It was a conflict of emotions.
Fate reached for my forehead but paused at the last second.
“Child of Fate,” he breathed, almost in awe. “I will be seeing you again, child. I look forward to that day.”
Before I could ask what he meant, he placed a hand so cold it was almost hot on my forehead, and I screamed in agony, Faylinn’s memories assaulting my own, burrowing deep into the recesses of my mind until I didn’t know where my memories stopped and hers began.
It felt like an eternity that I screamed.
But, eventually, the assault of pain stopped and I opened my eyes.
The room was no longer foggy, the lights back to their normal level.
Faylinn’s cell was empty, Fate and Faylinn nowhere to be seen.
I smiled slightly, even as tears fell down my face.
Go, Fay. I’ll see you again in my dreams. Where you’re happy and whole, and no one can hurt you.And thank you, Fay. I promise I won’t waste the gift you gave me.
I took a breath, steeling myself for tomorrow.
Because tomorrow, I would Awaken.
And then I would live.
Chapter 83
Lex
EIGHTEEN YEARS AGO
The burning feeling that began yesterday started in earnest this morning, before the torture began. It was like my innate magic knew, somehow, that today was the day—today it would be allowed to surface. Though the sensation was painful to the point I felt bile rise in my throat yesterday, it was more muted today.
Strong still, but without the edge of agony.
I was taken directly to my table as soon as we left the cells, bypassing the other men and women as they sat down for their morning meal.
Apparently they’d be getting oatmeal with a side of torture and sex today.I almost laughed; the thought so absurd. Today was clearly a “both” day, where the men in black robes poked and prodded us with blades while we fucked our way to an Awakening. The handful of men and women from the pleasure house already in the room confirmed my suspicions.
The strangest, and most beautiful part, was that no one—test subjects, men in black robes, not even the whores—seemed to remember Faylinn. It was like she never even existed. Thethought made me feel triumphant. Like I’d won something in this godsforsaken place.
That realization alone had me practically floating as I lay down on the table without a sound. I barely felt the straps when they were pulled tight across my chest, head, and legs. The knife in my ribs and across my torso barely registered, my thoughts so firmly focused on the fact that Faylinn was okay.
She got out.
And I was going to get out, too.
I just had to Awaken first.
I tried to concentrate on the feeling deep inside, tried to coax it further, to stoke the flames into an inferno. But they simply sat in my chest. Moving, but not expanding.
Oh, PleasureandPain. The rune Faylinn had inscribed on my neck was supposed to help me Awaken with two affinities, not just one. So, of course the feeling wasn’t going to expand until both pieces were in play. The scores on my flesh were only half of the story, I needed the pleasure as well.
I closed my eyes, willing my dick to respond.
It’d been ages since I’d tried to be aroused naturally. Generally, the men in black robes brought a full-fledged Pleasure Mage into the room and had them release a healthy dose of their magic, causing false arousal in each of us.
It was the only way I could get it up in this place. The only way I could fulfillthatpart of my magic.
