Page 9 of The Magic of Eternity
Dropping down on one knee, I let my head hang.
“Come on, we need to get him outside. The king is not in the mood to be kept waiting,” someone said, and they started shuffling closer. I waited until their boots came into my line of vision, restraining myself until I felt a hand on my shoulder.
Without a doubt, I moved faster than I ever had before, sedative be damned. I snatched the wrist of the man who was touching me and sank my fangs deep in his arm before jerking my head and shredding all of the arteries there. My legs propelled me through the air as I leaped onto another guard, fulfilling my earlier fantasy of ripping someone’s throat out.
A body hit my back and arms snaked around my throat. I threw a punch back over my shoulder, my claws slicing through the man’s face without any resistance. I was like fucking Wolverine. The man released me and slumped to the ground, giving me the capability to spin around and locate the fourth guard. He was right behind me, holding up a gun with a smile on his wicked face.
Bloodlust was driving me at that point. There was no stopping my urge for death. I launched myself at him, and he pulled the trigger. The shot hit my stomach in multiple places before I collided with the guard, landing on top of him. Glancing down, I saw at least five darts sticking from my body—the gun must have been similar to a shotgun. I swayed, the sedative moving rapidly through my bloodstream.
“Will get her,” I rasped, reaching for the darts but grabbing nothing but air. My limbs were useless. My body slumped over and I hit the ground with a grunt.
Everything faded away. Except that fucking smell. Sunshine.
Sunshine waswhat I saw first when my eyes opened. I had to squint against the brightness, especially after having been kept in the dark for so long. So fucking long in the darkness. My eyes watered with emotion. I’d never been so elated to be outside, to feel the open air whipping around my body, filling my lungs, feeding my fucking soul.
“Welcome back, shifter,” Asrael said from somewhere behind me. I couldn’t tear my eyes from the sky to see where he was. My arms were bound by my wrists above my head, and I was tied to a cross with the back of my body exposed. What the fuck? My eyes trailed down and I realized I was completely naked. My heart began to race, and the murmurs of a crowd swept through my ears.
Slowly, I turned toward the whispers and saw a group of perhaps fifty people, their faces a mixture of disgust, amusement, and on a few, concern.
“This mage is fighting his nature!” Asrael bellowed, and the crowd responded with jeers and sounds of disapproval. “As your king, it is my duty to ensure that every being in my kingdom reaches their true potential! This shifter needs a push, and I’m the man who is going to give it to him!”
The roar of the crowd was deafening. Fear slithered down my spine, no matter how hard I tried to deny it. To be strong and brave. It made me remember something Sloane had told me once.“Bravery doesn’t mean you aren’t afraid. Bravery means you accept that fear and let it fuel your purpose. It’s okay to be scared. You just can’t let that fear rule you, brother. Let it fucking guide you to achieve your goals.”
I was okay. I’d be okay. Whatever Asrael was planning for me, it wasn’t death. If that was the case, I would’ve died that first day I was taken to my cell with a shattered spine and ribcage. But instead, he’d sent healers to fix me up as good as new. I could handle whatever was coming.I am brave.
“We’ll continue until you shift into the form Iknowyou can, or until you pass out.” Asrael rounded the cross and stood with his face inches from mine. His dark hair was styled perfectly, the crown on his head glinting in the sun. It was his eyes that glittered the most though. With malice. With lust for pain and anguish and power. “Make no mistake, shifter. We will continue this day after day until you do as I ask. I will heal you only to repeat the process. Don’t hold back. You’re only hurting yourself at this point.”
“Fuck you, bitch.”
A smirk appeared on his handsome face at my defiance, and he held his hand out to the side, palm up. A guard stepped up, placing the handle of a whip into his hand. Asrael stepped closer and ran the handle of the weapon down my cheek and over my lips, as lust flared in his eyes that were locked on mine.
“I am going to enjoy breaking you. I just may have to find some time to try another tactic.” He leaned in. “Perhaps tonight, when you’re laying in bed with your skin flayed open, I’ll come for you. I think I’d like the sight of your bloodied back as I fuck you raw.”
I spat right in his face, and he recoiled. “Try it, motherfucker. I’ll chop your tiny cock off and leave it on the floor for the ants to eat.”
He wiped the spit from his cheek, his eyes darkening. Fucking sadistic piece of shit. “Oh yes. I’m really going to enjoy this.” He shoved his fingers in his mouth and sucked my spit from them. “Let’s begin.”
He turned his back on me, holding his arms out wide like he was a god and everyone here worshipped him. The tail of the whip trailed along the ground as he addressed the onlookers. “The record is eighty-two before passing out from my whip. Let’s see how many it takes for this powerful shifter to transform into the best version of himself!” Asrael cried, pumping up the crowd. It was barbaric. Archaic. Wrong.
I tried to relax my body. There was nothing I could do to stop what was coming. If I didn’t tense, I had hope it wouldn’t be as damaging. I was wrong. The crack of the whip flying through the air was all the warning I got—a split second. A blink. And it stole my breath. My body jerked and my jaw clenched, fighting against making any noise.
The second lash landed across my shoulders as the crowd counted. I closed my eyes and stood as still as possible.Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.
“You’re fighting who you are.”Thwack.“I’m going to help you.”Thwack.“I know it hurts, but achieving greatness doesn’t come without pain!”Thwack.
My knees were trembling and tears had started streaming down my face. But I wasn’t a fucking dragon shifter. Asrael was obsessed with dragons. I didn’t know why, and at that point, I didn’t give a shit. If I could’ve, I would’ve already shifted into a damn dragon just to get the pain to stop.
Thwack.
“Don’t fight me, shifter. You just need proper… motivation. Tell me, did you enjoy the scent of your mate on my guard earlier?”
Thwack.
An almighty roar exploded from my body at his words. “You son of a bitch!”
He chuckled. “I heard about your partial shift. I bet that’s something you’ve never been capable of doing before, am I right?”
Thwack.
