Page 17 of Galadon (Dragon’s Breath #8)
Rayna
It had been nearly three days since Galadon joined her in this hellish place, and both of them were in terrible shape, physically and mentally. Rayna was so angry at him for coming. Suffering torture was bad enough, but watching him endure it was worse. Of course, Astaroth was aware of that and used it against them.
She was surprised by the depths of Galadon’s rage at seeing her harmed. The fierceness in his fiery eyes when he saw her suffering on his first full day said he was ready to lay waste to all the remaining Kandoran if he could get free. He cared more than she had imagined.
When they’d eventually been left alone and awake long enough to speak, they’d agreed to stop watching or responding to each other’s torture. It only served to please the sorcerers. Instead, they did their best to remain silent and endure the pain without responding. Astaroth wasn’t happy about it, but he soon found that his two captives were stubborn, and nothing he did could get a rise out of them. They’d suffered so much agony by that point that their nerves had dulled.
Galadon explained to Rayna that he’d heard of it happening among his kind. If their bodies weren’t allowed to heal properly and kept taking damage, such as during a protracted battle, their minds shut down most of their pain receptors and focused on healing the vital parts. Perhaps that was how Bailey’s father had endured so much before dying.
Still, Rayna felt enough pain to be miserable. She couldn’t bear to look at herself, and when she did turn her attention to Galadon, she focused on his face. The rest of his body—usually smooth, rock-hard muscles—was barely recognizable. She finally found out why Astaroth didn’t damage their visages. He wanted to properly gauge their reactions to his torture, and he also liked leaving one part of them unscathed. That was what he told them, anyway.
“Rayna,” Galadon said, calling her name hoarsely.
She’d been staring at the sky, but at the sound of his voice, she clenched her eyes shut. “What?”
“We will get free.”
She started to laugh, but it hurt too much. “I don’t see how.”
“Just be patient,” he said, and though she still refused to look at him, she felt his heavy gaze on her.
Her body began to tremble. It had been doing that off and on since last night, and it wasn’t entirely related to her injuries. She was nearing the one-week mark since killing a dragon. The urge to hunt was growing, and being near Galadon didn’t help. Even in human form, unable to shift, he still called to her instincts. If, by some miracle, they did get rescued, she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to control herself around him.
“You can’t free me no matter what,” she said, finally turning to give him an emphatic look.
His brows drew together. “Why?”
“I don’t think my injuries are going to be enough to stop me, and I’m starting to lose control. It’s harder to focus when I’m in a lot of pain.” She sucked in a breath as a wave of agony swept through her abdomen, where her body tried to reform the kidney she’d lost. “So if anyone does come, you need to leave me.”
“I can’t do that,” he growled.
She glared at him and made herself say words she didn’t entirely mean, but she had to get through to him. He needed to survive. “Galadon, you were right about me. I’m a slayer, and in the end, we all turn on dragons. Even if we care about them. I didn’t want to admit it because I always believed my control was better than that, but right now, I’ve never felt weaker. The only thing holding me back is the chains.”
Rayna’s need to kill him and any dragon nearby had been intensifying by the hour since she was last given a drink, more than she’d ever felt in her life. She wondered if they’d put something in the water they gave her, aside from the potion to make her sleep. But why would they bother if she couldn’t act on the urge?
“I’ll find a way around it,” the shifter vowed.
She let him see the crazed part of her through her eyes. “Don’t bother. I’m not worth saving, and like you’ve implied before, you’re better off without me.”
Galadon cursed in the dragon language, and it almost made her smile. Then he glared at her. “Be that as it may, the world still needs you.”
Footsteps approached, and dread filled her. As much as she liked to think of herself as strong, the Kandoran torturer was proving she wasn’t as tough as she thought. Her body trembled at the prospect of more pain. While little of Rayna’s skin below the neck remained intact, he’d taunted her with what he had planned for today.
She knew he hadn't lied as he and his minions came into view. One of them held a heavy mallet in their hands. He’d said he’d go for bones, and he’d meant it. Her body might have dulled the agony from her injuries to a more bearable level, but the sorcerers hadn’t broken any bones yet. How much worse would that hurt?
“Did you miss me, slayer?” Astaroth asked with feigned curiosity.
“In your dreams, maybe.”
He chuckled and turned to Galadon. “I thought I’d let you know your friends have been trying to reach you for several days now. Sadly, they are failing. The wards my followers and I installed are holding up well, and your cohorts have no hope of cracking them. I’m certain they’ll give up soon, considering neither of you is so beloved as to be worth the trouble.”
Rayna swallowed. People had come for them, but how much trouble would they go through for a slayer with no clan ties and a lone shifter who was feared more than liked? Surely, not much.
Galadon glared at Astaroth. “We’ll see.”
He shrugged. “I’ve decided we’ll work on your legs today. That will surely get you both screaming for mercy, and if you do it loud enough, your friends might even hear you. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”
“Do what you want,” Galadon said with a growl, “but you’ll never get us to plead for mercy—not from you.”
“I suppose we’re about to find out, aren’t we?”
Rayna worked to control her breathing. She had a feeling this would be the worst day yet, and it would take all her strength to get through it—what little she had left, anyway.