Muci walked back to the phone and picked it up. Raelyn continued to struggle, as if releasing herself might somehow slow the poison that had been plunged into her neck.

Dominic slid the phone into his pocket and jabbed the elevator button. "Surely you don't think I would make it that easy!"

Dane raced up the stairs and Dominic joined him. His heart pounded, calculating how long it would take for them to reach the thirty-fifth floor—or maybe thirty-sixth based on the view to the surrounding buildings.

Crockett was a few floors below, running as fast as he could. Between the two parallel sets of stairs, a pulley system ran. On the fourteenth floor, he had seen an empty platform where equipment could be lifted.

"Crockett, I have a plan!"

"What is it?" Crockett huffed below.

If he could get to the twenty-second floor...

"You're running out of time!" Muci crooned from floors above.

"When you see the platform connected to the pulley system, jump in it!"

"What?"

Dominic was on the twenty-first floor. "Do it!"

Just then, the pulley system began to shriek, and Dominic jumped over the railing and onto the opposite side of the pulley. As Crockett fell toward the ground, he yanked Dominic up fourteen floors. Crockett landed with a shout, but Dominic managed to swing back onto the stairs. He raced down a half flight and saw something sway in the wind.

He sprinted toward Raelyn, who had turned bright red, sweating as her heart began to slow down.

Not wasting a moment, he plunged his teeth into her neck—the side closest to a pillar, he remembered, and began to drain her. He drank deeply, desperate to taste the bitter poison.

Was he too late? He continued, gripping the back of her neck as he drank as fast as he could. He considered spitting it out, but that would have wasted precious time. He continued and Raelyn was too disoriented to care.

He couldn't keep going, or her blood wouldn't have enough to pump with, and she would die of a heart attack anyway.

Bitterness filled his mouth and he spit it out on instinct. Realizing he had hit the poison, he drank more until the bitterness cleared. He spit it out and tasted more to ensure that was all of it. Raelyn's faced had turned white, but she was still conscious. He leaned in and licked the bite wound on her neck, sealing in the rest of her precious blood. Relief poured down his spine.

His body felt like it was alive with energy, but his heart ached when he saw Raelyn's panicked face. "Dominic!"

He reached up to untie her, yearning to comfort her. "I can expla—"

Her eyes went wide when two silver daggers plunged into his back. A third wiggled at the small of his back, stabbing his spine. He yelled, falling to the ground, paralyzed.

Muci took a step back, nodding to the men next to him. "Cut her down."

Dominic shook, pain rocketing through his body. Crockett was too far below to help—he was dazed at the bottom. Dane—for all his bulk and benefit—wasn't built for climbing stairs.

Muci's henchmen cut Raelyn down and she collapsed onto her knees, exhausted. "Your turn, my dear." Raelyn crawled over to Dominic, hands still bound. She grabbed one of the silver knives and pulled it out. She reached for the next, but the henchmen dragged her back and added two new knives to Dominic's back.

"Dominic!" Raelyn's voice was weak but desperate as she watched him writhe. She turned to Muci. "What do you want?"

"Bite him."

Raelyn stared. "What?"

"Bite him. Just like he did to you, but you don't have to be so...greedy about it. Bite him." He raised a hand. "On the neck, specifically."

"Why?"

Muci rolled his eyes. "Aren't you a curious little gem?" He nodded to the men holding her and the dragged her forward, pulling Dominic so she could lean down and bite his neck, but pulling her bound hands to the side.

Raelyn shook her head. "I can't hurt him."

"You've already done that. Emotionally, at least. A little bite won't hurt him too badly, gem. Hurry up. I have a meeting in fifteen minutes."

Raelyn's head swam and her heart throbbed like her blood had been replaced with syrup. She swayed and the men moved their hands to steady her shoulders.

She shot her shoulder out, knocking one back and managing to free two knives before they tossed her to the ground, stomping a booted foot against her chest. She coughed, tasting blood. The remaining three reinserted the knives; Dominic was still conscious but had stopped struggling. His voice was hoarse. "Raelyn."

Muci groaned. "Untie her hands and hold them behind her back." The men did so and held her over Dominic, placing her mouth against his neck. "Bite him."

Raelyn shook her head.

Muci rubbed his hands. "This was supposed to be the easy part." He knelt behind Raelyn, and she struggled to see what he was doing. "Bite him."

"No!" she screamed.

"Fine. This was your first chance. You will have nine more." With that, he gripped her pinkie between his fingers. Raelyn froze when she realized his intentions. He snapped the bone and Raelyn shouted in pain and anger. "Bite him."

A cold sweat washed over her. "Why?!"

He grabbed her ring finger and snapped it. "Bite him."

She tried to curl up into herself, but they had a firm grip on her. "Okay, okay!" She took a deep breath, opening her mouth and setting her teeth against his skin.

Her middle finger snapped, and she recoiled. "Hurry up!" Muci grabbed her head, pulling her head back. "I do not have all day. And you only have seven more fingers."

Raelyn leaned forward and set her teeth against his neck. Even with the agony in her hand, she couldn't bring herself to do it—she couldn't intentionally hurt someone who wasn't attacking her.

Muci groaned and shoved her head into his neck, smashing her sore nose into his skin. He snapped her index finger, and she bit down as quickly as she could. Muci yanked her hair, and the men tossed her behind him, leaving her to clutch her mangled hand. Black dots swam in front of her eyes.

Muci checked Dominic's neck before leaning back, satisfied. "Good work." He waved to Raelyn and Dominic. "I will be off. My men here will ensure I am clear before you can reunite." Muci pressed the elevator button and it dinged.

He leaned over to see Dominic staring daggers.

"I told you. I'm merely giving you what you want. Besides, what's the crime in kidnapping a human? Cheer up. Not only did you get the girl, but now you're Blood-Bonded."

The elevator doors closed.