I had to grab onto him to keep from falling, my hands gripping his back so hard pain shot through the tips of my fingers. He slid his hands behind me, cupping my buttocks in his hands and lifting me up. My legs wrapped around his waist, his solid strength supporting both our bodies with no problem at all. We didn’t have to think, there was no time to think. Our souls knew exactly what to do, knew exactly what we needed.
He released my mouth, but I wasn’t ready yet, and instead, captured his bottom lip in between my teeth. A low growl vibrated his stomach, the sensation traveling deep inside me. We were losing it again. Had no control over the task our bodies felt they had to accomplish.
“My god, you guys!” Kesi’s booming voice caused both of us to freeze. “Do neither of you have any dignity? You’re supposed to be catching our dinner, not…god, I can’t even say it!”
I looked around Seth and saw her standing on the edge of the water, one hand shielding her eyes and the other on her hip. As much as I wanted to laugh, I knew now wasn’t the time. Anger had consumed her.
“Do we not deserve a little privacy?” Seth started to turn around.
“Don’t you even dare!” she snapped, her words pausing him. “I’ve seen enough from this side, and I have no interest in the other side.”
“Then why don’t you go hide in the bushes or something so we can become decent enough for your standards.”
“Not a problem,” she fired back. “And after you do, why don’t you try catching some fish this time. The way normal people do.” She turned away from us and stormed back toward the cave.
“I’m not sure which is worse.” He snickered. “Kesi or the ravagers.”
This time I couldn’t hold my laughter in. But in reality, he was right. She might not be a blood sucker, but she did have one hell of a temper. Luckily, she was on our side.
Chapter 29
A few weeks had passed and Seth decided our only option was to stay here. Not only did the magic keep the ravagers away, but the area surrounding the cave gave us an abundant supply of food and water. Even though I had tired of eating fish and various fruits and berries from the trees, I knew not to complain. It could have been worse. Actually, it had been worse at one point in time.
We were still no closer to figuring out a way to stop the Regent and the council from unleashing her wrath on Sector Twelve. If we were to stop her, we would need an army. Which, obviously, we didn’t have. And three people weren’t going to stand a chance against her defenses.
Twice a week Seth would leave me in the cave while he left for his father’s village. As much as I wanted to accompany him, I couldn’t. Re still wouldn’t let the both of us inside the shield together. His fear of the prophecy became even more apparent with each visit, it didn’t help that Seth and I now had a price on our heads.
Re would send scouts out to spy on the Capital. Sometimes they returned, and sometimes they didn’t. The ones who did told Re that following the disappearance of the leader of the Regent’s army, a great reward would be offered to whomever brought her Seth. Word had spread through the Capital that she would also reward the person who found me. As far as the people knew, I had been kidnapped, but I was sure Tiahna knew differently. She would in no doubt kill me behind the temple walls.
The returning scouts also informed Re the border was shifting, even though no other villages were exposed to the wrath of the ravagers as yet, it wouldn’t be long until they were. Seth had made several attempts to persuade his father it was time to rise up, but he still wouldn’t listen, claiming his people were still safe underneath his shield. I knew something had to be done, but I didn’t know what, and the guilt of those people soon being exposed to the ravagers weighed heavily on me. It caused a sickness to stir inside my stomach, and brought back the memory of the crumbling village Seth and I had visited before finding Re. I didn’t want anyone else to suffer the same horrible deaths of those people.
“Come on, Layna.” Kesi shoved a plate of fish and freshly sliced oranges in my direction. “He’ll be back in a few hours. You have to eat something.”
I shook my head and scooted away from her offering. While the scent of citrus soothed my nausea, the fish only heightened it. “Please, Kesi. Not right now.”
“Look,” she tossed another piece of wood into the fire in the center of the cave, “I gave him my word I would make you eat something. You’ve barely ate anything in over a week.”
“What’s the point,” I said, standing up as frustration built inside of me. “I’ll just end up losing it like all the other times.”
