AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Running over to the door but not being able to make it to the threshold completely due to the rope, I screamed loudly, “It’s choking me! This rope is too tight. I’m choking. Do you hear me? Come back!” I yanked at the rope as hard as I could.
No response.
“Please! Freyr! Steen! Anyone! I swear to you that I will be good. I’ll be good and never give you any trouble again. Just please remove the rope around my neck. I can’t stand it. Please! I beg you.”
No response.
My chest constricted and I wheezed with all my might to take in some air. I would suffocate. I would die. I would die right in this room if someone didn’t come and help me.
Crumpling down to the floor, I pulled my knees to my chest and allowed the tears to fall. With my fingers between the rope and my neck, I slowly managed to calm myself just enough to know I wasn’t going to die like I’d thought only seconds before. But maybe I wanted to. Maybe I wanted to die so I didn’t have to endure being with the huntsmen any longer. Seven monsters. Seven demons leading me to hell.
I was so lost in my misery that I didn’t hear the door to the room open. The large frame of Steen caught the corner of my eye, alerting me that he had heard my plea.
Looking up at him with tears streaming down my face, I begged, “Please, Steen. I can’t survive with something so tight around my neck.” I pulled at the knotted rope to emphasize my appeal.
He knelt down beside me and looked me straight in the eyes. “Look at me and take slow, deep breaths.” He placed his fingertip on my cheek and stroked softly. “Calm down. You are going to be just fine.”
I shook my head. “No, I can’t breathe.”
He moved his fingertip and gently ran it along the rope where it met my neck. He dipped his finger between the knots and flesh and said, “There is plenty of room. It’s all in your head. You can breathe.”
“No,” I wheezed, continuing to cry. “Please. I already told Freyr, and I will tell the others when they return, but I won’t try to flee again. I swear it. I have learned my lesson.”
He removed his hand from the rope and placed it on my head. Slowly he stroked his fingers through my hair, never taking his eyes away from mine. “Shhh…just calm down. Calm down. Once you are calm, you will see that the rope is giving you plenty of room to breathe.”
“Why can’t you untie me? Please!”
He shook his head. “Freyr tied you up, which means Freyr is the only one who can untie you. We don’t undermine each other around here. His choices are his.”
“I’ll do anything,” I gasped, although I did seem to be breathing better as the moments passed. His gentle touch and petting of my hair did seem to ease some of my distress.
“Deep breaths,” he cooed as he leaned in and kissed my cheek with the most tender of touches. “Breathe in, breathe out.”
I followed his command and did my best to regain control of my body.
“That’s a good girl,” he praised. “One breath at a time.” He kissed my cheek again and then my forehead, continuing to stroke my sweaty hair. “You are going to be just fine.”
Would I be? How could I be just fine ever again? I had never been just fine—even before the huntsmen captured me. My stepmother had made sure of that.
“Do I deserve to be treated like an animal?” I asked. It appeared that my words did make a difference as he seemed to be bothered by my question when his eyes narrowed, but I also got the sense that there was no use trying to convince Steen to go against his brother. They had rules and some sort of code that clearly none of them would break.
Steen placed his palms on each side of my face and forced me to stare directly into his eyes. “You need to behave. If you continue to disobey and act out, I promise you that this rope around your neck will be minor in comparison to what will happen in the future. Behave. Do you understand me? You have nowhere to go. No one to protect you other than us. You will only be hunted down again and suffer the consequences—but with huntsmen having far less patience than I.”
He extended his hand to assist me up now that I was breathing normally again.
Standing, I took a moment to allow the slight dizziness to dissipate. Steen placed his arm around my body to hold me steady while the room swirled around me. It hadn’t taken long to return to my old self.
