it to myself. I swallow down the pain, and when he grips my chin again, I hope it is water sliding along my jaw and not his come.
“My brother is weak. My brother is nothing. He won’t be able to make you ascend, to have a life outside of this world. He is weak! I am strong. I am the better brother. You’ll see, pet. You’ll see just how wrong you are. I’m going to fuck you so good later, you’re going to beg for more, my sweet. You’re going to be yearning the for me. The book reads that the woman will be a writhing mess, begging for more, for release that she isn’t allowed to have.”
He lets go of me, but not without shoving me away.
“Why?” I ask, small and confused. “Was there ever a time, Kendrick, when you actually loved me? Was there ever a time I wasn’t part of some bigger plan for you? Did you ever care?” I ask just as he steps out the door, but my questions give him pause. “Before you decided to abuse me, was there ever a time?”
“No,” he says. “You were always part of a bigger plan. I grew to love you, but the end result is more important than me, you, and whatever selfish wants we have.”
“Selfish? This is selfish! What do you plan on doing to me tonight? Raping me? You and those crazy men down there!”
“What? No. You’re going to love what we do. It won’t be rape.” He looks stricken, like he can’t believe I’d accuse of him such a thing. He believes that what he has planned for me tonight is essential and real. He doesn’t think it is rape or abuse, not if his ritual calls for it.
“But it is, Kendrick. I don’t want it. I don’t believe in what you believe in.”
“That—” He pinches the bridge of his nose and his fist clench next to his side as he debates on hitting me again. “That isn’t true. You’ll see. Once we feed you all the right things and drink the wine, and get everything in order, your body will feel the need to ascend—”
“Do you hear yourself? You sound fucking insane.”
“I am not insane! I am a believer, and you will believe to. You might not believe me now, but when you are on the bed, bathing in the flame of heat and passion, you’ll see. You’ll feel it.”
“I won’t,” I deject, wincing when one of the lashes on my back slide against the tub the wrong way. “I’ll make sure if it’s the last thing I think of, it’s to make sure I don’t remotely believe in anything you want to happen.”
His jaw flexes. “When you’re done bathing, your ceremonial dress will be on the bed. I want your hair up, do you understand? Don’t make me kill you before the most important part of the night. This has been seven years in the making; do not ruin it for me, or I will send you straight to hell to burn for all eternity.”
I believe he believes that he could.
He is a psychopath.
For a brief moment, I think I might have got to him, but he turns around and shuts the door, leaving me with fresh cheese, grapes, champagne, and rose petals.
It’s like the last meal for prisoners, but for a virginal sacrifice, I seem to be getting the royal treatment. “Yay, lucky me,” I say with zero excitement. I need to figure a way out of here. Last time, I got lucky. This time, there are more men to defeat.
I lean back and think of all the different ways to beat Kendrick at his game. I need this microchip out of me, first of all, but I can’t find where the damn thing is. “Please find me Sebastian,” I plead. “Time is ticking.” I am going to stay in this tub until Kendrick fetches me.
After seven years, I am going to die because Kendrick is a nut job, but there is one positive to this: at least, I’m not going to die a virgin. Something Kendrick doesn't know and whatever blood is spilt, I hoped the poison kills them instead.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
SEBASTIAN
The sun is setting, and time is running out. We need to get her out of there before the ritual starts. I am still having a hard time believing in all of that. I have to see it to believe it. Right now, we are going on the information Zeke