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fingers looped around my wet locks and I shoved her hand away from my hair. “I get to choose where you’re taking the blood and you’ll stop when I tell you to.”
    She smiled, reminding me again what I was agreeing to. Those teeth were going to hurt.
    “Fine,” she said, moving within my comfort zone again.
    I slid away from the bed and wall. If she was going to bite me, it would be in the center of the room with no bed or wall to get shoved up against. She gladly followed and her eagerness pissed me off. There was too much room for doubt. Tons of things could go wrong, but in the end, I had to believe I was stronger than her persuasion.
    Bliss needed to know where I was. I’d deal with whatever he wanted when the time came, but right now, I needed someone in my corner. I offered my arm and she took it. Her fingers wrapped around my pale skin. As much as I wanted to be ready for this, I just wasn’t.
    She licked along my wrist, tracing a vein with her dry tongue. My heart raced as I braced for the bite. When her teeth sunk into my skin, I groaned. The pain was sharp. Not even the attack from the wolves could compare to this. This was acute, making my nerves crawl.
    Her pupils went black as she watched my face. I had to keep it together. It was just a little blood and it was dripping down my arm. The suckling noises made me sick. The nerves in my arm pulsed as if my heart was a pump serving her desires.
    She was a dangerously large leech, capable of draining me. I should hate her, but the contact was disarming. Her desire poured into me. The pleasure mixed wonderfully with pain. It felt like acid was burning through my veins. I caught my breath, determined not to fall into her escalating desire. I needed a razor. I needed the pain to help override the emotions around me, but losing
more
blood was a bad idea.
    “You’re done,” I said.
    I didn’t try to pull away and risk her tearing my skin. She withdrew her teeth and flicked her stained tongue over her lips. I had to turn away. My arm pulsed with pain and the wound didn’t immediately congeal.
    “Your message, Belen McKnight, for the guard of the Unseelie court.”
    It was hard to focus on a message when my heart drummed in my ears. It was lucky that she stopped. At this point, I missed her mouth and that notion made me sick. Her persuasion was strong.
    “Tell Bliss where to find me,” I said.
    She frowned. “You think the guard will come here looking for you?”
    Yes, actually I did. “Are you going back on our fair trade?”
    She laughed all the way to the door, letting the beads clink back and forth behind her. My mind was restless, but my body was exhausted. I wanted to sleep, but dreaded those moments of rest when my mind wandered.
    Where did I spend those dark hours of sleep while I lay in my grave? Something was there, dark and pressing, but it remained just out of my reach. I couldn’t sleep and risk those memories returning. Now wasn’t the time to deal with them.
    I paced the small room a few times before noticing the folded white card sitting on the pillow.

FIVE
    I fiddled with the note, tempted to leave it unread. Now that I was clean, weariness was starting to set in. Running on adrenaline was making my insides feel toxic. Still, as much as I wanted to, I couldn’t ignore the note. Utan had great penmanship for something from the underworld. The instructions were simple. Come outside when you’re dressed.
    Why in the world did I think I was going to have a chance to rest and adjust to the new situation? Actually, I hoped Bliss wouldn’t make me wait longer than a few minutes before he popped in, gave me some weapons, let me kill Kelaino, and then got us out of here. Being clean gave me a little energy, but my shoulders, legs and now my wrist ached. I couldn’t let Utan see the bite mark.
    I didn’t want to touch my grimy clothes, but I grabbed the part of my shirt that was still fairly clean where the coat covered it and ripped a