Page 51 of Heart of the High King
Chapter 21
Some weeks later
Rafferty was so used to pain, he barely felt the tearing of his skin as he tried to force his ankle through his manacle. With no clue how many days or weeks had passed, Rafferty could only wonder what Aleksander must think. It was the only thing left that Rafferty had the energy to focus on. His father and brother had taken to starving him to punish him for not healing fast enough, leaving him nearly incoherent in between their now-infrequent visits. All that was left of him was horribly damaged skin and bones, which was why Rafferty hoped he could finally get out of his restraints, but as damaged as his ankle was from being broken more than once, it was slow going.
A voice in the distance alerted him to company, and he let out a sound of pure regret. His chance to get away was again lost. Licking his cracked lips, he wondered how much longer he could survive. As he lay down to endure his next beating, Rafferty’s lashes slid closed, and he refused to acknowledge the two men who’d just entered his cave. It didn’t matter what Rafferty said or did; the result was the same, so he ignored them.
“He looked better fat,” Charlton said.
“I brought him some food,” Sullivan remarked. Rafferty bit back a scream when a hard object hit one of his mangled hips. The muscles were visible and flayed nearly to the joint while the skin around it festered with infection. It was going to be a gigantic task for the druids at the hospital to fix him, but Rafferty trusted in magic.
“Aren’t you going to say hello to your family?” Charlton demanded. “Open your damn eyes.”
“Rafferty, now is not the time to defy us,” Sullivan drawled when Rafferty made no move to comply. “We’re growing bored of traveling here, and it won’t be long until we kill you. In fact, it could be today if you don’t watch yourself.”
The only thing Rafferty could do was lift his lashes to glare at them. Survival had to last at least one more day—he could already get his arm shackles off and was sure if he tried harder, his ankles would be freed too.
“We brought something new for you today,” Charlton enthused, his fingers dancing over a thick strip of his dragonskin. “You always held yourself so far above us with that black dragon. We’re going to show you that our brown beasts are far superior to the damn dragon you couldn’t even hold on to. First beating and he just disappeared. How you survived that, I still don’t understand.”
Neither did Rafferty, but he’d long ago grown used to not being crushed by an unhappy dragon. Although his beast had abandoned and deserted him, Rafferty would not miss out on his chance to be with his mate. It was the one thing he would always hold on to, and in his beleaguered mind, he equated his survival with his love for Aleksander. High King D’Vairedraconis gave him the strength to accomplish the impossible.
“Stand the fuck up,” Sullivan demanded.
With infinite care, Rafferty did his best to obey, but the mess under him made it difficult to get traction. Revoltingly used to the smell of his feces and piss, he planned to sit in Aleksander’s backyard for perhaps a year straight to relieve his poor sinuses of their burden. Somehow, Rafferty’s chains got crossed, and he slammed to the ground with enough force that it knocked the wind out of him while his father and brother laughed.
Exhausted, and with minimal strength left in his malnourished body, Rafferty lay there wondering how he could accomplish the task of getting to his feet. His ankle was throbbing with pain, and the bones of his lower leg had healed improperly, causing excruciating pain. There was a thick knot below his knee that he suspected was where they’d incorrectly fused.
“I can’t get up,” Rafferty stated. His voice, which had always carried a rough edge to it, had grown raspier and even to his ears sounded barely above a whisper.
“We did fuck up your legs pretty good, didn’t we?” Sullivan chortled, and the two erupted into guffaws again.
When he was finished chortling, Charlton slapped a hand on Sullivan’s back. “He’s more than half dead. Take the leg shackles off. I want to see his back covered with marks from my dragonskin.”
“I don’t suppose it could hurt at this point. Not that he was ever going to get away.”
“Of course not; we’ve planned this all too well. Even if his skinny ass could get out of the mine, we’re in the middle of nowhere. He’d be long dead before he found anything close to help.”
Rafferty wanted to laugh as Sullivan undid the manacles. They might not think he was resourceful enough to get the hell away from them, but there was no way he was ever going to give up. There was a life waiting for him and a man who held his heart.Fuck these two and their sadistic shit, Rafferty thought. Once he mended enough from his beating today, he’d be long gone.
Sullivan punched him dead in the groin as their eyes met. Rafferty winced and wondered if his balls had simply crawled up into his midsection to avoid further abuse.
“Now, get the fuck up,” his brother demanded.
Gathering what dignity was left to him, Rafferty used the wall to drag himself up onto his feet. Head swimming, he had the urge to vomit, but he swallowed it down. Placing his hands carefully on the side of the cave, he’d barely squeezed his eyes shut when his back bowed at the sting of the first strike of dragonskin against it. Seconds later, the blows were coming too fast for him to even brace himself. The chains bit into his fingers as he held on, and because his brother and father could not see his face, he allowed the tears to flow. Reaching deep inside himself, he sought out that place of escape he’d created soon after he had arrived in the cave. It was the late-night chats with Aleksander—his beautiful smile, the understanding in his eyes, and the way they seemed to connect on every level. All his life, he’d waited for him, although he’d been too stupid to ever realize that or what he’d been missing.
