wouldn’t burn, and yanked the brand flush against my own fucking hip.
Burning metal, burning flesh.
Barbeque.
It smelled like barbeque. I smelled like burning meat.
I howled in agony and threw the brand away from my flesh at the same time Sully yanked it back in complete horror.
Pain, blinding, hip on fire, fire burning up my right side. Fire, I was on fire. FUCK IT HURT; I WAS ON FUCKING FIRE—
My leg muscles gave out.
Arms from behind grabbed me before I fell. Their arms. They were holding me. Not Sully.
Sully was still standing in front of me, horror on his face. Why wasn’t he holding me? Sully. Sully. Get their hands off me!
But I couldn’t quit or refuse. Goddammit, I’d come this far, I’d overcome this Trial. Nothing and no one would beat me. No one.
The last thing I remember was silence, darkness, and a fire burning so deep on my hip that I wondered if the pain would ever end.
Fire, fire, I was burning up in fire…
I wasn’t sure how long I wallowed in the shadows of this misery, but when I finally opened my eyes, Sully towered over me. I was in our bed, and he sat on the edge of it with worry painted over every inch of his face.
“She’s awake,” he called over his shoulder in a mixture of relief and fear.
Mrs. Hawthorne walked up behind him and placed her hand on his shoulder. “Oh good. Looks like she’s getting some color back in that pretty face of hers too.”
“Are you okay?” Sully asked, running his hand over my forehead and through my hair.
“What happened?” I asked, not sure how I ended up in our room and in our bed.
“You fainted, lass. Completely expected considering what you went through,” Mrs. Hawthorne answered.
“How are you feeling now?” Sully asked, reaching for my wrist and checking my pulse. He looked up at Mrs. Hawthorne. “I still think we should call a doctor.”
I shook my head and tried to sit up, only to have Sully push me back down onto the pillow. “No doctor. I’m fine.” I glanced down at my body and saw a bandage on my hip. The burning sensation was still present but not nearly as bad. “I’m okay.” I was a little breathless as I said it, but really, the pain was so much better than it had been earlier, it was shocking.
“There’s burn ointment on that wound of yours,” Mrs. Hawthorne said. “It will fix you up in no time. Heals like a charm.”
“I should have never allowed them to do this to you,” Sully said, scowling at me.
“You didn’t allow anything,” I said, forcing myself up to a sitting position. “I make my own choices, and this was one of them.”
“That’s right, lass. You keep that fight in you, and you’ll walk out of here with all your dreams. Don’t let those men gain the upper hand.” She gave me a smile, patted Sully on the back, and said, “If either of you need me, I’ll be in the kitchen.”
I didn’t watch her leave because my focus was on Sully who still sat right beside me. His brow was furrowed, dark circles underlined his eyes, and he appeared years older than he had been just yesterday. I leaned in and kissed his cheek. We’d survived. Thank God we’d gotten through and to the other side.
“Don’t worry. I’m fine,” I repeated. “We are going to be fine. But we need to stay strong. There is nothing we can’t get through. Nothing.”
“Never again,” he growled. “Do you hear me? I will never, ever hear you cry out in pain like that again. I will kill before I’d ever let that happen. Never. Ever. Again.”
He pressed his lips to mine and gave the softest kiss.
I kissed him back so I wouldn’t have to agree to his terms. I had no idea what was still to come, and if I had to scream and sob and beg on my knees and endure pain after pain before this Initiation was over, I would do it. I would do it all.
Because nothing could be worse than what would greet me on the other side if I failed.
13
Sully
Mrs. Hawthorne had lectured me to be nice. I knew I needed to be nice.
But fuck that.
I was fucking pissed. Raging. Furious.
And as much as I wanted to hold Portia, kiss her softly, whisper promises to her that I had no power to keep, what my darkest soul wanted to do was scream. I tried to