don't get too carried away, brother mine. I want them alive for public execution."
Blake said nothing as she disappeared into the shadows.
Clemmy and I were frozen in fear as his eyes locked on us. He stalked forward, his feet making next to no sound as he moved. I felt Clemmy's fingers tangled with mine, holding on for dear life as he paused in front of her.
"Don't you dare touch her." My voice was nothing but a whisper, hoarse from screaming. My threat was empty, though. Even if I wasn't bound by magic to this chair, I stood no chance against a half-werewolf-wizard hybrid.
An idea hit me like a punch to the gut. Craning my neck, I noticed a stalactite right above Blake's head. It was big enough to either leave him with a concussion or kill him - both could work in our favor.
Giving Clemmy's hand a desperate squeeze, I muttered under my breath, "Now."
I felt her fingers stiffen against mine before I heard the muscles in her face contort. The next thing I knew, an earth-shattering howl ripped through the cave and shuddered the walls. The stalactites trembled and rattled, cracking as they started to break loose.
Blake's head jerked up, his eyes widening at the sight of the ceiling giving in. I held my breath as the stalactite broke and plummet down... but he flinched back, and it missed him by an inch.
Shit.
His eyes flashed as he glowered at us and Clemmy thrashed against her invisible holds when his gaze locked on her once again.
This was it. Either he kills us, or we get crushed by stalactites.
Blake took one stepped towards her when, out of nowhere, a rock dropped from the ceiling and on his head. A moment later, he toppled to the ground, unconscious.
And just like that, the invisible binds on our wrists and the smoke tendrils around our legs disappeared. Clemmy turned in her chair, disbelief evident in her grey eyes. In a flash, she threw her arms around my neck, only to pull back when I hissed in pain.
"I'm sorry, I forgot you can't heal like me!"
"Doesn't matter," I said, "We have to get out of here before we end up like him." Glancing at Blake's sprawled out body on the ground, she shook her head in agreement.
My legs were wobbly when I pushed off the chair, my knees buckling with every step I took. Squinting my eyes against the dark, I tried looking for a way out. But everything was pitch black and the stalactites were falling more rapidly around us.
"I see it," Clemmy called above the noise, "Follow me."
She grabbed the hand which Lucine didn't fry and pulled me with her deeper into the cave. It led us to a narrow tunnel at the end. I had to rip off most of the layers of my skirt to fit through the crack, stifling an agonizing cry every time my burned arm brushed against the rough walls.
"Almost there..." Clemmy tried encouraging me.
'Almost there...' I repeated in my head.
At last, we squeezed through the crack to find ourselves inside another cave. Clemmy stopped dead in her tracks, causing me to bump into her. Before I could ask her what the holdup was, I saw it - four more tunnels, all leading in different directions.
"Three of them lead to certain death, the other to freedom." We spun around to see Blake standing behind us. Although he healed, half of his face was still covered with blood from the rock's impact.
I pushed Clemmy behind my back. If he wanted her, he'd have to go through me first. Hopefully, I could hold him off long enough for her to run.
"You'll never find the right one." His steel-blue eyes shifted from me to Clemmy. "Not without my help, at least."
A/N:
I hope everyone is enjoying the book so far!
Please let me know your thoughts on the story in the comments - you're quiet these days LOL.
xoxo