Page 58 of The Rose in the Shadows

“Here we are!” Mara announced with a laugh, opening the door to an office and throwing me inside.

I flopped onto my bruised knees and cried out unintentionally against the stinging pain. Mara snickered again and for a moment, I was back in the Dragon’s office while he laughed as I cried. My neck ached in reminder.

This office was nearly as large as his. Across from me, the Alchemist, I presumed, sat at an over-sized cherry-wood desk talking to a gentleman who sat with his back to me. The man didn't turn to face us as we entered. The Alchemist, though, met my eyes immediately and a sly grin spread across his lips. He was tall, obviously so even while seated, with dark hair and piercing green eyes.

“I thought I had asked not to be interrupted, no matter how pretty the interruption is.”

“This is the girl I told you about,” Mara explained. “It’s as I suspected.”

He nodded, twirling a small blade between his fingers. Then he truly smiled, a teeth-bared kind of smile that warned of pain and violence.

Shit.

I needed to get out of here. Now.

The pounding of my heart was audible, an increasingly frantic beat in my ears. In a panicked rush, I scrambled backwards on my hands and knees before struggling to my feet and attempting to run past Mara. I made it only a few steps before the man reached out suddenly, backhanding me so sharply that my body seemed weightless as I fell to the floor once more.

“What did I say?” Mara hissed.

He shrugged. "She gave me a reason."

He bent down to where I sprawled on the ground clutching my cheek. Without warning, his fingers laced through the hair on the back of my head and pulled sharply. The pain was intense, temporarily blinding me as he wretched me to my feet. I cried out once more, clawing at his fingers, but as his hand circled my throat and squeezed, my only thought became that of trying to continue breathing.

Desperate, I lifted my foot to stamp onto his, but he only increased the pull on my hair until only the tips of my feet could touch the ground.

“It’s all right, Mara,” the Alchemist calmed her. “I’m rather enjoying the show.”

The Alchemist stood and approached us slowly, taking his time to look me over before finally tapping on the fingers around my throat. The grasp loosened enough for me to suck in a much needed gulp of air.

“What God do you come from?” The Alchemist asked me.

I glared, knowing better than to give away that secret. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

"I would actually.” He grinned and his eyes trailed over me slowly. Gods, the look on his face was unnerving. “There are other more fun ways to get the answer to my question, though.Perhaps we should send our guests out and I can take my time finding where the Mark is etched on your skin."

Darkness rolled through me as my blood chilled in an icy fury. For a moment, I felt like a true embodiment of Hyrax’s power, because if my magic had still been accessible, I would have unleashed it right then. My emotions were unhinged, my rage was palpable, and nothing would have stopped me from sending his soul to greet my ancestor in the Underworld.

“You even think about touching me and you’ll spend eternity regretting it.”

The entire room laughed. Was my threat that obviously empty? Gods, without my powers, I was nothing.

Not just powerless… I was utterly helpless.

“So you want a potion, do you?” The Alchemist taunted.

With impossible speed, he reached for me. His fingers wrapped around my chin, gripping my face and shoving a vial of stormy liquid into my mouth. It tasted of dirt and bitterness and I protested, doing everything within my power to tear my hair out of my captor’s grasp, but as he plugged my nose and held my mouth shut, no amount of fighting could have kept the vile liquid from sliding down my throat.

“That’s a good girl,” the Alchemist praised, running his thumb across my lower lip. “Drink up.”

Furious, I lashed out, capturing his finger in my mouth and biting down hard, ignoring the disgust that flooded me as his thick blood filled my mouth. The hand in my hair ripped me back sharply as the man sputtered a curse under his breath.

“Stupid bitch!” Mara hissed.

The Alchemist only chuckled, dipping his thumb into his own mouth to suck away the remaining droplets. He nodded to his henchman and the hand in my hair released suddenly. With a cry, I fell forward in a heavy heap.

“Now, now,” the Alchemist chided, running his hand up the exposed skin of my leg. He left a trail of blood along my inner thigh that made me want to gag. “Mara should have warned you I like my women with a little fight in them. I take great pride in breaking those rebellious spirits.”

“Burn in the Underworld,” I spit at him, shoving him away as he reached up to knead my breast.

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