CHAPTER 15
Ravenna
“Where have you been?” Papa grabs Elena by the throat and shakes her. In the foyer’s bright light, the bruises and dirt on her body are clearly visible. She’s thinner than ever. Obviously she has been held captive, and mistreated.
But why would Papa care?
“Someone took me. I swear it. I didn’t run away.” Elena sobs, but she doesn’t fight against Father, she knows there’s no use.
He shoves her to the floor. “Go to your room. I’ll deal with you later.”
She scurries away, up the stairs to her bedroom, leaving me alone with our father. He turns his furious gaze on me and I wither. This evening I just don’t have the strength to stand up to him, to be strong in the face of his punishment. My heart hurts too much. All I can do is try to hold the shattered pieces together.
Everything I did ended up being for nothing. My initial sacrifice to save the precarious peace treaty between our people means nothing. My escape from here was a temporary fantasy. I’m right back where I started. Only this time, I don’t have my innocence to shield me from the worst of it.
I’m no longer a valuable commodity.
“Ravenna.” His tone drips with disappointment. “Since you’re here, I’m assuming O’Rourke learned of your deception. You’ve single-handedly destroyed the peace between us. You always were a fuck up.” He slaps me across the cheek. The blow sends me staggering backward. “What? No smart mouth on you tonight? Did he fuck the insolence out of you? If I’d known that was all it would take, then I would have given you to my men years ago. Maybe I still will, now that you’re nothing but an Irishman's filthy whore.”
Mama steps out of the shadows, her arms hug her middle, her face pale. “Lorenzo, don’t y-you think you’re being unfair? S-she did all that could?—”
“Shut up.” Papa’s punches suddenly rain down on her. She screams. Her delicate body falls to the floor, where her head hits the tile with athunk.
“Stop!” I muster some of my courage and try to drag my father away from my unconscious, bleeding mother. His wrath switches to me, his fists flying at my face, my stomach, my arms.
Each hit sends a shock wave of pain through my body. I crumple beneath his assault, but that doesn’t save me. His boot wreaks havoc on my thighs and ribs. My cries for mercy fall on deaf ears. Like they always have.
Once Papa has had enough, he bends, grabbing me by my hair. “Don’t ever tell me what to do.” He shakes me, agony sears my scalp. “At the church you should have come to me when your sister didn’t show up. Yourclevernesshas gotten us into this mess. You’re nothing but a stupid little slut. What am I supposed to do with you now, huh? You’re worthless to me. If your brother was still alive, I’d let him have you.”
His admission makes me gag. Acid burns my throat and nostrils. I can barely see his face through my tears, but his tone tells me he’s smiling.
“Now get out of my sight.” He releases me with a shove.
I groan, lying on the floor in my own blood. Every inch of my body throbs with pain.
Right now I wonder if I didn’t make the wrong choice. Maybe I should have stayed in the SUV and endured Cian’s wrath. A quick death would be welcome over this ongoing hell.
But this is my life. Always has been. Always will be, apparently.
For the first time in my life I wonder what it would be like to just give in. To admit there’s no escape from here and accept that this is as good as it gets. To let myself die inside.
Wouldn’t that be less painful than holding onto hope?
Papa lifts Mama’s unconscious body and carries her further into the house. I don’t know what he’s going to do to her while she’s out, and I shudder to even think about it. All I know is that he’ll be occupied with her for some time. He always is after he beats her.
Crawling on my hands and knees, I move toward the staircase. The house is quiet, the staff vanishing as they always do when Papa is in one of his foul moods. Lucky them.
One step at a time, I lift myself up the stairs to the second floor, then crawl along the hallway to my bedroom door. Elena steps out of her room across the hallway. She drops to her knees beside me, her hands hovering over my beaten body.
“I-I don’t know how to help you.”
I do my best to wave her off. “Just open my door. I’ll be fine.”
She does as I ask, letting me into my room, then helps me to sit on the bed. I take a long look at her, noting how she doesn’t appear much better than I feel right now.
She’s bruised and dirty. I’m beaten and bloody. What a pair we make. I clasp her hands between mine.
“We’ll get through this, Elle. I promise.”
