and get you away, you wouldn’t have a chance against him. Adriel instructed that any lamia taken ask to only speak to you, and if they were given the chance, to convince you that they could help you free your uncle. So when I saw the paladin watching a group of hunters, I knew he was my best chance at getting to you before any other lamia could.” Siah shakes his head and his gaze becomes beseeching.
“I wasn’t going to take you to him,” he tells me, his tone haunted with a hint of pleading. “But I tasted your magic, and all I could think about was how you could finally end this for us,” Siah explains, and he gestures toward Sorik and then to the door, his words and actions seeming to encompass the lamia he mentioned that didn’t want to live under Adriel’s reign anymore. “Your protectors had a plan that I thought would work, and I meant it when I said I would help from the inside, but I couldn’t tell you about everything with Adriel and risk that he’d see when he drank from you. Your shock and betrayal had to read authentic, or Adriel would see the rest of the plan coming.”
I take in the desperation pouring out of Siah’s gaze and countenance. I’m not sure if he’s desperate for me to understand and believe him or for all of this with Adriel to just be over. Maybe it’s all of it. A streak of purple magic flashes on my forearm and then blinks away. I stare at the ghost of my magic and let its presence mingle with Siah’s explanation.
“I didn’t know…” he trails off and gestures between us.
“Okay,” I tell him as I fix my eyes back on his. “Okay,” I repeat, the word filled with acceptance and pardon.
“Vinna, you and I—” he starts, but I cut him off.
“I know,” I confess. “But not here, okay? Just wait until this is over, and we’ll figure it out,” I beg, knowing that this is not the time or place to dive into that discussion.
Siah’s hungry eyes bounce back and forth between mine, and then he steps back with a nod. I move past him, ignoring how my body lights up as it skims his, and roll my eyes when Sorik moves to hug Siah. His smile lights up his whole face, and he pats Siah’s back hard and tells him something I can’t hear. Becket gives me a questioning look, and I shrug, not wanting to have to explain that Siah is mate number seven. I’m not nearly as freaked out by this fact as I was when I accidentally marked the first five or realized what Torrez was to me. Maybe it’s because the guys already saw it coming and seemed to be fine with it. Or maybe Knox is just rubbing off on me, and I’m getting better at rolling with the punches. Whatever the reason, I welcome the sense of peace that runs through me.
“Okay, well now that we’ve recharged the Sentinel’s batteries, can I ask what the plan is?” Becket inquires, and Sorik turns to us.
“Yes, the plan is to get the both of you out of here. Adriel is almost finished—”
“Finished healing,” a voice announces, and all of our heads snap in the direction of the door. The lamia that I stabbed through the neck with a pool cue takes a step into the dim light of the cell, and I can just make out more lamia behind him. “Our Sire is ready to speak with his pet again. I’m sure he’ll be very interested to hear more about what you two traitors are doing down here.”
I debate for a second if we fight to get out of this but quickly decide against it. We’re cornered and outnumbered. Even if we can ash every lamia standing behind this fucker, there’s no guarantee we could make it out of the nest or get to Adriel to kill him. Better to go quietly, call on my runes when they take us to Adriel, and wait for backup. I can feel the tension radiating off everyone in the cell, and behind my back, I send a hand signal to wait that I hope they catch.
“Lead the way, then,” I tell the lamia I tried to kill, and he sneers at me.
Fast as lightning, he grabs me by the collar and yanks me toward him. I also grab at the collar for purchase