Page 79 of The Hidden Falling
I look up at the Highers, at Charles, seeing the sadistic grin he tries to hide behind the hand covering his mouth as he leans on the arm of the chair. I see it in his eyes though. I have seen it many times before when he told me he killed my mom and dad. When he taunted me until I cried for them, sobbing for them to save me. When he would try to use Kade against me to get me to do what he wanted. He loved how he could see the war within me as I tried to decide whether I should or shouldn’t bend to what he asked of me. I’ve seen it over many years from when I was nearly seven years old to just weeks before my eighteenth birthday. I’ve seen it thousands of times in the basement below my mother’s and father’s home that he and others, including my blood, turned into my own living nightmare.
“Alpha Darius, proceed,” Charles orders, waving a hand in our direction. No movement comes behind me. “We haven’t got all night, I would hate for another punishment to be added.”
My brows furrow at his words, but then a barely there growl comes from behind me before Darius finally moves. I hear the whip slicing through the air. I hear it glide with precision until it connects with my back, making my body arch from the sharp, burning pain. I try to hold it in, but a strangled scream escapes me as the second hit comes fast and quick. Then a third and a fourth, again and again.
No hesitation. No mercy.
Just like he said he had none.
Blood runs down my sides from my skin splitting, and I breathe through my nose, looking at a single spot on the floor as tears roll down my face as I wait for the next strike. A sob-like breath of air escapes me, and I grit my teeth and growl when it comes. Red paints the floor, the splatters making its own pattern before it becomes too much and pools around me. Agony fills me as another hit lands right on top of my already torn flesh. My body shakes from the intense pain. Runa whines inside of me as she presses as close to the surface as she can, trying to soothe me, but it’s no use. I choke on my next breath.
Another strike.
I bite my lip, my teeth punching through it.
Another crack.
Just accept it. It’s not forever, Rhea. You’ve had worse.
Another slash.
Breathe. Concentrate on the ground beneath you. Just stay looking at that one spot. Ignore that this is Darius doing this to you, your—
Another hit.
More tears pour from my eyes.Hold it in. Don’t you dare make another sound. Not one fucking sound.
Another lash.
Do.
And another.
Not.
And another.
Break.
Forty Two
Rhea
Myvisionishazy,my breathing labored as I’m being moved, lifted harshly on to something, but I still don’t make a sound. My clothes are wet, the smell of blood all around me, soaked into my clothing and my skin. Voices sounding like they’re underwater reach me as my head lulls to the side. Fingers are on my neck next, a growl, voices getting louder and then cold air hits me. I’m jostled as we move, blood rushing to my head as a shoulder digs into my stomach, my arms hanging loosely below me. I feel liquid trickle off my fingertips, and I imagine a trail of red splashes following us as we start going down steps. My eyes open slightly, seeing the stone before me before they blur again.
A pained breath comes from me when my body hits the cold ground, my head bouncing off the hard surface. Pain shoots through my skull. A whimper comes from me at the rattle of chains jangling, then my body is being moved again and my wrists are being pulled and then dropped. A sharp kick in my ribs follows, knocking me over onto my torn back, a scream catching in my throat until the air stills around me.
No sounds. No movement. I’m alone.
I blink my eyes open slowly, not moving as sobs wrack my body. The taste of copper comes next as it fills my mouth, and I hold back a gag at the taste. I inhale shallow breaths, feeling the pains in my body. Wrists, ribs, back. Definitely my fucking back. I stay still for a long time, not daring to move as I stare at the ceiling. Drops of water slip through the cracks of the stone, and I watch them in fascination as they drop down, escaping from being trapped within. Eventually I realize that being on my back is just causing me more pain, and I squeeze my eyes shut to gather some strength.
I roll slowly onto my stomach, silently screaming into my arm as I feel the skin split more as it’s stretched, fresh blood trickling from the wounds. Gods that fucking hurts. I pant heavy breaths, fingers digging into the ground as I ready myself to get to my knees, sweat beading on the back of my neck. Another wheezing breath, and I get my chained hands under my face before I push off the ground, moving myself back until I have my knees under me. Bile rises in my throat from the pain, and I can’t help it. I throw up what little I had in me as I gasp through it.
When there is nothing left, I bring my shaking hands to my mouth and wipe, getting ready to move my abused body again. More breaths and more silent screams later, I’m finally on my haunches, my vision coming and going, and I grip my thighs to steady myself, scrunching my eyes shut until it passes.
Opening my eyes and seeing the stone stained red beneath me, I follow all streaks of it to the bars of my cell. I definitely got dragged in here then. I sigh, then grimace at the burning pain from my back as I shuffle on my knees, moving to the center of the room and away from where I’ve just gotten rid of the contents of my stomach. I carefully peel my torn t-shirt from the front of my body, whimpering in pain. The blood soaked material sticks to my skin, and I slowly drag it down my arms. I throw it off to the side the best I can, the wet slap against the floor telling just how much blood it has absorbed. Streaks of red decorate me, my white bra now a bright red as I look myself over. I can see bruising on my ribs appearing through the lighter streaks, and I know whoever kicked me had decent sized feet.
I don’t remember much after the thirty-eighth lash against my back. My vision was blacking out so I must have passed out from the pain or blood loss. I remember it felt like a whip of fire searing at my back, but I didn’t make a sound again, just like I promised myself. They didn’t deserve to hear my pain, and the fact that Darius is the cause of that pain made my resolve harden further.
