"Ah yes, so I am." He sighed dramatically. "I suppose I shall just have to be satisfied with slaking my desire on a dozen or so of Franklin’s most nubile offerings."
"Such a hardship," I said drily, then glanced up as the cabdriver swerved and swore dramatically.
"Problem?" I asked.
"Just some asshole coming out of a side street without looking," he replied. "Nothing to—"
The rest of his words were cut off as the cab—and the two of us—were flung hard sideways. Car engines roared, metal crumpled, and someone started screaming. The driver, I realized a little dazedly, feeling warmth trickling down the side of my face and not knowing how it had gotten there. Lucian was yelling, too, calling my name from what seemed a great distance. Then the door on the opposite side was wrenched open, and something sharp hit my neck.
And everything went black.
Chapter Seven
WAKING WAS A SLOW AND UGLY PROCESS. MY head ached like a bitch, and every muscle in my body throbbed in sympathy. It felt like I’d been caught in some gigantic shaker and thrown about viciously.
Which I guess I had, I thought, suddenly remembering the accident.
That I was no longer in the cab was immediately obvious. The vinyl seat that had been pressed against my side had been replaced by cold concrete, and the air reeked of damp, rubbish, and excrement rather than orange freshener.
Which no doubt meant I was down in the goddamn sewer tunnels again. What the hell was it with these tunnels and bad guys? And why was I even here? Why hadn’t Azriel come riding to the rescue?
No answer came out of the darkness and no half-naked, sword-wielding fury strode forward to rescue me. Obviously, for whatever reason, I was alone. Fear rose, but I thrust it aside and tried not to think about the last time I’d been trapped in the sewers by myself.
But I’d escaped that prison on my own, and I’d damn well escape this one, too.
As my eyes adjusted to the inky blackness, the rough-hewn dirt walls and a high arched ceiling became evident. I frowned. This wasn’t a sewer tunnel—although there had to be one close by given the stench in the air—and it certainly seemed a whole lot larger than the last cell I’d found myself in.
Not that it mattered what the hell this place actually was. All that did matter was getting the hell out of here before whoever had snatched me returned. I took a slow, steadying breath, and then reached for my Aedh form. But as the magic within me surged, a rainbow shimmer flared across the arched ceiling and pain—dark, familiar, and as sharp as a knife—speared into my flesh, right into my soul. I gasped and jackknifed into a fetal position, recognizing the magic, knowing what it could do. It was the magic the Aedh had used to stop the shift and break my connection with Azriel.