When we got back to Sloane’s house, we’d have to lock him in a bedroom and force him to take a nap. Nobody liked a grumpy fae.
13
York
Saturday Midday
Eight hundred and fifty-seven days.
That was how many days I’d spent in a cell being drained of my power. Slow and steady, so they could keep me longer than the rest of the prisoners they’d had over the years. Every new moon and full moon they came down to get me, but I never got to see the sky, the stars, or nature.
They would knock me out with vaporous sleeping potions and drag me to the mock medical room where I’d first spoken to my mate. Then, they’d strap me to the metal table with cursed chains. No matter how hard I tried, I could never break free. I didn’t know what I’d do if I could. I didn’t have much fight left in me anymore. I was saving that for Sloane.
The new moon was in three day’s time, and I feared it may be the last drain they got from me. Those fae crystals would suck out the rest of my power if they weren’t removed while I had enough life force left to keep me alive... yeah. After every drain, I grew weaker and weaker. I couldn’t heal properly when I was down in the damp cell with no true earth to touch my skin.
I’d been here for so long that I no longer felt the wet chill on my skin or the bone deep cold that the winters brought. I was used to the constant exhaustion that came from too little sleep on the stone floor with the threadbare blanket they threw me during my first winter as a captive. Over time, it became increasingly easy to ignore my hunger. They fed me twice a week, if I was lucky, but it wasn’t enough to give me energy or sustain me. They liked to keep me weak so I couldn’t fight back.
The only other constants I had in this place were the dripping dirty water that ran down the wall, leaving a trail of mossy mess in its wake, and thoughts of my mate. I had to be careful when I thought of her. If Kelvin knew I was bonded with the powerhouse that got away, he wouldn’t just drain me dry, he’d use me as bait to get to her.
Kelvin used to be my boss, when I lived as a free male in the campground and not a prisoner in this cell. I spent three years working up to be his right-hand man. I needed all the secrets. I still needed the major secrets he never shared with me. I wouldn’t get them now. Though, maybe he’d pity me on my next drain and tell me before he killed me.
I stood up and stretched my stiff, atrophied muscles. My body ached, but it wouldn’t stop me from moving to the opposite side of my cell and digging out the small stone fragment to make another mark on the wall. Eight hundred and fifty-seven marks. One for every day that I had been in this tiny piece of Hell on Earth. I imagine Hell would be better than this cell. Especially when your mate was the Devil’s daughter. The door to the stairs creaked open as I eased the fragment back into its hiding place. I wished I could say I was able to catch a whiff of the fresh outdoor air, but I never could. I didn’t feel a breeze, nor did I see sunlight filter in. It was just stale, putrid air and the dim lighting from four bare light bulbs hanging outside the cell doors.
Levi walked up to my cell door and shifted uncomfortably on his feet. He was always too good of a guy to be in a place like this, but I was thankful he was. He’d been my saving grace since he found me down here four months into my stay. He was the reason they gave me any blanket at all during that first winter. He was the only one who brought me extra food when he was tasked with feeding the prisoners. Just prisoner, now that I was the only one left again.
“Look, man. I don’t know how much time I have before they start looking for me. I brought you some jerky. It should give you a bit of energy, and I was able to sneak in some flowers that I found. I remember you saying one time that you can pull life from nature to fuel your power. Is that right?” He glanced at me as he spoke and then returned his attention back to the door. He didn’t want to get caught. I didn’t blame him. He was human. He shouldn’t even be in the camp.
“Yeah,” I croaked out. My throat was dry. I hardly used my voice anymore. I didn’t scream when they put those crystals across my chest to siphon my power. I hadn’t fought the chains in so many months that I'd lost count of how long it had been.
“Here,” he offered as he shoved a water bottle at me through the bars. He released a clear bag of jerky into my hand and opened his jacket to expose the flowers he’d gathered. They had just recently been cut from their tether to the earth so they would give me a small boost. I noticed he’d lost too much weight, too, and it made me wonder what was happening above me. “Kelvin says he’s going to kill you on the next drain. I know you said you have a mate somewhere, so maybe this is enough to reach out to her one last time. I don’t know how that works, but I hope it’s enough.” He roughly pushed the flowers to me the same way he did the water bottle. For the first time since I’d been here, I felt a spark of hope.
Sloane should have met her other mates by now. I should be able to slip into a dream and manipulate her Sight to latch onto a vision. Should being the keyword there. I hadn’t been able to test my theory yet, but I had talked it out with Levi when he’d been on guard duty.
I guzzled the water down and took the jerky out, poking the bag into the bottle, and handed it back to him. He hung his head with a concerned look on his face, then he pivoted on his feet and quietly left like he was never here.
I sat with my back against the wall and gathered the flowers in my lap, enjoying the colors before I drained them until they were nothing but dirt. As I siphoned the life from them, the colors faded away. I opened myself up to feel the things that I hadn’t felt in far too long. I could feel the pain I caused the flowers, and I silently thanked them for helping me. I felt the light inside me flicker a little stronger. I felt the snap in my chest as I released my hold over the mate bond. Sloane and the intoxicating rush of her emotions filled my mind. Excitement, adrenaline, and mayhem followed by curiosity, then downright murder. She felt me, too, and now she was angry. I’d rather face her wrath every day for the rest of my life than die in this dungeon on that cold metal table.
I closed my eyes and began to meditate. First, I evened out my breathing, slow and deep. Second, I focused completely on her, picturing the last time I saw her. She was asleep when I left that morning, her silver hair flowing around her face on the pillow, her naked body half exposed under the jet black sheets on her bed. Her face was peaceful as she took the little rest she needed after a long night of arguing and makeup sex. I kept that image of her in my mind as I opened up the flow of power and forced my dream-like state on her.
It wasn’t a dream like humans had, but it also wasn't a prophetic vision like Sloane usually saw. It was a real time image of me, not the past version of me and not manipulated. She’d see me exactly as I am, and where I was at. If I was lucky, I’d have a few minutes where I could speak to her. I had to tell her where I was and what was happening, even if she decided not to come for me.
“Sloane? Sweetheart?” I sought her out softly, hoping to gain her attention. The feeling of disbelief flashed through me and smothered her mounting anger. I’d found her. Thank the gods. “I don’t have much time, and I know you’re angry with me. I’m so sorry. I’d never willingly leave you.” I didn’t really know what else to say. I’d rather tell her face-to-face and explain everything that happened. I needed her to find me.