Blood Chained (Dark Siren Book 3) Read Online Free Page A

confusion. Greg and Lisa had locked eyes, watching each other silently. Their expressions mingled between uncertainty, resolve, and fear. “What do you know? Tell me.”
“Rhane never disclosed the identity of the man who brought you to us, did he?”
“I didn’t think he knew. What does it have to do with anything?”
“He wasn’t human, Kali.”
“Huh?”
“Your adoption never went through any legal channels. He told us how special you were and that you would be safer if there was no legitimate paper trail. With Lisa’s and my standing in the legal community, we were able to forge all the right documents, including having your name changed, acquiring a birth certificate, and fabricating adoption papers.”
“Oh jeez. I don’t think I can handle this right now.” She reeled away from them, folding her arms around her head as if to block out the sound of their voices.
“Keep listening, Kali. It’s important.”
“He told us it was the only way we could keep you.” Lisa wrung her hands. “We raised you, gave you the best home we knew how, all the while knowing one day someone—Rhane—would come for you.”
Greg took over again. “The one who brought you to us, we thought he was a man. But over time, his actions proved he wasn’t. He has remained close. No matter where we moved, he checked in on you from time to time.” Greg swallowed. “He still keeps watch over you.”
“Who? Who is he?”
“Wesley David.”

Chapter 4
 
Rhane toed the edge, calmly holding Warren’s terrified gaze, feigning strength he no longer possessed. The boy was the only reason he submitted. He could have become Banewolf and ended them all. But doing so would forfeit War’s life, so he kneeled on the ice and didn’t resist as his head was shoved between the razor-edges of a guillotine. Only the uncertain grip of a dealer’s hand held back the blade’s descent.
Rhane surrendered to their cruelty. Submitted to the agony. He yielded as they jerked him back to his feet and dragged him into the chamber. Each moment there demolished virtually every brick and stone he had ever built to keep him sane. The chamber tore down those defenses, left craters of fresh damage from which he might never recover. Before then, he’d spent several hours with the dealers. Thin rods composed of blood silver were inserted in his body to skewer flesh, puncture bone and vital organs. Finally losing consciousness, the torment had ended. But on awakening, Rhane was led to the next horror.
Ten feet in circumference, twelve feet deep, and filled with frigid waters, the chamber was essentially a pit dug into the floor of the mountain. Darkness and cool temperatures made it an ideal habitat for river kings, the rarest of warm-blooded serpents. The aquatic underground was also the perfect environment to destroy Rhane’s psyche. His oldest and deepest fears started with water and being trapped beneath the earth’s surface. Even centuries of healing couldn’t entirely extinguish the traumas he’d endured as a child. They were forever imprinted on his very existence.
Drawn by the smell of blood, a river king attacked as soon as he hit the water. Thickly roped muscles, as solid and strong as cords of steel, coiled the serpent’s body around Rhane’s sinking form in an unbreakable hold. It dragged him under, squeezing the last molecule of air from his lungs. The pain was maddening. Deeper and deeper, it pulled. Tighter and tighter became its grip until he was no longer suspended in the depths, but constrained against the chamber bottom. His ribs buckled, surrendered to the stress. Overwhelming pressure built in his head. The cold robbed all feeling from his extremities. It wasn’t long before everything ceased and the pain was gone.
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One more name was erased from the list of souls Rhane had to atone for. He lay on the floor of the dungeon strategizing how he could possibly endure another session with dealers. He wasn’t sure if he could. Yesterday had