Page 66 of Empire of Flame and Thorns

Throwing myself across the room, I dive towards the knife on my dresser right as two men burst through the hole in the door.

Tommen flashes me a vicious smile as he and Jeb straighten inside my room. “Payback time, bitch.”

I don’t even have time to scream for help before they launch themselves at me.

Panic crackles through my veins.

Leaping back, I slash my knife in front of me. It forces them to stop their attack long enough for me to land. My back hits thedresser with a thud, making the wood rattle. I cast a panicked glance around the room, trying to figure out how to escape. But I barely manage to scan half of the room before Tommen lunges at me again.

His fist speeds towards my face. I duck it and slash at his chest. A cry of pain rips from his throat as my knife grazes part of his chest, drawing a thin line of blood.

Fury burns in his eyes.

I jump back as he aims another punch at my head. But my back slams into something else.

Arms reach around me from behind, trying to trap me. Jeb’s harsh breath hits the back of my neck. With panic blaring inside my skull, I stomp my heel down towards his foot. He’s wearing boots, and I’m barefoot, but it manages to cause enough pain for him to lose his grip on me. I dive away right before Tommen can slam his fist into my stomach.

Rolling across the floor, I twist around and swipe at their hamstrings.

Jeb curses as my knife nicks the side of his thigh.

I yank my blade back, aiming another strike.

Pain shoots up my arm as Tommen’s boot connects with my wrist.

The knife flies from my grip. It hits the wall to my left and bounces down on the floor in a clattering of metal. I gasp as I jerk back, narrowly avoiding a strike to my ribs.

Across the room, Jeb snatches up my knife while Tommen throws himself at me. I leap sideways, rolling over my bed. The rumpled sheets tangle around my ankles, and I have to kick them away when I hit the floor.

Metal glints.

On instinct, I yank up an arm to block it.

Pain explodes through my forearm as the knife cuts a deep slash right across it.

I cry out in shock and pain, but I don’t even have time to block out those emotions, because Tommen aims a kick at me from the other side. Throwing myself flat on the ground, I roll underneath the bed in an attempt to find temporary shelter. But hands wrap around my ankles.

A gasp rips from my lungs as I’m yanked out from underneath the bed.

I’m only wearing that delicate silk nightgown and the sheer white robe that goes with it, so more pain pulses through me as my bare skin scrapes against the floor.

The moment one of the hands disappear from my ankle, I blindly kick my leg upwards. A grunt of pain echoes into the pale room as I hit something soft.

But my victory is short-lived as a boot slams into the side of my ribs.

I hear the crack before I feel it.

Agony slashes through my whole chest as several of my ribs shatter from the magic-enhanced kick. Rolling over on my side, I try to crawl away. Another boot takes me in the side of the head.

Lights flash before my eyes as my head snaps to the side.

I think I cry out in pain, but it’s difficult to hear over the ringing in my ears.

Black spots dance before my vision, and the room sways around me. I kick out with my leg again.

Another burst of pain sears through me, so intense that it blinds me for a few seconds, as Jeb rams the knife into my thigh. I gasp into the ceiling, but I’m not sure if any sound makes it out. Blood pounds in my ears.

Jeb yanks the knife back out with a wet sliding sound.

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