Page 24 of Tethered to the World
Her breath stalled when he finally came into view, a lump of despair forming in her throat at his malicious smile, and her heart rattled in her chest so violently it threatened to crack her ribs. “Just a few more days, and I’ll be free of you. Be a good girl, and maybe I’ll sell you to someone nice.”
It was a lie.
He would sell her to the highest bidder, and they both knew it. She would be cut open and experimented on over and over until they learned everything they could about her…until they could duplicate her ability to cheat death.
She pushed off the floor where she was huddled, her broken bones grinding as she moved, but she refused to show him any weakness, refused to let him win. She healed faster than humans, but he kept her weak, kept her broken so he could control her more easily.
And it worked.
“When are you going to learn that defiance will get you nowhere?” He selected a whip off the wall outside her cell, and she was unable to disguise her flinch as she watched the leather uncoil like a snake ready to strike. “It looks like you need to be taught another lesson.”
The first strike flayed open the skin on her arm, and she quickly turned and covered her head. She lost count of the blows as they split open her skin, the skimpy training shorts and sports bra doing nothing to protect her.
She refused to reach for the darkness. While it might help her heal faster, it only pissed her uncle off more, making her punishment worse. Her gift was only to be used to help others, she wasn’t allowed to waste it on herself.
Not that she didn’t try and use them to escape when she worked up enough energy to stand, but the thousands of pounds of dirt and reinforced metal prevented her from leaving.
She was tempted to lose herself in the darkness and never come back, but there was something waiting for her, something that frightened her even more than her uncle. She could survive her uncle’s torture, but she wasn’t sure she could survive the hungry creature waiting for her in the darkness. Every time she entered the afterworld, she could feel it hunting her, getting closer each day.
A scream of rage and pain and helplessness caught in her throat, and she threw back her head, releasing the torment she could no longer hold back.
“Wake up!” Hands clamped down on her shoulders, shaking her so hard her teeth clicked together…and pulled her out of the nightmare of the dream world.
She blinked open her eyes to find the room golden with sunlight. She shrugged away from the hands holding her, scrambling backwards until her spine hit the wall. Her chest heaved as she struggled to control her breathing, grimacing to find herself covered with sweat.
Logan was perched on the edge of her bed wearing nothing but sweatpants that hung low on his hips. His skin was so pale he looked carved from stone, and his hair was standing up at odd angles.
That’s when she saw the rest of the guys crowding close behind him—Xander looked murderous, Camden appeared pissed, while Mason looked helpless, even partially changed to his troll self.
Logan leaned over, resting his fist on the other side of her legs, trapping her. “What happened?”
“Nightmares.” She took a deep breath, hating the way her breathing hitched. A ferret stood at the end of the bed on his hind legs, chittering like mad at the guys, his little arms waving, and the tightness in her chest eased. “Look, I’m fine. It happens sometimes.”
“Fine?” Logan’s voice was a low growl. When he lifted his hand toward her, she reared back, and he froze in place. Then, very slowly, he touched a single finger to her cheek and lifted the accusing finger. “This is not fine.”
She quickly scrubbed the tears off her face, scowling at the guys. “What? Like you don’t have nightmares?”
A slight tightening around his eyes told her she hit closer to home than she’d intended. Logan grabbed her ankle, giving a quick tug, until she sprawled awkwardly across the bed under him.
“There is a difference between nightmares and memories.” He shoved his face just inches from hers. He searched her eyes while the quiet swish of fresh snow falling around them filled her head as his crystal blue eyes went hard and flat. “I’m going to kill your uncle.”
When he went to launch himself off the bed, she quickly leaned over and latched onto his wrist. “You can’t kill him. He’s pure evil. If you go after him, you will only die.”
His face twisted in a snarl, his fangs peeking between his lips. “But I would take him with me.”
When he stormed away, panic took hold. The darkness inside her exploded outwards, and she took form in front of him before he could reach the stairs. She ignored the way the rest of the guys swore. “Please, you don’t understand. You can’t kill him…as in you physically aren’t able to kill him.”
Logan cupped her face, his warm fingers sinking into her hair. “Explain.”
She bit her lip, feeling like her whole world was about to implode. “If you kill him, I’ll die, too.”
Chapter Eight
“What?” Logan recoiled from her.
“How?” Xander glanced from the bed to her, his eyes narrowed.
“Explain.” Mason shoved aside soldier boy as if it required no more effort than to move over a sock, then stopped next to her.
