Page 130 of Taken By Touch and Torment

Rune stood, roughly manhandling me up and into his arms. “Bye, Sadie.”

I winked over Rune’s shoulder. Sadie laughed, Imogene squealed, and Rune’s grip tightened.

“You’re in so much trouble,” he growled in my ear.

At first, I panicked. Then I remembered I was with Rune. I was safe.

But my days of safety were numbered.

Things were going as well as they possibly could’ve been going. Rune’s plants in born districts didn’t need to do much pushing to rile the lower classes into a frenzy. Blood shortages had only gotten worse. And as fantastic as that was for our schemes against Durian, especially in showing Kole and the kingdom Durian’s incompetence and lack of control over his own people, it was a disaster for mortals.

What was happening was unsustainable, and slaves were hurting most of all.

And no matter what Belise, Rune, Snow, Sadie, or anyone else said—it felt like it was all my fault. While I was healing, everyone else was suffering. And I had the power to end it all.

Kole wrote to me about how irritating it was that Brennan hogged the short time he had to write to me. Brennan wrote me poetry about the taste of my blood.

Rune enjoyed making fun of both men while filling me with his cock.

In Ravenia, the turned clans were giving Earle and his armies a run for their money, which also didn’t bode well for Durian. It was becoming less and less likely that the kingdom was going to risk Valentin’s exports or divert resources to deal with our conflict. Which meant that soon Rune and his clan would be free to make ballsier moves, no longer worried about the political ramifications of breaking the ceasefire.

Things were going so perfectly on all fronts, in fact, that I should’ve been expecting something to finally go wrong.

That was my first thought when I strode down the grand hall on my way to the staircase, and I heard a familiar screeching.

Snow and Uriah crowded my vision. Snow’s face twisted into a frightened warning. Cold air blew through the space, as if the front doors of the castle were ajar.

“Scarlett!”

A cold chill ran down my spine. I knew Snow was saying something, her mouth slowly moving in my periphery as my vision tunneled, but I didn’t hear a word.

I walked past, barely glancing at the turned guards who were stock still and assessing the situation with sharp eyes and flaring shadow magick.

The door was in fact wide open, Rune’s looming figure in the doorway with Mason and Percy at his side.

I glimpsed the tall blonde beyond them, standing on the front porch as her pointed finger moved wildly about in the cold air. She peeked around Rune’s form, her light brown eyes narrowing on me. Her strong nose twisted in disgust, her thin lips curling.

“Oh, look whose legs work!” Isabella barked at me.

I nodded at Mason, and she begrudgingly stepped back, allowing me to stand next to Rune and face down Isabella.

“Let’s step outside,” I said hollowly, embarrassment flushing my body. “I don’t want everyone to hear this.”

Rune assessed me, thinly veiled anger in his features. “Are you sure? We can escort her back to the care center.”

A vein in Isabella’s forehead throbbed. “Where’s my fucking money, huh? She’s safe and sound. Where’s my end of the bargain?”

I reared back, and Snow rested her hand on my shoulder.

“You don’t have to do this right now,” Snow said gently. “Or ever.”

I shook my head before stepping out onto the spacious raised porch. Stone arches encased the area, offering a semblance of privacy from passersby.

Snow and Rune followed me, and I heard the booming sound of the door shutting behind us. Rune ordered the guards to step away.

“You found your perfect parasitic host to sink your teeth into and you don’t give a shit about your sister?” Isabella seethed. “Can’t even be bothered to pay me a visit while I heal from being used as a blood bag—the unspeakable horrors I endured because of you!”

Isabella shook with rage. And no matter how much I’d changed, how much I’d healed—my every instinct was to cower before her, to find a way to soothe her feelings and make myself small and apologetic.

---