Frosted Torment (Marked Mortals Saga #1)

Chapter 30

CHAPTER 30

O bscure shapes reflected off the light onto Vallen’s body as I stood there, rooted to the spot. The sight of him shirtless and restrained had me shaking. Baz and Lex, both equally unnerved, stood beside me, their mouths wide as they struggled to process what they were seeing.

“How can ordinary chains hold an angel like that?” I expressed, my voice close to a sigh.

“Angel bones, like Nakoma’s arrows,” Lex suggested, his eyes never leaving Vallen. “But I wouldn’t worry. He’s practically dead.”

Baz noticed torches hanging on either side of the cave wall and pulled them down. “Lex, grab some matches from the hiking pack so we can get these lit.”

While Baz and Lex busied themselves with the torches, I took the flashlight and began to explore the circular room. No other inscriptions were visible as the light passed over the walls. As I approached Vallen, I noticed a pool of glacial water in the center of the cave. Small holes in the mountain ceiling dripped water down into the basin, and I breathed in the damp, cold air, grateful we wouldn’t suffocate.

“Noa.” Lex glanced over at me as he struck a match against the rough cave wall. “We’ve got the first torch lit!”

“Great,” I replied, forcing a smile to hide my unease. “How are you feeding the tree?” I asked myself, keeping to a whisper.

The cave seemed less foreboding with two torches casting a warm glow. But I kept the flashlight on and circled back to Vallen, each step heavier than the last. A wooden crate on the floor close to him held a silver ladle. Was it left to mock him because he’d never get a drink from the water so close to him?

I took another step to get a better look, and a low moan escaped from Vallen’s lips. His chains rattled with difficulty from what little movement he could muster, and I jumped. My reaction was so quick that the flashlight slipped from my grasp and clattered to the ground.

After retrieving it, I looked up again, and Vallen’s emerald-green eyes seemed to glow in the dim light of the cave, desperation in his expression. He blinked faster than a camera shutter, trying to get his eyes to focus again. Anger throbbed in my chest, wanting him to see the one who would end his life.

“Easy there, princess,” Vallen rasped. Amusement danced in his eyes despite his weakened state. “Didn’t think you’d be so easily frightened.”

Baz and Lex walked up behind me, brandishing the torches like weapons.

“Everything okay here, Noa?” Baz asked, his voice steady as he tightened his grip on the torch.

Vallen raised his head, and his thick, seaweed-like hair clung to his face, mingling with his unruly beard. “You brought groupies. How sweet,” he mocked.

“Fuck you,” I seethed, spitting at his feet. “You’re in no position to insult any of us.”

“Neither are you,” he retorted, pulling against his restraints. “You sure are an angry one.”

“I’m not the one chained to a wall and left for dead,” I countered before shutting off the flashlight.

“Not yet,” he wheezed, expelling mucus with a cough.

Taking Baz’s torch from him, I held it tight and tried to drown out the pounding of my own heartbeat.

“I know you’re the one in my head,” I accused him with a look of revulsion. “Why did you call me here?”

I stood tall despite the fear scratching at the fringes of my mind. Intrusive thoughts of what this confrontation could mean for each of us flooded my head. Vallen was powerful, even chained and wimpish.

“What?” he mused with a forced laugh. “No formal introductions?”

“Don’t test me, Vallen, because I’m more than ready to take your wings,” I threatened as I raised my arm, pointing to my wrist.

Vallen’s eyes darkened as he coughed up more phlegm. His muscles had wasted away, and he resembled a skeleton.

A small lift formed at the corner of his mouth. “You’re fun. I’ve missed my playtime with angels.”

“What angels?” Lex scoffed. “This place is a fortress, and I’m pretty sure they left you here to die.”

Vallen took deep breaths with each word and gestured his head toward the pool of water in the middle of the cave. “If you,” he exhaled again, straining this time. “Want answers. Then water.”

I wavered, not wanting to give him any comfort. But Lex saw the opportunity and took it. He grabbed the silver ladle from the crate, then dipped it into the icy water on the ground. He poured it into Vallen’s mouth with precision, and Baz’s eyes flashed to mine. I shook my head and gave a little shrug.

“He’s right, Noa,” Lex agreed as he continued to quench Vallen’s thirst. “If we want to get anything useful out of him, water can’t hurt.”

“Better?” My eyes turned to slits as I stared down the imprisoned angel. “Talk, Vallen.”

