Page 73 of Bite of Vengeance
“He’s cutting himself up pretty good. Maybe he should go back to his cell.”
“Let him watch.”
I sank back into the darkness.
“No,” I screamed hoarsely, trying to force my eyes open. But I was so tired. They were giving me something that made me so sluggish. So exhausted that I could barely move. They’d just given me what appeared to be a sip of blood before taking it away again. Ineededmore. My head was throbbing, and my throat burned like it was on fire. I wasn’t getting enough.
“She shouldn’t be speaking,” someone snapped. “Give her more of the sedative.”
“That won’t work by itself, sir. She needs hawthorn too.”
Tears swam in my closed eyes.No more.The constant excruciating burning in my veins felt like I was living in the fire pits of hell. Waves of anguish continued on as they had for…Ididn’t know how long. My limbs refused to move, no matter how much I tried.
“We’ve used half the supply I had reserved for her in a week. That was supposed to last a month.”
“I’m sorry. Her body is different from her sister’s.”
Keeva?
For some reason, anger claimed my mind from my twin’s name. Why? Through the haze of the pain, I couldn’t think straight. Couldn’t remember what happened or how I got here.
“Give her more. Double the sedative.”
A tortured sob left me when a pinch landed in my trapped arm this time. The pain consumed my arm before it spread everywhere in a matter of moments.
My head sagged as their sedative spread through me. But it was different from a few days ago. Along with the pain, there was a slowly growing rage. Fury that had dug its claws so deep within me that even the hawthorn couldn’t take it away. I was conscious enough to know that I would be waking up. And when I did, they’d all pay.
“Give her more,” someone snarled.
Blackness engulfed me again.
This time when the needle broke my skin, there was no agonizing pain. Just a small burning rushing over my skin and through my veins before it slowly dissipated. Were they giving me less hawthorn? The sedative was still making me drowsy, but not to the point of being trapped in my own body anymore. I could probably even open my eyes now if I wanted.
But I waited.
“Ten days. We have gallons of her blood. I want to start the next phase.”
Rowan.
I was finally in a mental state to recognize voices. To begin using my senses again. And I could smellhim. Zan. He was close. But something was wrong. I hadn’t heard his voice, and picking out his heartbeat out of the others in this room was impossible.
“We only have so much more we can give her,” a voice I didn’t know said.
“We have him. If it’s true that they’re bonded, then we can use him to get her to comply.”
My pulse thudded painfully. How did they know about our bond? Keeva. My silent rage climbed even more, and my hands clenched into fists. She betrayed me. She’s the fucking reason I was here.
“You’re killing her. She’s no use to you if she’s dead.”
Zan’s angry words sent a fluster of emotions rolling through me. He was alive. But his voice was thick with pain. What were they doing to him?
“You forget what she is,” Rowan replied with cruel mocking. “Her body can handle whatever we give her.”
“You fucking bastard.” Chains rattled, and my heart clenched tightly. “I will fucking kill you?—”
“Shut up. Or I’ll gag you again.”
I sucked in deep breaths, wriggling my fingers and rolling my neck. The pain wasn’t there anymore. In its place was an energy that was buzzing through me. Power so strong, it was nothing like anything I’d felt, even after I started my transition. Fury mixed in with whatever was rushing through me.
