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It had been hours since she’d seen anyone—a day had to have passed. Naya felt much better than she had since she’d seen the beast, probably because she’d managed to sleep a little, even though it was uncomfortable.
She watched the stout man closely, but he barely looked her in the eye. He had no plant with him this time. He checked her over, quick and efficiently, and then left. Immediately after, the women came in and unattached her from the wall. Naya kept herself limp and weak, as though she was unable to stand. They led her out of the tent, back through the curtain, and this time she glanced around as they took her to the stone.
The camp of tents took up a significant amount of space but her tent was on the right side. If she could get clear of the camp and then outrun anyone who chased her, she might have a chance of escaping. She could pull out of the women’s hands and run now. They weren’t holding her that securely….
There was still the problem of how she’d survive out in the desert when she didn’t know the land and had no idea how to get home. Did that matter?
Naya flickered with indecision, each step taking her closer to imprisonment on the stone. Was it better she died out here or suffer the wait for a chance to warn her father. What if that chance never came?
She glanced over at the horse-like creatures and the beast was over there, but he was talking to another man with his back to her. Her decision was instantaneous.
Wrenching herself away from the women, Naya pivoted and darted to the right. The women lunged for her, one of them catching her elbow with a strong grip and tugging her back, but Naya pulled free. She forced her legs to move as fast as they could with everything she had, ignoring the orchestra of pain that clashed throughout her body.
Shouts of alarm sounded behind her but she was already moving quickly, rounding the camp and facing the open desert landscape. Narrowing her focus, she kept running, her breath coming out in short pants. But within moments, footsteps sounded behind her. They were heavy but quick and getting closer with every breath she took.
Naya powered everything she could into her legs, desperate to escape into the distant golden sand, but running on sand barefooted wasn’t easy, it kept shifting underneath her.
The footsteps inched closer until they were right behind her.
A heavy body crashed into her, throwing her to the ground. They rolled, sand kicking up around them as they wrestled for the advantage, but her opponent was too big. Locking her wrists behind her with one hand, she was dragged to her feet, and she found herself face to face with the beast.
Fury contorted his face and she scowled back at him.
How he had managed to chase and catch up with her so quickly from where he’d been standing? He hadn’t even been looking in her direction. He bellowed, the words harsh and heavy in a language she didn’t understand. He grabbed the fabric that covered her torso and rubbed his thumb on it, then flicked one of his wrists, jangling the copper rings.
The torso fabric tightened, shooting a sharp pain through her body. Naya pressed her lips together, keeping her whimper in her mouth refusing to acknowledge the agony.
He switched the Common Tongue, his voice as tight as his face. “Where did you think you were going? Do you think you know where you are?” His words turned to bellows. “Do you even know what’s out there?”
Before she could answer, he released her, his arm outstretched. She staggered backward, but when he bent his arm slightly, pulling his wrist in, the fabric tightened even more.
Naya gasped, her eyes watering at the pain.
“You think you can run from me?” His voice lowering with malice.
Naya spluttered, struggling to draw breath under the pressure of the fabric. The beast glared at her and inched his wrist in again. The fabric tightened until it was unbearable, like being caught between two stone walls eager to meet each other with her torso stuck in the middle—solid, relentless.
Naya clawed at her torso, trying to find a way to rip the damn fabric off, but there wasn’t any way to loosen it. A dull pop rocked through her torso, sending an intense pain through her body. Naya staggered, clutching her side. He’d just snapped one of her ribs.
She met his anger with a fury of her own, teeth clenched, still refusing to acknowledge the pain that tore through her. He pulled his wrist in again and another rib snapped.
She grunted through gritted teeth, staggering on the sand, only pure grit keeping her upright. He watched her, his jaw hard, his mouth twisted. “You cannot escape me. And if you try, I will punish you.”
He pulled in his wrist again.
Another dull pop rocked her torso, and this time Naya collapsed on the sand, a scream tearing out of her throat. The pain was beyond anything she’d ever experienced. Like a burning fire spreading through her middle. Even screaming was painful.
The next thing she knew, the beast was lifting her and putting her over his shoulder so roughly she screamed again. He walked back the way they came, each step jostling her and drawing muffled cries from her throat. He walked for ages—it felt like a much longer distance than she’d run but, finally, he slowed to a stop. He grabbed the fabric again, and fiddled with it, then slid her down off him to the ground.
A force pulled her in one swift motion to the dark gray stone.
Pain burst through her as she hit it, and she screamed again. Tears stung her eyes, forming at the onslaught of seemingly never-ending excruciating pain. But once she was against the stone, she tried to stay as still as possible.
The beast towered over her. “If you try to run again, I will break your hip. You do not need to walk while you’re here.”
Naya stared up at him with a blistering rage coursing through her that was ready to burst, and the tears clinging to her lashes made her even more furious. Dark amusement flashed through the fierceness of his expression, but before she could say anything, he stalked away.
She watched him, her chest heaving, but even breathing was painful. Trying to ignore it, she looked around her. She was in the same position against the rock that she’d been yesterday. The camp people were heading into their tents, some leading the horse-like creatures into the largest one.