His voice was only somewhat stronger after he drank. “Remember, princess, you might not like what you hear.”

“I’ll be fine,” I replied, clenching my fists with sparks of electricity dancing between my fingers.

The cold air in the cave seemed to sharpen as Vallen’s voice, low and gruff, broke through the tense silence. “Don’t worry. We’ll talk about the sparks you’re igniting between us later.”

Baz stepped between us and pulled me to the side. “Noa, he’s baiting you, and you’re taking it.”

I yanked my arm from Baz’s grip. “Do you realize the strength it is taking for me not to fry him where he hangs?”

“Yes, but—” he started.

“No,” I interrupted him with a raised palm. “I won’t let him have any kind of power over me.”

“But he does,” Baz insisted, looking over at Vallen. I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of hurt with his comment. Then Baz turned his head back to me and whispered, “In order for you to do all the bad things to him, you need to live. We need to live. ”

I looked up and saw Vallen watching us with a smirk playing on his lips. Even though I knew Baz was right, my emotions got the better of me, and I pulled a dagger from the belt around my thigh and lunged toward Vallen. He didn’t flinch as I held the dagger against his throat.

“You should save the romantic chats for later,” Vallen snickered.

“He’s my guardian angel, jackass,” I said through gritted teeth.

“Signati,” he growled. “You fell for her!” Vallen fought to escape his chains.

I pulled the dagger away, then folded my arms across my chest with a raised brow. Stepping back, I quipped, “Did we strike a nerve or put a dent in your plan?”

“Nothing I can’t handle once I’m out of these chains.” He tossed his hair out of his eyes and stared over at Baz and Lex, a twisted smile on his face.

“That’s not happening,” I stated with certainty. “But how about this? For each answer, you’ll get water,” I offered, hoping he would agree.

He raised his hands, still chained to the wall, in mock surrender. “Ask your questions, princess.”

“We’ll unpack and wait over here,” Lex offered and pointed to the wall across from us. He glanced at Vallen and said, “I know I’m hungry.”

I watched until they were far enough away, and hung their torch back up on the wall, then looked back at Vallen. “Tell me what happened with my mother and why you called me here?”

“One question at a time.” Vallen’s eyes studied me, and my chest clenched in fear. He shifted slightly against his chains, then began, “Your mother… Scarlett. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

I whistled, then shook my head. “You mean our home? Don’t give me that crap, Vallen. You killed her!” I roared, shaking with fury.

He continued, unfazed by my outburst. “I saved her,” he stated in a genuine tone through his scratchy throat.

“You sent her to hell, Vallen.” I eyed him, my free hand itching to dagger his chest.

“It’s not what I wanted.” He looked at the ladle, then made his demand. “Water.”

I didn’t move, waiting for him to give me more than what I was willing to give him.

“So impatient,” Vallen noted beneath puckered brows. “Water,” he insisted.

“Fine,” I gritted my teeth and found another notch in the cave wall to hang my torch. I filled the ladle with water from the pool, then brought it to him. I only allowed Vallen one drink. “I said more water,” I noted. “I didn’t say how much.”

“Clever.” He licked his lips and let his eyes linger on me too long. “I love that in a woman.”

I tossed the ladle onto the crate and stepped forward, dagger still in hand. “Tell me about her death,” I requested, teasing the blade along his jawline.

Vallen laughed with a warning, unphased. “You’re playing with another fire here, princess.”

This time, I pushed the blade into the skin right under his chin. “Tell me the fucking truth, you used-up, good-for-nothing piece of trash.”

Vallen’s tone turned hard when he replied, “Your mother’s death was necessary and collateral damage in a much larger game. A game in which you, Noa, are the winning prize.”

“She was standing in your way, you mean!” I screamed, trying to control my rage, but everything in me wanted to cut Vallen from navel to nose. “You, your brother, and Maros, using humans as playthings.”

“Believe what you want,” Vallen spat, and his eyes locked on mine. “It’s the truth. By the time I got to your house, she was pleading for me to kill her. So I did.”

I stared at him, struggling to process what he told me. Was this some twisted mind game, or could there be some truth to his words? My hands shook with electricity as I fought to control my emotions. Vallen’s words hung heavy in the air, threatening to choke me.

I clenched my jaw, feeling the tension spread through my body. I forced myself to take a deep breath, willing myself to remain composed. “Continue, if you’re so desperate for another sip of water.”

“You’re not going to like what I have to say,” Vallen warned.

