Chapter 85 The Trap
Ginnie
I tightened my grip unconsciously on my dress as I walked beside Varkos, ignoring the dull ache running through my body.
I still feel every step hurt through me with a sharp ache, but it didn’t matter right now the only thing that mattered was Lily.
“Lily?” I called, my voice echoing faintly through the space. “Lily, where are you?”
No sound came back in return.
“She has to be here…” I whispered, more to myself than anyone else. “You said she was here.”
Kenna doesn’t respond.
I shoot a glance at her, noticing something uneasy stir inside me as she walks ahead of us calmly, her posture straight, her steps steady without hesitating or looking back.
“Kenna…” I called carefully.
She stopped.
For a second, she didn’t move. Then, slowly, she turned around to face us, a sly smirk tugging at the corner of her lips the moment my eyes landed on her.
Something was off.
Terribly wrong.
Before I could say anything else, a sharp sound echoed through the building.
Click!
“What was that…?” I whispered.
I didn’t get an answer.
Then suddenly, everything strikes in too fast.
Without warning chains shoot out from the walls—thick, heavy, moving with terrifying speed. Before I could even process what was happening, they wrapped around Varkos, locking tightly around his arms and torso.
“Varkos!” I screamed.
His body jerked as the chains snapped into place, forcing him down with brutal force. He growled low in his throat, muscles straining as he tried to break free, the ground beneath him cracking under the pressure of his strength.
For a moment, I thought he would.
But then—
A sharp, burning scent fills my lungs, harsh and poisonous making me cough instantly. My gaze locks immediately on the way Varkos’s breathing changes.
“Wolfsbane…”
My heart drops.
“No… no, no…”
A laugh echoed through the space, and I spun sharply to see Kenna standing a distance away from us now. She had stepped back, watching everything unfold with a calm, almost amused expression on her face.
“Did you really think,” she began, tilting her head, “that I would lead you here that easily?”
“You… lied,” I whispered.
Her lips curved slightly, easing a sinister smirk.
“I didn’t lie,” she replied calmly. “I just didn’t tell you everything.”
Behind me, Varkos let out a low, dangerous growl, as his eyes locked on her. “Release me, Kenna. Now!” His order comes off coldly.
“Oh, Varkos… you’re still giving orders. Even now?”
Kenna lifts her hand, and instantly men step out from the shadows one after another, surrounding us. They appear large, armed, exuding a dangerous aura.
Their presence closed in from every direction until there was nowhere left to run. My breath hitched, feeling my heart thudding hard against my chest.
There were too many.
Way too many.
“I’m not going to spare the both of you this time,” Kenna said, her voice calm, almost bored. “Not this time.”
“Where is Lily?” I demanded, my voice trembling. “You said she was here…where is she?!”
Kenna’s gaze shifted to me, and something in her eyes shifted, turning cold, “Lily…” she repeated softly. “Ah… yes. The child.”
“Where is she?” I asked again, my tone louder this time.
Kenna takes a slow, deliberate step toward me. “You’re still thinking about her,” she hissed, her voice almost amused. “Even now?”
“She’s just a child!” I snapped, my hands shaking. “What did you do to her?!”
Kenna didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she walked past me, circling me slowly like I was some trapped animal she was studying.
“She was never the prize,” she said quietly.
“What…?”
“You really thought this was all about, Lily?” she continued. “No, Ginnie.” She leans in slightly. “This was about bringing you and Varkos here.”
My heart dropped completely.
“You planned this…” I whispered, “This was your plan from the very beginning.” Behind me, I hear the chains rattle violently as Varkos struggles again.
“You think this will hold me?” he growled.
“It doesn’t need to hold you forever,” Kenna snaps back. “Just long enough.”
A painful knot twists in my stomach.
“Where is Lily?” I asked again, my voice cracking a bit. “Please… just tell me she’s okay…”
For a split second, something flickered in Kenna’s eyes, but as quickly as it had appeared. “She’s alive, somewhere.”
“What do you mean…somewhere?” I ask, panic rising inside me, I could now feel tears sting in my eyes as they welled up.
“You’re always one step too late.”
“No… you’re lying…”
“Am I?” she said calmly.
Behind me, Varkos let out a roar, the chains shaking violently as his strength surged.
“If you touch her—”
“Enough!” Kenna snapped.
Silence dropped instantly, stiffening even the men around us as she walked toward Varkos slowly, stopping in front of him.
“You still don’t understand, do you?” Her voice drops to a low, dangerous whisper. “This was never about killing you quickly,” she looked up at him, her voice lowering.
“I wanted you to feel…every moment, every loss. Every piece of your life…falling apart.”
Then she turned to me, but before I could react, rough hands grabbed me from behind. I screamed, struggling as they held me tightly.
“Let me go!”
“Take your hands off her!” Varkos roars just a few steps away from us.
The sound of the chains fills the room rattling violently as he fights against them, his strength terrifying, yet I could sense that now,
He was gradually slowing down.
The poison had now started working.
“Varkos…” I whispered, shaking my head.
Kenna was watching him with a small, satisfying smile.
“You’re weakening.”
He didn’t respond, but I caught every glimpse from the moment his knees almost gave out.
“No! Stop it! Please—just stop!”
“Hold him,” Kenna orders.
The men moved closer, tightening the chains, one of them struck Varkos hard across the back and he staggered, but didn't fall.
Another hit comes fast.
Dropping him to one knee this time.
“Varkos…” I whisper through my breath.
“Varkos!”
He didn’t move, and no response came.
“No… please…” My voice broke as I struggled against the men holding me. “Please get up…”
The men moved immediately, dragging Varkos across the floor like he was some sack of filth, not acknowledging that he was clearly the strongest man in Bleeding Rose.
“Stop!” I screamed, thrashing violently. “Let him go! Please!”
But no one listened.
They grabbed me too, pulling me away.
My heart shattered as I watched him completely still and being dragged.
“VARKOS!”