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

17:36

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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?

I whisper, but there’s

plink, plink–plink

the voices are gone.

Plink.

Plink–plink.

Plink.

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

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142 Usa Chained

the sound raw

biting into my wrists. Pain sears through my arms, but I don’t care. I have to get out.

twist, my skin tearing, blood trickling down my forearms. Sobs wrack my body, each one tearing out of my

draining out of me. I can barely stand, the shackles

Plink. Plink–plink.

I try to 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

in a cell.

A fucking cell..

142 Lika Chained

dungeon like a gothic romance heroine. Except there’s no dashing hero coming to save me. No one even

1. am.

Plink–plink–plink.

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I want to scream again, to rage against

strength hidden deep inside.

and helpless against the supernatural.

I hate this.

thoughts drift to Kellan. I’d hated how he was always around. Hated his grim determination to keep us safe, at the expense of

was here to tell me I told you

smugness over this

how? How can he possibly find me

142 143 Chalice)

know where I

and bitter. I let them fall, too tired to fight them.

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

Can they really go up against

don’t know anything

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

Plink.

Plink–plink.

Plink.

out every other thought. It’s maddening, the irregularity of it. I

and focus on the pain. It grounds me,

342 LISA Chamed

have to hold on. I have to believe that Kellan and Ava will find me. That Lucas and the Westwood pack will tear this place apart stone

to believe that. Because the alternative is too

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

for a moment, just a moment, I

Plink.

until Bren’s face fills my mind and I can’t stop thinking about

his weird breeding kink and the biting. Of how he wasn’t great at foreplay. Of the slightly–better–than mediocre sex and then