Page 32 of Claimed By Shadow and Blood
Scar Eye’s eyes widened as he fell forward. Crag Face ran the five feet between us and grabbed my wrist. I dropped the rope as he jerked me toward his body, and I opened my mouth on instinct. I didn’t have time to shift, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t bite. His eyes widened, and he started to reach for his dagger.
I opened my mouth wide and sank my teeth into his nose. His sickly sweet blood filled my mouth, making me want to gag, but I held on tight.
He grunted as my teeth sank even deeper. Something struck the bottom of my chin, causing my jaws to clench harder, allowing my teeth to cut entirely through the cartilage. His other hand fisted the hair on the back of my head and yanked me backward, and I spat his nose and blood from my mouth.
I tried to grab his shoulders but snagged his arms instead. Blood made his already slick metal armor impossible to hold on to, and I slid backward until my butt hit the ground. My shoulders and head followed, banging the floor. My ears rang, and the world spun so hard that I couldn’t tell which way was up.
A glint of metal caught my attention before something rammed into my ribs. I yelped, unable to stop myself from crying out as pain blinded me and my lungs stopped working. I turned onto my side, not wanting him to hit me again.
“You stupid fecking bitch,” Crag Face bellowed and kicked at me once more. I winced, expecting the same radiating pain, but it fell short. It hurt, but nothing like my side.
Bile inched up my throat, and I couldn’t fill my lungs.
“Get off me!” Crag Face yelled thunderously. “The bitch has to die.”
“Stop.” Scar Eye's cocky demeanor had vanished, and panic made his voice shrill. “Master Ainle wants her in the best health possible for the Whispering Veins.Even though she deserves it, think about what could happen tous.”
“She bit off mynose,” Crag Face gritted out. “She has to pay!”
“Then we’ll have to pay for not obeying Master Ainle. Think about your family. His punishments won’t stop with just us.”
A sour taste filled my mouth, and my lungs burned. Even the guards feared Colm Ainle. Lovely.
“Fine,” Crag Face snarled. “Tie her up again. The wench can’t be trusted.”
“NowthatI agree with,” the first guard replied, and strong arms pushed me forward.
I choked as my front was pressed into the floor. A foot stepped on my back, and I wanted to buck it off, but I couldn't move. Everything hurt, and I was too dizzy to get a sense of where everyone was.
My ribs ached, and the edges of my vision darkened as the guard continued to put pressure on me and tied my hands behind my back. Just when I thought I might die that way, my body was jerked upward by the rope.
The world swirled, but I managed to see blood running down Crag Face's hand as he clutched where his nose had once been. Warm liquid dripped from him onto my chest.
I swayed, and my knees buckled.
“We don’t have time for this.” Scar Eye hoisted me over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes, my lower ribs balancing on his shoulder. It was enough to keep additional pressure on my lungs and make the blood rush to my head even faster.
“I’ll follow behind you and make sure she doesn’t try something else,” Crag Face rasped.
They hauled me through twisting corridors, my head spinning with pain and my ears ringing louder than ever before, blood dripping from my chin and toward my forehead and hair. And my lungs still weren't working. Black dots darted through my vision as I took in ragged gasps that felt like they didn't contain any oxygen.
Finally, they shoved me through a wooden door into a small room with a finished stone floor. The sharp scents of herbs and alcohol stung my nostrils.
A thin fae woman with ashen skin and hollow eyes stood beside a stone table. She wore a plain gray smock, and her hands were stained with what looked like traces of blood and dirt. She must be the doctor, or the equivalent in this place.
"Put her there," she instructed, pointing, her voice flat.
The guards heaved me into a sitting position on the table with more force than necessary. My hip banged against the stone, sending fresh jolts of pain through my already tortured body. I bit back a cry, determined not to give them the satisfaction.
"Leave us," the doctor said, not bothering to look at the guards.
"Orders are to stay," Scar Eye grunted. “This one’s the king killer. Not that she’s confessed yet.”
I despised these people and everything they stood for. The corruption here was just as bad, if not worse, than it was on Earth. These people were desperate for me to be their scapegoat. I opened my mouth to pop off a retort, but I didn’t have enough oxygen to even whisper.
“You think I don’t know that?” the doctor snapped. She clicked her tongue as she rolled her eyes. “You think Master Ainle hasn’t been excruciatingly clear about how she is to be prepared? She’s got to be in better than decent health if she’s going into the Whispering Veins, especially if he wants her in there in the next hour.”
The nexthour? No. Fate was a scaffing bitch. I struggled to control my breathing as my chest tightened.