“I know it’s been stressful. With him being gone and everything, but you need to keep your strength up.” She leaned back, using her hands to support her body. “Just in case Re changes his mind and decides to go up against the Capital.”
“It’s not going to happen.” My mood suddenly darkened. “This dumb prophecy has Re and his minions shaking at the knees. They’re cowards, Kesi. All of them,” I snapped, not meaning to direct my anger at her. “They’d rather sit around in their little circle while innocent people out there die.”
“They have a right to be scared, Layna. Put yourself in their place.”
I couldn’t believe she was defending them. It made her almost as bad as they were. “Nothing but cowards,” I repeated, heading for the opening of the cave. I didn’t want to argue anymore, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to sit around here and listen to her defend them.
“Where are you going?” She raised her voice.
“I’m going to go get cleaned up before Seth gets back,” I grumbled. “Don’t worry, I’m only going to the spring. There’s no need to follow me,” I added, hoping she would take my hint that I wanted to be left alone right now.
I made my way outside and around the cave. Once I reached the spring, I knelt down, capturing some water in my hands and washing my face. Between the heat, the nausea, and missing Seth, I was a complete mess. But he would be back soon and everything would be alright. Of course, he would persuade me to eat, and I wouldn’t be able to resist his request like I had Kesi’s.
I submerged my arm in the water and washed my shoulder and under my arms, my queasy stomach settling a bit with the coolness splashing over my skin. I repeated the process with my other arm, so absorbed that I didn’t hear anyone approach until a black boot landed on the ground next to me.
I gasped, my body responding to the fact they didn’t belong to Seth. With my eyes locked on the boot, numbness took a hold of me. The magic had been able to keep the ravagers away. That had been the important thing when we first arrived here, the reason why we had stayed. We never once thought about others. Humans and witches. We just assumed they couldn’t get in. Apparently, we had been wrong.
Footsteps sounded behind me. There were more of them.
“Look at what I found, fellows,” a male voice chimed from above me.
I drew in a deep breath and finally gained the courage to look up, meeting a pair of dark brown eyes. The man had a smirk on his face as he watched me, knowing he had caught me off guard.
“Now, what would a woman be doing all the way out here by her lonesome?”
I took in his clothes. A white shirt and black pants. Filth covered both of them, like he hadn’t changed in months. His lips parted, revealing he was missing one of his front teeth. He wasn’t from the Capital. This man was part of the Rebellion. The same group Seth had once been a part of.
Without a word, I sprang to my feet, lunging for the water, knowing I had to create some distance between us if I planned to fight them off, but the man caught my elbow, squeezing it so tightly in his hand I thought the bone would pop off.
He twisted my arm around, causing me to cry out in pain as my back slammed against his chest. The others laughed behind him. There were four more of them. Five including him. “Now, now, Darling. What’s the rush?”
Tears rushed from the corner of my eyes as he pulled a dagger out with his other hand and pressed the sharp tip just
underneath my chin. “Please, let me go.” The words came out as a choked sob.
“Sorry, can’t do that, Darling. I’ve got strict orders to bring anyone I find to my leader.”
Oh god, no. I had to do something. I couldn’t let him take me away.
Just then, the tingles began pulsing through me. At the same time, Kesi’s head peeked out from around the side of the cave. Her eyes were wide and her lips were tight. Then she was gone.
As the pressure built inside of me, the other four men formed a circle around us.
“I say we keep her to ourselves and off her when we’re done. He’ll never know,” one of the men said, winking at me.
“Like hell you will!” My voice came back as my magic bubbled to the surface. I grabbed the wrist holding the dagger, closed my eyes, and pushed the energy out.
The man released his hold and shoved me away from him, dagger dropping to the ground, screaming in pain. I stumbled back and narrowed my eyes at him as he studied the welts rising on his wrist.
“Son of a bitch!” he yelled.
“The whore is a Natural!” another man shouted. “Don’t let her palms touch you!”
