Songs in the Night: Book One by Laura Frances

Author:Laura Frances [Frances, Laura]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-04-03T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

ERIS

Fire burned at the center of the clearing, flickering in the darkness, creating shadows that tricked my eyes. Meat boiled in a pot, wafting savory smells, and my empty stomach growled.

They’d drawn up the black cloth on the fire side, allowing in the heat. Mags sat huddled in the corner, shivering. I crawled across the dirty cage and touched her forehead.

“She’s unwell,” I called to the men. “Her skin burns.”

I got no response. Mags muttered, but I didn’t catch the words.

Carter leaned his shoulder to a tree, using the point of a knife to clean beneath his nails. From the front of the cart, the brute grunted in pain.

“You’ve lived through worse,” Carter called dismissively. “I hardly think the lady’s arrow compares to a spear in your leg. Or a flail to your shoulder.”

The brute’s low voice grumbled from out of sight. “She tore an old wound.”

Carter’s eyes lifted to meet mine. He grinned. “You’d think she meant it.”

“Mags is ill,” I said again with more edge. “She needs care.”

Carter pushed off the tree and ambled closer. He tossed the knife at a stump, and it’s pointed end sank into the soft wood.

“Did you, my lady? Were you aware of his scars?”

He was toying with me. I said nothing, but never moved my glare from his approach.

“He’d have killed you, no doubt, had you engaged him hand to hand.” His head tilted, and a slow smile stretched his lips. “This one knows things.”

He reached the bars, and our eyes locked. A silent battle of wills. His hand shot through an opening, and he grabbed my wrist, yanking me forward. My free hand slammed into the bars before my face could hit them. He turned my palm toward the firelight.

Murmuring, he said, “Who knows what your eyes have seen.”

He ran his fingertips from my wrist to elbow, and I tried to pull free. His grip tightened, but no tension showed on his face. The eyes stayed fixated on my skin. On the blood lines drawn beneath.

“Release me,” I said through my teeth.

I sensed Mags watching, likely wide-eyed at my bold command. Carter didn’t react. His gaze remained on my palm. When he stepped closer, I shoved him with my free hand and tugged my arm from his grip. He stumbled back.

For a moment, his eyes held on the ground, his hand hovering where it once held me captive. Then his glare lifted, and panic skittered across my chest.

He stalked forward, and I scrambled back, but I couldn’t escape his reach. He grabbed a fistful of my tunic and yanked me forward. My forehead hit the bars. Spots appeared in my vision, floating before the malice in his expression.

“You belong to me now. I will do as I please. Touch you as I please.”

I struggled to focus. Through the spinning and tilt, I glowered back and said, “I belong to no one.”

He tugged me harder, pressing my face to the cool metal. “You are my prize. A gift for my silence. Make no mistake, young Eris.

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