Page 47 of Kept

“I can kill you, bitch, but not just yet. I have so much to show you first.” He turned, taking me with him so I faced the open lawn. “Look.”

The cots were gone. Now, the lawn was a killing field. Sithistran soldiers swarmed everywhere, their mirrors flashing as they slaughtered the townspeople of Lar Budina. Boots slipped in blood and gore as males fought. Two Sithistrans ripped a bundle from a female. As she screamed and tried to claw it back, one soldier dropped it on the ground. The bundle wriggled, and a baby’s wail split the air.

“NO!” I yelled, fighting Valen’s grip. “No, please!”

The soldier thrust his sword through the bundle, and the wail cut off abruptly. The soldier holding the female released her and backhanded her across the face. His sword flashed. Blood sprayed.

Other horrors played out across the lawn. A Nor Doruvian knight crawled on the ground, the long, waxy ropes of his intestines trailing behind him. A richly dressed male bellowed on his back as two Sithistran soldiers stood on his wrists, pinning him to the ground. A third soldier jerked the male’s pants down, seized his testicles, and slowly cut them away as the male’s bellow climbed into an ear-splitting shriek.

I coughed, dry-heaving as vomit surged up my throat

Valen clamped a big palm over my mouth. “If you puke,” he growled, “you’ll lick every drop from the grass.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, tears streaming down my face. I swallowed convulsively, willing myself not to throw up.

Midian spoke in my other ear. “No, no. You can’t close your eyes. You’ll miss the best part.”

Whimpering, I opened my eyes. Vomit rushed up my throat again as I watched a group of Sithistran Green Guards drag a bleeding Varick to the center of the lawn by a rope around his throat. They pulled him like a dog on a leash, then forced him to his stomach on the ground.

“Please!” he sobbed, rearing up. “Don’t—” His plea ended in a pained grunt as a boot caught him in the face. The men fell on him, cutting away his clothes and kicking his legs apart.

I came alive, fighting Valen’s grip like a wild animal. “You won’t hurt him again!” I screamed. “Fuck you! Let him go!”

“Given!”

“Let him go!” I fought harder, managing to free an elbow and slam it backward. It struck Valen’s breastplate, sending sharp, sickening pain shooting from my elbow to my little finger. My hand went numb.

Valen yanked me more tightly against him. He whispered in my ear, his gravelly voice almost tender. “Oh, little doll, don’t be sad. This is what Varick wants. Don’t you want him to be happy?”

“Given!”

Valen growled. His arm around my waist squeezed tighter, threatening to snap my ribs.

Midian glided in front of me, his black eyes glinting as a cruel smile curved his lips. Over his shoulder, one of the Green Guards knelt behind Varick, his penis dangling between his thighs. The soldier spat in his palm.

“Don’t!” I screamed, clawing at Valen’s forearm. “I’m begging you!”

Varick fought the men holding him. A soldier planted a boot on the back of Varick’s head and shoved his face into the dirt.

“Given!”

“Watch,” Valen growled.

“No!” I cried, squeezing my eyes shut. It isn’t real. Valen’s fingers tangled in my hair. Pain exploded across my scalp as he ripped the strands away. I cried out, nausea sloshing in my gut.

“GIVEN!”

“GIVEN, OPEN YOUR EYES!”

Varick?

The pain stopped.

Gasping, I opened my eyes. Varick stood before me, fully clothed and unharmed.

I threw myself into his arms, sobbing and squeezing his neck. “They had you,” I gasped, pressing my body tightly against his. I needed to feel him, to make sure he was safe and whole. “They had you and I couldn’t stop them.” I babbled between broken sobs. “Everyone was dead. The Sithistrans came and slaughtered the whole town. They killed everyone, females and males and babes in arms. They were going to hurt you and I couldn’t bear it. I love—”

“Given,” he said sharply, pulling at my arms. “Not here,” he said in my mind. “We aren’t alone. Everyone is watching.”

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