“I…” I start. He holds his finger up and tilts his head, pausing me before I can say another word.
“No.No, you don’t get to speak just yet.”
I furrow my eyebrows, wrinkling my forehead as a deep crease forms between them. I clench my jaw and press my lips tightly together, feeling the sting of teeth on flesh as I try to keep quiet.
Where the hell am I, andwho the hell does he think he is?
His hands slide down my body as he grips me tightly, moving me around, and then lifts me over his shoulders as if I am light as a feather. My stomach presses tightly on the back of his neck while he holds my feet and shoulder like I am an animal ready to be eaten.
“Easy,” I growl at him, my body swinging around as he walks. I try to wriggle free, but his grip only tightens.
“Do I need to hit you again,woman?” His head snaps towards me, our eyes locking, but I roll mine away.
“Do it, and it’ll be the last thing you ever do.”
He halts. His tongue glides along his bottom lip before letting out a deep, sarcastic chuckle. One of his thick brows raises as he turns his head my way. “You are a little spark of fire now, aren’t you?”
“I don’t allow douchebags to speak to me this way,” I hiss through gritted teeth.
He grunts before shrugging a shoulder, bouncing me up to adjust my body before taking another step. “You are a long way from home now, are you not? You shouldn’t have wandered off.”
My stomach digs into his broad shoulders as he steadily walks to wherever the hell he is taking me.
“You have no idea,” I mumble, my eyes rolling away as I stare out at the hazy sky. The dry, rust-colored dirt gets kicked up from the ground and surrounds us.
“You won’t last long here,” he clears his throat, “trust me on that. You won’t survive the night if Florian leaves you to die.”
My eyes widen, and I bite my tongue. Maybe I should shut up.
“You are lucky I am tied up,” I grumble under my breath as I side-eye him, seeing if he heard me. But he continues to look straight ahead.
I gaze at him for a few moments longer. His luscious locks cascade down to his shoulders, swaying with each powerful stride he takes. The muscles in his jaw clench and unclench as he swallows, a sign of the tension brewing within him. My gaze is drawn to his neck, where I catch glimpses of intricate markings trailing down towards his back, very similar to claw marks. His hair obscures the full pattern from my view, leaving me curious.
My brows lift. “What are…”
Before I can speak another word, his grip tightens.
“Not another word,” he growls. “Not until he meets you.”
I exhale a deep, annoyed breath, rolling my eyes away from him and staring out to the open space past the village we were just in. No one is around us, which makes the insides of my stomach crawl.
Where the hell is he taking me?
Each step echoes gloomily, and my heart races faster than when I was alone in the hills. His warm breath hits my chest when he looks at me, and I shudder at the thought of what he might do next.
I am indeep trouble. There is no way to find Alice.
My father won’t find me here.
But the thought of Tilly being here as well gives me hope.
We finally turn a corner, and I catch sight of a tall, slender structure that is surrounded by rocks that stretch to the sky. There is one main oval-shaped door with deep red markings, several tattered windows scattered to the top. My eyes stay locked on the towering structure, and the closer we get, the more massive it appears. The top is barely visible through the smoky sky.
He opens the oval-shaped door, stepping into a dark corridor with multiple closed doors on each side and a wooden spiral staircase that goes up to the top. My heart races with fear at what could hide behind each of the doors, but also what could be at thevery top.
He stops in front of one wooden door and fishes out a golden key from his pocket. The sound of rust creaking as he scrapes the key into the hole, turning it slowly, sends chills throughout my body, creating goosebumps all over once again. He opens the door slowly, almost menacingly, and throws me onto an old, stained cot that creaks under me. I bounce around, trying to control my body with my arms and ankles tied together. My once neat ponytail has come undone, yet again, and strands of hair cascade over my face, blocking my vision. I frantically shake my head, trying to clear the hair from my eyes. But it stubbornly stays in place. However, through the tangled strands, I can see him standing against the cobblestone wall, with his massive arms crossed, offering no assistance.
“Thanks for your help,” I sarcastically grumble with my jaw clenched.
