Page 53 of Bradi

Chapter Twenty-Six

Marisa pulled at her wrists to free them, but the manacles on them would not give. Each time she pulled, they only got tighter. Her feet barely touched the floor as it was, so she stopped struggling. She did her best not to think about the sound of the mice scurrying around her. The sound of boots scraping over the floor grabbed her attention.

“Ready to surrender yourself to me?”

Marisa didn’t recognize the voice, but had a good idea who its owner was. “I’ll not give you an inch, Stegian.”

In a flash, something was behind her, touching her, rubbing against her. She bit back a scream and kept her eyes forward. Cool hands gripped her neck and she felt fingernails digging into her skin.

“Ah, I know that you will taste divine. I do so miss a woman who tastes as good as she feels when my cock is in her—and you do want my cock in you, don’t you, Healer?”

She wanted to ask how he’d managed to pop up behind her, but she didn’t. “No.”

He rubbed against her back and she felt his erection digging into her skin. “The answer to your question is magik. I have always had the gift to wield it, but it was not until I became what you see before you that I truly knew how to use it.”

“Hmm, I haven’t seen anything before me, Stegian,” Marisa said, shocked that she’d let that slip out.

A cold laugh sounded behind her and she shivered. “I see why Raiden’s son likes you.”

Stegian moved around her slowly, but she didn’t turn her head to look at him. Instead, she let her eyelids flutter closed.

“You believe me to be hideous, do you not?”

Marisa saw little point in lying to the man. “I have no idea what you look like, but I’ve heard of the things that you’ve done, and those are heinous crimes that are inexcusable.”

He grabbed her chin and she felt his hand warm a bit to the touch. “Look upon me, Healer. Let me see myself through your eyes.”

“No.”

He tightened his grip. “Look.”

There was a certain push in his voice that she could no longer ignore. Opening her eyes slowly, she looked upon him.

At first she thought it was a trick—another use of his magik—because the man she looked upon was not hideous. In fact, he was far from it. His long brown hair was pulled tightly back from his face, leaving nothing obstructing his high forehead, strong jaw and gray eyes. He was tall, taller than she thought he’d be, and a hell of a lot bulkier too. In fact, he rivaled Bradi in size and shape.

Why she had assumed that he’d be this hideously thin monster with scales was beyond her, but he was a far cry from it, and that made him even scarier.

His lips pulled into a smile. “I am pleased to know that you find me attractive, Healer. Most fear me so much that they do not dare look upon my face for fear that I will capture their minds with but a look.”

“Can you do that?” Marisa asked, fearing that she too would succumb to him.

“With most, yes, but not you.”

“Why?”

He laughed. “That I do not know, but I find it intriguing.”

“Why do you do it?”

He moved closer to her and touched her face lightly. “Why do I do what?”

“Why do you hurt the Shamenians?”

Stegian bent down and Marisa sucked in her breath as his lips came to her face. He flickered his cool tongue over her skin before flashing her an unnaturally white smile. “Because I can.”

“There’s a mature answer.”

He grabbed the back of her hair and jerked her head back. “You would dare speak back to me?”

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