Bound to her Captor

ing Reina fe

hrough her skull. Her wrists burned-rope, she realized dimly, rough hemp cutting into her skin. The

ced her e

ooden slats, illuminating the faces of perhaps a dozen other girls, all huddled together like f

re

h the fog in her mind, and with i

ememb

sound of screaming, the acrid smell of smoke, the cla

d come

hers as she could manage, when the first screams reached her.

mons h

e nobles couldn't hear. Demons from the realms beyond the mountains, beautiful

been

ssibly perfect features and eyes that burned like coals. Their hair fell in dark waves past

terror, and watched a demon warrior dri

elt something. Gr

ever been loving. He'd been preparing to sell her off to som

er mo

cream cut through the c

d. She'd fought-clawed and kicked and bit-but it was useless. Someth

: no

il

croaked nearby. "

ehind her eyes-and found herself looking at a girl no ol

id, her voice rough from di

dened in recogniti

with a sharp gesture. "Th

lifting their heads, staring at her with a mixture of ho

't even sa

taking us?" so

t she could guess: slavery, if they were

he harsh light. Through the narrow opening, she could see nothing but endless de

ome. Far from anythi

the distanc

ga

te was like calling

black stone that seemed to drink in the sunlight rather than reflect it. Strange symbo

rolled t

the girls be

No, p

t want

ody he

ls splintering against the rough grain. Her heart hammered agai

p. Panic would onl

e began

had groaned or shrieked. It simply... parted, the b

Reina could see a landscape that belonged in nightmares: jagged mountains of volcanic rock, rivers of som

emon

l. All of

e barked, and the wa

sed the t

c of reality. The heat intensified, pressing down on her like a physical weight. The light to

ot her wor

. All around them, demons moved with predatory grace-soldiers in armor that seemed forged from

s door sla

ll of y

gs numb from hours of confinement, and hit the ground hard. Pain sho

akness. Not h

ground like sacks of grain. One-the young girl who'd begged for water-fell fa

d furious flared

ts of her battered body, and moved to the girl's si

p at her with wid

th more confidence than she felt. "But you have t

the girl nodded. Re

ing strength from her example, stan

o

o survive this, they

stripped them of their filthy clothes and doused them with freezing water. Reina gasped at the sh

shifts to wear-rough fabric that chafed agains

em now, stand

ts for his personal quarters," he announced, his voice carrying across the courtyard. "He will inspect you sh

these rules, and you will be sent to the lower pits.

She knew what that meant. What men like th

, but she kept her

ss the courtyard-slow

ir pulled back in a severe bun, her face lined with age and someth

girls, studying each one w

Reina, she stoppe

murmured. "The prince might

Kept her eyes down

man mo

es," the soldier cal

t hammered i

the sound of boots on

tsteps

the courtyard li

her eyes fixed firmly on th

look

rned to bow to her father, that had refused to be broken even when they'd

stole the breat

s bea

past his shoulders in waves of pure silver, catching the strange light and seeming to glow with its own i

is eyes that

l

t part of a flame-the part that burns so intensely it transcen

st fire b

it came a terrible realization: this man-this de

staring dir

ame eyes locked onto hers, and she saw something fl

and Reina's gaze snapped to the ground

. So s

e heard the prince's voice-low, smooth, utterly

turned. Stopped

the weight of his attention like a physical to

inally, his voice washing

his footsteps fading b

Reina's side, her fingers digg

our. W

torches that burned with the same unnatural blue flame as the prince's eyes. The walls were smooth black stone, carved

iven instructions. You'll follow them precisely. The prince..." She paused, glancing back

foot in front of the other, through the d

ve or dead, she didn't know. But Reina

ha

mon realm groaned shut with a s

no going