AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He didn’t believe in prisoners. He didn’t believe in mercy and if he discovered her secret, a quick death would be nothing short of a miracle.
BRÓNACH’S FLAG snapped in the wind, reminding her of the whips she’d seen used on countless slaves. She knew that pain all too well. The only useful thing she’d ever done was take the bating meant for another. At least, that’s what she’d hoped to do. After the man had finished carving up her back, he’d slit the other slave’s throat and told her if she tried such a noble act again, he’d kill the lot of them.
Tired. She was so, so tired. Arianna tried not to cringe at the shrill sound of the metal gates opening. The stench of sweat-covered bodies and blood slammed against her senses, and her stomach clenched in response. She couldn’t get sick here. They were already watching the newcomers with a level of intent she found discomforting.
Metal pounded, rattling her teeth, and Arianna desperately searched for an escape route. After all, there were only five of them now. Surely, she could get them all out. Flee toward the mountain range and follow along their edge all the way to Móirín.
But the more she looked, the more she realized how futile her attempt would be. There were too many guards, too many Fae in their animal forms to sniff them out. Birds of prey sat on every post, surveying the ground below. Lions and wolves stalked between the tents, their keen eyes soaking in every detail.
Arianna jumped when a female screamed somewhere in the distance and a violent chill ran down her spine. She tried not to think about the reason for that scream or the horrors they might soon encounter.
They passed tent after tent and slave after slave. All shackled in iron.
Despite all the camps she’d seen, Arianna had never felt trapped. Not entirely. But this place...it was like a cage without bars. Each tent stood as if it were metal looming over her. Each piece of fabric promised a host of impenetrable bodies on the other side.
A male to their left rose, surveying the youngest female as if she were the most desirable being he’d ever laid eyes on. Arianna couldn’t hide the disgust on her face.
Disgust and dread.
Because he wasn’t the only one.
Their scents hit her, and Arianna couldn’t keep herself from gagging this time, though nothing came from her empty stomach. The act seemed to pull them from their vile imaginations at least.
One of their captors led them to the horse stables and threw them inside. He snarled once, a warning, then stormed off. Arianna waited a moment, then crawled toward the other four, pulling them against her for warmth.
The straw beneath their bodies was far from fresh, the stench of manure curdling her stomach again, but despite the leaky roof, it was the first time they’d escaped the rain in days. Given where they were, it was more than she might have hoped for.
The youngest female wrapped her arms around Arianna’s middle and Arianna stroked her hair the way she’d once stroked her sisters.
I’ll find you. I promise.
Talon. If there was ever a time she needed him to keep that promise, it was now.
Chapter Three
Arianna
Arianna tossed in a fitful sleep riddled with the nightmares of their future. Fire raged around her, blades clawed at her flesh and screams echoed from all sides, some so close she swore she could’ve reached out and touched them.So close. So—Arianna jolted awake at the deep snarl, twisting in the dirty straw to discover a male with his hand around the blond female’s neck.
Another in their slave group, a brunette, lunged forward when the male ripped the female’s shirt from her torso, but his companion was ready, almost as if he’d expected the attack. His fangs plunged into the brunette’s throat, tearing at the tender flesh before Arianna could react. He tossed her to the ground and watched her claw and grasp at the wound with a look of disgust.
“A rare thing, for a half-breed to bare her fangs at me.” He spit blood on her writhing body.
The male with the scar sat forward to inspect the female and the crimson liquid gushing from her throat. “If you meant to teach her a lesson, I’m afraid it’s a lost cause now.”
He spit again. “It’ll serve as a reminder for others.”
Arianna couldn’t look away from the blood or steady her trembling body. She pulled the female into her arms and tucked the hair away from frightened eyes. The brunette no longer struggled, she merely stared at Arianna, as if accepting her fate. Arianna’s lips quivered and, though she knew she shouldn’t, she tugged at the magic in her core.
Electricity blasted through her body. She doubled over, gasping for air, riding the pain as it passed through her in dissipating waves. The light from the brunette’s eyes dimmed, and Arianna tried to summon her magic again. The pain sharpened and she gagged, trying to draw breath.
Why them? They’d done nothing wrong. They were innocents, and she would have gladly surrendered her life in exchange for theirs. Her shoulders shook. Why was it always them?
The surrounding males laughed.
“Looks like this one possesses a bit of magic. Two abnormalities in one night.” He paused as if in thought. “Come to think of it, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a half-breed use magic.” He stepped forward, reaching for her hair, but before his fingers could grasp a single strand, Arianna whirled, sinking her fangs deep into his wrist.
His blood was foul on her tongue, like decaying earth. She wasn’t sure what she expected to accomplish, maybe nothing. The male growled and his fist collided with her cheek, sending a stinging pain radiating across her jaw. Her head rattled and vision blurred, but Arianna lifted herself from the mud to meet his glare. She growled, the sound in her throat a foreign thing, and the male took a retreating step back.
