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They wheel me forward, and the sound of a door latching behind us has my heart racing. Looking around aimlessly, I see nothing but concrete walls. I’m strapped in a straitjacket sweating my ass off with a blanket over me, yet coldness sets over me. The room is freezing.
They place me in the center and rip the blanket off.
I buck, thrash, and scream into the gag. I can’t stop trying to escape. But do I want to? I’m not sure. I pull my thighs to close to hide my wet pussy, but of course, it doesn’t work. I’m wide open for him to see, and my face heats up with embarrassment.
The bed I’m strapped to is adjusted where my head is lifted and my feet lowered, tilting me so I’m more upright than lying down. The new position has me sliding down just a tad, pushing the already tight belt around my neck pushes deeper against my throat.
My eyes catch sight of the mirror in front of me, and suddenly, I can’t breathe.
I’m the woman. The one on display for whoever is on the other side of the two-way glass.
My eyes shoot over to the back of Saint, and I see him at a counter, but he’s standing in the way. I can’t see what’s in his hand. Haidyn stands next to him. “Adrenaline?” he asks, but it’s muffled over the blood rushing in my ears.
“No,” Saint answers. “I don’t want to kill her.”
He doesn’t want to kill me? Isn’t that what I’m here for? To die? Everyone else in my family is dead. I’m the last one they must get rid of. He said he was going to hurt me.
“I’d prefer her to pass out.” Saint goes on.
“And if she doesn’t?” Haidyn asks.
“She will,” he assures him. “Her body won’t be able to handle it.” Reaching over, he flips a switch on the wall, and a red light comes on up in the corner. There’s a speaker next to it. Whoever is in the observation room is now listening to us.
I yank on my arms and pull on my neck, trying to free it, but the leather wrapped around it chokes me in the process. I cough and sputter as saliva shoots through the hole in the middle of my gagged mouthpiece.
Saint turns to face me, and I plead with my eyes for him to stop. His eyes stay on mine as he walks over to me. I flinch when something cold wipes across my exposed pubic bone. I’m naked from there down. I can tell by the way the cold air from the vents in the ceiling touch my skin.
He does it again, and I close my eyes trying to hold in a sob. He’s cleaning me. Yeah. I’m that woman. They’re going to brand me. The question is will he leave me like this afterward? If so, how long until my arms go numb? Isn’t that what her husband told her? She’d lose feeling? That could be a blessing right now, considering how much my skin burns.
I’m gasping, trying not to panic. It feels like my heart races in my chest. Can you have a heart attack at twenty-one? I’m sure it’s possible.
Saint comes to stand in front of me once again, and this time I see the burning end of the brand. My eyes are too blurry from unshed tears to know what’s on it. It doesn’t matter, really. I said my vows in front of the Lords. In our world, they’re more binding than blood. I’m his to do as he pleases.
“Take a deep breath, Ashtyn.”
His words are as cold as this room. I know they’re for whoever is on the other side of the mirror, but they make my stomach drop, nonetheless.
Snot running from my nose, I take a shaky breath and brace myself, praying he’s right, and I pass out.
SAINT
Saint’s whoreis written across the duct tape that covers the bottom half of her face. I thought it’d be a nice touch to myfuck youattitude toward our fathers for forcing my hand to hurt her like this.
Ashtyn’s gasping for breath; her body shakes uncontrollably, and her eyes are squeezed shut as tears run down her face and tape.
“Are you sure?”
I look up at Haidyn who stares at me. His eyes say everything that I feel. What if she doesn’t pass out? I’ve been branded. It hurts like hell. But I chose that. She’s being forced. Am I willing to take that chance?
“No.” I answer his question. I can’t guarantee that she’ll pass out. Even if she did, she’ll still feel it. I nod to the counter to my left. “Go ahead and give her the adrenaline.”
Ashtyn’s wide, red-rimmed eyes meet mine, and she starts shaking her head, thrashing around on the stretcher. Her cheeks hollow out, and the tape wrinkles from scrunching her features.
Haidyn walks over to the counter, opens a drawer, and fills a syringe from a clear vial. Pulling the plunger back, he draws it out and then tosses it to the side, where it rolls onto the floor and breaks.
She’s screaming into the tape as he walks back over to her. He unbuckles the belted strap that pins her neck to the stretcher, and she goes to lean up, but he grips her taped face with his free hand, forcing her neck back at an angle, exposing it to the room before he sinks the needle into it, administering the liquid.
She instantly goes limp, and her eyes close. He didn’t really give her adrenaline, but since our fathers were listening and would only allow that to be administered, I had to say that. It’s better that she’s sedated and doesn’t remember this.
