5. Jessa

5

JESSA

“ N o!” I stumble back as the man – or monster – lunges for me. “Please!”

I don’t make it more than a few steps. With the sobs building in my chest, and the panic clawing up my throat, I’m not thinking straight. I’m barely breathing. That combined with his increased speed and strength leave me with no options.

One tear manages to escape in the time it takes him to slam into me. It’s not lost on me that he pounces on top of my body like he did the likar. And if the massive beast couldn’t fight him off, I have no chance.

Just before my head slams into the ground, though, vines sweep forward, creating a little net to catch me. It doesn’t ease the blow all together, but it softens it enough that I can withstand it.

No relief comes, though, as he pins me down, his hard body pressed heavily along mine. I struggle beneath him to no avail, his strength far superior now that I have no element of surprise.

"Poor little suru," he croons, grasping my wrists and forcing them above my head. "Caught in the claws of a vicious likar... again." He smiles wider, blood still coating his teeth. “Oh wait...” His grin only grows wider.

I writhe desperately, but can't budge him at all. His grip keeps me immobilized beneath him. Tears of frustration sting my eyes.

He tilts his head, surveying me pinned and helpless beneath him. "Perhaps I'll keep you. You've proven...entertaining." One cold hand trails down my cheek in a cruel caress.

Sensing my intention to fight, he presses more heavily on me, squeezing the breath from my lungs. I gasp fruitlessly like a water creature on land.

"None of that now, pet." He grasps my chin, keeping me facing him. His eyes burn with malice and twisted desire. "You're mine now. The sooner you accept that, the less I'll have to hurt you."

As I stare into those pitiless depths, his meaning hits me like a blow. He doesn't plan to kill me – at least not quickly. This monster means to use me, and not like the dark elves do. It’s not just my body he wants to violate. He wants to take every part of me.

My pulse hammers with primal fear. As he leans close, I twist my face away from him. Undeterred, his icy lips graze down the column of my throat. I shudder at the intimate violation, suppressed sobs making my chest heave.

At my continued resistance, his mouth opens, razor teeth scraping over my frantic pulse. His teeth sink into my shoulder, piercing deep. I let out an agonized scream, the sound tearing from my throat. Fiery pain radiates out from the bite, feeling as if acid has been injected into my veins.

I writhe and sob beneath him, pleading breathlessly for him to stop, to let me go. But he only bites down harder, intensifying the searing agony. Crimson warmth soaks through my shredded blouse as he grips my shoulder in his jaws like a vice.

Absolute terror overrides everything else. I was foolish to come here, to think I could find sanctuary. Now this monster is going to torture me to death, and my last days will be full of unimaginable suffering.

"Please..." I gasp as black spots dot my vision. I can feel my strength bleeding out of me along with the blood gushing from the gaping wound. "Just kill me...end it."

A sadistic rumble emanates from his chest. He has no intention of granting me a quick death. As he finally retracts his teeth, I go limp beneath him, the forest tilting sickeningly.

My shoulder is on fire, my head pounds and spins. Venom spreads through my bloodstream and I scream as it feels like it’s burning me from the inside out. I'm helpless to resist as he grasps my face in his blood-slicked hand, forcing me to meet his glowing gaze.

"Such innocence dies sweetly," he purrs, fangs bared and gleaming wetly. "Don't fight it, little one. Your pain will end soon enough."

He trails his mouth higher to the juncture at the bottom of my neck, and his teeth sink in, piercing deep. I let out an agonized scream, the sound tearing from my throat. Fiery pain radiates out from the bite, coursing through my veins as if molten metal has replaced my blood.

I writhe and sob beneath him, pleading breathlessly for him to stop, to let me go. But he only bites down harder, intensifying the searing agony.

The pain overwhelms my senses. I can't see, can't hear anything but the pounding of my pulse and the ragged sobs wrenched from me. I drift in a haze of blazing torment, unable to form a coherent thought.

As the acid fire spreads through my veins, I know death has come for me. My lungs can't seem to draw breath, my heart fluttering erratically. I'm burning alive from the inside out.

“Please,” I beg, but the word won’t leave me. Instead, my mouth tries to form words that won’t come as my back bows off the ground, trying to fight the pain pouring through me. No air can soothe the inferno now, and black starts to edge my vision.

Just when I think my heart will burst, an incredible sensation starts spreading outward from my shoulder, pushing back the fire. It's cold, numbing, like icy water dousing the flames. I gasp as the feeling floods through me, letting me breathe deeply again.

The contrast of icy relief against the lingering heat makes me lightheaded. But as the coldness reaches my chest, my heart steadies its rhythm. The pulsing agony ebbs away, chased by the blissful numbness.

But as the agony is pushed out, a new feeling starts to take root. It tingles along my skin, a pleasant feeling that coats me as my mind goes lightheaded. I feel drunk on the sensation, lost in pure ecstasy as I sink back into the ground, letting it wash over me. I feel better than I ever have before.

I float in this twilight state, wanting to forget everything else that has happened. I become aware of more than just the cold coursing through me. The hard ground beneath my back, the lingering ache in my shoulder. Sound filters back in, and I start to realize that there is a struggle happening near me.

I’m not safe.

Come on, Jessa , I coax myself. Get up. Save yourself.

With monumental effort, I peel my eyes open. My eyelids feel weighted, trying to pull me back under. I force them wider, shapes and colors bleeding back into my vision.

I see the night sky peeking through the canopy overhead. The shadowy trees surround me, their branches softly swaying. Slowly, I manage to turn my head to see a pale, dark-haired man, standing with his back to me.

Dread pierces through the calm. But as I try to move, the hypnotic chill keeps my body languid and heavy.

I can do nothing as I stare at the man. His arms are exposed, but the rest of him is covered. Still, his clothing is tight enough that I can see his body is toned and lithe just like my attacker. They are very similar...

Except for the wings.

My heart leaps in fresh fear as I take in the immense wings arched behind him, black as the night itself. He's like the monster that was chasing me, but more dangerous, primal power evident as he stands over something.

I have to move. Every instinct screams it, even through the lethargy trying to pull me under. With an extreme effort, I shift my leg, leaves crinkling beneath me as I try to scramble back.

At the soft sound, the winged man's head whips toward me. I freeze like prey spotted by a predator.

By the Thirteen, he’s otherworldly.

If I thought the other guy was gorgeous, I need a new word for him.

He's the most beautiful man I've ever seen. High cheekbones, strong jawline, full lips drawn back over straight white teeth. Ethereal perfection.

But there is no softness in his chiseled features. His face is all sharp planes and shadows, eyes a glowing jewel-toned amber. They bore into mine, rage simmering in their depths. My heart stammers.

His wings flare higher behind him, an intimidating frame, and my eyes trace the shape of them. I’ve never seen a dark elf or orc or anything have wings before. I don’t know what to make of this.

But as he shifts, I see what he was standing over. Before him on the ground is a mangled corpse. My attacker lies in a pool of blood, still seeping out, body twisted unnaturally, flesh ripped open in savage wounds. His torso is shredded, ribcage cracked open, entrails strewn across the leaf litter.

One arm is attached by only a strip of skin. His face is frozen in a scream, the handsome features warped in agony, throat slashed ear to ear. His eyes stare into nothingness, but despite all of that...

His chest still rises.

My gaze darts from him to the winged creature still staring at me. The calming feeling has since washed away, and pure panic coats my tongue as I consider, if he could do that to my attacker, what could he do to me?

What have I gotten myself into?