Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 77730 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77730 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
How long ago had all this happened?
How far could he have gotten with Serin?
What could they have done to her already?
But then I heard it.
A scream from a man.
I pushed myself faster, my thighs screaming in objection.
But I was getting closer. I was getting to her.
Just before I broke into the clearing, I heard him.
“I can’t wait to hear you scream, bitch.”
I flew forward, taking it all in.
Serin facedown in the dirt. Her undergarment yanked down to expose her. A redheaded man pinning her legs as he held a tree limb like he was about to…
The thought couldn’t even fully form before I felt it overtake me.
The rage.
The darkness.
It blotted out the corners of my vision.
It slowed my heartbeat to a thick tick.
“I can’t wait to hear you scream, bitch,” I snarled, hearing it as from far away as I grabbed the man’s throat and lifted him into the air.
Then I did it.
I dropped him.
And I did the thing I’d sworn I would never do again.
But I did it.
And he deserved it.
I even took joy in closing my hand around that part of him and snuffing it out forever.
When I heard Vishen, though, I seemed to snap back to myself, to focus on Serin and her bone-deep burns, the scratches and bruises all over her body.
I’d already made the decision to bring her back to her lake, to let it heal her, when Nira came running up with her warning.
We couldn’t go back to the lake.
I couldn’t heal Serin.
I just had to carry her trembling body through the woods, knowing the agony she was in and unable to do anything about it.
It wasn’t until we could see the castle in the distance that we dared slow, stopping long enough to yank pants up Serin’s legs and slip her feet into shoes.
“Shit,” Nira, who’d run ahead, said, rushing back. “There are people everywhere. Guards. Soldiers. There’s no way we can sneak her in looking like that. No way you’re getting in without someone seeing.”
“You have to take her,” Vishen said. “Jet and I will go in the front, act like we were just taking a walk. You slip in through the back with Serin. Get her upstairs.”
“No,” I barked. “She can’t walk.”
“I can,” Serin said, voice weak, even as Nira yanked the flask off of Vishen’s belt.
“Drink,” she demanded.
“No, use it on her wrists.”
“We have a bathtub full upstairs. I need her strong enough to run with me.”
“Jet, focus,” Vishen demanded. “Come with me. Trust Nira. And you can take care of Serin within the next ten minutes. We’re wasting time.”
There was no arguing with logic, as much as a part of me wanted to.
I touched Serin’s arm, then I took off with Vishen.
“Ready?” I heard Nira say in a no-nonsense voice.
“Yeah.”
Fuck, she sounded small. Weak. Pained.
But Vishen was right. The faster we could get inside the palace undetected, the sooner I could take care of Serin.
We had to slow to a walk close to the gates so we didn’t draw undue attention. We’d only made it partly across the courtyard before the redcaps spotted us and ran behind us, chanting that eerie tune of theirs.
I barely noticed them.
I had one thought.
Serin.
Once we reached the steps, the redcaps fell away and we were alone again, both of us breaking into a run to my floor.
We broke into my room just after Nira, who had her arms around an already-weak Serin.
“I’ve got her,” I said, scooping her up.
“What the fuck happened to your hands?” Nira asked.
“And your head,” Vishen shot back.
“Go take care of each other,” I said. “I’ve got Serin.”
I didn’t wait for a response, just carried a trembling, whimpering Serin through to the water closet, closing the door behind me.
“It’s okay. You’re going to feel better in one second. Can I take off your shirt?” I asked as I sat her on the edge of the tub.
She gave me a small nod, like it took all her strength to do it.
I didn’t waste time trying to pry the soaking material up. I reached for my knife, slicing off the straps, then cutting it right up the center.
I tried not to notice.
On the throne, I swear I did.
But it was impossible not to see the soft swells of her breasts, the tight twists of her nipples.
My body stirred, but I glanced back at her wrists to remind myself how hurt she was.
I pulled off the shirt, then helped her to her feet, yanking down her underwear, then guiding her into the tub.
She lowered down, whimpering as the water lapped up around her. I didn’t know if she was responding to the cool water or pain as it moved over her wounds.
“It’s okay. You’re going to feel better,” I said, hoping I was right. “Just settle in.”
“Come in with me?” she asked, voice tiny.