Page 35 of Galadon
Revulsion and hatred filled her as she turned her head to look at him. “Fuck you.”
“Very well, if you’re going to have a bad attitude about it.” He shoved his hand into her wound, dug around, and ripped her kidney out. “I’ll take this as a memento.”
Rayna was screaming so loudly she couldn’t hear anything else, and then she blacked out. Sometime later, as the pink rays of dawn lit the sky, she slowly woke. Blood covered her arms and stomach, where the Kandoran had carved across herskin many times after she’d gone unconscious. The lines weren’t as deep as the wounds on her feet, but they were deep enough to hurt, along with everything else.
The sound of a neigh caught her attention. She turned her head to find Onyx trotting toward her, fury in his eyes. Rayna tried to speak into his mind, but it didn’t work. The chains blocked her telepathic abilities as well.
“Hey, boy,” she said with a rasp.
It occurred to her that the Kandoran might be upset if they discovered her horse didn’t do as they expected. She angled her head as best she could, but she couldn’t find anyone. They were gone for the day, undoubtedly resting.
Onyx came close enough to stomp on her chains. Her horse was smart enough to see her problem and try to fix it without her asking. Though he was a handful at times, he was worth all his oddities. She loved her stallion more than anything.
He rammed his hoof into the same chain over and over for several minutes, but it didn’t even leave a mark. “It’s okay. These are magic and probably can’t be broken, but thanks for trying.”
Onyx stretched his neck down and nuzzled her face. It was one of the few places that her torturer hadn’t carved up. She let her mount soothe her for a few minutes, taking in the little strength he offered. At least she wasn’t alone.
“I’m glad you’re here,” she said, turning her face to kiss his nose. “But I need you to go to the Taugud fortress. If they see you without me, they’ll know something is wrong. Staying here will only make them want to hurt you to punish me, and I can’t handle that, along with everything else. Go get help.”
The stubborn animal lowered his body until he laid down next to her, sharing his warmth against the cool morning air. She’d been shivering since the blood loss made her feel even colder than normal. Onyx wouldn’t leave her yet, not like this.
“Fine, but only until it warms up a bit. Then you have to go.”
He let out the horse version of a grunt, and she rested her face against him.
Chapter 15
Galadon
My head pounded as I slowly awoke on a strange bed—in human form, which was unusual for me. The bright sunlight streaming through the window tempted me to pull the blanket over my head, but then my memories came flooding back. Rayna was in trouble.
I shot straight up, immediately regretting it. A sharp migraine beat at my temples, and my stomach roiled. I stumbled to the chamber pot in the corner of the room and released the contents of my stomach. Sinking to the floor on my knees, I caught my breath and, after a few moments, felt marginally better.
Once it felt safe to stand, I moved to the water basin on the dresser and took a folded camrium cloth, scrubbing myself clean as best I could. Afterward, I pulled a fresh set of clothing from shiggara and a water flask. Gulping that down helped ease the ache in my head.
My internal clock told me it was around noon. If my rough estimates were correct, Rayna had been taken nearly ten hours ago. Vague memories of my dreams told me I’d continued to have visions of her even in my sleep, and each had beenworse than the last. I didn’t remember much of what was said, but some of the visuals were engraved in my mind. The worst part was knowing the Kandoran who had her was only getting started, and things would likely get worse once he rose later today. I needed to find her fast.
Whatever she thought of me, I couldn’t leave her like that, even if it was a trap.
I left my room and hurried down the hall to the quarters next to mine, pounding on the door. Two whole minutes passed before Lorcan pulled it open, squinting at me with annoyance. His head likely hurt as much as mine, but I couldn’t afford to be considerate.
“The Kandoran have Rayna. She’s chained down, and the same man who tortured Bailey’s father has begun torturing her. I must leave immediately to rescue her,” I said gruffly.
Lorcan rubbed his face. “Wait, what? They took Rayna? How?”
“They invaded her tower while she slept, used a spell to knock her out, and stun her horse. By the time she woke, they had her chained to magical stakes, so she can’t move or use her powers to get free. Onyx snuck over to her after they went to bed and tried to break the chains with his hooves, but he couldn’t do any damage.”
“Only that horse would have tried,” Lorcan said, sighing. “What can I do?”
“Get a group together if you can and follow me out there, but I’m not waiting any longer,” I said, hating every moment I delayed leaving.
Lorcan shook his head. “They’re never going to agree to a rescue mission for a slayer.”
Of course, they wouldn’t. If it were anyone else, except perhaps Bailey, I’d never consider such a thing. That didn’t make it any easier to handle that they likely wouldn’t lift a talon to help me.
“Fine. Then get word to my mother of what I’m doing. If I’m successful, Rayna will need a healer when I bring her back. If I’m caught, then at least she’ll know what happened to me,” I said and spun on my heels.
“Wait,” Lorcan called.
