Still, he squeezes.
My lungs burn. My vision blurs. Black dots flicker like ashy snow. My knees buckle, and Sulon forces me down until I’mkneeling before him. His grip eases around my neck, and I finally suck in sharp, frantic lungfuls of air.
The soldier who tried to feed me … I try to catch his gaze, but he stares at his boots. Tidescursed coward.
“See? Not so bad when you listen, hmm?” He pats my cheek sharply. Tidesdamned bastard. I launch myself at him with a garbled cry.
Sulon growls.
There’s a low rumbling.
Not in the sky—but in theearth.
Thick, gnarled roots emerge from the ground, coiling around my ankles, trapping me in place. I watch in muted horror as another set of roots erupts and coils around my wrists like writhing brown snakes.
I’m utterly at his mercy. If I survive this, I’ll haunt Zev until his last breath.
The other soldiers watch in silence—some with concern, others with leering gazes like they’re waiting their turn.
Panic claws at my chest, sharp as the thorns piercing my flesh.
“Enough playing, Tundrayni bitch,” Sulon snarls, unbuckling his belt.
Tides, let me survive this.
Let me live long enough to kill them all.
Chapter Fifty-Two
Thejinglingofhisbelt buckle cuts through my resolve like a knife. This is really happening. Tides, he’s going to—
He shoves his pants down over his hips.
Everything falls quiet—my heartbeat, the camp. Even the wind.
Bile rises in my throat.
I refuse to look at him.
He doesn’t like that.
My scalp burns when he fists my hair in his meaty hand, wrenching my head back. Hot tears prick my eyes, blurring my vision, dripping down my cheeks. They mingle with the blood coating my face from my bruised nose and split lip.
“You’ve never looked more beautiful, Princess,” he whispers, jabbing a rough thumb into my lower lip until fresh blood gushes out. His large hands grope me, squeezing every part of me he can reach.
I can’t contain the whimper that escapes me, can’t cage it inside with my fury. Fresh tears fall from my eyes, hatred and rage and pure terror splintering my heart into pieces.
He straightens, angling himself toward my face. He forces two fingers between my lips, prying my jaw open. I try to bite down as hard as I can, but he’s too strong. My bleeding mouth is stretched wide, and still he bears down harder—
The air shifts.
I can sense it, like an electric charge that makes every hair on my body stand at attention.
A distant rumbling sounds—this time in the sky—and Sulon freezes. He yanks his hand from my mouth and pulls up his trousers.
But he’s too late.
Heavy footsteps thunder closer.
