Page 33 of Knave

Motherfucker!

At least Mouse was safe.

But she was trapped. And he refused to let her stay that way.

The beast shook off the stones, its back to Ferris, and shuddered. Pebbles and dust flew outward, slapping Ferris in the face. He winced and pressed himself against the rocks. But the Jabberwocky simply spread its wings and flew out of the pit without noticing him.

Probably gone off to lick its wounds, yet he didn’t doubt the beast would be back. They were easy prey now.

“Mouse!” he called again. “Please!Mouse!”

Chapter Fourteen

Mouse

“Ah, there’s the pretty mouse,” a deep voice purred in Mouse’s ear, his hot breath tickling her neck, sending chills up her spine. She kept her eyes closed, hoping he would get bored with her, would go the hell away. But no one ever answered her prayers when she silently begged and pleaded, not when the lashings came, not when the drownings occurred, and not when he’d torn out her eyes.

“Don’t play coy. I know you’re awake and ready to play.” Rav lifted one of her lids, and her gaze met his light brown eyes, the tip of his tongue licking at his lower lip in anticipation of his sick game.

Mouse’s pulse spiked, her heart pounding, making the blood rush into her ears. She held back spitting in his face because it would only make things worse, so much worse. When she’d done it last, he peeled off the flesh of her arm with a carving knife and she hadn’t known if he would ever stop. She’d once been strapped in a bed next to one of Rav’s victims, privy to watch as he stripped away the vampire’s flesh until there was nothing but bone. Then he broke the skeleton into pieces, saving the decapitation of the skull for last so the vampire could feel it all. Mouse could never get those screams out of her head—they haunted her every night in her prison cell.

The door opened and the click of heels sounded. Mouse curled in on herself, yanking at her bindings, but she was strapped down to Rav’s laboratory table.

“She truly is quite exquisite for such a little thing,” Imogen cooed as she leaned over Mouse, the queen’s long, crimson hair spilling over one shoulder. “Perhaps I should keep her in a cage in our room. She can be our precious doll.”

Terror coursed through Mouse’s veins, panic sewing its way into her heart.Please no. That would be so much worse than her secluded prison. Ferris couldn’t sneak into Imogen’s room, and Mouse wouldn’t be able to hide Des or the drawings she kept beneath her mattress.

“No, she would probably get too much pleasure in watching us fuck.” Rav smirked, swiping a lock of his red-tipped, white hair behind his ear.

“That reminds me, come to bed when you’re done. I want you to fuck my mouth.” Imogen’s gaze turned hungry and she cupped Rav’s length over his trousers, her lips coming to his in a seductive kiss that made him groan. Mouse held back her nausea, staring up at the ceiling. The queen finally pulled away, peering back at Mouse. “But don’t stop her lesson too soon.”

Rav watched his queen as she swayed her hips, her black and red silk dress swishing behind her. He went and shut the door, then grabbed the chair from his desk, where stacks of paper with drawings of scientific torture designs were strewn across.

Settling into the seat, he placed his chin in his hands as he rested his elbows at the edge of her mattress. His hair brushed her arm and she clenched her teeth to fight the disgust stirring inside her.

Without a word, he studied her for a long while, as if she was his project. Which she supposed she was, as she had been, over and over again. The monster to his Frankenstein.

“You know how easy it was for me to fuck your sister?” Rav finally asked.

Not this again… “You’ve told me.”

“Well, let me tell you again.” Rav arched a brow, seeming to dare her to try and stop him. “After our very brief exchange, she let me fuck her. I didn’t even have to use my influence on her. How pathetic.” He paused, perking up in his chair while leaning closer to her. “Here’s a secret you don’t know. I studied the two of you in your mother’s hat shop, deciding who I wanted to take to Wonderland. You were my first choice, but then I knew you wouldn’t have been much fun, would’ve wanted me to court you until marriage before we fucked.”

Mouse took a deep swallow, her past creeping in. Mr. Taylor. Him slamming her up against the library shelves, the books crashing to the floor.

“Ah, do you have a secret I don’t know about, pretty mouse?” A wicked grin spread across his face. “Perhaps I’ll find that out another time.” He collected a large silver knife from the drawer of his desk and started sharpening it, the metal scraping metal echoing in the room. As he worked, he hummed a song Ever would sometimes play on her viola. “Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy.” Except he hummed it darker, viciously.

“Now, let’s begin.” Halting the movements of his blade, he looked down at her before a sharp pain spread through her leg as he thrust the tip into her thigh.

Mouse jolted, her body shooting upward, the room spinning. A small cry escaped her mouth as a piercing ache traveled through the back of her head and up her spine. She couldn’t stand, even though she could feel herself healing. Her breaths came out rapid, her chest heaving, as she searched for Rav. He wasn’t there. She wasn’t back in his horrific torturous palace. He and Imogen were both dead, and Mouse was in Red with Ferris.

Darkness cloaked Mouse, and even though she could see well without light, she still had to squint. Red sandstone walls surrounded her except for one where large boulders blocked her way out. Mouse’s very real dream came back to her once more—her strapped down on the table… The Ruby Heart Palace where her prison cell bars prevented her from escaping...

Mouse’s chest tightened and a scream built in her throat, sticking there when a scuffling stirred from the other side of the boulders. Her eyes widened, the dizziness fading, as hope filled her.

“Ferris!” she tried to shout, but it came out a rasp as if she hadn’t drunk anything in a while, which she supposed she hadn’t. But she didn’t know how long it had been since she’d fed from the man in the forest.

“Thank fuck! I thought you were dead. It’s been two days!” Ferris whisper-shouted. “Talk as quietly as you can, though—I don’t know if the Jabberwocky is coming back. I’ve been trying to move these boulders ever since we fell down here.”

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