Page 101 of Bitten & Burned
My breath came in short, shallow gasps. My body trembled.
They’re going to kill me. Or worse.
“Tiny, calm her down,” Raspy growled.
A massive arm snaked around my throat and squeezed.
Everything blurred—hands on my chest, yanking buttons, rough fingers on my thigh, my shirt wrenched high?—
And then the darkness took me.
Fifteen
BRANDED
Serpentine Bay, Euraline, Verdune
21 Ebry, Year 810
QUIL
I was mindingmy own business, counting down ten minutes in my head like Anton told me. I’d half expected him to look smug when he passed by. He had every right to.
The fuckingsoundsthat came off that yacht last night. I was pretty sure I heard her ask him to ’split her open’.
No one in the whole godsforsaken bay could have done anything but listen.
At least she sounded like she was having a good time.
Not like she did with me. With me, it was all cold and fear. With him, it was laughter. Joy.
I swallowed hard and realized I’d lost count again.
Fuck’s sake.
Five minutes left? Maybe. I called it five and kept counting, making my way over to where the yacht was docked.
And then I heard it.
A softtink: metal on metal. Delicate, rhythmic. I couldn’t place where it was coming from.
I stopped walking. Listened.
A pause.
Then—wet flops. Heavy. Like drenched fabric being dumped onto hardwood. And… whispers. Voices too close to be from the shore.
From the deck ofLa Lune Rouge.
Fuck.
I crouched low and crept forward.
Four figures were slinking around from the stern, heading straight for the stairwell down to the lower decks.
I could smell them. They smelled… godsawful.
Like unwashed skin. Sweat. Blood. Piss.
