Tangled

142 Lisa: Chained

The sound of water dripping is the first thing to break through the darkness of my mind.

Plink.

Plink–plink.

Plink.

It’s an erratic rhythm that leaves me uncomfortable.

The voices come next, soft, sibilant whispers. Evil. Whoever they are, they’d be the villains in any story.

Eventually, I realize the darkness is really just pain. Pain that throbs and aches in half my face. But why?

Vampires.

That’s why.

My eyes fly open when I finally remember, and I struggle to sit up, blinking into the darkness.

I can’t see anything.

Are my eyes open?

My hands won’t reach my face, yanking against

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142 Lisa: Chained

something cold and hard around my wrists.

Manacles?

Swiping my hands around, I can feel the heavy, rusted chains holding me down, bolted to the floor.

Fuck.

This is…

Really not good.

Ava. Is Ava here?

whisper, but there’s nothing.

plink–plink of

voices

Plink.

Plink–plink.

Plink.

my mind, coiling around my heart and squeezing with a mania of isolation and fear. I

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142 Usa Chained

I scream, the

sears through my arms, but I don’t care. I have to get out. I have to find Ava. “You can’t keep

my skin tearing, blood trickling down my forearms. Sobs wrack my body, each one tearing out of my throat. It’s useless. The chains hold fast,

me. I can barely stand, the shackles forcing me to hunch over. My muscles burn

Plink. Plink–plink.

force my eyes to adjust to the darkness. Shapes slowly emerge from the inky blackness. Rough stone walls, a small window high above my head. The barest hint of moonlight filters through, only

a

A fucking cell..

142 Lika Chained

vampire’s dungeon like a gothic romance heroine. Except there’s

1. am.

Plink–plink–plink.

the Findɴovel.ɴet website

to scream again, to rage against the

magic or super strength hidden deep inside. I can’t shift

are weak and helpless against the supernatural.

I hate this.

always around. Hated his grim determination to keep us safe, at

desperately that he was here to tell me I

take his smugness over this any day of

he possibly

142 143 Chalice)

know where I

eyes, hot and bitter. I let

think of Ava, of her fierce determination and unwavering loyalty. She won’t give up on me. She’ll tear this world apart

enough? Can they really

know anything about

know is that I’m scared. I’m so fucking scared and I don’t know what

Plink.

Plink–plink.

Plink.

maddening, the irregularity of it. I want to scream, to beg for it to

focus

342 LISA Chamed

Lucas and the

have to believe that. Because the alternative is

close my eyes and picture Kellan’s face. I imagine his arms around me, his voice in

moment, just a

Plink.

Bren’s face fills my mind and

breeding kink and the biting. Of how he wasn’t great at foreplay. Of the slightly–better–than mediocre sex and then the aphrodisiac that had elevated it to