reach for her scythe but couldn’t get to it. Dread settles into me as I realize that she’s not completely impervious to his power. But that’s a weapon, and this is her. She must have some similar defenses, some default setting like I’ve always had…
Right?
Horror creeps through me as Medley’s eyes glaze over and she immediately starts to unbutton her shorts with a vacant, complacent expression.
No, no, no, no! I can’t let this happen. I have to stop this, but how? That question slams against my skull like a mallet to a gong.
The problem is, I have no answers.
7
I lose my mind against the bars caging me in as I try to figure out how to stop him from forcing her to do this. I scream every foul word and thought at Morax as he watches Medley push her shorts down her hips. I rage and screech at him, but her shirt goes next, and then she reaches behind her to unclasp her bra.
“If you don’t stop right now, you’ll never get a thing that you want from me,” I threaten on an enraged bellow. It’s not just because she’s my sister—a fact that’s still settling in. This happening to anyone is not okay, and I’m not going to stand by and watch it happen. I will do whatever it takes to get him to stop.
“We both know you can’t control me, and I swear to Hell itself, if you don’t stop right now, I will fight you every step of the way!” I snarl at him for all that I’m worth.
Morax’s focus moves from Medley to me, and his eyes blaze with anger as his snakes jerk around his head with agitation. “Stop, Medley,” he commands. His brown wings spread out behind him as he closes the distance between my cage and him.
I can feel the heat of his fury, and I move back in my cell so he can’t reach me without coming in.
“You dare speak to me that way!” he yells at me, spittle flying from his mouth and deep angry breaths rushing in and out. “I am the Ophidian, and I bow to no one,” he shouts, but as terrifying as his display is, and as much as I know he can hurt me, I have him.
He wants something from me. I’m still not sure why, but I have leverage, and we both know it. He seethes at me, and I have no doubt I’ll pay for my defiance later. If he could rip my head off right now, he would, but he doesn’t, because he needs something first.
I stare at him, unmoving, as he seems to realize that he’s revealed too much. He backs up, his eyes fixed on mine, and I see the promise of pain in them.
“You think you can order me around, little Annulus?” he questions rhetorically.
I hear the sound of chains clinking together with movement, and Toreon’s face leans out of the shadows, but I don’t focus on him. My gray eyes are fixed on the nightmare in front of me as he slowly backs up.
“Medley, put your hands out, palms up,” Morax commands, power leaking out of the words, and my eyes flicker over as I see Medley do exactly as she’s told.
Before I can say a word, Morax spins, striding for her, and then slaps the whip across her hands. Slashes immediately open up on her palms, and Medley cries out from the pain. I bite my lip, but then her gray irises go solid black, and hope catches in my chest. Is that what it looks like when the darkness creeps into my vision?
Please let it be true. Please let it be her own darkness protecting her.
Relief filters through me as she stands stoically, but it’s quickly chased away when Morax commands, “This time, I want to hear you scream. Loudly.” He slams the metal barbed whip against her palms again.
Medley screams bloody murder, and the sound rocks me to my core, making me stagger. I have to work to keep from slamming my hands to my ears to keep the sound from penetrating, because I don’t want Morax to know how much this is affecting me. My mind screams, something like fingernails dragging down it, and I shudder, only to realize it’s that voice trying to break in. As soon as I focus on it, the barrier lifts, and the man shoulders his way into my consciousness.
“What’s going on? I can sense your terror. Who’s hurting you?