In that moment, I could understand why men had followed his family for a thousand years. My heart still ached for him, but I was proud of the young man. He had grown so much since he had joined the Legion. His strength of will allowed me to regain some control of myself. The tears still burned in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.
Maalik’s impatience grew but the more damage he inflicted on Vlakas, the less reaction he got, from either of us.
“Well, there’s certainly more than one way to break you,mikros prinkipus,” he growled, unbuttoning his pants. I had held out some small hope that Maalik would spare him this. I should have known better.
I could sense my brother’s terror, his hurt. V’s eyes were wide in fear and disgust as Maalik trailed his hands down his bound body, but he refused to look away from me.
I think I went a little mad when Maalik moved behind Vlakas, my own brain remembering the feel of him forcing himself inside my body. The bastard was not touching my brother, goddess damn the consequences.
I strained with all my might against the Suppression Maalik had maintained on me. He had been splitting his attention between V and I, and I hoped it had made him weaker.
At first, I thought my effort would be in vain, but then my power burst from me in a sharp thrust, the glass wall shattering under a fist of Air. The Air-sharpened daggers of glass flew around Vlakas as if he were covered in an invisible shield and winged their way toward Maalik.
My heart soared when I saw a shard heading straight for Maalik’s throat, but Maalik must have seen the same thing as his hand flew up, and I felt the full force of Suppression crushing down on me again. This time I screamed, and Vlakas did as well.
When the Suppression was finally withdrawn, I saw Maalik still standing, his face suffused with fury, his cheek sliced to the bone, blood pouring down his face. Dammit, the glass had missed his throat. Then I saw him look down in confusion as a crimson stain began spreading across the crotch of his leather leggings. Right next to the long dagger-like shard of glass that protruded like a real-life mockery of the House of Eros seal.
I could see my face reflected in the glass wall. It was twisted and shattered, like some monster out of a story. My hands still bound above my head, blood staining my teeth and body while I laughed, and Maalik collapsed to his knees. At least he wouldn’t be usingthatparticular tool of torture on V.
The noise of the shattering glass and Maalik’s screams as he saw the spreading crimson stain on his leggings brought a host of Elusians down on the room, and for what seemed like hours they kept both Vlakas and I so far under Suppression we could barely breathe. By the time they had removed Maalik and lifted the Suppression we were both so exhausted we could barely move.
“V…” I whispered. His head jerked. They had hung him from the ceiling, like they had me, and I could only imagine the pain he was enduring. As an Air Mageia I could at least draw ambient energy through the air. Suspended as we were, Vlakas’ Earth magic would do him little good.
He raised his head, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, lips swollen grotesquely. Multiple cuts marred his face and body, ugly purpling bruises peppering his skin. Like me, whip marks crisscrossed his skin.
“Can… can you hear me?” I whispered.
He nodded.
“—o… …urrndah,” he slurred, but I knew what he was saying.
“No retreat,” I answered. He nodded, then his eyes rolled back in his head and his body went slack in his bonds.
I screamed his name without response. I swore right then that if Maalik wasn’t dead, I would tear him apart with my power. Then we would burn this city to ash.
Chapter 10
Kat
They dumped us on the doorstep of the Legion House. I dimly recalled Allard’s face, contorted in fury when he opened the door and saw us. That surprised me. Allard was an Elusian. That he would have even a shred of compassion for us was startling.
I don’t remember anything else before waking up in the infirmary, pain burning through my chest every time I took a breath. The pain proved I was alive, at least.
V lay unmoving in the bed next to mine, his eyes closed. He was covered in bandages, an IV running in one arm, and was hooked up to a bunch of monitoring machines, but he was breathing. The same machines were attached to me.
“V,” I whispered, but he didn’t move.
The curtain surrounding us pulled back and a medic I recognized, Leonia, entered, clipboard in hand.
“Hey, Kat,” she whispered. “How you doing?” She squeezed my wrist gently. It seemed odd, until I realized it was one of the least damaged places on my body.
“We gotta stop meeting like this,” I rasped out.
Leonia had patched me up more times than I could count.
She smiled sadly.
“If you had only learned how to shield sooner, we would practically be strangers,” she teased, looking down at her clipboard.
