Page 53 of The Cruelty of Thorns

“How long are you planning to stay there?”

I glanced at Toby, who shrugged. “I don’t know. I was hoping to be here when he wakes up.” I didn’t say I wanted to ask him about the assault.

“Well don’t stay out too late. This whole murder thing is kind of freaking me out.”

“I’ll talk to you later.”

I hung up and looked at Toby, who had pulled out his phone and was calling someone. “Hey Jack?” he said, then ducked out of the room. I glanced at Lisa.

“Jack’s dad is a cop,” she said by way of explanation.

“Here?”

“No, back in Virginia. But he has connections. If anyone could find out what’s going on, it’s Jack.”

“Look, I’m not ready to leave yet, but you guys don’t need to hang around,” I assured her. “I can call an Uber when I get ready to head back.”

“We’ll at least stay till they take him to his room, though I don’t think Toby will be too happy about leaving you here alone after what’s happened.”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll make sure the Uber driver drops me near the dorm.”

CHAPTER 23

INTERLUDE

A cruel fate

WHEN I CAME to, the first thing I became aware of was pain. I opened my eyes and looked around, at first unsure of my surroundings. The moon was overhead, so I was still outside, but I was no longer in the field where Rosetta and I had been captured. I was surrounded by dark vines, and realized they were wrapped around my body. Something was digging into the flesh of my neck and wrists, and when I attempted to move, the pain became excruciating.

“Good. You’re awake.”

The voice I had once lusted for was cold and devoid of humanity, stirring nothing but fear and contempt in me now. I concentrated, willing my eyes to focus, and her face came into view.

The Contessa.

Anastacia.

The agent of my fate.

We were in the rose garden, I realized, and the bindings I felt were the ropes that hung from the bower. Thorns dug into my flesh where the thick vines were twisted around my neck and wrists. I was naked, and I when I looked down I could see rivulets of blood flowing across my chest and arms.

A shirtless Christopher stood next to the Contessa, his leering mouth smeared with blood, no doubt mine. “Thank fuck,” he said. “Now the fun can begin.”

Someone whimpered, and I looked behind him to see Rosetta bound to one of the posts of the arbor, her dress ripped open and her exposed flesh smeared with blood. A gag was tried across her mouth and her eyes were wide with fear as she stared at me. Seeing her like that caused something to snap inside me. I growled and struggled against the bindings, but all I managed to do was cause the thorns to dig deeper into my flesh, eliciting a hiss of pain from me.

“At this rate we won’t need to bleed you.” Christopher grinned as he stepped closer to me and dipped his finger in the blood running down my chest. He brought it to his lips and sucked it dry, his eyes never leaving mine. “Yummy.”

“You fucking sadist.” I lunged forward, but the thorns did their cruel work, holding me in check.

“Still got some fight in you. Good. It’ll make this more fun. I hate the ones who just lie there.”

He turned and sauntered back to Rosetta, and with a look over his shoulder at me, grabbed her by the neck and sank his teeth into her throat. She screamed behind the gag and struggled vainly to escape his grip, causing him to ravage her even harder. I thought I would lose my mind.

“Leave her alone!”

He pulled his mouth away from her and turned to smile at me. “I must say, Anastacia, this is the most fun I’ve had in ages. I wish I had known about their little affair when I played with her the other night.” His tongue snaked out and licked the blood from his lips. “Mmm. She’s even sweeter than you. Maybe it’s the fear.”

The Contessa sighed as if she was bored and thumbed her lip. “I really am disappointed in you, Julianus. I thought we had something special.”

---