With a burst of strength, I shove her away, making her slam into the wall. But even without her clutching, the things in my head crawl. Like maggots through flesh.
Rolling on the ground, I grip my head, shaking it. Panting. Writhing here just like the things in my head.
She’s lying. I know she is. Iknowit.
I’m desperate. Panicked. Terrified. Unnerved.
Get them out.
Get them out.
“GET THEM OUT!”
My scream cracks against the walls. Someone holds me down. Or maybe more than one someone, because they’re so strong.
They’re trying to make me feel weak.
I’m shoved up, and the back of my skull cracks against the wall. It hurts, but the pain stuns the writhing. Makes the disturbing sensations go still.
It stops. Like it wasn’t happening. Like I’m just going crazy.
…Am I going crazy?
I blink, my surroundings coming into focus, and I see two men. Their appearances scrape down the hollowed-out pits of my memory.
Have I seen them before? I can’t remember.
The first has eyes like granite. The other bears the loss of one.
The stony-eyed man wears a mantle lined with fur around his body and a crown upon his head. His hard face holds the carvings of anger. “Look at her!” he seethes. “Why isn’t this working?”
Una shakes her head. Her face is pale. “I’ve been trying every day, my king. I’ve never encountered a mind such as hers. Her mental fortitude is the strongest I’ve ever come across. With the amount of magic I’ve used, she shouldn’t just be pliable, she should beinfirmby now. Nothing but a husk. But she fights me still.”
Her words spin in front of my eyes. I try to grasp hold of them to wring out their meaning, but I’m spinning too. When she glances over at me, sliding those striped eyes over my face, I jolt forward and try to claw them out.
But there’s an armored man I didn’t notice. He slams me back, cracks my skull against the wall again.
Now the room spins too.
“You said I could use her,” the king spits, making his accusation spray across the room.
My head boils in the sound, frothing out with a whine from my lips. When I get my vision to settle, I see the one-eyed man regarding me. I glare back at him.
I don’t know who he is, but I loathe him with a fierceness that burns. The cuff at my ankle seems to grow a hundred pounds heavier, but it doesn’t suffocate the flaming hate. That heat travels all the way down my back. Into my palms. Hot enough that it feels molten.
Looking down, I see a bead of moisture gathered in my hand. He notices it too, before I clench my fist and let my tired limb drop into my lap.
“More of a thorn than a flower, aren’t you, pet?” he mocks.
I growl.
He regards me coolly before answering the king. “There is an alternative,” he says before turning to someone through the open doorway behind them. “Bring her in.”
Scuffling and footsteps sound, and an angry voice that scratches down the walls. Then suddenly, a woman is shoved into my cell, body splayed before she manages to catch herself.
She looks around wildly, eyes like a cornered animal, teeth bared to show off sharp fangs. The top of her left ear has been cut off completely, and there’s dried blood caked there. I press against the wall to get away from her, and as soon as I do, her attention snaps to me.
Her body goes still, eyes widening, face losing the snarl. “Auren!”
