Page 48 of Bloody Valentine

I bit down, keeping the herb under my tongue. This bitter plant could be what saves my life…and ends Maddox.

The thought made me surprisingly sad.

He truly did seem to be a mindless soldier in all this. Maybe this would be a mercy for us both. The priest fondled my half-naked body, and I had to resist the bile forming in my throat. It had been a while since Maddox left with his brother. He had to come back soon.

Would it matter? Would he care?

I felt his old fingers penetrate me, and I kept biting my tongue so hard I felt the blood begin to pool into my mouth. I could hear his ragged pants, and I thought of Maddox instead, remembering his moans and his voice as he whispered in my ear and over my body, trying to make this hell into a memory of heaven.

It went on for what felt like hours, but finally, just as the priest grunted in what I surely felt would coat my body in his sin, the door slammed open, and the priest ran from my side.

“What the fuck!” Maddox screamed from the door.

His roar practically shook the small attic, and my ears rang as he bellowed a growl.

“Ma-Maddox! My king, I-I thought you were tending to your brother!”

I opened my eyes the slightest bit, using the blanket of my hair to look past where Maddox stood.

“You do not sully what it is mine!How fucking dare you.”

It all happened so fast. Maddox practically lunged forward toward the man, grabbing his dick in his hands and snapping upright with a sickening crack.

The priest screamed, his penis going completely flaccid as it laid down in a contorted angle. “You…you broke…

His face paled, and he fell to the ground.

I continued to feign sleep, knowing that despite my feelings, I needed to live this out…if I wanted to live at all.

Maddox lifted my head and patted my cheeks. I didn’t respond, letting my face fall back down painfully.

“Vivian? Are you okay?”

Maddox walked forward and kicked the priest in the ribcage. “What did you do to her?”

The priest groaned, curled in on himself, and held his sides. “I gave her a sedative herb! I am sorry, my king.”

Maddox walked back to me, assessing my body and covering my naked form with the blanket he had brought for his brother. My trembling stopped slightly when he tucked it around my shoulders and covered my waist.

“Her body is for my eyes only, you understand? Get out and consider each breath you take a mercy from your king. The last I shall ever give you.”

His voice was menacing and more powerful than I had ever heard. I gulped, being careful not to swallow the herb in my mouth.

“Oh, my Little Virgin. For the first time in a long time, I am sorry. So truly sorry. I can’t escape this. It is time.”

I pondered his words, but then he lifted me up out of the bindings and cradled me in his arms. My heart was pounding in my chest at what was about to happen, and I couldn’t hold back the tears behind my closed eyes.

Chapter sixteen

Ithought about Hayes as I carried Vivian in my arms down to the arena beneath the tombs. It hadn’t felt this way since Liberty was on that slab. I wanted to…spare Vivian.

It was ludicrous, and even thinking about it felt blasphemous.

History must repeat itself, child.

I sighed. “I fucking know asshole. I am your slave ‘till the day I die.’?”

Valentine had been in my head the moment my sister’s eyes closed. The killer entered me when my hand did his bidding. I was a slave ever since.

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