Page 17 of Silent Oaths
Thatonly makes me fight harder, my nails clawing at their wrists.Mychest heaves with exertion, but no matter how muchIstruggle,I’mno match for them.
“Keepfighting,” a dark voice murmurs. “Ilike the fire in you.”
Ashiver races down my spine, equal parts fear and anger.Igrit my teeth, trying to mask the panic threatening to consume me. “You’regoing to regret this,”Ihiss, though the quiver in my voice betrays my bravado.
Themen’s laughter echo in my ears.Theyare enjoying this far too much.
“Oh,Idoubt that,” one says, his grip tightening just enough to make my breath hitch.
“Let.Me.Go!”Iscream, my voice echoing back at me in the stillness of the corridor.Ihope someone hears me.MaybeValeriais close by and will come tearing in, armed with one of her ridiculous ideas that somehow always works.Butdeep down,Iknow the truth: no one is coming.
Anotherlaugh cuts through my thoughts, this one crueler. “Oh, this is going to be so much fun.”
“Fuckyou,”Ispit.
Mybody goes slack in their grip, defeated for now.Theycarry me likeIweigh nothing, my limbs dangling like a ragdoll.Ihate thatI’velost the strength to resist.
It’sso dark in the passageway,Ican barely see ahead.Then, just as a faint sliver of light appears, rough fabric is shoved over my head.
No.
No, no, no.
Theworld around me disappears, replaced by the scratchy heat of the bag pressing against my nose and mouth.Mybreathing spirals.
Calmthe hell down, or you’re going to pass out—or worse, suffocate yourself.
Butit’s impossible to fight the panic curling tighter and tighter in my chest, wrapping its icy hands around my lungs.
Arethey trying to kill me?
Asif reading my spiraling thoughts, one of them speaks up, his tone mocking. “Relax,Isabel.We’renot going to smother you to death.”
Howfucking reassuring.
Mychest tightens even more, and the panic doesn’t let up.Myinhales are sharp, my pulse thundering in my ears.
“Please, just let me go,”Icroak. “Idon’t know what you want.Ihave nothing to offer you!”Ithrash again, uselessly.Theirhands stay locked on me like a vice, and my struggles only earn a low chuckle from one of them.
Then, out of nowhere, a gust of cool air hits me, brushing against my sweat-damp skin.Thesudden change in temperature makes me shiver, goosebumps erupting all over my body.
Arewe… outside?
Therealization sets my heart racing even faster.Ican now feel the ground beneath my feet, but my head is spinning too fast to focus.
Theydrag me forward, their shoes crunching against the dirt, until we come to a halt.Themotion jerks me roughly, and my knees threaten to buckle, but they don’t loosen their grip.
Withoutwarning, the bag is ripped off my head.Iinhale sharply, gulping down fresh oxygen likeI’vebeen underwater for hours.Myvision swims asIblink rapidly.
Thefirst thingIsee is the mansion behind me, its towering silhouette stark against the night sky.Mystomach twists at how far we’ve come—too far for anyone inside to hear me scream.
WhenIturn back, my heart sinks.Treessurround us in every direction, a dense forest that stretches endlessly, and standing between me and any hope of escape are the three brothers, their figures cloaked in shadow.
WhenIsee them—really see them, the masks are gone.Andfor a second,Iforget how to breathe.Eachof them is absurdly good-looking, in their own distinct way.They’rebeautiful, andIhate myself for noticing.Thisisn’t the time.
PerhapsIcould lose them in the woods, but reality hits me hard:Idon’t know this property.I’dprobably end up running straight into a trap or right back into their hands.
So,Ido the next best thing.
