Page 86 of Eldritch
“Maevyth!” The distant sound of Zevander’s voice carried over the field, and I looked up to see him striding toward us.
Raivox let out another furious roar, and the ground shook as he hopped around to face him. His thick, scaled tail gouged deep furrows in the ground, where he thrashed it behind him, and that strange, growling sound in his throat coiled around my lungs in a suffocating dread.
“Raivox, no!” I dashed in front of him, standing in the path between Zevander and the Corvugon, just as I had with Aleysia, and held out my hand. “He’s also with me!”
Raivox flapped his wings and let out a snort, the feathers on his neck standing upright. Clearly rattled by Zevander’s presence, he squawked and growled aggressively. Then, just as he had with Aleysia, he backed off, but he didn’t avert his intimidating stare that hooked onto Zevander like a deadly threat.
“What in seven hells …” Zevander said from behind, and I turned around to see him staring up at Raivox, a look of awe sketched across his face.
“His name is Raivox.”
“Your bird?”
“My bird.”
Aleysia drifted to my side. “Thatis not a bird.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
ZEVANDER
Past …
Zevander let out a hiss, as Theron dabbed a healing tonic into his wound. “If I didn’t know better, I’d imagine you enjoy tormenting others as much as the General,” he grumbled, watching the fluid bubble over the freshly sewn gash across his abdomen, where he’d been struck too hard by a whip.
“And you must be entirely masochistic, the way you continue to suffer her punishments.” Annoyance colored his tone, his brows pulled tight. “You’ve not taken the elixir I gave you.”
Zevander didn’t bother to answer. The mere fact that he’d asked the question only stirred the suspicions he’d had about Theron’s intentions.
“You don’t trust me,” Theron said, as if reading his thoughts.
“Why in the gods would I trust the man who practically begged me to fall to my knees for her?”
“I told you what it does.”
“And I’m to believe you? I hardly know you. What do you gain from this? Without wounds to stitch, you’re useless to her.”
Lips pressed together, he lowered his gaze. “I’m attempting to keep you from suffering. It’s very simple. Submit to her, and you’ll avoid unnecessary punishment. Obedience is rewarded in this place. Defiance is a death sentence.”
Zevander let out a bitter laugh that stoked the flaming wound. “I’m content to suffer, if it means maintaining a shred of dignity and pride. I refuse to let her mold me into her perfect little slave.”
“Dignity and pride?” Theron waved his hand over Zevander’s scars. “You’ve not even seen the state of your back. A hearty rack of lamb has fewer cuts to the flesh.”
“Do you think the state of my flesh matters to me? I’ll gladly be whipped to a bloody pulp before I willingly let her?—”
“Is it not better to submit than to be broken?”
It was a wonder Zevander hadn’t cracked his teeth, as hard as he gnashed them. “I’d find greater peace in being crushed to dust, burned to ashes, than attempting to convince myself that I belong to her. To this fucking place.”
“Has no one ever taught you that survival sometimes requires you to lay down your weapons.” Theron held out his arms, where long, white scars marred his flesh. “You think I haven’t attempted to fight? These are the last scars she ever put on my body. Mostly healed.”
“That isn’t survival. It’s surrender. And at what expense? Better to die fighting, than live shackled.”
He winced as if the comment had wounded him, as if Zevander had struck a nerve. “The chains are temporary, if you can find a way to be useful.”
“Then, teach me to mend wounds, like you do.” When Theron quickly glanced away, Zevander chuckled. “You can’t bear the thought of being replaced and returned to your own chains, can you?”
“The elixir…take it on your own this eve, when the general is away. See for yourself what it does. At the very least, you’ll sleep soundly.” He pushed to his feet and stared down at him. “I’ve grown weary of convincing you. Your wounds become more severe the longer you defy her. One day, my friend, they will become your tragedy.”
