Page 34 of Rogue Elves of Ardani

It was more scar than not. Some dark, some pale, some thin, some wide, most all of them long, stretching the length of his back from his shoulders to his hips. The recent marks Alexei had made on him were still red and raw and hurt when he moved. Burns and old knife wounds spotted the backs of his arms. He pulled his wet hair up, and a few stray whips lashes had found their way beneath there onto his neck, too. Nauseated, he dropped his hair. The eye was the worst part. His face was relatively untouched, except for that.

He stared at this person who was supposedly himself. The person stared back. He had a mouth that looked like it had never smiled, a gaze with all the life of a corpse. It was a broken person, a dead person.

From the main room down the hall, there was a sudden burst of feminine laughter. It sounded like Crow.

He tore his gaze away and quickly dressed, then sat to wait for her return.

* * *

Vaara wason his knees in his cell, the stone digging into his kneecaps, his hands bound in chains above him. In the dark, in the cold.

And then he could feel a presence behind him. His heart raced. The darkness grew too dark for even him to see through. He was blind.

A blade stabbed into his back, igniting him with pain. It slid over his ribs, carving off a strip of flesh in a slow, vicious stroke. Blood ran down his back. The blade carved again and again, digging out grooves of skin and muscle, taking off piece after piece.

He tried to scream, and no sound came. Tried to fight, and couldn’t move.

If they kept cutting much longer, there would be nothing left.

* * *

He startledawake in a cold sweat, with his back aching. He froze, staring at the unfamiliar wall for a few seconds before he recalled where he was.

A wave of relief washed over him.

He was out. He was really out.

He kept repeating it to himself, because he couldn’t make himself believe it. He tried, but he could not make himself believe that he wouldn’t end up back in that cell. Cold dread sat in the pit of his stomach, unmovable. His heart still pounded and showed no signs of slowing.

At least when he’d been in the prison, his fate had been a foregone conclusion. Now he had something to lose.

He’d never had nightmares before. Not since the first few days he’d spent in Ardani.

From his spot on the floor, he glanced up at Crow, a dark bundle under the covers of the bed, black hair streaming over her pillow. She faced away from him, still asleep. She had tried to get him to take the bed, and he’d resolutely refused. The way she kept pretending to be considerate was infuriating.

He lay back down to pretend to sleep, even though he was fairly sure he wouldn’t be falling asleep again any time soon.

* * *

When he awoke again,there was a soft, smothering warmth behind him. He turned to find Crow lying there beside him, her body pressed close against his.

It took him a moment to remember that he didn’t want this. He jerked away, careful to keep away from her gloveless hands. “What are you doing?”

She sighed, leaning closer. Her legs twined with his. Her breasts pressed against him. “What do you mean?”

Terror and burning arousal coursed through him as she reached up to touched his cheek, and then she was in his head.

Well? This is what you wanted, isn’t it?she said in his mind, sounding a little annoyed.

There was a jolt of sensation at his groin. He looked down and realized her hand was on his cock.

“I thought so,” she said. He tried to push her away, only for her to reach into his mind and freeze his arms in place. He couldn’t move. She had complete control of him. And he was helpless as she leaned down and wrapped her lips around him.

* * *

He jolted awake again.This time, sunlight was pouring through the window. He was painfully hard.

He groaned and peered at the bed behind him. It was empty and neatly made, and Crow was standing in front of it with her half packed bag in her hands, looking down at him with big, black-lined eyes.

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