CHAPTER 13
Von was stretched out on the bed, bonds firmly back in place. His eyes were closed, feigning sleep. He didn’t want to let on that the effects of the drug had already worn off. It was a game he’d been playing since that little red-haired bitch dosed him again. Every day since he’d broken free she had been force feeding him healing brews liberally dosed with a sedative that knocked him back into unconsciousness almost immediately.
Once he finally came to he would pretend to be asleep, while Gillian and the blonde one plotted and schemed in hushed whispers over his bed. The women were careful never to reveal any specifics, but Von knew that eventually, they would divulge something useful. Until then, he would bide his time gathering strength and seemingly inconsequential information. One never knew what could be important later on, and he had every intention of paying their hospitality back in kind.
The warrior in him began to assess his enemy’s strategy. What reason would they have to keep me docile but not completely out of commission? The answer came to Von almost instantly; the demented bitches wanted to make Von one of their puppets. For him to have the most value, he needed to be in peak condition, but they couldn’t risk him fighting back. Thus the drugs. They wanted Von at full-strength and firmly under the blonde’s control, but the only way that would ever happen is if he was unconscious when she made her move. They are biding their time as well, Von mused.
Von let his thoughts continue to wander, knowing the answer he sought was lingering at the fringes of his mind. As a Commander of his own men, he was well-versed with this kind of strategizing: weighing and evaluating an enemy’s strengths and weaknesses, looking to strike when it would have the biggest impact… this was his bread and butter. He was absolutely confident he’d be able to discern their plot, and then do everything in his power to undermine it.
It can’t just be my health they are waiting on, he decided. While it was true that the Bella Morte had delayed their plans considerably, keeping his mind trapped in the misty place while sapping his body of strength, there had to be at least one other piece out of place. When the answer came this time, it was like a gentle caress: Helena. They were waiting for Helena.
Von hoped his lips hadn’t twitched with the smile he suppressed at the thought of her. His Mate’s visit left quite an impression on his jailors. They had spoken of little else in the days since. Unfortunately, the entire reason he was still strapped to this bed was because of the state he was in after her visit. Once her spirit left him, his body had collapsed into an exhausted sleep, leaving him vulnerable to his captors. The women had made their move, acting quickly since they knew there was no way they could control him if he was fully conscious and gaining his strength back.
Luckily for him, they hadn’t realized that Helena had been able to reestablish their bond, if they were even aware the bond existed in the first place. His connection to her provided an added level of consciousness and protection. So while he was lost to the darkness of the sedative, there was an untouchable part of his mind working to peel back the fog encasing it. This allowed him a few hours of hard-won clarity each day. Clarity he fully intended to use to whatever advantage he could manage.
It had taken him awhile, at first, to brush off the webs clouding his mind, but each day it was easier. The combination of Gillian’s healing brews, plus Helena’s reservoir of power was doing much to speed the process. He should have been able to do it on his own regardless, his power more than enough to combat the effects of such a drug, but the Bella Morte had done considerable harm. His own power was perpetually drained due to the constant work required to repair the damage. In his current state, there simply was not enough left over to fight off anything else. This meant that as badly as he wanted to communicate with Helena, he hadn’t been able to do more than seek her glowing warmth at the other end of their bond.
Von tried to push back the wave of frustration that threatened to overwhelm him. Patience was not one of his virtues. He was a man of action. One that liked to weigh his odds, decide on a course, and then act swiftly. The fact that he was literally chained to a bed while his woman was about to battle her way through their enemy’s forces, without him, did not sit well with his warrior’s heart. Although, the part of him that recognized his Mate as a warrior fiercer than even himself allowed Von to quiet the need to act. He might be stuck here, but he was not entirely useless. He still had a part to play.
A sense of peace washed over him. Helena was coming for him, even now she was preparing to do so. Von settled back into the bed, trying not to rattle the magically reinforced chains as he did. He would continue to collect information and once he was able; he would pass it on to Helena to help her prepare her strike. He would use this time wisely.
