Page 7 of To Tame An Angel

But my words were cut off when I was hit harshly behind the head. The world went dark and the last feeling I had was of landing face-first on my plate.

CHAPTER THREE

NALLA

Hours must’ve passed before I finally blinked and pulled myself up with a grunt. I groaned as I looked around. The candles were low, so was the hearth. The realization that I was alone startled me, and I stumbled back, heart at my throat.

Oh no.

Frantically, I searched the room and, to my horror, found his chains discarded on the floor, blood splattered on the carpet. I didn’t know what he used to unchain himself until I spotted the bloody fireplace poker. The crimson drops trail on the floors, ending in the balcony.

“Fuck -” I’m panicked. And angry. He hit me. He attacked me. And escaped.

I turned back to the table and saw food was missing. There was a half-eaten drumstick discarded on the ground. The water jug was empty.

There was only one place he could go without flight. The forest. With a yell, I stormed to my dressing room and yanked out my hunting clothes, tossing my dress with a snarl. My magic sparkled out of me with a fury. I was going to peel him alive. I was going to break his bones. Let him try to run away with twisted legs.

To my relief, he’d not found the secret compartment where I kept my weapons.

Once my sword and silver hunting chain were strapped on my belt and my bow and arrow were swung over my back, I stormed to the carpet. I pressed my finger against the blood he left behind and slowly brought it to my tongue. I hate the taste of blood, but it fills my magic, inching its way through my senses. Once it’s in me, I felt the slight burn within until it morphed into a pull. I trained for tracking last year and I always found my query.

Just as I suspected. He was in the forest.

The servants were startled. They didn’t expect me to leave my rooms for days. To be out during our honeymoon stage is most improper, but no one must know that I lost my angel. If they were to find out, they would hunt him and kill him.

I didn’t wish for that. I would find him myself and he’d regret the day he thought of escaping. By the time my horse was saddled, I’d jumped on its back and spurred him forward.

The beast reared on its hind legs, and we stormed out of the manor towards the forest. My angel left a sweet little trail of blood on the blades of grass. It was sporadic, but it was there.

My stomach pulled more intensely as I burst through the trees.

CHAPTER FOUR

TANNOR

I’ve been reduced to grasping trees as I grimace in agony. Lifting my foot, just to take pressure off it, just to give myself a breather. The pain was intense, and it spiked into my knee. All my attempts to remove the thorn from my foot failed, but it mattered little. I’ve had fifteen hours of freedom. I’ve also had no sleep and my mind is sluggish. Exhaustion creeped through my veins despite my desperate need to keep going.

I’ve spent years planning this escape. I just needed the right woman. Avoiding the older, rabid ones, the ones who wouldn’t trust me from the moment they brought him into their homes.

No. I needed a girl in white. A virginal, sweet thing with wide eyes.

The lady had been perfect. Short, a little plump, with soft curves under her white gown. I could certainly overpower her, even with her magic. I’d seen the tenderness in her when I watched her from my cage, how she studied the men. There was plushness in her eyes and when she’d Helio sent to get treated for his wound, I knew she was the one.

The first night would be harsh. I knew I would need to bear the beatings and the fucking and the branding. But she’d surprised me. She’d sat there in her lovely gown smelling of roses and apricots and watching me with a warm gaze. Ordering dinner for me. Laughable. Like I was a human and not a caged thing. She’d made it so easy. Left the poker lingering against her fireplace. Sat down when I offered her a chair, as if we were to enjoy a pleasant dinner and engage in conversation.

She was a bit of a fool, but she was exactly what I needed.

It was the only reason I didn’t kill her. She’d been… kind. I’d not experienced kindness in my life, and it startled the fuck out of me. When her face broke the plate and a trickle of blood seeped from her cheek, I felt an odd sensation. Like I’d done something wrong.

Her face made me pause. She was interesting to look at with her open mouth and curly hair, and the lashes painting her eyes. Before, when I’d watched her from my cage, there was no denying the desire flushing into my cock. I’d been so angry at myself and at my body, hardly able to speak. She’d not noticed, which I was grateful for. She assumed it was my anger at my predicament. Couldn’t be further from the truth. When she’d used her magic and forced me to move, I had no choice but to hunch over simply to cover my erection. If she sensed it, she gave no indication of it. After she slumped over unconscious, I stared at her hands. Her nails were painted in a golden shimmer. She had lovely hands, strong and wide.

It was a task to shake myself off, and I moved quickly, inhaling food, desperate to fill my stomach. We weren’t fed for three days before a potential customer arrived at the pits. It weakened us and thus we were docile and lethargic. There was so much food on her table, I didn’t know where to begin. I simply stuffed my mouth with whatever I could reach. Each delicacy she’d ordered was more delicious than the one before. It made me pause once more, just to look at her. She wasn’t moving, but she was breathing. I didn’t realize I was studying her as I chewed on the drumstick.

She was young, likely twenty-two, with heavy breasts and slightly round at the waist but her arms were muscled. She was a warrior, despite her predilection for flowing gowns. There was an enigmatic feeling to her. She was both harsh and soft.

My cock had stirred.

Furious at myself for finding her attractive, I’d tossed the chicken and shuffled across the room to unchain myself with the poker. Admittedly, I had little knowledge of how to do that and I cut myself badly in the attempt. However, after a few tugs, I was free. My wrists were badly chaffed, as were my ankles. Years of wearing the chains and constantly getting into trouble in the pit had done that.

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