Page 30 of The Onyx Covenant

My parents, the temple, every smug face that ever looked at me like I was breakable. I’m not just some girl in robes whispering prayers in the dark. I can fight. I will fight. And I’ll make damn sure they regret ever thinking I wouldn’t.

So I plant my feet, jerking back hard enough to make the one holding my arm stumble. “Let me go!” My voice echoes in the night, ragged and desperate, so I scream.

Crack.

Pain explodes across my face. A sharp, brutal punch through the bag.

I stagger, my legs giving out for a split second as the world tilts.

Focus. Don’t go down.

My pulse pounds like war drums, but my body feels sluggish, my senses dulled from the hit.

They drag me forward by an arm, shove me at the back, my feet scraping against the ground.

My jaw throbs, my head spins, but the fire inside me refuses to go out.

They wanted a docile priestess?

They’re about to get a fucking storm.

“Move faster,” one of them snaps. “The gorge is just ahead.”

Thegorge. They’re going to throw me over the edge. My brain catches up with their plan instantly.

My hand inches toward my side, remembering I have a small blade tucked into my belt, seeing as we all slept in our clothes.

“This is far enough,” one of them rasps, jerking me to a stop. The roar of water fills my ears—the gorge.

“Any last words, priestess?” a voice sneers as the bag tightens around my neck. My lungs seize. I can’t breathe, can’t think. Panic claws up my throat like a wild thing.

“Fuck you!”

“Feisty!” another taunts. “So no pleading to spare your pathetic life?”

My fingers curl around the hilt of my blade. And I swing at them with the weapon.

A cry rings out, sharp and shocked, followed by the sudden thud of footsteps. One of them shoves me hard from behind. My boots skid across loose earth. I stagger, and the ground turns to loose rubble beneath my foot, descending in front of me. I flail wildly, my heart exploding in my chest.

“You don’t deserve to be here!” one of them hisses as I scramble back to catch my footing. “You’re nothing. Go die like the weak little wolf you are.”

Then they shove me in the back harder.

I fall.

Air tears past me, the roar of the gorge rising like a scream. My arms fling out, desperate, and catch a thick branch that lashes across my stomach. I grab it with both hands, fingers locking around bark and splinters, body swinging hard against the cliffside.

Pain explodes through my shoulders, but I hold on. I fucking grip that branch with my life depending on it.

With a cry, I claw my way back up, every inch a war. Dirt crumbles beneath my boots. My heart is a drumbeat of survival and fury. I rip the damn bag off my head just in time to see two shadowy figures vanish into the building. To the side of the building, the glow of a torch—a man approaches, shouting.

“Who’s out there? Show yourselves!”

But I’m already running back to the sleeping quarters.

Barely breathing, legs screaming, I sprint across the field. I won’t stop. My lungs burn.

I’m not leaving. I’m not crawling away like a coward in the dark. I’m going to survive this. And when I do… I’m going to find those bitches. I’m going to look them in the eyes, and I’m going to make them regret ever touching me.

---