Page 16 of Midnight Queen

Her movements are hindered by his hold, but still, she manages a jerky shake of her head. Her face looks paler now, her eyes almost dazed from the pain.

“Very well.” Gideon roughly lets go of her, leaving bright red fingerprints on her jaw and cheeks. “You’re only hurting yourself, Quincey,” he scolds before moving to the other side of her chest. “But at least this way, you’ll be symmetrical.”

Just like he did before, he begins to carve another X into her skin.

She tries hard to be strong. I can tell by the way her jaw clenches and her eyes squeeze shut that she’s fighting like hell to remain quiet, but my brave girl can only take so much before she has no other choice.

The sound of her crying out in agony slices through me like a sword, rattling me to my very core. I haven’t felt true pain in a very long time, but right now, as I helplessly watch him disfigure her body, it’s all I can feel.

“That’s it,” Gideon encourages wickedly. “Now cry out to him, Quincey.”

Her lips press into a flat line as she refuses his order once more. The tears that fall from her eyes streak through the blood he’d left on her cheek.

Not liking her stubborn silence, Gideon snarls at her as he digs his finger into the fresh wound he’d just caused. Once again, she screams.

My body turns around on instinct, as if my subconscious is trying to protect me from what’s happening on the screen. Shoving my shaking hands into my hair, I yank on the strands before forcing myself to turn back.

“Say. His. Name,” Gideon orders close to her face, saliva spraying as he speaks.

Quincey slowly blinks her eyes, clearing the tears from them. She opens her mouth, her plump bottom lip wobbling. My body locks in place, and the air in the room becomes heavy as she works up the ability to speak again. “Silas,” she hoarsely says. My chest constricts at how broken she sounds.

“That’s it.” Gideon grins in triumph, but the achievement is short lived.

“Silas,” Quincey whispers. When she says my name, it usually has a calming effect on me, but now it causes a spot in my chest to ache. “Everything will be okay. Don’t watch. Please don’t wa—”

Gideon’s open palm collides with her face, effectively cutting off her plea to me. The force of the blow even makes Lorcan wince. “Stop trying to protect him. He doesn’t deserve it.” The knife falls when he reaches out for her. His bloody hands wrap around her shoulders, and he violently shakes her battered form. “He doesn’t deserve anything!”

The back of her skull collides with the metal table from the force of his shaking.

A low, rumbling growl has started to form in my chest. It’s like a tornado siren sounding before the storm touches down. I can feel Lorcan tense up beside me, prepared for whatever is to come.

With one last violent shake, Gideon shoves away from Quincey. She smiles hatefully up at him despite her now split lip. “I did as you asked. I said his name. What’s a girl got to do to make you happy, Gideon?”

Many times I found myself annoyed because of her smart mouth. I was unaccustomed to such obvious disrespect, and it appears Gideon wasn’t prepared for it either.

“Do you think Margret would approve of what you’re doing?”

“Don’t,” Gideon warns lowly.

But of course, she doesn’t listen to him. “Do you think she’d like that you’rehurtingme?” She’s trying to keep her tone even, but I can hear the ache in her voice when she speaks. The blood from her chest wounds runs down her shoulders and into her lace bra. The metal table beneath her has pools of it forming.

As if he’s in pain, Gideon roars loudly before he moves away from the table. With his speed, he’s nothing but a blurred shape. When he passes in front of the camera, he must bump into the stand it rests on. The footage wobbles and shakes for a second before finally crashing to the ground.

Dread wraps its cold arms around me in an unpleasant embrace when Quincey’s body is no longer in frame.

“I told you to stop,” Gideon seethes off camera. “Why can’t you just do what you’re told?”

The sound of something unzipping has my hands balling into fists at my sides.

“What is that?” Quincey questions, her voice pitched in slight panic. “What are you giving me?”

“I think I’ve heard enough from you today,” Gideon coldly says. “It’s time for you to close your eyes now.”

The chains clang against the table. I can’t see her, but I have to assume that she tries her best to fight off whatever he’s doing to her. The commotion stops and the faintest whimper fills the silence before she whispers, “No, I don’t want to sleep.” her words are slow and sluggish like she’s been drugged.

“Sweet dreams,” he offers.

I wait, my whole body shaking with an uncontrollable wave of emotions as footsteps slowly approach the fallen camera. When Gideon’s face comes into view and Quincey isn’t shown again, my spine goes rigid.

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