AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I shrugged. “Rape isn’t about sex—it’s about wielding power. I know that much, and I refuse to let him destroy my passion. I won’t let him take that away from me. But the pain . . . the beatings . . . I’ve never experienced pain like that before. And you know I’ve been hurt a lot since we came over Earthside. I’m not as quick or physically as strong as you and Menolly. The pain scared me.”
Delilah bit her lip, then leaned forward. “You will get through this. It’s your nature, Camille. But whenever you need to vent, just tell me—or Menolly—and we’ll be there for you. If you need to scream in the woods, or beat up on some stupid troll, we’ll find you what you need and let you whop ass on it.”
I sucked in a long, deep breath and let it out with a shudder. “I thought I’d met evil before, but he is evil like . . . like Karvanak was—only less reasonable and far more dangerous. He’s a sadist. He drinks deep from the pain of others. And he’s jealous—he’s so jealous of Smoky.”
“It’s sad when a father can’t rejoice in the joys of his children.” Delilah frowned. “At least Smoky didn’t kill Vanzir. We thought he was going to, but when we found out you’d been captured, he went wild. He totally blames himself for it—if he hadn’t yelled at you and told you to get out of his sight, you wouldn’t have gone walking in the woods and been captured.”
“I already had a talk with Vanzir about that. Smoky’s going to have to get over it. I don’t have the energy to soothe his fears. And whatever happened, there’s nothing we can do about it now. The important thing is that we pull together. I notice they’re in the same room out there and there’s been no bloodshed. That’s a good thing so far.”
I finished my sandwich and flexed my hands, except for my finger held rigid by a splint. They were about the only part of me that didn’t hurt, aside from the fractured bone. But Sharah’s salve had worked wonders, and the pain was muted. As was the queasiness and my fatigue. Whatever was in that little vial was a wonder drug as far as I was concerned.
“We have to get over to the astral and find Chase. He seems to be able to home in on my energy field—we have similar sparks in our auras and I think he’s going to end up wielding some interesting magic in the future.”
“Are you sure you’re up to it?” Delilah cocked her head, giving me a skeptical look.
“Keeping busy is the only thing that will save my sanity right now. I can’t sit here forever, worried that Hyto is going to come barreling down on me. Come on, let’s see if Smoky can take us over with him.”
I pushed back from my chair, then stared down at my nightgown and robe. “I guess I’d better get dressed first, huh?”
She laughed, and her laughter felt good as it rang through the air. “Yeah, somehow I don’t think those are fighting clothes.”
“You said it, not me.” I forced a smile to my lips and we headed into the other room. “I keep clothes out here for when we come to stay. Hold on and I’ll be right out.”
As I entered the bedroom, I saw that Hanna was back in bed, asleep. Sharah motioned me to the side. “She’s malnourished and exhausted and has a nasty case of asthma. I’ve got her on meds, and she’ll need to rest for a couple of weeks at least.”
I nodded, quietly plundering the closet for a skirt, bustier, and jacket. I longed for my unicorn horn—until we killed Hyto, it was the only thing that might stand between me and the dragon.
As I returned to the living room, the others were gathered together, discussing the best place to approach Hyto. I motioned for Delilah to lace me up.
“Are you sure that’s wise? That corset is tight.” She pulled on the laces and I let out a gasp of pain.
“It will help. I checked with Sharah. The support will ease my bruised ribs even though it makes the lacerations on my back hurt.” I held up my hand. “Not much is going to help this little bugger but time, though.”
Being back in my own clothes, among my family, I began to relax just a little. It would take time to heal, but as I glanced around from face to face, I knew that with their help I’d be back in control sooner than later.
“Chase was stronger than I’ve ever seen him. He had no clue how he’d gotten out on the astral, but the fact is he managed it.”
Delilah let out a long sigh. “Smoky’s the only one here who can reach the astral. He can’t take all of us. If Roz were here, but he’s not . . .”
“I can take three,” Smoky said, “which means Delilah, Camille, and Trillian. Vanzir—” Here he stopped, again staring coldly at the demon.
Vanzir met his gaze, but did not challenge him. “Truce holds?”
Enough of this crap. I stood up.
“Both of you—listen to me. I don’t want to have to say this again. I’ve had enough of feeling responsible for the hostility between you. So right now, it ends. No more. No more fighting. What happened between Vanzir and me happened. It shouldn’t have, but it did. We were both injured by the aftereffects. It’s over. Done. He’s been drained of his powers, and I ended up as Hyto’s plaything. We’ve both been hurt. So, Smoky, you have to stop. You have to stop this.”
Smoky sputtered, but I shook my head. “No. Just . . . no. I want you two to shake hands and apologize to each other.”
Vanzir let out a long breath. “I don’t do apologies easily, but I am sorry for this. I’m mostly sorry to Camille—it was she whom I hurt. But Smoky, my apologies to you, too. Whatever it takes to be on the same side again.”
I turned to Smoky. “I’m waiting,” I said, tapping my boot. I’d had enough of petty fights.
My dragon rolled his eyes. “Whatever you wish, my love. Vanzir, I remove my threats to dismember you. But remember this: Once was an accident. Twice—”
“Yeah, yeah, the big bad dragon will tear me to shreds.” Vanzir waved him away, but then his gaze fell on me and he sobered. “I’m sorry. I just realized . . .”
I bit my lip. I had to make a choice. Either I could let this drag me down, or I could soldier on. And regardless of his feelings toward me now, I’d been born and raised a soldier’s daughter and I still had that sense of honor. We didn’t have time for me to wallow. I’d have to wait until downtime for revisit hell.
