25. Livana

Chapter 25

Livana

M y body wakes before my mind catches up, clarity forming when I'm already sitting up. Thin bracelets of silver are clamped on my wrists, just enough to nullify my powers without weakening me so much I couldn't wake up. I try to force them off, but they won't budge. I groan, giving up.

A soft feather mattress supports me, and I smooth my hands over the silky midnight-colored sheets. I take a deep breath through my nose and out through my mouth, willing my heart to calm, telling myself that I'm alive.

I'm alive.

How the fuck am I alive?

I threatened the Collector. Came close to killing him and his son. I would've, had they not hurt Jagger, hurt Zev.

I reach inside of myself, mentally holding on to both of their Linked bonds pulsing in my soul. The ache to be near them is almost painful, as I'm sure they can feel now too. Separation wasn't part of the plan. But they're alive, despite the severity of Jagger's wound. It's the only thing that holds my sanity together as I look around the room.

It's stunning and vast, the walls drenched in a dark hunter green that reminds me of the forest we trekked through to get here. There are some paintings on the walls, adorned in golden frames, decaying flowers illuminated by moonlight.

Small wooden tables are positioned throughout the large room, some with water-filled crystal decanters and glasses atop them, others with stacks of parchment and ink and quills. Old books line shelves that reach the ceiling, and there's a set of glass doors that look like they lead to a balcony, and another wooden door in the opposite corner that I hope leads to a bathing chamber.

I throw myself out of the bed, only then noticing that my old clothes are gone, my body draped in a red silk nightgown that stops just beneath my ass. My feet are bare, my hair down, and feels like I've been cleaned, either by some servant or magic, I'm not sure.

The prince...what power did he possess that knocked me out so coldly that I wouldn't even feel a servant changing my clothes?

Unless he changed me.

A shiver runs the length of my spine.

I shove the thought to the back of my mind, racing to that door in the corner, opening it to see a bathing chamber, which means the one next to it should be the exit.

I try my luck wiggling the door handle but it's locked. I stomp my foot, grunting aloud before heading into the bathing chamber. I relieve myself before searching for any other exits.

Finding none, I head out through the glass doors. The breath catches in my lungs.

It is indeed a balcony, one that overlooks one of the highest portions of the palace, the royal city of Lingate looking tiny by comparison. The night sky seems close enough to touch, the moon shining brightly, looking as beautiful as they ever have been, like my entire world hasn't come crashing down around itself.

I should've killed them when I had the chance.

I should've killed them and accepted my fate.

But it wasn't my life at stake, but Jagger and Zev's. I couldn't let them pay the price for my revenge. Thanks to our Link, I know they're alive, but I don't know for how long.

The Collector knew. He said he knew the second I walked through his gates. But how? Enchantresses have been extinct for decades. How could he sense my power?

I rake my fingers through my hair, doing my best to hold on to what I can control. Which isn't a whole lot at the moment.

The Collector obviously kept me alive for a reason, even though my attempt on his life demanded death. I need to find out why exactly he did that.

Jagger and Zev are alive too. That can only mean one thing—he intends to use them as leverage, in order to get me to do whatever he wants.

My stomach turns at the thought, and I abandoned the balcony, prepared to pace the length of my pretty cage until I have a plan?—

"Thinking of jumping?" The prince's voice breaks the silence, making me jump.

He sits in a wingback chair, his long, lithe body taking up so damn much of it. His face is illuminated by candles that are now lit among one of the wooden tables near him.

"Sit," he says, nodding toward the bed.

My fangs punch out, hackles rising at the command in his tone.

"You can either do as I ask or I can make you. I don't care which."

I swallow back the bile threatening to spew from my mouth and make my way over to the bed, flopping on the edge of it to face him where he sits in the chair. My power gathers beneath my skin, prowling like a jungle cat ready to tear its claws through flesh.

"That wouldn't be a good idea," he says, eyeing me, somehow sensing my power. "I have your two precious drifters under lock and key," he continues. "An attack on me equals their death."

I glare at him. "Perhaps you overestimate my attachment to them," I bluff.

He crosses one long leg over the other, his black pants shifting with the move. I study him, wondering why he's the one here and not his father.