Kesi appeared again, but this time she was running. Her blurred form heading straight toward us. Before I could blink, she slammed into one of the men, her tiny frame only causing him to stumble forward and lose his balance, falling to his knees on the ground.
“What the hell was that?” He looked around, confused.
“It’s another one!” another man said, drawing a sword, and glancing around for any sign of her.
I took advantage of her distraction and fled, but one of the men tackled me before I could fully escape.
“Get off me!” I screamed, thrashing my body around, attempting to knock him off. But none of my strategies worked. He ended up grasping both of my wrists in one of his hands and yanked me off the ground.
Kesi blurred by again and the men swung their swords, each missing her by a long shot. I knew she couldn’t keep this up for long. The use of her power would cause her to drain. Then they would have both of us.
I struggled against the man’s hold, but he had a firm grip on me.
“I don’t think so,” he sneered, the stench coming from him causing bile to rise up in my throat. It was worse than the scent of the fish earlier.
“Grab the other one!” The man with the welts on his wrist ordered the other three men.
Kesi was slowing down, her figure more apparent now as she ran back and forth behind the men.
“Get out of here!” I screeched at her, my voice now dry and hoarse as I fought like mad against the man.
A bone crushing pain suddenly centered in the back of my head, like my skull had been ripped out of my skin. The wooded area, the men, all of it became thinner and thinner as my vision blurred. Then the world faded away, leaving nothing but darkness.
Chapter 30
“Get up!” Something solid and hard crashed into my rib, sending a searing pain through my body before I even heard the crack.
The voice was familiar. I had heard it before.
“I said, get up!” the man said again, even more fury in his voice this time.
My eyes slowly opened, but I was unable to respond to his request. My body wouldn’t move. I was still in the woods. Somewhere. And more boots than before surrounded me.
Something or someone grabbed my hair and yanked my head up, creating more explosions of pain to ripple through my insides. I could only groan in response as I took short, shallow breaths, unable to bear breathing in any deeper than that.
“Look at me!”
Before I even had time to try to respond, my hair was being forced from my head. As much as the fire roared inside of me, I had to move. I managed to get to my knees, but I couldn’t go any further than that.
My hair was tugged backward, causing my face to tilt toward the sky. He looked down at me, the rage and hatred making his eyes appear black as the night. They weren’t always that way. They had once been a soft brown. Not the color of muddy water, but more of a chestnut color. But they had always been angry, regardless who he was focused on. Tiahna, me, Mother, or Father. It didn’t matter. He was angry at the world and everyone in it.
“Z—Zane,” I could hardly get his name out as another round of fire swept through me.
He looked as if he were about to smile, but instead, his lips curled in a weird and creepy way, like he had grown fangs and was about to attack and mutilate my face. “My dearest sister, Layna. You’ve finally come back to me.”
My god, I’d think he was even sicker than his own twin sister. Tiahna rarely ever played with her prey. She normally had someone else do it for her.
There was no doubt in my mind he was going to kill me. I had escaped him once, but now he had me again. He wouldn’t let me slip away this time. I just hoped he would be quick, but even the promise of swift mercy didn’t exist in his world. Zane would make my death long and painful. He’d draw it out so I was nearly dead. Then he would wait until I recovered a little and then torture me some more. He would want me to beg for my life just so he could feel superior and know, without a doubt, he held my life in his hands.
If anyone was on his list to destroy, it was me. And I was at the top of that list, my sister following close behind. He blamed me for our father spending so much time with me, blamed me for our mother taking me with her when she visited the villages. He thought they favored me over him. He wanted to be the center of their world. Not me. Not Tiahna. But him. And only him. He threw his tempers when our father took me places and showed me new and exciting things. It was my fault. All my fault.
I knew this because he told me many times, and he made me pay for it even though he was severely punished afterwards. When I was lost and wanted to run away from life after our parent’s death, he coaxed me to come with him, assuring me he had changed. But he lied. Lied about everything. Then he had attempted to kill me, beating me black and blue when I was sleeping. I’d woke before he was able to grab the sword. Thank god for that. I had barely escaped him.
