The last leg of our journey was completed in utter silence. I was too focussed on thinking of ways to get out of this mess and Deakin seemed content to sit in the silence I had begun. I tried not to notice the way he distanced himself from me, a difficult feat considering the chain we had connecting us together. He made no move to touch me or harm me in any way, which put me off balance. He no longer slept close to me, allowing the cold to infiltrate my skin at night. It was almost as if he had heard what I had said, really heard me, and was giving me the space I needed. But to what end? It made no sense to me and perverted the way I wanted to see him. I wanted and needed him to be the evil bad guy. It was the only way my world could make sense. And still, underneath it all was the magic that thrummed through my veins, dulling my senses and making it impossible to find out what he was thinking. Each and every morning he injected me. I was relieved that it was only a temporary effect
We spent the whole night and the next day together, talking slowly about everything that had happened. It was as if everything around us melted away and the world seemed to just stop. I panicked every time there was a slight sound, but he assured me no one would come up this way. He was a general after all. This only made me laugh, but did nothing to ease the worry. Surely they would be searching every inch of the building for me. At one point there was a knock on the door and Blake urged me to hide in the closet. The men at the door had sounded gruff, almost urgent. But Blake’s dismissive and authoritative tone had them turned away within minutes. I had thought my heart was going to explode from my chest in panic. After that, he spent half of the time going over every detail of how had safely made it in here. The story had me clinging to the edge of the bed, knowing he could have been caught at any time. Blake seemed very casual about it though, which confused me a little. Blake w
I awoke with a thumping headache and restraints hanging from my wrists. Yanking on then, the awful clinking sound of chains met my ears, and the metal bit into my skin making it burn with pain. I chose to ignore the pain as I pulled again, my anger building. It changed nothing except making hot blood spill from cuts along my arm. The metal made the cuts burn and I gasped a quick breath to work through the sting. I couldn’t remember what happened past the men confronting me in the stairwell. Had they gone through with their threats? Had they taken and used my body for their own dark desires. My skin crawled at the thought of their hands on me while I was unconscious, my stomach turning with horrid disgust. I tried to project but my head ached too badly to concentrate long enough. The constant throbbing was a horrible distraction. Memories swam in my head, making me feel queasy but I focussed on trying to remember what had happened. Everything seemed a blur but I knew one thing; my
*WARNING - DARK CONTENT AHEAD. THIS MAY BE A TRIGGER FOR VICTIMS OF ABUSE* “Strip her and tie her to the table,” the voice instructed, a sense of enjoyment coating her words. The voice seemed somewhat familiar, but the silver mystery venom and Deakin’s magic dulled my mind too much for me to focus on that one thought. I whimpered as Deakin did as he was told and pulled off my clothing, one piece at a time, his eyes never focussing on my face or on my body, but a spot just above my shoulder. At least he left my undergarments on. Rage and fear burned in my throat at his cowardice as he clamped restraints around my wrists and ankles, leaving me completely exposed but still refusing to look at the body he was revealing. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen it before. My anger still seethed at his actions, somewhat more dulled than they normally would be. More than anything though, I felt the overwhelming shame that I had not noticed the difference. Blake never would have been so forward, nor w
A cool, wet cloth on my skin woke me jarringly from my sleep, and I recoiled in fear. Darkness filled my vision as I waited for my eyes to grow accustomed to the limited light. My fists were clenched against my legs, ready to react. I was cowering in the corner of the dark cell, my body tight and sore. My limbs refused to move as cramp locked down hard on each muscle sending searing pain through me. After I had passed out from the torture session with Deakin, it seemed someone had moved me to a smaller prison cell than my last, with only one large steel door as the only entry and exit. A small, white gown covered the wounds on my stomach but the cuts on my arms were visible. The red, raw puckered slashes were oozing, as the shrouded person gently washed away the dried blood that was caked on my skin. I looked away, disgusted by the sight of my own body. I was disfigured and ugly. I was damaged goods. I looked up into their face and saw the bright, blue eyes. My stomach tightened as
When I awoke this time, I was lying on a hard floor, but no chains held me to the ground. I moved my aching arms and felt the smooth touch of the carpet underneath my fingertips. My mind blanched. Carpet? Where was I? Turning my neck to look, I instantly regretted it. My head thumped painfully, and searing shots of light flashed through my mind. It seemed Nyssa had put a lot of her energy into hurting me. Surprise, surprise! After all, I knew she hated me. The pain that throbbed in my head was evidence to that. But why? Had they already gotten to her? Footsteps alerted me to an approaching presence and the door creaked open. A soft swishing sound followed the footsteps that stopped by my head. A voice whispered in my ear and chills ran down my spine at her cruel words. Nyssa was taunting me, teasing me. She entered my open mind easily now that I was under the influence of the venom and Deakin’s magic and probed through my thoughts and memories again. I was forced to relive them rig
“Kenai,” I groaned in agony, a deep sadness burning in my heart. I cradled his head in my arms, listening to the struggling gasps as he fought to get some air. Panic forced my heart to begin beating hard within my chest. If Kenai was here, where was Jax and Tori? Had they been captured too?“Do not give in,” he begged quickly into my ear, as the brute Kainen grabbed my wrist roughly and dragged me away. He held onto me as I fought hard to escape, but my lack of energy soon had me motionless, tears streaming down my face.“No one has called me that for a long time, old man,” Dark Eyes said slowly, his tone dangerous. He stood up from his chair and looked down Kenai, a look of victory plastered on his face. “I am no longer Tynan, but their Master, just as you were once mine. Except… well, I deserve the title, where you did not.”Tynan flicked a finger towards Kenai and he was lifted up off the ground so he hung just above it. Floating in the now still air, his toes almost scraped the plu
The cold was beginning to creep in and settle under my skin. The cold and the fear were my only companion for hours on end. I now knew Tynan’s tactic. He was going to leave me alone and stranded until the misery and despair overtook all other emotions. At that point, I was going to be his pawn. But I wasn’t going to let that happen. After Kenai’s death, a wave of alien emotions had overtaken my body. I lay huddled up in a corner of my cell, fluxing between fits of rage and frustration to bouts of tears and overwhelming sadness. There was a continuous aching hole in my stomach that no food or water could fill. I ate when I was giving the luxury, but otherwise I lay there, drowning in my own emotions. I was also struggling to see. My eyesight kept changing colour and strong hues blended together. Sometimes it was blurry and all I could see was bright colours, but other times my eyesight was crystal clear. I gave up trying to come up with ways to escape. I forgot to even practice pro