The sight of Thayla chained to a post will never be something I’ll get out of my head. No amount of Chaos can shield me from that.
She should never be on her knees…
Broken.
Bleeding.
Her eyes shouldn’t be glazed with terror she can’t blink away.
“No.” I fling my head back, attempting to force him and this image from my mind.
“Yes,” he whispers. “Listen to the sweet sounds she makes.”
A crack pierces the air, and Thayla’s back bows. Her scream of pain has me thrashing against his power.
“You motherfucker,” I bellow, but it’s no use.
He taps me on my lips, filling my cheeks with shadows that silence my sound.
“I didn’t do this to her. You and your brothers allowed this.”
The chains latched to her wrist shift, pulling her arms out beside her, and the dirt beneath her knees becomes a smooth black floor.
Her eyes roll back and her head tilts toward the ceiling.
Her hips sway with the music.
“You haven’t told her the fantasies that run through your mind. You’re too afraid to admit to her you want to try some of the things you learned from your…Mommy.”
Her clothes fade to nothing, leaving her breathtaking bare body spread into the shape of an X.
A whip forms in my hand, and my body twitches. The soft material at the end will protect her skin from any more scars. My wrist flicks against my will, landing against her back. A delicious pink stripe blossoms and my mouth waters to lick the trail.
“Yes, Riven. More.”
“No.”
“Yes, Empowerer. Don’t lie to me. You can’t hide that from me.”
She shifts once again.
A hand wraps around her neck from behind, and her eyes beg someone to do something. Long black ropes link around her body, which trembles in my father’s arms.
His satisfied smile has my power pushing against my skin.
Begging.
Things aren’t going according to their plan.
My chest cracks open with the whimper that leaves her lips. The glimpse of black streaks slithering beneath her skin shreds something raw and pulsing inside me.
This isn’t just a fear I have.
This is a possibility.
This is what I wake up sweating from.
What keeps me from closing my eyes.
