Page 68 of Boundless
"We'll get him," he growled, his voice a deep bass she felt as much as heard. "We'll get him back, and we'll make his wretched father pay."
Fury sparked a fire in her own chest, straightening her shoulders and burning away some of her sadness. It was as simple as that: Len was theirs, and they would get him back.
"Let’s assemble the defense council," she said, her chin lifting. "Rodrick and his men will be especially needed."
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Dungeons and Damned Men
LEN
THEY WEREdrugging Len, keeping him semi-conscious and helpless as they dragged him away from his family to the gods only knew where. Everything hurt, but his head was so clotted and swimming that it was distant, almost as if he was witnessing someone else's pain instead of his own.
But when he was lucid, the worst pain by far was the knowledge that he'd been taken from his wife and child. He ached for them both far worse than did his broken nose or brutalized ribs.
There were two of them, and they were always watching, their unfamiliar elvish faces twisted in disgust whenever he bothered to watch them back. "Filthy monsterfucker," one of them spat when they let him up for a bathroom break or forced food and water into him. "You must bedesperatefor pussy to willingly lie with that hideous bitch."
He'd bared his teeth and spat at them, earning him another blow to the face. His head was too stuffed with cotton to form a sentence, but he wouldn't let them talk about the love of his life like that. She wasn't a monster. She was light and warmth and goodness, and he was desperate to get back to her.
He dreamed of her often, wishing he could comfort her when she screamed and sobbed for him, so close and yet too far away for him to touch, even in his dreams.I'm alright, dearest, he tried to tell her, to ease the worry he always dreamed her drowning in.I love you so much; please don't cry.
He didn't know how long he was like that, only that it was a long time—likely several days—and it was agony.
When he finally awoke clear-headed and aware, he was in a prison cell. The pale stone above his head was painfully familiar, and he couldn't stop the whimper that slipped from his lips.
He was back at the castle in Llyvelli.
He struggled to sit upright, ultimately giving up and rolling onto his side instead. His chest felt swollen and tender, and when he prodded at it carefully he found the front of his shirt crusted with dried milk, and felt more seeping from raw, tender nipples to re-wet the fabric. He hissed in pain, his eyes roving over the cramped cell, wondering if he could ease the throbbing pressure into a chamber pot or bucket, if they'd provided something like that. He sucked in a breath when he realized he wasn't alone.
His cellmate was asleep, wedged into a corner to be able to sleep sitting and curled up. They were filthy and distorted by injuries, but he recognized that long dark hair, knew those heavy black brows and that pale skin.
"F-Fenris..." he croaked, his hand moving from his overfull breasts. He'd definitely been away from Drokas and Daega for several long days, by the feel of them.
One of his cellmate’s eyes cracked open, bloodshot and unfocused. The other was swollen shut, Len saw, despairing for his friend. When Fenris finally focused on Len's face he snapped awake, sitting more upright and wincing in pain. "No," he rasped, his voice rough and hoarse. "Len..." He tried to move, but he seemed too injured to do so, and he soon gave up, sagging back against the wall. "I'm so sorry," he whispered, tears filming his eye and shocking Len to his core.
The prince of the elves managed to push himself upright with shaking arms, every muscle screaming in protest, but he ignored it, crawling towards the terribly injured elf. "Vi-Vitrin's mercy, Fenris..." he wanted to comfort the other elf, but he was afraid to touch him, convinced he'd only injure him further. "What happened to you?"
Fenris whimpered, tears falling steadily and streaking through the filth and dried blood on his face. "They f-found me out," he said at last. "They—" he swallowed, sobbing quietly, and Len forced his body closer, one hand reaching out and carefully taking Fenris' less injured-looking hand. The normally aloof elf clutched it desperately, his eye wild as it rolled to look at him.
"They d-did this to you?" Len whispered, "They...tortured you?"
Fenris nodded, his chin wobbling. "I'm so sorry."
Len squeezed his hand, managing a faint smile. "You did n-nothing wr-wrong, my friend. G-gods, Fenris—theyhurtyou. How—how could I fault you?"
Fenris' face crumpled, and he curled forward around Len's hand, squeezing it tight enough to hurt. "You're too kind, my prince," he said at length, emotion storming behind his eye. It didn't sound like a compliment. "You should have just killed me all those months ago."
Len frowned, pressing his side a little more firmly into Fenris'. "Ridiculous," he said immediately, keeping his voice low. Who knew who was lurking outside their cell? "I know my father, and i-if not you, he w-would have f-f-found another way to get to me." He paused, steeling himself. "Heisbehind all this, i-isn't he?"
Fenris nodded, sniffling miserably. "Yes. He—he wants to wipe them all out. Every one. And he thinks he'll be able to get you to strike the first blow."
Fenris began to shiver, his eye full of pain and misery. "I didn't want him to have to assassinate you. I tried to protect you, but—" his chin wobbled again, and Len dropped his hand to put his arm around the larger elf, trying to comfort him as best he could. "I told him what he wanted to hear. That you were being kept there against your will, that you regretted the union. I had to tell him how he could get you away. Otherwise he—"
"Shh, it's alright, Fenris. Y-you did well. I'm—I'mproudof you." Len swallowed, suddenly hyperaware of his milk-laden breasts and what they meant. No doubt his captors would have already told Haedelon all about it. But his father hadn't murdered him yet, so he had to hope that he could get out of this. Somehow.
"L-let me heal you a little, friend. P-please."
Fenris shook his head, biting his bottom lip. "No, you can't. You need your energy and—and I don't deserve it. For betraying youtwice." His eye squeezed shut, another fat tear leaking.
