Chapter 388

“That was me, darling,” the girl says, seeing me look down at my white nightgown and again seeming to read my mind. She reaches out a hand to softly pat mine. “Don’t worry, dear – like I said, we have rules here. As soon as Gabriel brought you to the palace I took you in hand.” She grins at me like it was a great pleasure to her to keep me safe. “I got you changed and cleaned up and put to bed. Don’t worry, love.”

I exhale slowly, absurdly believing her even though I should be much, much more wary now. But something about those sweet brown eyes – god, it’s impossible to think that she might be lying. My wolf yips confirmation in my soul, still wary of everything else but believing her.

“And who are you?” I whisper, shaking my head, still not believing it. That I’m here, that I was stolen away from my life.

“I’m Pippa,” she says, giving me a happy smile.

“All right,” I whisper.

Then I jump nearly a mile in the air as soon as a soft knock comes at the door.

“Oh, don’t worry, Ariel,” Pippa says, turning towards it. “That’s just my Alpha, bringing you some food. Do you…” she looks at me, hesitant. “Do you…mind? If he comes in?”

“Um,” I say, hesitating, looking towards the door – completely unsure about what I want.

“Oh, don’t worry,” Pippa whispers, leaning close like a conspirator. “He’s really nice – the sweetest man you’ll ever meet. Not…” she hesitates, looking around like someone might be listening and not like her words. When she looks back at me and speaks again, she lowers her voice. “He’s not nearly as…challenging. As Gabriel.”

Gabriel. Is that his name? My mate?

I just stare at Pippa and the knock comes softly again. She grimaces and looks towards it.

“All right,” I whisper, nodding to her. “Um, sure. I guess he can come in?”

“You’re a peach,” she says, standing and dropping a kiss to my cheek. I turn towards the door with absolutely no idea what to expect as she dashes towards it. When she gets there, though, she hesitates and nods towards the bathroom. “Would you like to…go put on a dressing gown, Princess? To…be more comfortable around a man?”

The lovely, encouraging smile she gives me lets me know that…I should probably go do that.

“Uh, sure,” I say, hesitating but then pulling myself out of bed. I wince a little at the bruises and stiffness that radiates through my body but then move towards the bathroom that she indicates. I give Pippa a small smile as I pull the door shut behind me. As soon as I’m through I press my ear to the wood and hear the outside door creak open and then soft voices as Pippa greets her Alpha, welcoming him to the room.

I exhale slowly and quickly move about the bathroom, first taking the opportunity to relieve myself and then moving to the mirror to wash my hands. I peer closely at my reflection, noting that I look pale but…fine. And that the slap my damned mate gave me yesterday didn’t leave any mark behind, probably as he intended.

Then, squeezing some toothpaste onto a toothbrush I find by the side of the sink, I begin to brush my teeth as I turn and look around the bathroom which is…honestly probably the fanciest one I’ve ever been in in my life. And, considering that I’m a princess who is not a newcomer to luxury, that is…saying something. Gold leaf and ornament covers nearly every available surface and every corner is stuffed either with some comfortable chair or shelving with bath products.

I mean, it’s all very nice but it is…a lot.

Suddenly, I wish with all of my heart for the stupid Academy bathroom that I share with three Alpha boys. I groan, slumping back against the marble counter, my eyes pressing shut and my toothbrush stilling as I hang my head, wishing for Jacks, and for Rafe, and for Jesse.

God, they must all be so worried about me.

What…what on earth am I going to do? If only I could get out of here.

My eyes flash open and I spin towards the sink, spitting out my toothpaste as I look down at my wrists. Because those manacles – the ones made of blue light – they’re certainly gone. I press my eyes shut, willing myself to that other world.

And then I gasp as it…as it works.

My eyes fly wide as my feet hit the dirt, my toothbrush still grasped in my hand. But then I spin, horrified, as I realize that…

That I’m in some kind of insane cage. I turn in a full circle, looking around baffled at the iron that surrounds me. I move hesitantly towards it, reaching out first with the tip of my finger and giving it a prod. It’s cold but…very real. Then I grasp it in my hand, still looking around in every direction, and pull as hard as I can.

But the iron stays firm. I peer out between the patchwork bars, realizing that this isn’t even the only cage – that there are dozens of them, cages within cages. For…miles.

