Page 46 of Tortured

A sinister part of me blames Niawen.

And she’s finally gone from me.

I’m rid of her.

I’m not saving myself for her.

Why do I have to suffer anymore?

I let the shock and disgust from Riahn, from the demon touching me, sear away. For once in my life, I will be greedy. I will find pleasure in satiating a part of myself that I’ve denied for so long.

I slam Riahn against the boulder, taking control, being the aggressor. Riahn responds with a gasp. She yanks my head back and flashes a wicked grin at me, just long enough for me to catch her black eyes in the moonlight.

By morning, I will be rid of Caedryn.

Chapter 21

A scream tears through my head, through my ears, through my soul. A scream that goes on for ages and echoes a distant emotional pain I should remember.

But this scream is from a physical torment.

The pain of thousands upon thousands of needles, tiny pinpricks stabbing through my flesh—from the inside out.

My insides are being ripped through my skin. My flesh is being pulverized into a mushy, gelatinous mass.

The scream. It will not stop.

I’m deaf to everything else.

Something hard slams into my cheek and whips my head to the side.

I bolt upright with a sucking gasp.

Riahn stands over me, her hand ready to fly again. I grab her wrist, but my hand slips off, slick from something. In the moonlight, I see a dark, sticky liquid that smells of—

Blood.

“What happened?” My voice burns. “Did it work?”

Riahn looks horrified. Her naked skin is smeared with blood. Her hair is matted with it.

“Where did all this come from?” My hands are covered too. My mouth… I taste copper.

“I had to stop, Kenrik. It was killing you.”

“That’s never stopped you before,” I growl. I rise shakily to my feet and, realizing I’m still undressed, yank my pants on, but not before noticing the blood.

My entire torso, my legs. No, my whole body is coated in blood. I stumble back, crashing into a tree.

Riahn reaches with a trembling hand.

I push it away. “What did you do?”

She folds her hands to her bloody chest. By the Master. That’s my blood. She’s covered in my blood. “I tried to drink your light. I tried to take it.” She sniffs, and a tear slides down her cheek to mix with my blood.

The demon is crying.

You have to be kidding me.

---