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

that erratic plink, plink–plink

voices are

Plink.

Plink–plink.

Plink.

my heart and squeezing with a mania of isolation and fear. I try to move again, the chains rattling like mocking laughter. Frustration

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142 Usa Chained

chest and I scream, the sound raw and desperate.

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

trickling down my forearms. Sobs wrack my body, each one tearing out of my throat. It’s useless.

shoulders slump, the fight draining out of me. I can barely stand, the shackles forcing me to hunch over.

Plink. Plink–plink.

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 barest hint of moonlight filters through, only to be

in a cell.

A fucking cell..

142 Lika Chained

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

1. am.

Plink–plink–plink.

pace, as if mocking my S~ᴇaʀᴄh the Findɴovel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and

to scream again, to rage against the unfairness of it all.

no magic or super strength hidden deep inside. I can’t shift into

weak and helpless against the

I hate this.

to Kellan. I’d hated how he was always around. Hated his grim determination to keep us

desperately that he was here to tell me I told you so.

his smugness over this any

he possibly

142 143 Chalice)

where

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

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

really go

don’t know. I don’t know

is that I’m scared. I’m so fucking

Plink.

Plink–plink.

Plink.

head, driving out every other thought. It’s maddening, the irregularity of it. I want to scream, to

don’t. I bite my lip hard enough to taste blood and focus on the pain. It grounds me,

342 LISA Chamed

Lucas and the

Because the alternative is too terrifying

around me, his voice in my ear telling me it’s going

for a moment, just a moment, I almost

Plink.

mind and I can’t

wasn’t great at foreplay. Of the slightly–better–than mediocre sex