Page 12 of A Madness of Crows

The Asante crest.

I have never branded someone without them screaming. Never.

But she breathes in and out, tears trickling from her eyes as she bites down on that bit. And she does not let it go.

The men holding her exchange glances as I hand off the rod and go to her. My fingers brush against her unmarked skin as I nudge her head to the side to check the mark. All I can hear is her heavy breathing, the pained pants.

But not a single scream escapes her lips.

“It’s done.”

Salvatore’s mouth is tipped into a smile when I turn around, but there’s no humor in his face as he stares down at her. He wanted her to scream, to beg, to put on a show for the amusement of the men in this room.

She gave him nothing.

I glance over my shoulder as she staggers to her feet. The tears are still there, impossible for her to stop as they flow down herface. Nobody could take that amount of pain without their body forcing a reaction.

She spits out the bit, her voice hoarse and shaking. “I’ve had better gifts.”

Silence. Such deep silence, as everyone watches. Even Cecile’s mouth is open.

Salvatore’s jaw tightens, and he flicks his fingers towards me, tossing me a key. “Take her to theguestroom. Restrain her.”

The room that he reserves for his toys.

I just catch the instinctive refusal that hovers on my tongue. “Of course.”

With a bow of my head, I move to her. The two grunts holding her in place step away at my glare, and she pushes against me in silent refusal when I move to lift her into my arms.

“You can’t walk.” My mutter is almost voiceless. Caterina grips my wrist.

“Watch me.”

If she wants to collapse on her way out, I’m not going to argue with her. I keep a firm grip on her arm as I tow her through the crowd, men stepping back to clear a path without challenge.

She’s slow, but she puts one foot in front of the other without complaint. I’m amazed she’s still fucking conscious. It would be better if she wasn’t, for these early minutes.

Although the pain would still be there when she woke. My eyes skitter down to the vivid burns marring her skin, and away.

When we reach the hall, she attempts to rip her arm out of my grip, but I hold her tightly, dragging her wrists towards me as I slide the key into the lock. Giving her a few seconds of freedom before she’s chained up again.

The metal barely bounces off the floor before she yanks herself away. My hand shoots out to grab her upper arm.

“Get your fucking hands off me, Asante, before I break them.”

“You’re in no condition to break anything.” I glance down the hall. Two soldiers stand on duty at the very end, at the entrance to the dungeon, but everyone else is either on the perimeter or at the party.

My distraction is my own mistake.

She sinks her teeth into the skin of my upper arm, hard enough that I feel the warm flow of blood even through the white shirt I’m wearing.

The pain is nothing. But the surprise makes me let go, and she doesn’t waste a second of her bought time.

Caterinaruns.

Takes off on feet thatshouldbe unsteady, and it takes me more than a second to recover. To wheel around and watch her stagger off the wall with a pained noise before she regains her balance as she races away from me in the opposite direction to the guards.

And I… pause. For several precious seconds, I watch that gap between us grow bigger. She’s fuckingfastas she whips around the corner.