“Excellent.” He clapped once, delighted. “Shall we?”
The servant stepped forward with the machine. Metal clinked. The faint scent of oil reached me.
“There are other methods,” Egath said, retreating to lean against the dresser, arms folded.
“Ah yes, you’re right, of course. But this is more educational.” Tallon’s grin sharpened. “Nienna, would you prefer I cut you again and rummage through that stubborn mind of yours to compel obedience?”
The room spun as I pushed upright and edged away from him.
“I’d say that’s ano.” He gestured for the servant to come closer.
“What is it?” My voice thinned. I drew my knees to my chest and wrapped the blanket tighter around my chilled skin.
“A marvel,” Tallon replied. “You see, there are some Velli who, like you, refuse to eat. Pride. Principle. Melodrama. This persuades them otherwise. This economy runs on blood—we can’t let it go to waste. You are a special case, of course. We need that womb of yours, so naturally we need you alive.”
The servant fed cooked beef into the grinder. The crank turned. Meat shredded with a wet grind, transformed into a thick paste. Water splashed in. He stirred it with a metal rod until the mixture thinned.
“I refuse.” My head shook hard enough to make the walls sway. “I won’t let you.”
“She won’tlet me, she says,” Tallon jeered, then shifted onto his knees. “Egath?”
“No!” I lunged—
But Egath intercepted me before my feet found the floor. My back struck the mattress with a thud that jarred my teeth. His weight pinned my arms above my head. His gaze locked with mine, not cruel, not kind. Resolved.
“Do not make this worse,” he said.
“Please.” Tears burned hot against my skin. “Don’t do this.”
The servant approached with the hose.
“I have always wanted to see this,” Tallon mused, breath bright with anticipation. “Egath described it, but this is so much better.”
Hands seized my face. Fingers pressed into my cheeks, forcing my lips—my jaw—apart. I clenched my teeth. My body bucked. Tallon lost his balance, freeing one leg. My heel caught him hard. He cursed.
The servant forced the tube into the corner of my mouth. Rubber scraped against enamel. I sucked in a sharp breath through my nose before fingers pinched it closed.
Panic detonated in my chest.
I thrashed, twisting, every muscle straining against Egath’s hold. Air thinned. The tube slid deeper, gag reflex erupting. My throat convulsed around the intrusion.
It would not stop.
The paste flowed through the hose. Warm, salted flesh hit the back of my tongue. I choked as it poured down, unable to spit, unable to swallow properly. My body betrayed me, muscles working to survive even as my mind screamed.
Tears blurred the ceiling.
Kallias, find me!
Chapter Fifty-One
Kallias
Iwas numb.
My hands throbbed from clawing through rock until nails split and skin tore. Grit still clung beneath them. My boots felt fused to my feet after days of walking broken terrain. Sleep had become a rumor, something other men enjoyed. Thought came slow, thick, blunted.
Nothing brought me closer to her.
