Page 22 of The Queen's Serpent

“Pleeeeaaassseee,” I hiss, but it makes no difference as the door is pried open. He forces me out of the bedroom and into the hallway, my feet barely making a purchase with the ground, and his hold on my hair and neck the only thing keeping me standing.

Rugged men’s faces flash past me as we continue moving forward, and fear like I have never felt before fills my body, like a tidal wave threatening to suffocate me. I’m long past the point of panic, as we continue moving toward the doors that must leadout to the courtyard. I can hear muffled steps behind us, men joining in to watch the spectacle that he is making of me.

“Ve a buscar una cuerda, ahora,”Diego roars, and I watch a man run past us to obey his command.Fuck, what did that mean? Did he just tell him to kill me?I hope that’s what he said rather than telling them to fucking rape me.

I’m going to die! He’s going to kill me, but before he does, I will live through every woman’s nightmare come to life. Why did I defy him? Why, in this moment, did I decide to stand my ground?I am so stupid, so utterly stupid.

We approach a large, tall, rooted tree with rough bark that sits in the middle of the compound. More men seem to appear out of nowhere to watch the commotion, as I continue to struggle against Diego’s hold. The man who ran off returns with a long length of rough-looking rope in his hands, his dark eyes appraising me like a hyena’s, salivating, and ready to eat me for dinner.

Male murmurs can be heard all around the space, as more footfalls approach us. My heart is trying to climb out of my throat, and my body is drenched with sweat as it trembles. This is it, the moment where what little sanity I had left leaves me. He’s going to let these men rape me, to teach me a lesson about obedience.

“Plllleeeassse,” I beg with what little air I have.

Diego pushes me up against the tree, my towel-wrapped chest pressed firmly against the rough, thick bark, the humidity in the air and the dense smell of vegetation all around us. My body loses the ability to remain standing. All of my energy is suddenly gone with the knowledge of my impending doom, and my legs give out below me.

“Tie her arms around the tree, and find me something to blindfold her with,” Diego barks the order with venom, with no evidence of affection left. I played my poker hand at this game,tried to bluff and channel my inner Stratford, and look where it has gotten me. Tied to a fucking tree, a prisoner of a cartel boss, and about to be assaulted for disobeying a ridiculous order.

If only my grandmother were here, she would murder all these men. She would ensure that not a single one of them was left breathing when she was done, that their complete bloodlines were eradicated from the face of the earth, for thinking they had dominion over a Stratford.

Picture Stella and her rage, and imagine the violence she would unleash. You can survive this if you tuck yourself away in your mind, and keep yourself safe until you are ready for revenge.

My hands are stretched and tied at the wrists around the tree, yanking me forward and up on the tips of my toes. They dig into the dirt and skid across the coarse tree bark. Diego’s warm, heavy breath pants behind me, sliding across my neck and cheek, and causing a shiver of both desire and disgust to spear through me.

How can any of this be turning me on?He’s about to use me, share me with his men like I don’t matter at all to him, and am only a hole to shove his cock into. Hungry, dark gazes meet my eyes from the men watching me be strung up as an offering. A lamb brought to the slaughter for ravenous beasts. Most of them don’t even try to disguise their interest, adjusting themselves as my towel shifts and slides.

“Aparta tus malditos ojos. Si alguno de ustedes la mira, les arrancaré la cabeza y los alimentaré a las bestias de la selva.”

Diego’s commanding, brusque voice is so loud behind me that it causes me to press further into the tree, my trembling body threatening to shut down entirely, with fear now saturating every one of my pores. He releases his hold on my neck and hair, and the only thing left holding me in place is the thick rope digging into my skin, keeping me a prisoner, as a piece of densefabric is wrapped around my eyes and tied to the back of my head, yanking on my hair in the process.

“No, please! I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, please!”

“Remember you asked for this,Princesa. You wanted to be used like a whore.“ His words slither across my ear, and a wet sensation slides across my chin. Did he just fucking lick me? “Your tears and fear taste like heaven,little one.”

Chapter thirteen

Issy

“Loving you was a sacrifice, you know.I gave you the power to destroy me, and that’s exactly what you did.”

Unknown

My heart beats savagely in my chest, threatening to rip itself through my sternum in an attempt to escape what is about to happen. His words compete against the loud sound of my blood whooshing in my ears, and my lungs struggle to absorb any of the warm, dense, oppressive air.

“Are you sorry now, little doll? Do you want to beg me for forgiveness?” His words slide across the skin of my neck, sweltering and repulsive. I try to pull my head away from him, even as the rope digs further into the skin of my wrists, and my fingers start to feel cold and numb.I am truly a prisoner now.

How could he do this to me? Was it all a lie? Did he never feel anything for me?

All the feelings that I have held inside of me for weeks, the desire for him, the need to be with him, even the thoughts of leaving my grandmother behind when everything was done with my sister, and starting a life with Diego against my grandmother’s wishes now seems trivial, immature, and those of a naive idiot who didn’t know she was being played.

This was all a game, and I was an idiot who took the bait, the spoiled princess falling for the villain in her guarded ivory tower, who would rip her heart out without the slightest hint of regret.Shame fills every molecule inside of me at how stupid I have unquestionably been.

How could I have been so blind to the reality facing me? He never truly wanted me. All those whispered words in the dark of night, while we hid our relationship from my family and friends, were nothing but the false actions of a manipulative man.

What relationship?My mind snarks,you were a dirty lie told in the dead of night, a slut who got to her knees for false promises.

Some irrational part of me rises to the surface, demanding that I not bend, that I not become this pitiful, weak creature he believes me to be. He’s going to abuse me regardless, so why give him the pleasure of proving him right? Why cement the fact that I am unequivocally weak?

I bite down hard on the inside of my cheek, trying to silence the fear-induced whimpers from leaving my lips. The taste of rich copper gives me something to focus on, rather than my impending doom. I will not beg, not for his mercy, and not for my life. I am a Stratford and a woman, and both those entities demand respect. He will pay for what he is doing to me one way or the other, because my soul will not allow this to go unanswered.

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