“I don’t know. Josiah, please,” she let out a sob. “None of this is my fault. I don’t want this spirit in me. When the ring comes off, I burn with excruciating pain. It’s like my whole body is on fire.”

“You’ve told me this already.” He slipped a large hand up her body, tightening it around her throat. “Tell me about the Vampire Lord, or I’ll put the hood on you again for more water.”

“It’s a curse, Josiah,” she said. “I don’t want that magic. I never want to feel that pain again. You can’t imagine the agony.”

He looked into her eyes, licking his lips. “Oh really?”

She’d laid the bait. It was working.

“I never wanted this curse, Josiah. It’s the worst pain I’ve ever felt.”

He yanked a knife from his weapons belt, and slipped behind her back, cutting through the knot that bound her hands. He gripped her wrists hard, pulling her hand in front of her face so she could stare at the iron ring. “You still wear Blodrial’s ring. He is your saving grace, and you betray him.”

If she acted as fragile as possible, he’d let down his guard even further. “Josiah. You’re hurting me,” she whimpered.

“Good.” He tightened his grip on her wrists. “Tell me what you know about the Vampire Lord, or I’ll take the ring off and let you burn until you beg for mercy.”

Manipulating Josiah was easier than she’d thought. In fact, a kernel of an idea began to bloom in her mind—a way to free every captive in the building—if she could manage to get out of there alive.

She lifted her eyes to his, letting them glisten. “I don’t know anything about an army. But please, Josiah—”

With a tight smile, he stared at her ring. “I’ve wanted to see what would happen when the spirit takes over you.” He dropped her other hand to slip off the ring, but he didn’t get that far. As soon as he let her hand out of his grip, her hand flew to his throat. Within moments, she had both hands around his neck. She dug her thumbs into his Adam’s apple. His eyes bulged, but she wouldn’t be strong enough to choke him out like this. She just needed more of his rage to break her out of this chair.

“The truth is, Josiah, you could never satisfy me like an incubus could.”

His face contorted with rage, and his fingers dug into her wrists before he ripped her hands from his throat. Snarling, he kicked her hard in the chest with one of his boots. The chair flew, slamming against the wall. The blow knocked the wind out of her, but it also had the desired effect. The crash splintered the chair into dozens of pieces.

She was free.

With an exultant smile, she grabbed a fragmented chair leg. When Josiah rushed for her, she jammed the splintered end into his thigh. It wasn’t enough to kill him, but he wouldn’t put up much of a fight after that.