“I’m going to kill you,” I promised, ignoring the bite of pain as she clawed at my arms through the stupid dress. “Maybe not right now, but one day I will kill you.”

Breena screamed, bucking her hips, but I held on to her like an octopus, waiting for Faye to intervene. The bedroom door flew open, and an ancient rushed into the room. I kept digging my fingers in, relishing Breena’s shrieks of pain until two hands gripped my shoulders and tore me away. My butt hit the floor.

Metal closed around my neck and the chain was pulled tight, forcing me to stand. Breena jumped to her feet, shimmery blood dripping from the corners of her red eyes. Screaming like a banshee, she rushed me, but didn’t get far.

Faye caught her around the waist and started dragging her, arms and legs flailing, around the bed and toward the open door. A hysterical laugh bubbled up in me as the ancient shoved me back toward the bed. I caught myself and whipped around.

His arm shot out, the back of his hand connecting with my jaw. Pain erupted along my mouth. I touched my chin, wincing when red smeared my fingertips.

“The prince will be displeased with your actions,” the ancient warned, looking like he wanted to knock me upside the head.

Lip bleeding and aching, I gave him a bloody smile. “Worth it.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

I ate my lunch on day four, even though mustard was not exactly pleasant with a split lip. Faye brought me a sandwich a little bit after one o’clock. She didn’t hang around and chat, which sucked because I was curious about her and what drove her to be so kind to me. Granted, it wasn’t like we were going to go out and get matching “best friend” bracelets, but she wasn’t like the others. But the only thing she said to me on the way out was that I shouldn’t have attacked Breena.

Maybe I shouldn’t have, but oh well.

Out of all the things I could regret in life, that wouldn’t even make the top thirty.

My thoughts went to a strange place, and I thought of Val. How would she treat me if I was here and she was still alive? Would she be kind or spiteful? Part of me wanted to believe she would step up and help me, but it hurt to realize there was very little I knew about Val.

Thinking of her made every part of me ache.

I’d just finished my sandwich when the bedroom door opened. I tensed when I saw that it was Drake. He was dressed in linen pants that most men wouldn’t look right in, and his shirt was half-unbuttoned. His feet were bare.

He was dressed way too casual, and unease stirred in my stomach. Drake had stopped by last night, mostly to yell at me for nearly gouging out Breena’s eyes and to tell me that he was glad I was no longer “filthy.” I was guessing Faye hadn’t told him the razor had gone unused.

“Miss me?” he asked as he stopped in front of the bed.

I snorted. “Not even in the slightest.”

“If I had feelings, I still wouldn’t care.”

Rolling my eyes, I scooted to the edge of the bed and placed my feet on the floor. I didn’t have a lot of space to move around, but I didn’t like being on the bed with him in the room. I stood like I did whenever he came in.

“Do you like the dress I picked out for you?”

He hadn’t asked that question before. “No,” I said, shaking my head.

“I’m not surprised.” He chuckled, and then moved like lightning, curling his fingers around my chin. He tilted my head back. “You know, Valor could’ve done worse to your face.”

Valor, ironically named, was the ancient who’d backhanded me yesterday. “We’ve already had this conversation,” I said, jerking my chin out of his grasp, hating that he’d allowed that and that was the one reason he wasn’t doing worse. “And I’ll say it again. I’m going to kill her.”

“Not likely.”

My eyes narrowed and my hands closed into fists. “You don’t think I’m capable of it?”

One side of his mouth curled upward as he tilted his head forward. His dark hair slid over his shoulders. “You’d kill her because she touched your human male?”

“I’d kill her because what she did to him wasn’t something he wanted,” I shot back. “It wasn’t mutual. If it were mutual, then my problem wouldn’t be with her.”

“How do you know?” he challenged.

I sucked in a sharp breath. “Because I know—because this isn’t mutual. Because being fed on isn’t something Ren would’ve wanted. Because—”

“And you think he truly wants you, even knowing that you’re a halfling?”

My shoulders tensed. Wondering if Ren still cared for me hadn’t been a priority since I was brought here.

“Let me ask you a question,” he said as he pulled the key from his pocket. “How do you think we captured your male so easily?”

“I doubt it was easy.”

His full lips twisted into a smirk. My muscles locked up as he reached around, scooping my hair up with one hand. “It was last Monday,” he said.

My chest squeezed. That was when I’d told Ren I was the halfling, which was what I’d expected. Ren had gone missing that night until Tuesday, then Drake had shown up, masquerading as Ren, on Wednesday.

“It wasn’t me who snatched your human male.” He unlocked the band around my neck and dropped it onto the bed. “It was Breena.”

I didn’t dare move, even though I now had a small measure of freedom. He still held on to my hair, and he was too close. When he spoke, his cool breath caressed my cheek.