bite of porridge before sliding the tray close to the next cell. She'd let her foul-mouthed neighbor eat the rest of the porridge and see if he exhibited any signs of being drugged.
Instead of reaching for the food, the prisoner made a grab at her, and she jumped back.
He sneered. "I'm trying to do you a favor, bitch. Wouldn't you rather die by my hands before Darafer starts on you?"
"Why would you want to kill me? I was trying to help you."
"Help me?" He spit through the bars at her. "I lost my superstrength, and now Darafer says I'm damaged! You destroyed me, bitch, and you'll pay for it!"
"Enough, Guang," a voice came from the stairs. "It's my turn to welcome our guest."
Leah suppressed a shudder at the sound of that cold voice. Darafer had come for his revenge.
He reached the base of the stairs, moving into the torchlight. She stepped back, steeling her nerves.
Her neighbor, Guang, fell to his knees. "Have mercy on me, Master. Return me to my former glory, I beg of you, so I can serve you."
Darafer cast an annoyed look at Guang. "How can I change you back when Dr. Chin and her friends have burned my supply of demon herb?"
"Then let me kill her for you!"
Darafer snorted. "And take away my fun? I think not." He crossed his arms, regarding Leah with an amused twist to his mouth. "It would be a shame to kill someone as smart as you. I'd much rather use you."
Leah kept her mouth shut. He'd have a harder time playing cat and mouse with her if she refused to play.
Darafer approached the bars and leaned his forearms on a horizontal beam. "How do you like your new home?"
She remained quiet.
"You could live in luxury and have everything you ever wanted." He shrugged. "All you would have to do is join me. Why don't you show your parents how smart you really are? If you join me, you could rule the world. You would be superior to your brothers. And all the jerks who bullied you in school - you could make them squirm."
She stayed quiet.
"Do you really think your side has a chance? You saw what happened. Your shifter friends couldn't stop me. Your vampire friends can't stop me, either. Why don't you join the winning team?"
She crossed her arms. Join the evil team? Never.
"You're going to resist, aren't you?" Darafer smiled slowly. "I was hoping you would. I do love a challenge."
She swallowed hard, and her hand moved to the jade dragon on her chest. Stay strong. Dougal will be here soon.
Darafer chuckled. "Perhaps I should tell you. After all, it would be a shame for you to get your hopes up." His face turned harsh. "There is no hope for you. That stupid device in your arm has been removed and destroyed. There will be no rescue."
A chill skittered down her back, and her hand clenched the dragon tighter. How would Dougal find her?
Darafer tilted his head, studying her. "You still think your lover will charge to the rescue? How will he find you?"
Her eyes burned. She couldn't give up. Dougal would come. He loved her.
Darafer snorted. "You think he'll stay true to you? Don't you know you're just a replacement?"
She flinched. She wouldn't listen. Marielle had warned her that he'd know the best way to manipulate her.
"Dougal is his name, right?" Darafer sneered. "He had his first and only love almost three hundred years ago. You're a cheap copy. Easy to find, and easy to replace. Come on, be honest. He got you into his bed easily, didn't he?"
She stepped back. She couldn't listen to this. It was too crude, too cruel, too . . . true? She shook her head. No, Dougal loved her.
"I'll give you some time to think about it." Darafer ascended the stairs. "By the way, Lord Qing has come to visit. I might bring him downstairs to meet you. If he gets hungry."
With a chuckle, Darafer passed out of her view. A door slammed, and the grate of a key echoed down the stairs.
Guang laughed as he reached through the bars to grab her bowl of gruel. "You're going to be lunch, bitch."
Chapter Twenty-nine
No rescue? And she would be fed to a vampire? Leah sank to the floor, shivering as she hugged her knees.
Get a grip, she told herself. Don't panic. Darafer wants you to panic.
She took deep breaths to calm herself. She would think about this logically. Rationally. Darafer wasn't