Page 87 of The Magic of Revenge
Go, go, go.
I was just about to jump when something hit me from behind with enough force that I dropped to my knees and slid several feet before coming to a rest. All of the air was gone from my lungs, the intensity of the hit having stolen it from my body. What the fuck hit me? Bryce must have hit me with an ice block or something.
Get up, Saige. Fucking get up.Something pierced my back and I cried out and swore at myself, trying to get up, but something was wrong. I felt my wings start to recede back into me, along with my horns and tail.No, no. I need my wings.I reached back where I was starting to feel a stinging and felt a small hard thing sticking out of my skin. Yanking it out, I looked and saw it was a dart. What the hell?
"Your magic is gone for the moment," Bryce told me, standing over me now. "Can't have you flying off on me. Your strength is also weakened. Not that you were ever strong to begin with. I'm just letting you know, fighting me is futile." He dropped to his knees with a sinister glint in his blue eyes. How had I ever thought he was a good man?
"You're evil," I accused, unable to get up or really do much of anything. The fear of being beneath Bryce, combined with the fact that my magic was gone left me pretty fucking terrified.
He barked a laugh. "Maybe. Maybe not. But you know what you are? An absolute slut. Six men? Really, Saige? Unbelievable. Talk about Daddy issues. Were you really so desperate that you let six men have their way with you? I can smell them on you. It's disgusting, and it's something I'll be fixing right the fuck now."
My eyes widened as he reached down and grabbed the waistband of my pants.
"No, Bryce. No. Don't. Please don't," I cried. I couldn't even be embarrassed that I was crying and pleading. He was stronger than me, and it wouldn't be the first time he'd taken what he wanted. My fingers dug into the dry earth, trying to get a hold of something to help me drag myself away from him. He gripped my ankle and pulled me back with a horrible laugh that made me clench my eyes closed, especially when the night air hit my bare ass as he tugged my pants down.
"No, no, no," I screamed, kicking out and hitting him in the chest. There was no power behind it though, but there was a lot of power behind his backhand that had my head crashing into the ground. I groaned and tasted blood. My vision blurred and I saw two of him. That was so much worse than just one Bryce. His hands worked the button of his jeans and I sobbed when his erection sprang free. I had to get out of here. I’d promised myself this would never happen again.
"I told you. Why don't you ever listen? You never fucking listen to me. I'm going to fuck you into the dirt where you belong. Maybe then you’ll remember that you’ll only ever be a dirty slut."
I screamed bloody murder when he got my leggings off, fighting his every move as much as I could to keep my underwear on, but my vision was starting to darken at the edges and I was terrified I was going to pass out. If I passed out, I would lose. He'd rape me and then there's no telling where he'd take me.
Just as he crawled on top of me, the ground started to shake and I heard the absolute loudest roar I'd ever heard in my life. I curled into a ball and clamped my hands over my ears, and Bryce must have released me to protect his own. My body was shaking so badly and I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes and see what the hell had made that noise. Whatever it was, I was just thankful Bryce wasn't touching me anymore.
I knew the edge of the cliff was close. So close. I started pushing myself toward it. If he came at me again, I would have to take my chances and hope I didn't hit any rocks on the way down before hitting the river. That motherfucker wasn't raping me. Not today, not tomorrow,not ever.
My eyes tracked Red as she trekked across the yard to meet with Laurie. The full moon had soft light spilling across the lawn making it much easier to keep an eye on her. Every part of me wanted to go out there with her, but I knew this was something she needed to do by herself. The last time I'd seen my father, I also spoke to him alone. As a child of someone who sucked at being a parent, it was bad enough that everyone knew that you weren't loved. Or shit, my dad didn't even like me. It was another thing to have witnesses to such a vulnerable moment, even if it was just you telling them to go fuck themselves.
My phone started going off again and I huffed a breath when the fucking prison number came up again. What the hell was going on? It was too late for inmates to be making phone calls anyway. I let it ring and kept my focus on my girl who was sliding open the door to the barn and disappearing inside.My girl. Gods, that felt weird to say... but it also felt so fucking right.
Being included earlier, knowing she wanted me, meant a lot. Especially after what I'd done. Fuck, I'd never forgive myself for being such an idiot. Things with Fish were still strained, but I was doing everything I could to show him that I was sorry. So gods damned sorry. That night in the woods when he was saying goodbye to all of us, my heart had literally felt like it was exploding in my chest. It was as though clawed hands were ripping through my chest and shredding it to ribbons.
My phone vibrated and I looked down, surprised to see I actually had a voicemail. I picked up my phone and hit play, keeping my eyes on the barn. I hoped like hell I wasn't about to hear my dad's voice.
'Mr. Sullivan, this is Michelle Murphy calling from 7th Circle Penitentiary. We've tried to reach you several times. We need to speak with you urgently regarding your father. Please—"
I ended the voicemail without finishing it. This was a first. I'd never directly gotten a call from anyone there, aside from the one person I never wanted to speak to again. I was curious about what it could be about. The old man had probably fucking killed someone. That wouldn't surprise me. Annoyed, my eyes tracked the lawn where everything was quiet.
Just as I was about to set the phone back on the counter, the prison called again. Shit. What in the name of Jupiter's cock could be so fucking important at this hour? Pissed, I connected the call.
"Hello?" I snapped.
"Sloane Sullivan?" A woman’s voice asked and I rolled my eyes; this must be Michelle from the message.
"Yeah," I replied gruffly.
"I'm not sure if you got my message," the woman spoke and I chuckled without humor.
"You mean the message that you just left me two seconds ago?"
"There's no easy way to say this, but your father, he's passed away—"
I fumbled my phone and it fell to the ground.Passed away? He's dead? He's finally fucking dead?Bending over, I grabbed my phone.
"I'm sorry. I dropped my phone. Can you repeat that?" I asked.
"I understand it's quite a shock to get this kind of news. Your father is dead. He was battling an illness for the past few months and his body couldn't fight it any longer," she explained.
"Okay. Was that all?" I asked, returning my attention to the barn. The door looked the same, so at least Red wasn't walking around out there alone.
