Page 84 of When Sisters Collide
“Get off me!” Her scream cracked with fury and heartbreak. She twisted and shoved with all her strength, every fibre of her being burning to silence the vile man.
But still, it wasn’t enough.
The pressure on her neck increased. Her vision blurred. Breath fled her lungs as panic surged. And in that spiralling darkness, her thoughts didn’t turn to Katell.
They turned to Leukos.
She saw him with searing clarity: tall and resolute, his back to her before a silver throne flanked by another, grander and gilded in gold. Wide columns loomed around him, casting long shadows across the hall.
His tousled black hair was achingly familiar. The sight of it pierced her like a blade. She longed to see his face, to reach out, to touch him?—
“Leukos!”
He turned, startled. For the briefest moment, his dark eyes met hers before reality dragged her back.
Back to the freezing courtyard, her battered body, and the monster looming over her.
“Perhaps I will keep you alive, after all,” the praefect mused, easing the weight on his boot. “Get you to tell us everything you know about the rebellion so we can finally crush those fools.”
“Never,” she choked out.
The pressure lifted. She rolled onto her stomach, gasping deep breaths. The sudden flow of air made her head swim, her vision blur. She clawed her fingers into the gravel, seeking any kind of purchase.
A brutal weight slammed down on her hand, grinding her fingers into the frozen earth. White-hot pain exploded through her right hand, and a scream ripped free.
Laughter echoed, but Alena barely heard it over the agony. The boot twisted viciously, and her world narrowed to blinding, unbearable pain.
“Surrender and tell me who aided you,” the praefect demanded again.
Alena gritted her teeth, refusing to speak.
The Rasennans be damned. She would die before she betrayed Leukos and the rebels. How could Katell have joined these monsters?
But just as despair threatened to consume her, the Maiden’s words surfaced in her mind:Should you ever need my help, send me a prayer, and I will do what I can.
Alena latched onto it, breathing through the pain. Her vision swam, edges blurred, but she clung on.
Before she could utter a word, the praefect shifted.
His other boot moved into view, open-toed and worn from battle. Through the crisscrossed leather lacing, a sky-blue Mark shimmered just above his ankle.
Her pulse surged.
Slowly, ever so slowly, Alena slid her left hand towards his foot. Her heart pounded with each inch.
“Don’t be a fool,” the praefect growled. “You’re just a girl. Don’t believe the rebellion cares about you. You are nothing to them. Tell me what I want and I won’t kill you.”
A broken chuckle escaped her lips, keeping his focus on her. “I’m not just a girl.”
“Ah, that’s right,” he said, his tone laced with sinister delight. “You took the Blood Wolf’s magic, and yet there isn’t a single wolf in sight.” He turned to his soldiers and switched to Rhaetic, no doubt mocking her for their amusement. As if on cue, laughter rippled through the courtyard, cold and cruel.
Alena bit her lip as her hand inched closer, every movement a battle against the searing pain and numbing cold.
She just needed one touch.
“Tell me,” the praefect sneered, “if you aren’t just a girl, then who are you?”
“I’m the Omega,” she breathed. Then, summoning every last shred of strength, she reached for his ankle and pressed her fingers to his Mark.
