glanced at the wall across from him, the wall that held the window. The stone was cracked, indented. It was a blatant reminder that he had failed to escape. His roar turned into a cry of anguish. What they said was true.
He was an animal, a beast. He was only here because they took pleasure in his cries.
He clawed at his chest desperately. His bare hands latched onto the collar around his neck. By now, he was accustomed to the heavy weight of the metal ring and the pain it brought when Auro initiated it. He drew in a ragged breath, knowing that if he attempted to take the collar off it would only hurt him.
Spasms would rack his body. Muscles so tense and stiff, he would crumple to the ground. It was excruciating, almost worse than what his torturers did to him. Almost.
His hand dropped.
From what he had heard, the only way the collar could be taken off was if someone other than himself unlatched it. His eyes closed, head falling back, his rage fading away. In the aftermath, he was broken. The possibility of anyone taking the collar off of him was slim. In the past months, Talon had only seen Auro and Lyne, and what he saw of them…
He shuddered, wrapping his thin arms around himself.
The door opened, a shaft of light entering the room, and his heart stopped. Talon raised his head high and stared defiantly at the shadowed man. The light from behind shrouded him in darkness, making him appear like the menacing son of a bitch he really was.
Auro stood at the top of the steps, staring down at the beast. His dark form was hidden in the shadows, but he could clearly make out the rebellion that glowed in the monster’s silver eyes. Auro leered tauntingly at Talon, closed the door behind him, and sauntered forward.
More like a dungeon, closer to a stone cage, the only source of light came from the window. The glow from outside had been snuffed out the second Auro locked them in the prison. The rusted bars left a pattern embossed on the dirty ground, the smell of the room was rank, almost acidic with the amount of blood that had been shed. Auro smiled wider, the stretch of his pale cracked lips more like a sneer than anything.
Talon looked up, drawing farther into the shadows. The soft growl that rang through the room reminded Auro of a lion. He noticed that the beast was cradling his left arm. The blood flow from earlier had ceased its flow, leaving his arm dry and messy with thick strings of pus oozing from the long wound. Auro leaned closer, proud of his work.
Talon moved back, eyes flashing. It was almost impossible to hide the tensing of his muscles. The action would tell Auro more than he needed to know, and Talon didn’t need any more wounds than he already had. He sneered against his arm, the cold stone chilling him to the bone as his back hit the wall. He looked at Auro from under his hair, taking in his expression in silence.
“How are you faring today, my pet?” Auro asked, a bony hand reaching out to caress Talon’s damp head. The room was cold, almost as frosty as an ice box, but his arm was sending hot flashes throughout his body. Auro leered, his pale hand dropped to Talon’s arm. He dug his hand into the open flesh of the limb, earning a pained groan.
Blood seeped down his arm with a renewed flow. Shots of ice and fire slid into him, dragged forth from the bastard that practically lived to torture him. He was so used to the pain now that it almost shocked him that he felt what Auro was doing to him. Of course, when a man with nails like needles shoved his hand inside of your arm and tore out anything it came in contact with, it was going to hurt like hell.
Talon tried to hold back the groan, to hide how much it hurt him. But with Auro’s hand embedding itself into his skin, pushing muscle and flesh aside with sharp nails, it was a feat that he was not at all proud of. Rage boiled in his gut, the sound of pain turning into one of absolute anger.
Auro drew his hand back, face twisted with disdain as Talon turned mute. No one would know, but Auro felt a fear deep within him when Talon