Pure Darkness: A Novel of the Pure Ones (Novella, #5.5) (Pure Dark Ones Book 13) by Aja James

Author:Aja James [James, Aja]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-04-30T16:00:00+00:00

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When I regained consciousness, I really wish I hadn’t. Everything hurt like my body had been set on fire, dipped in salt, then bathed in acid, with a thousand cuts flayed through my skin.

Oh.

That description was actually quite close to reality. There were parts of me that were burnt. I could still smell the acrid scent in the air. My chest, my thigh. It felt like I did indeed have a thousand cuts on my body, but perhaps there was only twenty or so. The pain blended together so I couldn’t isolate them well enough to get a good count. Some of them definitely had salt rubbed inside, because those areas hurt like a fucker! Even worse than my other wounds, even my acid-eaten right hand.

“There you are,” an emotionless, pitiless, but nevertheless melodious voice sounded beside my ear.

“Wake up, pretty girl.”

A gentle hand smoothed down my cheek, a thumb rubbing slowly across my lips.

I swallowed down the screams building in my throat at the unbearable PAIN where my body used to be. What body? There was no body. Only ravaging, undiluted agony.

“I’ve left your face intact,” the female voice said. “The other wounds might even heal fully in time. Maybe not the ones with salt in them, but…You will still be beautiful at the end of this.”

I opened my eyes a sliver to look at my tormentor, for I realized that she’d been torturing me for quite some time. Happily, I must have lost consciousness when the pain became too acute, and it was always acute.

Ah, ignorance was such bliss. If only I could pass the fuck back out.

“I see that you are aware this time. Good,” the female said.

I realized that it was the Dark Queen Ashlu. I’d only seen paintings and marble busts of her at the village fair. Heard tales of her unsurpassed beauty. The real thing was a thousand times more compelling.

Too bad she was such a cock-sucking bitch.

“Your little army has succeeded in capturing my palace, well done. But they are now holed up there, surrounded on all sides with no escape.”

Shit. That didn’t sound good. What happened to our reinforcements?

“And I have you, their Lady of Light. Isn’t that what they call you? The only remaining leader of this misfit band of rebels now that Tal-Telal is gone.”

Ha! If only she knew who she really had.

But I wasn’t looking forward to more rounds of torture, so I kept my gloating on the inside. On the outside, I concentrated all my strength on keeping up the disguise. But my body was beginning to fail me, my strength seeping out with my blood. I wouldn’t be able to keep up the impersonation much longer.

“What I did to you is only a tenth of what I will do to the surviving Pure Ones,” she growled, vengeance and fury distorting her voice. “A lesson must be taught. A quick death is too good for usurpers like you.”

I closed my eyes again and let her talk.

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