“She’s not the prettiest we’ve had,” someone remarked, but I didn’t spare a glance to figure out who. I was too busy tracking how Kali gathered herself up, how she attempted to stand up.
She teetered and swayed, yet straightened her spine, not a bone in her willing to yield.
As she surveyed the room and the six men, the Head of Military said, “If you look past her missing fingers—which someonewillpay for. I told them no permanent injuries—I think those healing cuts on her jaw are at fault. They soil her looks.”
“They’ll heal.” The blond popped the button on his gray slacks. “But it’s a good thing her mouth isn’t required for reproduction.”
My fist connected with the transparent wall.
82
GEDEON
The barrier vibrated from my hits as my knuckles barreled into the hard surface. One punch after another, they all reached their target—the glass. Dull thuds reverberated off the glaringly bright walls, the echoes chasing each other and blending into a cacophony of my failed attempts to free Kali.
My skin tore like paper, and acid streamed in my veins, but I didn’t feel the ache or the warmth trickling down to my wrist. Not when the blond man rose from the couch and stalked over to her.
Crouching down to her level, he curled Kali’s dark hair behind her ear. “You don’t look too bad up close.” Holding her chin, he glanced at his colleagues. “So who goes first?”
Kali took the opportunity to sink her teeth into his hand, shaking her head like a wolf with a hare in its maw.
Yes.
My fierce little death.
Cursing, the man ripped his damaged limb away: his pale flesh reddened, blood seeping from his purlicue. “She bit me.”
“Don’t touch me,” Kali hissed, scarlet coating her top lip. “You have no rights.”
“No rights?” The blond chuckled. “We’ll see what you say after we’re done reining you in.” Twirling his injured hand, he licked the scarlet off. “Such a feisty little girl you are. But I enjoy it when my gifts have a spirit. Makes it more fun when I fuck them into submission.”
As she scrambled to sit up straighter, two lines of red running down her chin painted her in war colors—shades of her adversary’s blood. “Try it, and I’ll bite your cock off.”
“Enough of this.” Reclining against the suede couch, Ardaton’s Head of Military unfastened the top three buttons of his black button-up shirt. “If you’re set on acting like a rabid animal, you will be treated as such.” He tousled his russet, slicked-back hair, tucking the errant strands back into place. “Restrain her.”
I loosened my dripping-heat fists. Ruby smears coated the glass wall separating us, distorting the visual I had on the enemy, but not a crack decorated the barrier.
It was too thick to break through.
Willing my temperature to go down, to lower to the simmering level, I breathed out as slowly as was humanly possible. I had to bring my emotions under the umbrella of control. I couldn’t allow them to spin freely in a maelstrom that cut off the path to my logic.
Standing in the observation space but internally striding down the road leading to my reasoning, I vowed, “If you lay a hand on her, I will feed you your bones.”
But the room Adder had left me in contained my promise, absorbed it instead of passing it to the Ardaton’s government, all circling Kali like predators about to pounce on their prey.
“You heard the man,” the blond said. “Come on, girl, get up.” Grabbing Kali’s wrist, heyanked.
“Like your dick can never do?” she sneered, and then elbowed him in the gut.
Her features contorted simultaneously with his, and she rushed to cradle her gauze-wrapped hand. The strike had probably aggravated her stumps.
“This is tiring.” The Head of Military downed his glass. Setting it on the coffee table, he sauntered over to Kali. “Let me tell you how it’s going to work.” With one swift move, he hoisted her to her feet. “You can walk yourself, or we can do it the hard way.”
“Or we can do itmyway,” she bit out, though her legs shook. “Where I ensure you never get hard again.” On the last word, her knee connected with his crotch.
The Head of Military fell to the polished hardwood floor, gasping for air as he cupped his crushed balls.
Pride swelled in my chest at how my little death sowed pain everywhere she went.
