Scorched Treachery by Rebecca Ethington Read Free Book Online Page B

the sleeping magic within me and prodded it, but nothing happened. My now mortal body was useless and strung up before my father for whatever torture he had in mind.
    "Say, hello," he prompted again, his fists flexing by his sides.
    I stared at him, my jaw clenched, ready for the impact to come – when he smiled.
    “Don’t you want to see your mate, princess?” he snarled, and my eyes widened. His smile only increased. I hung my head, not wanting to let him win, but I had no other choice. This time he would win.
    "Hello, Father," I growled from behind clenched teeth. He said nothing. He only nodded his head to someone in the dark and the chains loosened, sending me tumbling to the ground. My arms were still extended above my head, although not as painfully as they were a moment before. My body relaxed with the loosened position, and while I still fought the urge to scream and cry with the pain, it was manageable.
    "You do what I say, Wynifred. I do not care what deal Talon worked out with Edmund. You are my child, and I will do with you what I please." His voice was soft as he came to kneel down next me, his finger pushing aggressively into the tender skin of my now battered face.
    "You stay silent, you do as I say, and we may not have to do this anymore."
    I glared at him, not willing to take my gaze away, not willing to accept the weak position he had set up for me. He took my silence as affirmation, the pressure of his fingers leaving my face as he moved away from me.
    "Good girl," Timothy said, his voice making it sound like he was addressing a dog. “Now, your brother has just arrived in Prague, and I am sure he has news, if not a heart, for your Master.” He smiled once more before disappearing into the darkness, the heavy sound of his footsteps on the stairs announcing his departure.
    I tried to focus through the dark, squinting to see anything through the black that surrounded me, but without the aid of my magic, I saw nothing. I eventually gave up and sank back into the wall, trying to ignore the fire that was thrumming in my shoulders and arms.
    "Do what he says, Wynifred, and keep your secret safe." The voice came from the darkness where the movement had come from before, the sound deep and rough like sandpaper. I recognized it at once. It was the same voice I had heard in Ovailia’s room, the one that had told me to run.
    I turned my head toward the sound but only saw darkness, my eyes squinted , but no shapes formed through the black.
    "Excuse me?" I asked, not sure what the voice was talking about, my voice broken and muffled because of the swelling in my face.
    "No talking!" The new voice was loud and powerful. The warning from what could only be a guard floated through the air toward me, and I shrank into the stone wishing I had a way to attack him.
    No magic to heal my body, no magic to increase my sight, and not even the slightest of pulls to signal to me that Talon was alive. I clung to the hope that he was still alive as I leaned my head against the stone wall, wishing sleep would take me but knowing it wouldn't. Without wanting to, my eyes floated back toward the darkness where the rough male voice had come from. I could only assume it was the battered man Edmund had been dragging around with him.
    I wished I knew who he was – or at least part of me did. The other part was not so sure. I didn’t want to know whose side he was on or what Edmund had done to him. I didn’t want to know what Edmund was capable of, what was in store for me.
    For years, I had watched them drag Skȓíteks down to the pit of whatever house we lived in. I had heard the screams, seen the blood that they washed off their hands. Now I was on the receiving end. I didn’t want to know what was behind the screams. I didn’t want to see the blood being drawn.
    Now I was going to. I had seen what they had done to the battered man, and to Talon. I didn’t want to think about him because the thoughts only brought fear, but part