What…what on earth?

Freaked out, I head back to the spot where I originally landed and beg to be sent back, wanting the calm familiarity of a bathroom while I put the pieces of that all together.

Why the hell…

A little knock comes at the door.

“Ariel, sweetheart?” It’s Pippa. “Are you okay?”

“Yes!” I call, my voice tight. “Um, just a minute.”

Panting, I turn back to the mirror and spit out the toothpaste, scowling when I realize that I’m still a prisoner, even if my magic somehow bizarrely works here. But, is that the only magic that works?

I take a deep breath, shifting my eyes to a towel rack against the wall and calling upon my gift of heat, willing them to burst into flames. I also pull on my mark, my connection to Luca, hoping desperately for any stir of wind, but…

I huff in disappointment, my shoulders drooping, because even if I can shift into the Dark world and the bizarre cages there, I can’t pull on my fire magic.

What the hell is going on here?

Slowly, I turn back to my mirror, my mind racing as I try to decide what to do. My wolf paces in my soul, anxious and worried, plans flitting through her own mind – all of them aiming in one direction: to get us home, to get back to Jackson.

I look down at my chest, relieved at this, because honestly half of me was worried that she’d want me to pursue things with this new mate. After all, when I first came in contact with Jackson and Luca – even walked into the same room as them – she’d gone absolutely mad, encouraging me to find them, to get naked, to crawl into their beds.

No, my wolf says, shaking out her fur and baring her teeth. This one – he is our mate. But he is wrong – his wolf is off. Wrong, like that Prince we saw at Midwinter, at the meeting. The one standing next to Ben’s mate. He was wrong – incorrect – unnatural -

I exhale slowly, nodding, knowing that she’s right. That Gabriel – we knew, instantly, that he was right when he claimed to be our mate. It is…undeniable, as true as it was when I saw Jacks and Luca at that spring the first night and knew that they were mine.

But my wolf is also right that the Prince is…wrong. Something is strange about him, and we have to find out what.

I lift my head, dread coiling within my belly, and look closely at myself in the mirror. At my pale face, my worried eyes. “What the hell am I going to do?”

My wolf howls, anxious and completely without answer.

My lips draw to a thin line as I consider my options. Obviously, my best and most powerful tool – the magic – is not available to me. So? What else do I have?

I can’t…I can’t fight my way out. Not against Atalaxia, not with all these Alphas running around. My mate – Gabriel – made that perfectly clear last night. That I’m just not a physical match for them. Quietly I curse that my parents didn’t get me fighting lessons as a girl and that I didn’t have enough time with Blaze at the academy. Even as my mind turns to more important things, some part of me makes a mental note to get all of my little girl cousins immediately enrolled in some form of fighting art the moment I get out of this, the moment I get home.

Because one thing is for sure. I am not giving up.

I am going home – home to my mate, and my family, as soon as I can.

But…how do I do that?

I twist my mouth to my side, again going through my arsenal of tools. Obviously, if I had a rifle things would be different but…yes, an unlikely plan. Or, access to any poisons? I look around the bathroom but, come on, they’re not going to stock anything beyond the mildly toxic in here. I mean, Newman taught me enough that I can mix something up if I can find the right supplies – and I’ll keep my eyes peeled for those – but still…

It's not much of a direct path to getting out of here, is it?

I focus again on my reflection in the mirror, one single resource left to me

What, I ask myself quietly, would Faiza tell me to do?

The answer comes immediately to me, as if she lives in my mind.

Survive.

She would tell me to survive. To do whatever it takes to persist in this world, to keep myself intact, to look for every opportunity to escape and to make a plan to get myself out. To survive as long as necessary in order to find that escape path.

To…to make my enemies trust me enough to drop their guard. To convince them that I’m not a threat. Even if in my heart I want to rip every single one of their hearts from their bodies and set them all ablaze.

Well. Maybe not Pippa’s. But my horrible mate’s – his for sure.

Slowly I inhale, knowing precisely what Faiza would tell me to do.

Play dead, Cream Puff, she’d say, giving me that patented wink, her feet propped up on her desk. Let think you’re as stupid and vapid as they want you to be. And then when the time comes?

“I’ll cut their fucking throats.” I toss the toothbrush into the sink and turn towards the door, not bothering to clean up.