“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
*WARNING - TORTURE AND RAPE CONTENT AHEAD. PLEASE ME MINDFUL OF WELLBEING WHEN READING* I lay still in the middle of the familiar table, my arms and legs bound to the edges so I was splayed across it. There was some kind of power holding me still; other than the immense power of my fear of course, but it was strong, stronger than anything else I had ever felt before. I closed my eyes and willed it all to be a dream, for the terrifying things around me to just drift away from me, to fall away into the nothingness of a nightmare. At least I could wake up from that and know - know it was all a dream. That it would end when my eyes opened, when the dream hit the wall that was reality. But this was my reality, a mixture of death and deceit; betrayal and lies. I could smell it even with my eyes closed, the fresh stench of death. I tried to rid myself of the reality, to enter a dream that was infinitely better. I retched, unable to stand the smell and opened my eyes to see them. Darius and
I had been disgraced, again, but this time I didn’t play any part in the decision. It made my stomach churn with such force that I vomited. I was careful to not be sick on myself. I didn’t need to feel any more unclean than I already did. Kainen was just a vindictive, evil creature that sought to destroy my world and everything that I cared for. A puppet for his Master, just like the rest of them. One of them had finally gone past that line and snapped it clean in half. I sought refuge in my mind and in my dreams, which jumbled together as I dove in and out of consciousness. I found myself spending more and more time reliving the moments I had spent with Deakin, who I thought was Blake, in that twisted but yet beautiful moment. Also, Amber’s thoughts on Deakin kept creeping into my mind, in particular her haunting words, which named him as Chained Man. I had no idea what that meant and for some reason my mind retreated to those memories, neither of which were too pleasant. But even
I remained silent as the maids primped and prepped me for the ceremony. Their hands deftly worked their way through my hair, untangling the knotted mess it had become, and creating a delicately, intricate style that appeared to look like rope along my spine. At one point, one of them shoved a small cup of warm liquid in my hands, hurrying my to drink it. “What is it?” I croaked, sniffing at the drink. It didn’t smell appetising at all. The maids exchanged a look, and the oldest one rose her brow at me. “It is to flush your body of seed,” she said tersely. “So tou do not become with child.” Horror must have filled my face because she gave me an apologetic look before pushing the cup in my direction again. “Best drink it fast, it doesn’t taste the best.” I downed the liquid quickly, my throat gagging on the taste and swallowed as much as I could. It tasted like a mixture of dirt and grass, but I was glad for it. I didn’t want to become pregnant with Kainen’s child. He hadn’t exactl
When I woke, I found myself back in same room as before the ceremony. I was sprawled on the bed, my dress gone and replaced with a pair of slacks and a crisp white shirt. I moved to press my hand to my thumping head and a large, white bandage caught my eyes, making me jump. Someone had bandaged the cut on my palm. A sound caught my attention. I lifted my head slowly and finally noticed Deakin sitting silently next to me, his head buried in his hands. “Deakin?” I whispered, my voice so soft I didn’t think he would hear me. His head jerked up at the sound of my voice, his face tense and strained. He was instantly by my side, his eyes concerned. “Tynan requests your presence immediately for council,” Deakin uttered softly as if he were completely lifeless, his voice distant and cold. I groaned inwardly knowing that I could no longer refuse him – I was bound to him, forever. As the words crossed my mind the enormity of the situation sunk in, and I suddenly felt like I was drowning.
The cloaked figure ran swiftly along the city’s darkened cobbled streets, the shadows passing over his dark clothing as if they could not see him in the black night. He stumbled over the crumbling path and cursed quietly under his breath. He hated being back here. The memories, the way everything seemed as familiar as if it were a part of him. It was never in his plan to come back, but he forced himself on, his resolve growing stronger.There was only one thing on his mind- the mission. It had to be completed no matter what the cost. He would be rewarded extravagantly for his efforts if he were to succeed…No! He thought, When, I succeed. He knew only too well where failure would lead, and it wouldn’t be pleasant.His mind faltered a moment at the thought, sending a shiver down along his spine. The horror that would follow failure was far too much for him to even bear the thought of.He stopped when he heard the soft tap of approaching footsteps. Quickly, he stepped into the shadows th
The world swirled around me as I ran, all the colours blurring into one mud brown. The cobbled stone slapped against my bare feet, stinging a little.I cursed loudly when I tripped on a lifted edge and almost hurtled into a small stand that had been set up on the side of the street. The stones ripped at my body, pulling away several layers of my skin along with my clothes. Great, more scars.I cringed away from the stall, my skin crawling with the desire to run away. I had no idea why, until I saw them. Dark magic flowed through the orbs that were placed out very specifically on the table. The crooked merchant looked at me and smiled, baring his crusty, old teeth.My arms wrapped around my body instinctively, covering the holes in my ripped, and tattered clothes, which exposed parts of my skin, as he watched me appreciatively. His wrinkled eyes widened just as much as his smile did.I shivered unconsciously and backed away from him as fast as I could, then ran down a smaller, darker al