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blood fell, not on Merle’s mouth but on the center of his forehead, where it quivered and shook. It was one of the cruelest things she’d ever witnessed as Merle’s eyes continued to roll crazily with hunger and he twitched violently in the chair.
       The king lifted her wrist and gently licked the blood that beaded there. “And all Merle did was vote against me when I decided to start the war. That was over a hundred years ago dear. Imagine what I will do to my son, my heir that betrayed me. I cannot wait for him to come play with us, oh the things I will do.”
       Revulsion twisted through her as he pressed a kiss against her cheek, and briefly nuzzled her before he dropped her unceremoniously back to the ground. She almost fell but managed to catch herself in time. She was just righting herself when the large doors across the hall were thrust open and a tall, beautiful blond strode inside. She never even looked at the bodies surrounding her, but bee-lined straight toward the king and Caleb. Her eyes, however, did scathingly rake over Aria. Thrusting her shoulders back, Aria defiantly met the woman’s hostile glare. She’d only encountered Braith’s sister Natasha once before, when she’d first been brought into the palace as Braith’s blood slave.
       “It’s true then,” she said flatly. “She has been recaptured.”
       “Obviously,” Caleb retorted dryly.
       Natasha chose to ignore Caleb. “And Braith?”
       Aria’s gaze darted toward the door s as another tall, willowy blond walked through them. She didn’t stride forward with the same purpose as Natasha, but rather slipped through the shadows as she moved to stand behind her older sister. For a moment Aria’s heart leapt at the appearance of Melinda, Ashby’s bloodlink, Braith’s youngest sibling, and Aria’s only ally within this place. As swiftly as her hope rose though, it fell. There was nothing Melinda could do to help her, not now anyway, not without being caught. She was on her own for now. Aria kept her face impassive as Melinda’s dove gray eyes met hers briefly before they promptly slid away.
       “I have dispatched guards to search the woods. I am sure he is close,” the king responded.
      Dread pulsed through Aria; it took everything she had to remain outwardly calm. Of course they would search the woods, and the town. She hoped the others had retreated back into the caves, but even then there was a chance they would be found. A small tremor worked its way through her body.
       Caleb’s eyes gleamed as he perused her. “He’ll come for her.”
       A cruel smile twisted Natasha ’s mouth. Apparently Natasha was just as twisted and sick as her father and brother were. “Wonderful.” It took everything Aria had not to look to Melinda in order to see her reaction. She remained immobile though, unwilling to draw any more attention to herself. “And Jericho?”
       “I’m sure he’s also somewhere nearby, they ’ll both be punished accordingly,” the king informed her.
       Aria was reminded of a praying mantis inspecting its prey as Natasha rubbed her hands eagerly together. “I can’t wait.”
       “Make sure she is returned to the dungeon Caleb, and don’t take too much of her blood. I have more questions for her, questions she will eventually answer. You may have your fun, but she is not to be broken, not yet anyway. I want her to be alert and screaming when Braith arrives, and she is not to be raped.” Aria started in surprise as her eyes swung to the king. “Oh it will happen my dear, but it will not be Caleb,” he replied with a smirk. “I suspect that it will kill my son to watch me take you, and I intend for him to be here to watch our first time together. You may even enjoy it.”
   She somehow managed to swallow back the bile that such a thought caused to burn up her throat. She was rapidly beginning to change her mind about the idea of dying. She would gladly welcome death