Page 302 of Halfblood Deceived

Seconds later, Eli came to stand in front of Aella’s cell. “Guess what, whore? Micah left to run some errands a while ago.” He leered at her. “Do you know what that means?”

“You are missing having an ass to kiss?” Aella asked.

Eli’s nostrils flared. He unlocked the cell. Aella noticed the keychain had four silver keys.

“It means I have you all to myself for a little while,” Eli said, voice mocking and eyes hungry.

A low feline growl rumbled in Aella’s chest.

Eli laughed at her, coming closer, looming over her. “Am I supposed to be scared, whore?”

“Yes,” Aella hissed. “Yes, you should.”

With her peripheral vision, Aella noticed Aiko curling into herself again, but her terrified blue eyes were visible.

Eli scoffed. “You are no match for me, whore.”

“Really?” Aella lifted her cuffed hands. “Then why am I bound, eh? If you bastards didn’t consider me a threat, you wouldn’t have tied my hands and blocked my power. You are cowards. Nothing but cowardly little rats.”

Eli growled and threw a punch at her face.

Aella saw it coming and followed the movement, lessening the impact. It hurt, but barely. The rage flooding her veins like liquid flame numbed her pain.

Eli grabbed one of her wrists, pinning her arms above her head, and brought his face inches away from hers. “Let’s see if you keep being so mouthy after I’m done with you.”

Aella spat on his face and kneed him in the balls.

He growled, bending slightly but didn’t release her, and threw a punch to her lower belly in retaliation.

Aella clenched her teeth to not give him the satisfaction of hearing her scream. “Aiko. Don’t look, honey.”

Aiko sobbed, but obeyed, turning her face to the wall.

Eli sneered. “Nah, I think she should look and learn a thing or two.”

Aella growled, feeling her mouth flood with saliva as nausea twisted her stomach. You’ve been through this before; she told herself as her heart raced and her eyes burned and everything inside her curled in revulsion, rage, and acidic fear. It’s nothing new.

Eli lifted Aella’s wet, bloody sweater and tried to unbutton her jeans. His skin came into contact with hers…

And then his hand and arm lit up in flames. In green flames.

He stumbled back, pressing his not burning hand to his crotch, and wailed in pain.

It worked! Aella marveled. The gift Lizzy, Aylana’s adoptive mom, sent for me worked.

Lizzy had created an invisible runic tattoo for Aylana, to punish anyone who tried to sexually assault her again. And Aylana had asked Lizzy if she could make one for Aella. Lizzy didn’t know if it would work on Aella, but she’d designed one for her too… and it worked.

Aella let out a shaky huff, and then kicked Eli in the balls again, sending him to the floor. She kicked his stomach and his head, stomping his spine, only stopping because the flames had caught his clothes and she didn’t want to get burned.

Eli screeched and twisted as the flames covered his whole body, and Aella felt nothing but dark, euphoric satisfaction.

She left her cell, taking the keychain hanging from the lock. One of the keys looked very promising. Aella tried it on her cuffs… and they opened. The invisible force keeping her power trapped vanished.

A low sound of surprise dropped from her mouth.

“Aella, watch out!” Aiko cried.

Aella turned to see the same black-haired guard who’d rescued Claudia aim a black gun at her. She dodged, and the projectile hit the wall of her cell. Then she grabbed the male’s arm. No, not a male. A man.

---