Page 38 of Galadon
“And you think Rayna and I will sate you?” I asked, lifting a brow.
He grinned. “Oh, yes. No one can remain strong for long when I’m working on them.”
The Kandoran gestured at the others to stand back and uncoiled the heavy whip, letting it fall to the ground with athump. The metal spikes were thick and heavy. While I didn’t look forward to feeling those strikes on my body, I’d endured pain before and would this time, too.
“I’ll make certain Rayna has plenty to look at upon waking.”
Without another word, he sent the whip flying at my chest. It hooked into one of my ribs and tore through it as he yanked it back. I had to grit my teeth to keep from shouting. The next lash struck my other side, inflicting the same sharp pain. On and on, with only a few seconds between, the sorcerer tore into my body until I was heaving painful breaths and blood soaked my chest.
Then, he started on my back, and I knew nothing except blinding agony.
Chapter 16
Galadon
Agony, unlike anything I’d felt in a long time, suffused my chest and back. Consciousness came to me in slow, gasping breaths. I resisted opening my eyelids, though the light filtering through them told me it was daytime now. The discomfort of hanging suspended by my arms made it the most difficult to return to sleep. My strained shoulders begged for me to take the weight from them and change positions. With that thought, my eyes snapped open.
“You’re an idiot,” Rayna said from where she lay staked to the ground, staring at me with a pained scowl.
My gaze darted to her, relieved to find the knife gone from her chest and no fresh injuries. Astaroth had concentrated on me last night. My suffering was worth it if that kept him away from her. I just needed to find a way to free us or buy time until Lorcan brought others to rescue us. It was strange to think anyone would come for either of us, but I believed they’d be here as soon as they could.
The only tricky part was how they’d find us. With my magic blocked, I had no idea where we were, but it wasn’t close to the nest. There wasn’t any sign of life near us. Likely, thesorcerer had done that intentionally, so we’d be challenging to locate.
I looked down at my ravaged chest, noting some of my deeper wounds still seeped blood. Others were partially closed, but there were far too many for my body to heal quickly. This didn’t bode well, considering the torture had stopped near dawn. I estimated I’d had over eight hours to rest since Astaroth left. The loss of my magic would slow down my recovery as well.
Taking in Rayna in the daylight, rage filled me at the numerous injuries covering her body. The thin tank top and shorts she wore barely covered much of her, and both were stained dark red from blood. She’d been tortured everywhere except her face, which was oddly intact as if the Kandoran was saving that part for last. I didn’t want to think about what the tainted sorcerer planned for her next.
“I saw what happened when you were taken two nights ago,” I said with a growl. “You had to know I wouldn’t ignore that.”
She let out a mirthless laugh. “I’d hoped you would anyway since you promised.”
“For one thing, I didn’t promise. Those weren’t my words.” I’d avoided any kind of true vow because I knew I was likely to break it with her penchant for danger. “For another, just because I don’t want to bond with you doesn’t mean I don’t care. There is no world in which I wouldn’t come for you if you were in trouble.”
Until that moment, I hadn’t realized that hard truth. I might have known it deep down, but seeing her now, I had to admit I couldn’t stand to watch her suffering. It was far better for her to be healthy and driving me insane than this.
She sighed and stared up at the sky. “And this is why you’re far more capable of hurting me than that madman could ever manage.”
I winced. One thing about Rayna was she never failed to be blunt. “I’m sorry for that,najeema.”
“What does that mean?” she asked, frowning at me. I knew she could understand some of my language, but apparently, not that word.
I hesitated and cleared my throat. “Bright star.”
“Mixed signals, Galadon.” Rayna squeezed her eyes shut. “Using terms of endearment is not helping either of us.”
It wasn’t as if I’d meant for the word to come out, but it had escaped my lips before I could stop it. “I know.”
She turned her head away. I tried drawing her into another conversation, but no matter what I said, she wouldn’t look in my direction or speak again. She was focusing her pain and anger toward me. If that helped her get through this, so be it. I certainly deserved as much for all I’d done to her.
Several hours passed as the sun beat down on us. The day was especially warm, and we both sweated profusely, leaving streaks through the dried blood on our bodies. Flies swarmed around us as well. All we could do was wiggle or shake our heads to try scaring them off, yet they always returned.
Rayna studiously avoided my gaze, all while she tried adjusting her body every few minutes as the discomfort of her position bothered her. I understood since I was desperate to sit or lie down—never mind the insects irritating me. Anytime I relaxed, though, all my weight went into my wrists and shoulders. The strain grew worse the longer I was awake, and itoccurred to me that it was another kind of torture inflicted by Astaroth, so we suffered while he was away.
Finally, as the sun started to dip in the sky, footsteps approached. I caught sight of the Kandoran group heading toward us with their robes fluttering in the breeze. Astaroth led the way, studying us both as he reached us.
“Good, you’re both awake. I hope your reunion was lovely.”
Rayna scowled at him. “Fuck you.”
