Page 55 of Rescuing Mara

CHAPTER34

Mara

No, no, no, NO! It was a trap. It was all a trap. Hot tears stream down my face as I yell and curse at the High Commander like I have never dared before. My foolish bravery turns against me when he hits me. Hard. I feel blood in my mouth, and guessing from the throbbing pain, I have at least a split lip. O’Rec yells and tries to get to me but is immediately surrounded by soldiers.

“Careful now, Prince. One wrong move, and we kill your Zarra,” Ananta yells.

“No, O’Rec, she’s going to kill me anyway.” I shout out, which brings me another slap in my face.

O’Rec growls, and I link my mind to his.“Don’t O’Rec, please. It’s not worth it. We’ll find another way.”

“There is no other way, my star,”he responds sadly as the biggest wave of devastation I have ever felt hits me through our bond.

Ananta stalks forward towards O’Rec. Her hands move over his shoulders and arms, and then she shoves him to his knees.

“Did you really think I didn’t know? Did you really think you could fool me? ME?!” She shouts in his face. She hits him with all her strength, and he quietly takes it. She grabs his braids and unsheaths her dagger.

“The strength of an Arracate Warrior is shown in his braid. Well, O’Rec, your time is UP! You are not strong, and you are a disappointment.” Without any further warning, she cuts his braids right off.

She turns around and walks towards me, pointing her knife at me. “YOU! You had one job. ONE JOB! And you couldn’t even deliver me that. You are a useless piece of shit - a pathetic human. I really should have given you to my brother years ago, he would have enjoyed you, he would have loved to break you.

“Your brother was a monster!” I spit out. O’Rec may feel defeated, but I still have some fight left; I will not let them kill us without giving my all.

“A MONSTER? HE WAS THE BEST BROTHER IN THE WORLD. HE WAS MY EVERYTHING.”

She turns around but pivots back before even taking one step, pushing her knife in my face. “I hate you, and I will make you suffer,” she says quietly, and bile rises in my throat. She pushes the tip of her knife into the skin below my left eye. It is agony, but I grit my teeth and stare her straight in the eye as she slices my cheek from the corner of my eye to the corner of my mouth. She spits in my face when she’s done.

“There, that should teach you a lesson,” she huffs before she walks away.

“Take them to the Arena,” she commands her soldiers. The High Commander shoves me roughly to the ground before he walks past me.

I’m panting, lying on my hands and knees on the floor. Blood is dripping down from my face, mixing with my tears. I look up, and I see two soldiers dragging my mate away.

“O’Rec!” I yell, desperation filling my lungs. I can’t let them take him from me. However, before I can push myself up, someone hoists me up, moving me with them in his trail.

I struggle to stay on my feet, but they are so much faster, so I give up and let them drag me. My feet hurt, but I turn it all off and focus on my mate.

“O’Rec, are you okay?”I know it’s a stupid question because we are not okay. None of this is okay, but I need him now more than ever.

“Yes, my star. I am fine. Shut it all out. You can do it. Just focus on me. You will not feel a thing.”

I try to take a deep breath, but the stench keeps me from focusing, and I start panicking.

“No, my star, close your eyes,”he commands.

I huff.“You are still bossy even when we’re going to die.”

His sad reply is immediate.“We will be together so it will be fine. Focus on me; feel my love for you, my star. Let that be the last thing you will feel. Let it flow through your mind so you cannot feel the pain.”

I do as he says, and the bond opens up even more, filling my mind with O’Rec; how he feels when I smile at him, how the small things I do make him happy. He sends me images of what he imagined our life to be. Images of us on the Ring, with him crowned as King, me standing at his side. Images of me, round with his child, of me holding our child. It goes on and on, our whole life together plays off in my mind, and tears stream down my face. I’m not even truly aware of what’s going on.

We’re chained to the floor in the center of the Arena. The battleground is where contests are held and punishment is dealt with. I feel how the Sternotheri manhandles my body, throwing it to the ground, putting the chains on too tight, but it’s like it’s happening to someone else. I am floating above it all, wrapped in images of O’Rec, O’Rec, and our son. Our son, becoming a big brother. The images are wholesome, and for a minute, it feels like I’m really living the life. O’Rec’s tail tucks around my ankle, making the connection burst with the physical touch.

“I love you, O’Rec,”I tell him.“I am so grateful you showed me love. Thank you for sharing your good heart with me. If we had lived out this fantastic life, it wouldn’t have been enough. No time with you will ever be enough, but I’m so grateful for the time we did have.”

Throughout everything; the shouting of the Sternotheri and the High Commander approaching with a longsword, O’Rec is all I can focus on as we look into each other’s eyes. He is all that I can see, and everything else just fades to the background.

“I love you, my star. I love you beyond words.”

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