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It didn’t take long before consciousness began to flee me.
Followed by a dizzying swell of gratitude, fear, guilt, and remorse. At least I wouldn’t have to endureallof this. In those last moments, still capable of forming thoughts, I wished so badly that I could feel Malekai’s arms embrace me. Press my cheek to his chest and revel in the sound of his beating heart that seemed to beat a loving rhythm just for me.
That I could somehow hold him and freeze, or slow time like it had earlier so I could finally rest in his arms. Hide there forever, safe and warm, so I wouldn’t have to fight any longer.
For the first 20-plus years of my life, I’d been a victim. And I’d spent the last 90 years ensuring that I was no longer vulnerable by turning others into victims. Either way, I had always been at war with everyone and everything around me except Malekai. Even my ownsoulbound.
As everything finally went dark, I sent a prayer to Akash that he would be ok. That he knew how much I loved him. And a small, distant part of me wished that… Perhaps things between Nakoa and I could have been different.
Chapter
Thirty
MAREINA
Some indeterminable amount of time later, my consciousness wavered distantly. Though I recognized no sense of self or reality - it felt as though every bone in my body had been shattered. A rasping, rattling, wet noise filled my ears, rousing more of my consciousness enough until I realized the sound was coming fromme, and a scorching pain radiating from my side reached the surface of my mind. My lung was punctured. Alarm bells distantly went off in my mind as several hands gripped each of my limbs. Unfathomable pain tore from my throat, now raw from coughing up more water than any pair of lungs could ever possibly hold. I tried to open my eyes, but I realized I couldn’t. They were swollen shut, likely from my face being smashed into countless boulders.
My consciousness dissipated again until my equilibrium soared and whirled like a spinning top, likely from a severe concussion, as those rough hands lifted me, and my ass came down hard into a chair. It felt like electricity scorched every nerve ending in my body, muscles spasming as my broken and torn body conformed to the seat that I could only slump forward in. Consciousness nearly escaped me again, but the sensation of coarse rope came around each of my ankles as my hands, sending more wailing bells of alarm to go off in my mind.
The sound of several unfamiliar voices murmuring in aggressive tones had my head spinning further, gradually settling like motes of dust as I felt the unmistakable and excruciating sensation of my body knitting itself together.
I dared to feel a tiny glimmer of hope at the speed with which my body was healing… My mind began to settle, and eventually, I could make sense of the noise around me, picking up on their words.
“…She’s The Royal Irae…”
“…We should send her back in pieces… Send a message to Zurie.”
“… Embolden The Uprising.”
Reality began to settle on me like a boulder.
Perhaps I should have taken my chances with thecor na tir.
And fuck, if it didn’t hurt that these males were part of Nakoa’s Uprising.
Would he condone such a thing if I weren’t his soulbound?
I couldn’t answer that for sure… And I couldn’t blame him if he would…
“She’s healing pretty fast… We need to get a palladium collar on her before she's conscious again…”
Heavy footsteps rushed away, and I held my breath, waiting to see what they’d do next.
The curve of a finger drew up the side of my fighting leathers, around the curve of my breast. Rage boiled within me, incidentally helping to block out a tiny bit of the physical pain.
“She’s prettier than I remember… Even if she is a little banged up.”
One of the males chuckled.
“I vote we have some fun with her…”
My heart stalled in my chest before it began to pound so loudly it echoed in my ears.
“Heard she grew up at The Erosyan Temple… I bet she knows how to properly please a male.”
My heart kicked up, pounding in both fury and dread.
No.
