5. Grace

Chapter five

Grace

S omething was very, very wrong. I shifted in my bed, trying to find an angle that didn't make my head pound, but my arms were trapped in the sheets. I rolled, trying to untangle myself, but they wouldn't budge. Blinking my eyes open, my eyelashes brushed against something covering my face.

What the fuck?

Waking up fully, I tried to call for help but something was blocking my mouth, forcing my lips open but stopping me from talking. I settled for muffled screaming, twisting as I wrenched my arms, fighting whatever was pinning them behind my back.

"Hey, hey! Stop twisting like that, you could dislocate your shoulder!" I froze and curled up on whatever surface I was on, protecting my stomach as best I could without my arms.

"Listen, I'm going to ask you a series of yes or no questions. Just nod or shake your head to answer," the voice asked, and I waited, tensing up, for a question.

"Do your powers work by looking at people?" I froze. Who besides my brother knew about them? Everything was just rumors, Doug made sure of that.

"Hey, answer please. And tell the truth, or else…" The vague threat hung in the air, and I hesitated another moment before shaking my head slowly.

"Okay, great." A hand brushed over my face, and I screamed through the gag, jerking away from it and turning my face into the blanket I was lying on.

"Whoa, don't panic, I'm taking off your blindfold, alright?" the man assured me, and I felt a tug along the back of my head. The pressure around my eyes released, and the mask slid off, leaving me squinting as my eyes adjusted to the sudden light.

Something moved by my face, but it disappeared when I cringed, and I heard the clatter of metal on tile. Daring a glance up, I saw a man with jet-black hair gesturing to someone outside a nearby doorway. He turned suddenly, and I flinched as he grinned at me, pushing his hair out of his face.

"There, see? Not so bad now, right?" He smirked, and I glared at him, twisting to try and see what was keeping my arms locked behind me. I caught a glimpse of black ropes, and my heart hammered in my chest. When I realized I was on a bed I didn't recognize, the panic increased tenfold.

"Next question," he announced, dragging my attention back to him. "Does your power work through speech?" he asked, cocking a scarred eyebrow at me.

His question made me pause, not because of how insane it sounded, but because the way he asked it pinged some sort of Déjà vu in my brain. I knew this asshole, somehow. I only knew Doug's friends, so this didn't bode well for me.

"Come on Angel, answer correctly and you lose the gag. Doesn't that sound nice?" He grinned, and I glared at him until the smile slid off his face. "Fair enough. Is it a yes or no?" he asked, and I shook my head.

"Great, that wasn't so hard." He smirked once more, reaching toward me. I squeezed my eyes shut and tensed up, but he only fumbled with the buckle beside my ear. I gasped as the ball slid out from between my lips, flushing when I saw the drool on it. He flashed me a cheeky grin that I was sure had girls falling over themselves wherever he went, tossing the gag through the doorway without looking. I heard it clatter on the floor outside, the sound echoing into the room.

"There you go, how are you feeling, Angel?" he asked, crouching next to the bed so our heads were level.

"He won't pay you ransom," I croaked, my throat feeling as if it was full of glass shards after my night of hell. The man frowned, cocking his head in confusion.

"Douglas-" I coughed, turning into the bed to cover my mouth with the blanket. I swallowed roughly and turned back to him. "He won't pay, your plan won't work," I rasped. Realization dawned on the pretty man's face, followed by a look of pity that hurt more than my fucking throat. Great, I was so goddamn pathetic even my kidnappers felt bad for me.

A knock on the door had us both looking over, and another man walked in, holding a bottle of water in his hand. He looked like he'd just walked in off the beach, his hair as blond as mine and half as long, with some of it pulled up into a messy bun on top of his head. He handed the first man the bottle of water, shooting me a wink over his shoulder. I could feel myself gaping at him, but I was too tired and too confused to care. As he turned to leave, I noticed a tiny tattoo under his ear, but he was gone before I could decipher it.

"Thirsty?" the dark-haired man asked, drawing my attention once more. I nodded, dropping my gaze to the bedspread, and he cracked open the bottle, holding it out close to my face. I glanced at it, arching my eyebrow incredulously. "Come on, up we go Angel." He smirked and pulled me up by my shoulders, helping me swing my legs out so I could perch on the edge of the bed. "There, now open up," he ordered. I tilted my head back and parted my lips, too thirsty to care about how fucking humiliating this was. He tipped the bottle above my lips, letting the water pour into my mouth.

I swallowed greedily, groaning as the cool water hit my throat. The man cleared his throat, and I realized I'd closed my eyes. I blinked them open, staring up at him and trying to decipher the bemused expression on his face. I stared at the tattoos on his hands, catching sight of the hand of cards fanned over his left. "King!" I blurted out, finally recognizing him. He was older now, his hair longer, and his muscles more defined under his shirt. But those rich brown eyes, with that mischievous twinkle, were exactly as I remembered them.

"I prefer Your Highness or Sir, actually." I rolled my eyes, glaring up at him as he laughed.

"Why are you doing this?" I demanded, letting my power out, engulfing him immediately. I watched the tension leak out of his shoulders, and he shoved his hand in his pocket, relaxing visibly in front of me.

"We needed to see if the rumors were true," he replied with a shrug, flashing me another one of his charming grins. Then his eyes widened a fraction, and he stumbled backward, turning to look at the little mirror on my wall. "Hey now, let's take it easy," he warned, putting his hands up to ward me off, as if I was the dangerous one in the room.

"Why did you bring me here?" I pressed, letting out even more of my light. He faltered, and I could see he wanted to answer me, but somehow he was resisting.

"Because… because I wanted to," he admitted, cringing and turning quickly on his heel, marching toward the door.

My vision abruptly went fuzzy, like I stood up too fast, stars dancing across my eyes. "Wha-" I felt myself falling backward onto the bed, the world around me winking out like a light switched off.