Page 142 of Severed Rivalry
Six men stand at the dais, though I didn’t see them appear.
Six girls. Six men.
How the hell can I take on all of them? If I save one, it will be worth it. I’ll take the brunt to save that sweet girl.
The one who loves her mom.
The one who has my same sense of humor.
The one who laughs in the same places I do when we watch movies.
The one whose mom stole my heart long before she was born, who will still own it long after she’s grown and has her own children.
I take one step into the clearing just as something catches my attention.
Sariah.
42
bruised side down
Sariah
Running hellbent for leather, I fly from the cabin, stark naked and screaming. “Nooooo.”
I care none that my breasts bounce oddly as I run, that my feet sting with pine needles and tree debris, that a man will soon be chasing me, angrier than I’ve ever known.
To my horror, I watch as the girls are ready for “sacrifice” as I was told so many times before. All go willingly. All but one.
I wish I had time to be proud of my strong girl for struggling and thrashing. I wish I had time to tell her I love that she used her voice to fight against this injustice.
But the moment I open my mouth, I’m tackled from behind. The stench of fetid breath meets my nostrils as the man I kicked pins me to the earth. “You bitch.”
I hate this life I was born into. My biological mother is here in this crowd, watching. Doing absolutely nothing. She’s been broken too many times to have anything left with which to fight.
But that’s still no excuse.
I brought this on my own daughter because I wasn’t smart enough to run far enough or fast enough and because I allowed myself to be outed by the news. But I still have fight in me. Until my last breath, I’ll fight. Like hell I’ll go down quietly.
“Renée!” I yell until my throat burns and my face is pressed, bruised side down, into theground below me.
If she watches me fight—if she watches me die—it would be better than me doing nothing.
“Mom,” she screams right back. Fear clogs her voice.
“Remember.” My word dies in the dirt as the man behind me grows hard at my back.
Cian
I know I promised. I know we agreed. I know I’ll hear about it from my brother for abandoning my assignment.
And I don’t give a single fuck.
I look to the dais as Renée’s hood is pulled down to her chin.
I have time. I can save them both.
There has to be time.
