“Just one more dance, pretty little light spinner.” It’s not a question, and his eyes hold wicked promises. He pulls me toward him possessively, and I know I should protest, but I don’t. I really am tired, and it feels nice to let him support my weight. I lean into him, my cheek resting against his chest, the top of my head barely reaching the open collar of his suede doublet. He lifts my hand and soft lips trail my inner arm, making a pleasant dizziness spread through me. With the slide of warm tongue against my skin, the music suddenly seems far away. A large hand strokes my hair as I lean more of my weight into his solid body. I close my eyes and drift off.

22

The sound of a slamming door startles me into consciousness. I squint against a wave of dizziness and try to move my arms, but I can’t. It seems I’m tied to a chair.

This gets my attention.

Adrenaline courses through me, and I blink until the room comes into focus. A tall boy looms nearby.

Oh. That guy. The memory of our dance washes over me.

That scumbag drugged me! I wiggle, trying to break free so I can give him a piece of my mind. But the spidersilk rope doesn’t budge.

How have I gone from having a boring, average life to being abducted and restrained twice in a matter of months? Sheesh.

“Let me go,” I try to yell, but it comes out as more of a croak since my mouth is so dry. How long have I been out?

“Well, hello there, little light spinner.” The tall boy no longer wears his mask, and his predatory gaze is no longer appealing. Fear raises the hair on my arms. My head is pounding, and the ropes binding me to the chair bite into my wrists as I continue to struggle.

We’re in a dank, low-lit room. Bram is standing a few feet away with the gorgeous Valkyrie who was with Rafe on the Atlas.

“Soon the halls should be clear enough to get her out of here unseen,” the girl says to the others.

“Where are you taking me?” I ask, a quaver in my voice, but they all ignore me. I begin to thrash hard enough that the chair thuds against the tiles.

“I guess you’d like to go back to sleep.” The tall boy strides over, but he’s halted by the squeak of a door behind me.

“What’s going on here?” The voice is deep with an overt sense of authority, and everyone in the room goes completely still.

I know that voice. I turn as much as my restraints allow.

Rafe.

I’m unsure if I should feel relief or fear. He’s a familiar presence, but there is certainly no love lost between us, and I don’t trust him.