“Try me.” My fingers twitched as I played with electricity between my fingertips. “I’ll even sheath the dagger.”

Vallen leaned forward, pulling against the chains, watching me fulfill my promise with the dagger. His voice was low and deadly serious as he professed, “I came here to help your family.” He sighed, leaning back against the wall.

I glanced over at Baz and Lex, who had settled against the cave wall on sleeping bags with sandwiches waiting for me. They seemed to trust my judgment, but they knew how volatile my emotions were when it came to Vallen, so both of them remained alert .

“Vincent told me everything.” I groaned, realizing Vallen was useless to any of us. “All three of you were in on it from the beginning, then Vincent and Maros turned on you. So, if you can’t return my soul without me dying, then I choose to stay alive. I’m pretty sure my puppy or any other angel can help with that.”

Vallen’s eyes bore into me with a cold, unrelenting stare. My body shook with rage as I turned to leave, but his voice halted me in my tracks. “I would make the same choices again,” he declared boldly.

My heart twisted in agony as I stared back at him, numb and speechless. “I already know that,” I managed to choke out. “But you’re in this prison, and Vincent is out of control. He became obsessed with my grandmother and kept her alive in a revolting and unnatural way.”

He dropped his chin to his chest. “Water,” he demanded dryly.

An irritated sigh escaped me, but I did what I promised. I grabbed the ladle and retrieved more water, letting him have two sips. I nodded for him to continue.

“My brother fell centuries ago. Before me, even,” Vallen claimed. “He waited, befriending the people here and placing angels throughout Montana to do his bidding across the land. He waited so he could pretend to save everyone.”

Baz and Lex perked up and leaned forward against the wall. Vallen’s eyes flicked to them, then back to me.

“Vincent’s the one who teamed up with Maros in the Veil to steal the secrets and take your world,” he revealed. “They’re on a damn crusade to take more than this one. Vincent didn’t expect me to interfere and sure as hell didn’t expect to fall for Sasha.”

I stared at him in shock, my breath catching in my throat. “No,” I wavered.

“I tried to stop it,” Vallen admitted. “That’s why I stole your souls and placed parts of the secrets in each of you. If I could turn Vincent and Maros into the Seraphic government before they destroyed everything, then I’d be able to put back your souls and the secrets.”

“But you didn’t,” I reminded him. “You used humans like pawns.”

“They had others on the inside, Noa, and knew what I was doing the entire time.” His head snapped up and he said again, “Water.”

I tipped the ladle, which was a quarter full, into his mouth. “How did they catch you?” My tone turned serious as I dug further.

“I stole the bracelet from Sasha and gave it to your mom,” he stated. “Stopping them depended on it, but it forced them to use me to feed the tree and keep the portal open. An open portal gives them infinite access to the Veil.”

“Well,” I laughed with a sudden burst of amusement. “You did something else because Maros called off his deal.”

“That deal was a charade.” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “More water.”

This time, I allowed him to drink what was left in the ladle, and then I stood back, waiting for anything to help me understand.

Baz must’ve sensed my unease, because when I looked over at him and Lex, I saw concern etched in his features. He smiled at me, saying, “Deep breaths. You’re doing well.”

I forced a weak smile and nodded. Except my world was crumbling around me, and I couldn’t afford to show weakness to Vallen. I turned the ladle over in my hand, then stared at the imprisoned angel. Carefully examining his face, I held his gaze, and resentment shot through me.

Grief clouded my mind, and my heart broke for the betrayal I felt. I thought about using the ladle on Vallen’s face for a second, but what he said next surprised me.

Vallen’s eyes softened, and for the first time, I saw a flicker of emotion cross his face. “We can use the bracelet and return your soul to you.”

My heart hammered in my chest, the rhythm of it almost deafening in my ears as his words sank in. My soul. The prospect left me stunned, and I almost couldn’t move.

I twirled the ladle in my hand and said, “So that part is true.”

“Water,” he insisted.

I cast a glare at him while gripping the ladle with both hands. “Needy little thing, aren’t you?”

“We have a deal, princess,” Vallen snapped, so I let him drink the entire amount from the ladle this time.

Baz and Lex exchanged puzzled looks before joining me.

“Are you lying, Vallen?” Baz questioned with a sharp tone, echoing my own silent doubts.

He shook his head and leaned back against the cave wall. “But it comes with a price.”

“And what’s that?” asked Lex.

Then Vallen’s words cut through my temporary hope as he said, “Noa’s life.”