Page 22 of Own To Obsess

But as she lay there, she realized that once again he hadn't spoken. He hadn't said a word to her since he lifted her out of her bed the night before.

She lay quietly, listening to his breathing calm, his face nudged into her hair as his knot stretched her painfully wide, but with each passing moment, a sense of alarm grew. Kardos was never silent. At least, not completely. Granted, they didn't speak often, but he always spoke to her when he pleasured her, whether it was to embarrass her with the things he loved about her body or to tell her she was beautiful, he always said something.

Her alarm grew to a deep anxiety by the time his knot shrank. As soon as he was free he got up from the bed and began dressing. Shaya squeezed her legs together, accepting the biting pain that shot up her core as she lay on her back, her head dropped to one side, watching him as disappointment niggled at her.

Once he was dressed, he took her by surprise by grabbing her by the wrists and pulling her out of the bed stand before him. His fierce eyes bore into her, and his jaw hard. With the bond also heavy in her chest, it was clear he was angry.

“Desst our geshtra efesha heddressamusteklen,”he growled.“Ternee a meegsh suklishat enndyor indit tassesa assay.”

Shaya tried to translate the Mayaros as quickly she could, but it was a few long moments before she fully understood what he had said.

“You have five days of punishment for your disobedience. Touch your wrists together when you're ready to start.”

Apprehension gripped her throat. What kind of punishment would it be? Judging by his behavior and his tense stance, it was clear that this wasn't something she was going to be able to get out of, so she lifted her hands, and touched her wrists together.

As soon as she did, he grabbed her wrists with his large hand, and bound them with a rope he held in his other hand. Shaya pressed her lips together, tried not to squeal in alarm. Yes, it was a restriction, she told herself, but it was one that she could deal with.

Kardos tugged on her wrists and led her across the room to a door in the corner. Holding onto her arm, he opened the door and pushed her in.

In was a small, closet-like room, but a narrow window was situated at the top of one of the walls that let in bright light.

Shaya tried to calm the panic that sparked at the size of the room and tried to rationalize that at least there was no complete darkness.

Kardos bucked her bound wrists into a hook on one of the walls, keeping her immobile, and then uncorked a potion bottle and tilted three droplets of it onto the floor.

He left quickly, locking the door behind him.

Shaya took deep breathes, battling the fear and anxiety that began to climb steadily. There was no darkness but she was still in a tiny room and she was trapped. She pulled against the hook her wrists were on, but she was fixed tightly.

Then she suddenly noticed a thick, gray fog rising from the ground, drifting slightly upward. It was already at her waist when she realized, and she watched it with trepidation as it climbed higher, swallowing her body.

It didn’t seem as though it would hurt her—there was no pain where the fog touched her, but it was still a strange substance. It must have come from Kardos’ potion bottle but what was its purpose?

As the fog rose higher, worry flicked in Shaya’s stomach, but it was when it reached her face, she panicked. As soon as she breathed in the fog, a searing, boiling pain erupted down her nostrils and throat. She cried out, but the pain doubled as it attacked her mouth.

Shooting up onto her tiptoes to breath non-fog air, she spluttered and panted, trying to breathe deeply enough to expel the fog from her body. Fortunately the raw edge of the pain faded, but it was as though her whole windpipe was charred. Shaya looked around to see if the fog was still rising, how would she survive if this filled the entire room?

After a few moments, she realized it had stopped at her chin.

She balanced on the tip of her toes, hoping that Kardos would arrive soon to let her out. She couldn’t stay on her tiptoes for much longer, but she would most certainly suffer severely if she had to breath in the fog.

Shaya tried to think of something else, take her mind off the pain building in her legs, but they were already trembling. She tried to call out to Kardos but her throat was still raw, and the panic of being in such a small room was still clawing at her, urging her to escape. Tears gathered as the multiple sufferings in her body became unbearable.

Her sobs began quietly, but soon they were uncontrollable as she tittered, swaying dangerously on her toes, her mouth less than an inch from the fog. How could he do this? Did he hate her that much?

Closing her eyes, she pretended that she was somewhere else, and her mind took her to the deck on the ship where they watched the ocean.

The only thing that spoiled her visualization was the silence around them, but she tried her hardest to ignore it.

Squeezing her eyes tight, she imagined the sounds and smells of the ocean as pressed her lips and nose into him, trying to smother herself with the memory of the feel and scent of him.

The jumble of dark emotions that had risen in her seemed to still, suspended as long as she was imagining touching him and pretending to be somewhere else, but ready to rush in and suffocate her if she failed to keep up the pretense.

Shaya had no idea how long she balanced there—time didn't mean anything in this box—but her legs began to spasm and she knew she couldn’t remain above the fog any longer.

Then the door opened and Kardos strode in. He unbuckled her from the wall, and lifted her out into the room without saying a word.

It took most of the day before her anxiety and fear calmed. The pain in her body was extreme and Shaya spent most of the day curled up in bed resting her legs and trying to shake the roiling horror that had sunk deep into her. She was able to eat for a few hours and when she did, it had to be plain soups—water was the only thing that soothed her throat.

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