AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Next floor down, I heard.”
Rage replaced my fear at the leering entitlement in his voice.
The scarred one licked his lips. “You heard right. The men and I had her last night. Not much left to her, but she’s still High Fae, so there’s that.” I gripped the metal so hard it cut into my palm.
These fucking bastards…they all had to die.
“You’reHigh Fae.” We’d stopped moving, his hand clamped around my throat as he shoved me against the wall. “Young, too.”
“Hands off.” One of the others reminded him gruffly. “Or you’ll answer to Solok.”
But he was the only dissenter. The rest crowded closer; the air thick with lust.
My breathing turned ragged, desperate. Once again, I was trapped with no hope of escape. Once again, I was defenseless, in a world that seemed determined to crush me.
“Solok’s not here, though, is he?” My captor kept me pinned down, his other hand working between my legs. I brought my knee up, but he shoved it back down, tightened his grip on my neck until I saw spots. “This’ll only take me a minute.”
“Solok said…”
“Solok can fuck right off.” The fingers around my throat tightened. “I’ll have her, then we’ll be on our way, and no one will be the wiser.” His eyes shone with same brutal savagery Berenger’s had, and I wondered if all males had this sadistic streak.
Or was it my bad luck to run across the ones who did.
My vision went blurry while I fought for breath, his weight keeping me trapped. But my hand was free, and I brought it up, swung that rusty metal bracket in a perfect arc from my hip straight up to his eye, and drove the end in as deep as I could.
He screamed and spun away, both hands clasped to his face, blood already streaming down his face while another stripped the bracket away, it clattered across the stone floor. Their faces promised retribution and all hope of escape withered and died.
“Very good, little thief. You certainly do amuse.”
Everyone—including me—froze at Solok’s voice.
“There was a time when my requests would be obeyed without question.” Every word made the guards shrink down and it was refreshing to see his vileness turned on someone else. “It has become evident to me that a reminder is in order.”
My body quivered, remembering the whipping, the excruciating pain coming back to me. How close he’d come to killing me, only days ago. How furious he’d been at my defiance, how I would have rather died than give into him.
He stopped in front of me, those yellow, serpentine eyes scanning me before drifting to the bloodied hunk of metal on the floor. “So very resourceful, aren’t you?”
I didn’t see him draw his knife, only that he had it in his hand, and I remembered that sharp tip, the feel of him carving his initial into my stomach.
The initial that was still there.
Solok remembered too, his tongue flicking out to wet his lips. “I would have so enjoyed playing with you, little thief.” His voice was tinged with regret. “But it was not to be.” Abruptly, he stepped back, his eyes flat and cold once more.
The next second the corridor dripped blood, the guards screaming in unison as the Axe sliced them apart, moving faster than should be possible. I huddled against the wall, surrounded by bodies, lifeless eyes gazing at me.
Solok cleaned his knife on a dead guard’s cape. “I commend you for trying to stop them. Next time, do not fail. When I say the prisoner is to remain untouched, I mean it. Kill them, if you must, but never disobey my orders again.”
The remaining guard drew himself up straight. “Yes, my lord.”
“I am no lord.” His gaze slithered over me. “Now get her on her feet and bring her to the High Seer’s chamber. We have a ritual to attend to.”
19
ANARIA
The High Seer’s chamber was everything I imagined.
If I was in the habit of dreaming the impossible.