Thinking back to Gillian and the other woman, Von was slightly taken aback to learn their plan revolved around attempting to control him and then use him against Helena. What a bunch of fucking idiots. It was growing increasingly clear to him that they had no idea who was coming for them. How these women could continue to underestimate their opponent, especially after the little fire show she had demonstrated for them last time, was surprising. Perhaps they simply didn’t realize how much power truly simmered beneath such a sweet-looking face. Von allowed himself a mental shrug, let them continue to underestimate her. It would only make his Mate’s job that much easier.
He must have made a sound because he heard a rustling that grew louder with proximity.
“Awake so soon, dearest?” Gillian asked in a saccharine voice.
Von knew it was pointless to try and deny it. Opening his eyes, he stared up at her with blatant malice. His gray eyes had darkened to the point that they were almost black.
“Oooh,” she cooed, batting her green eyes, “someone is feeling fierce today. The tonics must be working.”
It was all he could do not to bare his teeth at her. Instead, dark brows lowered over glowering eyes.
“Come now, precious,” Gillian chided, her cheerful bedside manner making him want to stab her in the eye, “I’m helping you feel better. No need to be so rude.”
Von had no need for words as he stared up at the female leaning over him. The promise of a slow and painful death was glittering in his eyes for all to see. He might even enjoy her death more if he got to watch it happen, rather than keep the promise himself. Von's amusement grew as he began to imagine all the ways his Mate would repay Gillian for this. He was already grinning by the time he began to picture Helena cocking back her arm to slam her fist into the other girl's throat. The redhead tried to blink back the apprehension that clouded her eyes once he began chuckling.
Gillian cleared her throat uncomfortably. It was the first time she had been alone with him in this room since he had woken up. There had always been at least one or two other guards with her, if not the blonde woman as well. Apparently, he really was waking up more quickly than usual. He’d have to be more careful not to alert them, or he might lose the moments of awareness he’d been fighting so hard for.
Von refused to back down, staring up at the woman unblinkingly. Let her be uncomfortable, the stupid cow. She was a pathetic excuse of a woman, allowing herself to be manipulated and used by another. She was probably too stupid to realize that she wasn’t going to be alive at the end of this. There was no way the other one would let her live once she had accomplished her goal. Assuming, of course, that Helena didn’t handle the problem first.
Von was smirking as he mentally hurled insults at her, berating her for being stupid, weak, and ugly, among a litany of other shortcomings. The more childish and petty the insult, the wider his smile grew.
“Yes, well,” Gillian’s pale skin flushed as she pulled out the bottle of healing tonic.
He eyed the soft blue liquid balefully, not ready to fall back into oblivion just yet. “She is coming for you,” he taunted, his voice a harsh rasp.
Gillian stiffened, the hand holding the bottle spasming at his words.
“When she finds you she will destroy you,” he vowed, his voice dipping deeper with each word. “There is no version of this where you do not pay with your life, Gillian. It is foolish of you to cower here thinking you are safe behind these walls. No walls could ever protect you from her wrath. Aren’t you supposed to be smarter than that? You were always so quick to point out how much cleverer you were than everyone else in the Palace, but I guess those were just more empty words. No one with any actual capacity for intelligence would remain a sitting duck while death itself came for them.”
“Death comes for us all eventually,” she responded primly, her voice brittle and strained.
“Yes, and if we are lucky, it will be gentle. Yours will not be.”
Gillian swallowed, visibly shaken. “I liked you better unconscious,” she finally snapped.
He gave her a grin that was too feral to appear anything but threatening, “I will like you better when my Mate has finished draining the life from your body.”
Gillian lashed out with Air, using it to cut off the supply of oxygen in his lungs. He tried to counter, willing Air to keep the organs inflated, but he was just too depleted. He felt his lungs seize and his mouth opened on a gasp. Gillian poured the minty liquid down his throat, causing him to sputter. He tried to spit it back out at her, but his body had reflexively taken great gulps of air once she cut off her attack. She had won this round, getting him to take the sedative, but she had not come out unscathed. Von could see the way his words twisted around her, ensnaring her with their promises. She was petrified.
Good, he thought smugly, eyes already drifting shut, she should be. That was his last coherent thought before darkness came for him.