For every moment of agony he survived, Rafferty cursed himself for the singular decision of ever returning to Court Kestle. If he’d done what the Council taught and had simply remained at D’Vaire, he would not be standing there with his scrawny frame quivering as he struggled to stay upright while the lashes rained over his back and thighs. As blackness seeped in, Rafferty fought unconsciousness. Silently, he begged Aleksander to forgive him for breaking the rules and for the separation he’d caused. The bile in his stomach erupted from his mouth, and the second Rafferty was finished hurling the hot liquid out, he sagged to the dirt and once again lost his fight with the darkness.
∞∞∞
Rafferty winced and carefully leaned forward. It had been several hours since he woke up, and it had taken him much of that to put the little food and water that his father and brother had left him into his mouth. Taking stock of his surroundings, he prepared to collect whatever in the cave would aid in his escape. Just beyond his reach was a fat stick he’d been beaten with more than once, and he hoped it would help steady him on his journey to find help. There weren’t any clothes around, and he doubted he’d want anything on his injuries anyway, so the poor souls that he ran into were going to have to deal with a man who was practically naked. His only covering was the few pieces of his underwear that were affixed to him.
With a sense of relief, Rafferty slipped the first cuff off his skinny wrist and wondered how long it was going to take the druids to handle all the scars on his damaged body. Smiling made his lips crack, but it didn’t matter because he was perhaps only hours away from being reunited with Aleksander. His head swam with what he hoped was excitement, and he huffed out a breath as he pushed off the second manacle. Finally free from the bonds they’d slapped on him however long ago, he would not squander this chance to get away.
Balancing his hands on the ground, he gently got his feet under him so he could stand. Pain screamed through his abused ankle and the shin that hadn’t mended properly, but Rafferty gritted his teeth and found a way up, bracing his palms on the wall as he tried not to let his flayed back hit it. Although it wasn’t easy, and he nearly fell three times, Rafferty took the few steps necessary to grab the stick.
It made moving easier, he could lean his piddling amount of weight into it, and Rafferty was flush with success as he moved toward the lantern. Bending, he picked it up and ignored the ache in his spine. Putting his battered self into motion, all he could hope was that it wouldn’t be too complicated to get out of the mine. His heart thudding heavily in his chest and his lungs burning, Rafferty tried to find the correct path. Although he had retraced his steps twice, he eventually discovered light ahead of him.
If he had the energy, he would’ve shouted at his success, but instead he continued his painful journey, which was slow going given the pace he was capable of. Once he made it to the mouth of the cave, the first doubts crept in as he tossed the lantern aside. In front of him was a sea of trees, but he forced his foggy mind to think logically.
Charlton and Sullivan weren’t great wits, so it could not be too complicated. Putting one foot in front of the other, he simply struck out, hoping for success. Rafferty was forced to stop every few feet and rest against a tree. His ability to move was greatly hindered, and his mouth was dry as he struggled to breathe. But at least if he was going to die, it would be outside of the mine and on his own terms. That thought gave him the strength to stumble ahead.
A second later, he slammed heavily to the earth when his walking stick snapped in half. The only thing he could be grateful for was that he’d landed on his stomach instead of on his torn up back. Rafferty lay there long enough to push through his body’s demands to either throw up or pass out. Aleksander was waiting for him, he reminded himself as he braced his hands and lifted himself up—or at least he tried to. The damage to his limbs was simply too great to stand again, and a tide of hot tears swept over him. His life was going to end in the middle of nowhere because he’d waited too damn long.
No fucking way, a voice in his head demanded, and Rafferty took to crawling in order to find a road, a person, or something that resembled civilization. His knees ached, and his palms bled as the dragged himself across the ground. A rustle of fallen leaves to his side stopped him, and there was a giant black wolf staring at him. The perfect prey, Rafferty swallowed heavily. Almost sure he was hallucinating, the beast let out a woof and walked to him. Frozen in place, Rafferty didn’t even blink as the wolf sniffed him, then let out a second sound as he trotted off.
Several feet ahead, the wolf turned around and woofed for the third time, as if telling Rafferty to get a move on. He got himself back in motion, and the wolf continued to lead the way through the trees. His breath caught and he picked up his incrementally slow pace when a road showed up in the distance. The wolf ran ahead, and Rafferty let out a shout as a truck barreled out of nowhere, striking his new buddy. The beast let out a yip as he was thrown clear across the two-lane highway, and Rafferty knew the wolf that had likely just saved his life was dead. Dragging himself forward, he skittered over a patch of wet leaves, which caused him to roll down a small hill. It was simply too much to bear, and Rafferty was out cold before his body landed heavily on the asphalt.
