Page 76 of The Sin of Saints (Benevolence & Blood)

It happened so quickly that I didn‘t see Miles’ hand around Ythan’s throat until I heard a gag. It seemed that Ythan’s men noticed too late as well, because Miles had Ythan pinned against a tree with one hand, his other hand raised to the men in warning.

Ythan continued to gasp against Miles’ hand, which was impressively large. Both men were of similar size — taller than the average Eserenian man, broad shouldered and solid, but Miles was clearly superior when it came to brute strength.

“You do as I command or I will skin you alive in front of your cronies. You’ll be wishing I’d handed you over to Commander Vorkalth instead.” His voice was measured, even, the roughness of it edged with lethal calm that broke through the sound of Ythan’s choking. “When I release you, you are to return to your post, unless you’d like to see what lies beneath your own skin. Do you understand?” He cocked his head, the movement so primal, so animalistic that I could feel Ythan’s fear from where I lay on the ground.

“Yes, Lieutenant Landgrave,” he barely heaved out.

In one swift movement, Miles released him, the sound of his gasps echoing through the forest as he greedily gulped down air. “To your post.Now.”Ythan righted himself, still grasping at his throat as he shuffled away, trailed by his men.

Do I thank this man for saving me? Do I berate him for stepping in when I could have handled it? No, I couldn’t have handled it. If he hadn’t interrupted…

“Are you okay?” The gruff words traveled down a fault line in my soul, jagged chunks of rocks flying as every part of me broke in half, each piece shattering into a million more. I had dreamt of hearing those words again instead of simply repeating them to myself, dreamt of the pleasing taste they would leave in my mouth, the molten eyes that would accompany them.

I sat up, averting my gaze from the gilded mask. He squatted beside me, coming as disconcertingly close as he had when he removed my chains earlier today. I gave a slight nod, wrapping my arms around myself and recoiling at the pain in my ribs.

“You’re hurt.” The words were sharp, his voice so raspy it almost made my own throat ache. He reached for my arm but I swatted his hand away, the pain lancing through my body once more. He reached for me again, and again I lifted my arm to push him away, but the pain from my rib shot straight to my head, to my vision, dark speckles intruding, going dark…

I hit the forest floor.

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