"Again, this can go one of two ways. You will behave or you won't. You seem like an intelligent female. You look like you enjoy life over death, so let me give you some advice. If I ask you to do something, do it." His voice is smooth and commanding, ever the pampered prince of Lingate. "If you do it enough times, I might just reward you. Defy me, and I'll kill what you love most." He tilts his head, studying me with those silver eyes. "I have a gift for finding weak spots, but you made it all too easy with your display before my father."

I swallow hard, icy shivers dancing over my skin. He already has Zev and Jagger…what if he finds out about Six? I don't dare look down at my body, looking for a splash of gold that isn't there. I would've felt if he wrote back to me. I would've felt it.

He didn't write back. I can still feel the connection between us, a giant door slammed right over it. No amount of pounding will let me in, and honestly, it's answer enough.

He wants nothing to do with me. I tried to warn him that he wouldn't like me if he found out what I really was…and what did I really expect? I'd been lucky enough to have Zev and Jagger accept me, but I knew it was impossible to get lucky with all three.

The prince motions toward the balcony. "You could jump," he says. "I won't try to stop you."

"Would that entertain you?" I clap back.

Something dark ripples over his features, but he forces a smile that doesn't reach his eyes. "I daresay that it would," he says. "Your attempt to attack my father certainly amused me," he continues, and looks like he really means it. "I haven't had that much fun in ages. Hence the reason why I've kept you alive."

"Is that the only reason?"

He shrugs. "My father has a vested interest in you," he says. "But has given you to me to break."

"I figured your father would simply want me dead," I snap. "After killing my entire kind and all."

The prince nods. "He relishes that truth," he says. "Be grateful you are alive now."

I glare at him, my hands shaking as adrenaline rushes through my body, little pops of green magic cracking from my fingertips. Just wisps of my power sneaking through the damned silver bracelets.

The prince bolts out of his chair, stomping over to me, gripping my chin hard enough to hold, but not hurt.

I want to bite him.

I want to rip out his throat with my fangs and drench this pretty little room with his blood.

But I can't. Not until I have a plan. Not until I can figure out where Zev and Jagger are and how I can get them out of here alive.

"Don't like being spoken about like a piece of property?" he asks. "Then submit. Do as I say, and you may just live long enough to find relief in submission. In belonging solely to somebody else. Do what I say, and you may evade my father's interests." His silver eyes fall to my lips. "Trust me," he continues, looking at me once more. "You don't want his interest to deepen."

I have to fight to keep myself still in his grip. Have to fight to keep my power from lashing out at the son of the male who murdered my family.

"He can't Collect you," he says, releasing me and stepping back to look down at me. "His Treasure would forbid it. You're too…" His voice trails off, his eyes grazing over my body. "She's notoriously jealous. That's why he gave you to me. He fears nothing and no one, save for his precious Treasure."

I tilt my head, catching on the hatred that drips from his tongue.

"You belong to me," he says more firmly. "If you have any interest in surviving, you will not question me. You will do as I say. And you will come to love it, I promise you that. My father delights in torturing his Collected, taking and breaking until all that's left is a hollow shell. Be grateful it's me who you belong to."

"And what of your Collected?" I ask, swallowing hard. I'm doing my best to quell the urge to cross the distance and rip his throat out with my fangs. A futile plan, for sure, but one I can't help but fantasize about. I have to remember the real plan. The one if I was captured. I have to become the perfect pet. I have to learn about my enemy before I can bring him to his knees. "Are they hollow shells too?"

The prince takes another calculated step away from me. "They're none of your concern," he says. "Will you do as I say?"

"What if I don't?" I ask before I can stop myself.

He sighs, nodding. "Then you will starve," he says before he opens the door and slams it behind him.

The tension in my shoulders relax at his absence, and I blow out a breath.

We planned for me possibly being Collected, but we hadn't planned for Zev and Jagger to be captured and used as a weapon against me.

I certainly didn't plan on the prince collecting me.

I suck in a sharp breath, scooting farther back on the bed, curling into a ball. The plan has changed, but the intention is the same.

I'll be the prince's perfect pet even if it kills my pride to do so.

I'll be the best Collected he's ever possessed.

I'll become what I despise most to save us all.