Page 27 of Secrets of Ruin

“It’s no longer your turn, my dear,” the emperor practically purred. “But it will come again.”

The foul man smirked at her in his horrific way; his yellow eyes gleamed with amusement. Knowing she couldn’t do anything, Kaylia lifted her chin and made her expression blank as she shifted her attention to Brokk.

The ophidians strapped his wrists into the thick manacles hanging from the ceiling while they locked his ankles into the ones on the floor. She knew from her past experiences with the whip how strong, thick, and impossible to break those chains were.

When they finished locking him into place, the ophidians slithered back, and one of them produced a cat o’ nine tails. The emperor grinned as the first blow landed against Brokk’s back with a crack that made Kaylia inwardly wince while she remained outwardly immobile.

With each new crack of the whip, a part of her died a little more, but she never looked away as Brokk’s blood ran free and the last of her hope died.

They were never going to leave this place alive.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Brokk barely held on to consciousness by the time they finished with him. His head lolled forward; he couldn’t see what they’d done, but he felt it as every beat of his heart shot flames throughout the ravaged nerve endings on his back.

Blood ran in rivulets down his back and ass to drip on the floor. He didn’t have to see what they’d done to know they’d taken all the flesh from him.

“Throw him in her old cell,” the emperor commanded before slithering out of the room with a number of followers.

He didn’t know how many remained, but the emperor was gone, which meant Kaylia would be safe for the rest of today. It was a small reprieve given everything else that happened, but he’d give all the skin on his body if it meant keeping her safe.

The only problem was, he couldn’t keep her safe forever. They would go after her again, and once he was back in one of those cells, there was nothing he could do about it.

The chains clinked and rattled as they freed his ankles and wrists. Unable to remain standing, he went to his knees when his arms fell to his sides.

Determined not to let them see him like this, he started to rise as two ophidians each clasped an arm. A third started pulling on the metal gloves to open the cell while the other two dragged him toward his cell.

Brokk struggled to get his feet under him rather than have them drag him. With effort, he lifted his head to take in the dungeon through blurred vision. At first, he thought he was seeing things or not seeing things, but as Brokk blinked rapidly and his vision cleared, he realized the rest of the ophidians were gone.

It was just him and these three.

Brokk stopped trying to get to his feet and went limp in their hold. His toes scraped the dirt as they dragged him toward the cell Kaylia used to occupy.

Most of the strength he’d regained from his time with Kaylia now seeped down his back and decorated the floor, but he still maintained some of it. They believed him too weak to do anything, and normally, they’d be right, but she’d reinvigorated him far more than they could have anticipated.

As did the knowledge that it would be their last chance if he failed now. Once those bars closed on him again, their deaths would become a guarantee. Weakened and mangled or not, he’d never have another opportunity like this.

His eyes briefly met Kaylia’s as she turned to follow their movement. The grief, hopelessness, and unhappiness emanating from her only fueled his urge to get her away from this awful place. She was a being of nature, light, and beauty wasting away in this pit of despair.

The only problem was he didn’t know if he was strong enough to do anything. Yes, some of the power she’d returned to him remained, but was it enough?

It has to be.

Brokk lowered his head again but kept it high enough to watch them surreptitiously as he remained limp in their grip. His toes scratched the dirt. The one with gloves shifted his hold on his pole to produce a set of keys from the pouch secured to his waist.

The ophidians holding him had left their metal poles against the wall near the manacles once binding him. They didn’t think they were necessary, and judging by the lax way the other held his pole, he didn’t consider Brokk a threat.

You have to move. You have to go now! This is the first mistake they’ve ever made, and if you don’t take advantage of it, you’re all dead. Kaylia is dead!

With those words hammering in his brain, he eyed the distance to his cell and the way the ophidian with his gloves continued to hold his pole loosely. Adrenaline flowed through him as his drive to survive and to ensure Kaylia did, too, gave him strength.

He watched and waited as they dragged him closer to his new cell. Five feet… Four… Three… Two… One.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

They were about to toss Brokk inside the cell when he jerked his feet forward and planted his heels in the ground. At the same time, he threw all his weight to the side.

His flayed back screamed in protest. Fire lanced across his tattered nerve endings as what remained of his muscles and tendons protested the movement.