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Another demon approached, kneeling at my feet and snapping another set of shackles over my ankles. He ran a short chain from the cuffs to the nearest ring in the floor.
Why was everything in this place so damn cold? Did he keep his handcuffs in the refrigerator? I shivered as the chill of the metal bled into my skin.
The demon on top of me climbed off. Not like I was going anywhere at this point. I should have been glad to have his weight off me, but as cold rushed in where his body heat had been, I almost wished he’d stayed.
Dantalion crouched beside my head and stroked a hand over my arm. I pressed my lips together, refusing to give him any reaction. His hand moved lower, stopping at the hem of my shirt. He gripped the cloth and shoved it up, exposing my stomach.
No.
The fabric was thin and hardly offered any protection, but I still hated losing that barrier. If I’d thought I felt vulnerable before, it was nothing compared to how I felt now with my abdomen bared to him and my limbs chained down. He could do anything to me, to my baby, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
I yanked at the bonds, my need to get away from him overriding common sense.
Dantalion gave me an amused look. “You are so incredibly human. I can’t figure out how you managed to kill Valac.”
“Maybe because demons are so arrogant they don’t know when to watch their own backs when it comes to humans.”
Dantalion’s eyes flared with anger, and I had a brief second of satisfaction before he reached into his back pocket and revealed a knife as sharp and wicked-looking as the ones Nate carried. My breath caught, and every muscle in my body tensed as he brought the blade to my stomach.
“Please.” The word tasted acrid on my tongue, but pride was a luxury I could no longer afford.
To my shock, he removed the knife, but my relief was short-lived as he held the blade out to an approaching figure.
“I believe you’ve met my son Morex.”
Morex looked exactly the same as he had in the airport—hair pulled up, no glasses covering his golden eyes. He took the knife and moved it outside my vision. I felt the pressure of the blade against the skin of my arm.
He smiled. “Just so you know, these walls are all soundproofed. So please, feel free to scream as much as you like.”
I clamped my teeth together, vowing not to scream no matter what he did, even as my heart sped and terror took over every inch of my body.
The light press turned to a sharp sting as the knife split my skin easily.
* * *
My resolvenot to scream lasted through all of the first couple of cuts. All bets were off after that.
Now my throat felt raw from the shouts of pain that had torn through it as the demon sliced into my arms. I’d lost count of how many wounds there must be by now. All I knew was that the insides of my arms felt like they were on fire.
I don’t know how long he worked or how long it had been since I’d been left lying on the floor, still chained down with my shirt pushed up to just under my bra. The lack of windows, lack of anything but silence and concrete, was driving me mad. I had nothing to distract me from the pain or the fear of what came next.
I wasn’t alone—there were at least a dozen demons hanging around, watching me. Whether they were there as added guards or simply wanted to watch the show, I didn’t know. But they hadn’t gone when Dantalion and Morex finally left me. I could see them at the edges of my vision.
The sound of footsteps steadily getting closer to me sent my heart clambering to get out of my chest. I flinched when a shadow passed over me.
Morex didn’t even look at me. I was no longer a person to him. I was nothing but a body to pull pain from.
“Turn her over,” he said in a calm, apathetic voice.
Two of the demon grunts approached. One unhooked my hands while the other turned me facedown. I moaned as my burning arms touched the cold floor. Above my head, I heard the click of the handcuffs being resecured.
* * *
Time was meaningless.I didn’t know if minutes or hours had passed since Morex had left me alone.
I was still secured to the ground, lying facedown, but I wasn’t sure I had the energy or will to move if given the chance.
The second round hadn’t been quite as bad as the first. The outsides of my arms weren’t as sensitive as the insides.
