Page 74 of A Curse of Breath and Blood

Piss and shit coated my boots, but I did not stop. Men appeared at the other end of the row, coiling ropes in their filthy hands.

Determination buzzed in my chest like a thousand angry bees—I would not be tied like a hog.

‘Aelia, through the pig pen. Then, over the chicken coop. You can make it.’

The men drew nearer. The delight of the hunt sparkled in their eyes.

“Come here, little kitty,” one said, making kissing sounds at me. “We just want to have some fun.”

I cut left over the waist-high fence surrounding the pig pen. The smell of feces made my eyes water. Deep slop slowed my stride.

I could feel the men behind me. Their heavy bodies struggled to wade through the mud and shit. Pigs squealed in horror as they trounced through their home.

Climbing over the shoddy wooden fence, I leapt toward the chicken coop. As my hands touched the roof, someone grabbed my leg, slamming my face into barbed wire. A sharp pain searedinto my skin—stars blurred my vision. I looked back to see Remus’s bulbous nose and rotten smile.

“Thought you could get away, did you? My mistress will be upset if I let you go.”

“Fuck you.” I kicked as hard as I could straight at his face. The sound of shattering bone rang in my ears.

“You bitch.” He stumbled backward, releasing my leg.

I scrambled up the coop’s roof and dropped to the other side, landing in a stack of crates and twisting my ankle. I screamed in pain, but I could not stop. Not now.

‘Run, Aelia,’ Caiden’s voice urged me forward. ‘Get up andrun.’

I heaved myself up, stumbling through the deep snow. My ankle throbbed in pain. My hot breath turned to vapor in the cold air. I looked back to see the twins, followed by a dozen men, gaining on me.

My muscles burned. When the agony of my ankle became too much, I got on all fours and crawled to the top of the hill. Gideon’s men were mere feet behind me.

‘Aelia, if you can make it to me, Amolie thinks she can create a barrier.’

I summoned the strength to push myself to the top. My limbs shaking with fear and exhaustion. The fallen tree lay so close. I could almost touch it.

A blast of wind knocked me to the ground, banging my head against the rough wood.

I looked up to see Gideon in his long black coat and gold-accented tunic. His leather riding boots crunched in the snow as he slowly approached me. My eyes struggled to focus on him.

He let out a devious laugh, making my blood run cold. “Your sister said you would come, but I didn’t think you’d be foolish enough to pluck her from under my nose.”

I braced myself against the log. Blood snaked its way down my face. “What do you want with my sister?”

A wry smile crossed his handsome face. “You think I’m holding her against her will?” He crouched in front of me, wiping the blood from my face. “That’s so cute.”

I recoiled at his touch.

“She is everything you could never be, Aelia.” His voice scratched at my brain like nails scraping glass.

“Just let her go,” I said, my vision blurring.

Throwing his head back, he scoffed, his quaffed hair fell over his dark eyes. “She sees my vision. Unlike you, who broke like a twig under pressure.” His eyes raked over my body. “Look at yourself, an addict and a fool. You disgust me. I can’t believe I?—”

I spat in his face before he could finish his sentence.

His eyes flared with hatred.

“Now, now, Aelia, that’s not nice.” He wrapped his gloved hand around my neck. “And haven’t I always been nice to you?” He squeezed tighter.

I gasped for air, panic rising like a wave in my chest. Every memory of my time in Ryft’s Edge flashed through my mind. We had been here before—replayed this scene a thousand times. I was not the weak woman I was before.

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