His Moonsilver Mate (Abby and Kade) novel Chapter 66

Chapter 66

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Chapter 66

Abby

slept through most of the day.

Or maybe I only passed out repeatedly.

It was difficult to tell in a room without windows. Every time I woke, the same weak light burned above the door, the same stone walls surrounded me, and the collar sat heavy around my throt

Diana was gone.

That was the worst part.

The first few times I woke, I still reached for her automatically.

Diana?

Nothing.

Then I would remember.

Someone had left food on a tray near the wall. I barely touched it. My stomach turned whenever I tried, though eventually I forced myself to drink because my mouth was so dry that swallowing hurt.

The wolfsbane still lingered in my body, but by the time the door opened again, the ache in my muscles had eased enough that I could sit up without the room spinning.

Two guards came inside.

I pulled my knees closer.

Neither spoke.

One unlocked the chain attached to my ankle. The other caught my arm and hauled me to my feet.

“Where are you taking me?”

No answer.

My legs felt weak, but they held. That was already better than the night before.

They led me into the corridor.

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We passed the first two without slowing.

hen I heard someone cough behind the third.

I turned my head.

A girl sat behind the bars. She looked about my age, maybe a little older. Her knees were dra against her chest, and a dark metal collar circled her throat. She stared at me as we passed.

There was another girl in the next cell. And another farther down.

My feet slowed.

The guard jerked my arm. “Move.”

The stories came back all at once. Girls disappearing. Young wolves. White and pale grey wolves. Families who never found out what happened to them.

It had been easy to think of them as rumors when they were names from packs I had never visited.

They weren’t rumors.

They were here.

I looked back until the turn in the corridor hid the cells from view.

By the time the guards pushed me through another doorway, my fear had changed into something

heavier.

Anger.

The circular chamber waited above us. Moonlight fell through the opening in the ceiling, stronger tonight. It washed across the symbols carved into the floor and turned the center of the room almost

white.

The older woman was already there. Her assistants stood beside the long table, arranging bottles and instruments exactly as they had the night before.

She looked at me as soon as I entered. There was no uncertainty left in her face.

“Remove it.”

One of the guards reached for my collar. I stepped back. His hand closed around my shoulder. The

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Despite everything, relief tightened my throat.

know.

She pushed closer, restless and furious after a day of silence.

The older woman watched my face. “Better.”

I glared at her. “What do you want?”

“Shift.”

Of course.

I looked around. The Rogue King wasn’t there.

That didn’t make me feel safer.

The assistants waited near the wall while the guards moved behind me.

I knew what happened if I refused. I also knew I didn’t want their hands on me again.

I pulled the loose dress over my head and dropped it beside my feet. The stone was cold, but my body no longer shook the way it had the night before.

Ready? I asked.

Diana pressed forward eagerly. Yes.

She took my place beneath the moonlight and stayed standing. Strength flowed into us almost immediately.

She lifted her head. The moonlight touched her coat. Silver spread through the pearl-gray fur, brighter than before.

The older woman smiled triumphantly. “I knew it.”

Diana bared her teeth.

The woman came closer, studying her from every angle. “You feel it tonight, don’t you?”

Diana growled.

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His gaze moved to Diana. “She’s standing.”

he older woman barely looked away from us. “I told you to give her time.”

He came farther into the chamber. Diana turned toward him. The growl deepened.

He glanced at her teeth. “Still angry.”

“She should be.”

His eyes shifted to the older woman. “Cressida.”

So that was her name.

His tone carried a warning.

Cressida ignored it. “Bring the girl.”

I turned toward the door. Two guards entered with someone between them.

At first I thought the girl was unconscious. Then she lifted her head.

She was painfully thin, with tangled brown hair hanging around her face. The loose gray dress she wore looked almost identical to mine, and a collar circled her throat. She could barely keep her feet

beneath her.

One guard dragged her forward.

Diana went rigid.

She’s sick.

I knew.

The girl saw Diana and tried to stop. “No.” Her voice was barely there. The guards kept moving. “No, please.”

Diana backed away from them.

The girl’s fear sharpened.

“It’s all right,” Cressida said.

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The girl looked up. Her fear changed into confusion.

Cressida stepped into the circle. “Strengthen her.”

Diana looked at her. So did I.

What?

Cressida waited.

Diana’s ears flattened.

“Go on.”

I had no idea what she meant.

The Rogue King looked between us. “She doesn’t understand you.”

“She understands.” Cressida’s expression hardened. “She is choosing not to cooperate.”

Diana growled. I don’t know what she wants.

Neither did I.

Cressida stopped beside the girl. “You feel the moon inside you. Give some of it to her.”

I stared at the girl.

How?

Diana shifted her weight uneasily. I don’t know.

Cressida kept pushing. “Strengthen her.”

Diana didn’t move.

The Rogue King exhaled impatiently. “This is your great discovery?”

Cressida ignored him. Her eyes stayed on Diana. “You know how to draw from the moon. Stop holding it inside yourself.”

That was not nearly as helpful as she seemed to think it was.

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I tried harder. Nothing.

Maybe closer, Diana said.

We took one cautious step forward.

The girl flinched.

Diana stopped immediately. ~

She’s scared of us.

Diana lowered her head.

The girl stared into her eyes. “You’re not going to hurt me?”

I wished I could answer.

Diana slowly lay down.

Some of the fear left the girl’s face.

Cressida noticed. “Touch her.”

The girl hesitated.

One of the guards stepped forward.

She recoiled. “No.”

Cressida’s patience finally broke. “Hold her up.’

The guards seized the girl by both arms and dragged her to her feet. She cried out.

Diana lunged forward. The guards stepped back instinctively. Silver flashed in one man’s hand. Diana stopped before he could use it.

The girl sagged between them, breathing hard.

Anger rolled through me.

We have to do something.

I’m trying.

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Don’t keep it, Diana said.

froze.

What?

When the moon gives it to us. Don’t hold-it.

I looked at the girl.

How do I give it away?

Diana didn’t know either.

But the idea made more sense than anything Cressida had said. I pulled the energy in again. Then instead of letting it spread through Diana, I imagined pushing it outward. Toward the girl.

Nothing happened.

My frustration rose.

Cressida made an impatient sound. “She’s refusing.”

“I don’t think she is.” The Rogue King’s voice surprised me. He looked at the girl. “Take off her

collar.”

Cressida frowned. “Why?”

“If you want to put wolf magic into her, maybe stop suppressing the wolf.”

For once, I agreed with him.

Cressida considered it. Then nodded. “Remove it.”

The guard opened the girl’s collar. She collapsed. A sob tore out of her as whatever wolf had been trapped inside her came rushing back. The girl clutched at her chest.

Diana’s ears flattened.

Now.

I drew the moonlight in again. The energy came more easily this time. I pictured the girl. Her shaking legs. Her hollow face. The way she could barely breathe.

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