The Dragon's Compliant Sacrifice by Ines Johnson

Author:Ines Johnson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Those Johnson Girls

CHAPTER TWELVE

Lily sat frozen in the high-backed chair. She felt the claws running down her back, looking for the perfect vertebrae in which to dig into her spine. The witch was shameless tonight, making her presence known in a room full of people while Lily was wide awake.

This had happened before. Many times when she would go on modeling castings. The men, and even some of the women, would look her up and down, pick over the flaws of her body, determine her worth and her value. All the while, Lily could only stand there, mute, trying to stand statuesque and tall, look as thin as possible, emulate a blank slate upon which they would paint. It was the same feeling as when she was asleep and unable to move her limbs when the witch claimed her. She'd thought those days were over for her, but here in the castle where she'd believed she was safe, it was happening again.

"Last week she looked too frail," said the lioness. "But now that you've fattened her up, she'll be perfect for one of my cubs."

"The red hair is unfortunate as wolves can't perceive that color well, but she would do for my pack."

"Every time a sacrifice has come through the Veil these last decades, we bears have been hibernating. At this point, my clan will take what we can get."

This was a nightmare. A living, breathing nightmare while she was wide awake. Wide awake and surrounded by people. Surrounded by people, yet the one who had promised to protect her sat just as silent and immobile as her.

Elek's hands were clenched into tight fists, so tight that a trickle of blood leaked from his palms. His teeth were gritted so hard that Lily worried she might hear the grinding if it weren't for the arguing all around them. But it was his eyes that made her heart stop.

There was a bright, golden glow emitting from Elek's eyes. It made Lily think of the film they watched last week, The Last Dragon. But it didn't look like Elek was reaching the next level and finding the master within. As the golden glow shimmered over his body, it looked like he was in the fight of his life to master the beast within.

Lily raised a hand to him. She didn't want Elek and his beast to fight. What if the beast won, and she lost Elek forever? What if Elek won and a part of him died? All because she couldn't stand up for herself.

"Stop."

The single word was spoken softly, but the command was loud enough to bring silence down in the dining room.

Lily was so caught up in the prickles at her spine that she didn't immediately realize that the word had come from her. Her hand was raised in the midst of her paralysis. Not only that, but she was standing.

She had stood up for herself.

All eyes were on her now. In awe? In judgement? She didn't give any of them consideration, because the only pair of eyes she cared about still glowed in an intense battle.

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