“Sword!” He held out his free hand to the guy next to him.
The guy didn’t even hesitate to pull his sword out and place it in the palm of Zane’s hand. He took a step back, giving him some space.
Zane tightened his grip on my hair and forced my head back more. My neck had to be on the verge of cracking. Pressing the blade against the skin of my neck, just below my chin, he let the sharpness penetrate my flesh. A warm wetness rushed down the base of my neck, but between my hair being forced from my scalp and the flame consuming my insides, I couldn’t feel the cut.
“Little sister, shall you plead for your life now?” He was taunting me. It was always a game to him.
“Fuck you,” I said through my clenched teeth. I would never submit to him, never give him the satisfaction of begging for my life like he wanted. No, I wouldn’t beg. I wouldn’t grovel at his feet. I would go out with a smile on my face knowing I had pissed this evil son of a bitch off even more. And he wouldn’t be able to do anything about it because I’d already be dead.
“Why do you have to be such a bitch?” He jerked his hand back, taking my hair with it and tossing me a couple footsteps away from him.
I rolled over the hard ground, my bones shifting and limbs twisting in odd and painful ways, but yet, no matter how much it hurt, I refused to make a sound.
He came at me again, his tan face now a blazing red. When he reached out to me, I struck back, pushing out the little bit of magic left inside of me. There was no need to hide it now. If I was going to die, he would know the truth. The truth as to why our parents spent so much time with me, the truth as to why they tried to keep me away from him and his almost as sadistic twin.
The jolt of energy pushed him back, causing him to stumble, but it wasn’t enough to make him fall. His eyes widened and his mouth opened and closed, like he was trying to process all the information rushing into his brain. “You’re kidding m
e.” His face lit up as to what I actually was. I could see his brain reeling. “You’re a Natural.” He looked at each and every man standing around us. The five from earlier and a new one just behind him. “My sister is a Natural,” he said to them, as if they hadn’t saw or heard what only happened a second ago. “They knew.” The hatred in his eyes mingled with the crazies. “They were hiding you.”
I wasn’t sure if he expected me to clap or what.
“Sir.” The man behind him placed his hand on Zane’s shoulder. “He’s returned.”
Zane turned his head and watched as Seth stepped out from the trees. My pain suddenly intensified, nearly crippling every joint in my body.
Zane walked over to him, speaking so low I couldn’t make out his words. As he talked, Seth’s features remained hard and emotionless. He kept the same tone as Zane when he spoke, never once glancing at me or even acknowledging my existence.
My brother patted him on the back and smiled, something I didn’t think he was even capable of. Seth’s expression never changed, and it scared the living hell out of me.
Zane finally turned around, his dark mood seemed to lighten a bit with Seth’s presence, but that didn’t make the situation any less sinister. He walked toward me while Seth stayed behind. When he reached me, he crouched down in front of me, letting his arms rest on his thighs, his hands dangling in the space between his legs. “I should let all these men have their way with you. They’ve never had a Natural before, and I doubt any of them has ever touched a virgin. I really wouldn’t mind letting them rip you apart and let you bleed out. Actually, I might rather enjoy it.”
I spit in his face, causing him to jerk back. “I’m not a virgin you sick bastard,” I growled.
A sudden movement caught my eye. Even though Seth’s face remained hard and emotionless, his fingers tapped against his thighs, like he was anxiously waiting for something. But what.
Zane’s fist came out of nowhere, striking me hard in the cheek, the force pushing me back and nearly snapping my neck. “Not a virgin?” He stood up. “Mother and Father would be upset to find out you’ve become such a naughty girl. Besides, what sort of filthy scum bag would ever want you?”
Forbidden: an Adult Paranormal Witch Romance: Othala Witch Collection (Sector 12) Page 13
