every last one of them since Halla and Kalla had left as she waited for them to send help. Rescue in the form of a big strong Phaeton, ready to kick these sadistic bastards’ asses. Especially the one currently toying with her.
For the first few hours after the twins left, circumstances had been like any other day. She’d been locked in her tiny room and remained completely silent hoping they’d forget about her. But, of course, it hadn’t mattered. By that evening, things went south. Cruum left the brothel on a short errand off-world and she was free game.
Within moments of Cruum’s departure, Talis paid a visit to show what happens when he’s permitted to deal out her punishments without someone holding his leash. It was bad. At first, the beatings began like the others. He interrogated her, asking question after question, then striking her if she didn’t give the answer he wanted. His strikes didn’t matter; she stayed silent throughout. She’d tried taking a little mental siesta, retreating deep into her head where Talis couldn’t touch her. But he’d called her back each time she’d sought refuge. While Cruum hadn’t seemed worried about the twins changing houses, Talis was suspicious of the entire situation. He said as much between beatings as he tried to loosen Nova’s lips one slap at a time.
He enjoyed every single second of it too. Her tears, no matter how quiet they came, turned him on. She’d tried to hold them back, but after so many hits, she couldn’t keep the pained sobs from escaping. Disgust filled her stomach when she saw he got off on hearing them. Her cries simply sped up the crack of his whip. She was at the mercy of a sadist who had none to give.
“Move.”
Nova blinked at the command but found herself unable to comply other than to flutter her fingers pathetically. She simply couldn’t. Beaten and abused since almost the moment her protectors had left, Nova was on the brink of breaking completely—mentally and physically. She could barely keep her eyes open. Each and every time she tried to escape back to the Phaeton savior who treasured her in her dreams, Talis brought her back.
You want to live, Nova.
The voice echoing in her head was no longer hers. At some point through the never-ending beatings, the mantra deepened into her fantasy Phaeton husband’s voice. Gruff and encouraging, he told her to not give up, that she was strong, and he was coming for her. She knew it was a delusion, but it was what kept her going. Her one thing. The pain that wracked her body was almost too much to bear.
“Move,” Talis repeated, the sound of his boots moving frighteningly close to where she lay on the floor. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been there but knew it had to have been hours at least. Every time exhaustion or pain was so overwhelming that Nova began to slip into the blessed relief of unconsciousness, her punisher tossed water on her to revive her. It had happened so frequently she was now lying in a small puddle. She had the fleeting realization that if this kept on, she wouldn’t wake up no matter what he did.
Air left her body in a whoosh when a heavy boot slammed into her side.
Curling into a ball to better protect as much of her bits and pieces as possible, Nova wrapped her arms around her head to shield the more important parts of her anatomy. She did this despite the pain in her ribs and arms because, if not, she wouldn’t make it. Her head couldn’t take another blow. An earlier strike had knocked her silly, scrambling her brains enough that she worried she was more than a little concussed. She wasn’t about to give him another wide-open shot if she could help it. Protecting her skull was all she had the energy to do in her weakened state.
Talis grunted with each kick, moving around her body as he stomped on any exposed flesh he could reach.
“Please,” she whimpered. Her throat ached from hours of sobbing. The last thing she ever wanted to do was to plead with this monster, but she truly didn’t know how much more she could take. She wouldn’t die here. She refused to.
You want to live, Nova.
“Did you just beg, slave?” he asked gleefully, panting heavily above her as if he’d just run a mile.
“Yes,” she cried, unable to stop from pleading for mercy as waves