Hyacinth - By Abigail Owen Page 0,41

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“… You must marry into the ruling family or the Vyusher will never accept you,” Selene finished for him. She looked down at her hands folded neatly in her lap but didn’t really see them. “That makes no sense. You made a strategic mistake by getting me kicked out of the pack. And by trying to discredit me with those murders.”

Maddox gave her a sinister smile so reminiscent of Gideon that her skin crawled. “You let me worry about that.”

Selene rose to her feet, aristocracy evident in every line of her body. “I won’t marry you.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Maddox opened the door and accepted a tray of food from someone standing outside. He placed it on the floor at his feet, and, without so much as a backward glance, he left the room.

Selene waited until she heard the sounds of multiple locks in the door before she sank back on the bed. She had no doubt that Maddox had a specific plan and could do exactly what he’d said. But without her powers, how was she supposed to get out of this mess?

Mulling through her options, Selene got the tray of food off the floor and sat back down to eat.

*****

As far as Selene could tell, she’d been held captive for a few days, which meant that she’d missed Christmas with the family, but it wasn’t quite New Year’s Eve yet. The only gauge she had to help her assess the passing of time was her meals. She’d been served six so far. That and the fact that the lights would go off for four hours or so after long stretches of being on. She assumed that meant it was nighttime and would take advantage of the opportunity to sleep.

Unfortunately, Selene had nothing to occupy her time during the day and was ready to go mad from sheer boredom. Maddox had not returned; in fact, no one had been to see her other than the faceless, speechless meal deliverer. She’d spent many hours scouring every single inch of the room. But there was absolutely no way in or out that didn’t involve the heavily locked door.

The faint turn of one of the locks signaled that breakfast was being served. Selene remained on the bed and propped herself up on one elbow as the tray was pushed into the room.

“Hey, you… whoever you are…” she called.

She listened for a response. She hadn’t tried talking to her jailer yet, figuring it was useless. She didn’t get an answer, but she also didn’t hear them walk away.

“If it’s at all possible, I would very much appreciate a book or magazine. Something to pass the time in here,” she called, feeling a bit like an idiot talking to a door.

As she heard all the locks slide back into place, Selene let out a deep sigh.

At least the food isn’t half bad, she thought as she fetched her tray. She’d just resigned herself to another day of staring at the ceiling and going stir crazy from boredom when the locks started sounding again.

Selene watched the door curiously as it opened wider than normal. Suddenly, a body was roughly shoved inside. Selene gasped and jumped off the bed and hurried over to kneel beside the young, unconscious girl. She had matted brown hair, cracked lips, and was so pale she almost looked translucent.

“Oh my heaven,” Selene muttered. She gingerly lifted the fragile girl in her arms and carried her across the room. The tiny thing was skin and bones, so petite that Selene worried she might break her.

She laid her gently down on the bed. Then she removed the girl’s shoes and tucked her feet under the covers. She brushed the mass of hair out of the girl’s face. Exhaustion was written on her features in the form of shadows under her eyes so purple they almost looked bruised. The girl looked young, maybe a hundred years or so younger than Selene if she had to take a guess, but, of course, it was difficult to tell age with their race.

Selene pulled the blanket over the girl and then sat down on the cold floor. She wrapped her arms around her knees and waited, her eyes never leaving the face of her visitor who appeared to be in a dead sleep.

*****

Griffin paced back and forth in Hugh and Lucy’s living room, where all of the family was gathered. The place looked like a dorm room with sleeping bags and blankets everywhere. With absolutely no lead to