Page 40

Chapter 39

Broken. Helpless. Bleeding.

Raiden

C edar had flown back to Cainhorn to let Paine and Arabella know we were okay. Meanwhile, Silvana and I headed downstairs with Bastian to have a chat with Viktor.

Did I expect him to talk? Nope.

Would I enjoy dragging it out of him anyway? Absolutely.

We walked down the stone steps. The air was humid, making it slightly more uncomfortable than it already was being trapped in a large concrete box underground. Viktor was currently tied to the chair I’d been in, only instead of rope holding him down, it was my shadows.

I leaned against the far wall from him as Silvana circled the chair where he sat. His head was hanging down toward his chest and his eyes were closed. I’d admit it—he’d seen better days. Covered in dried blood from our earlier scuffle. The wounds had healed, but I hadn’t let Bastian and Cedar clean him up. I enjoyed him like this.

Broken. Helpless. Bleeding.

I knew he’d look worse once Silvana and I finished with him, and I couldn’t wait for it. My fangs ached at the thought of watching my queen force answers from his mouth.

She was wearing tight black leather pants and a short black tank that showed off her midriff and left her arms exposed, along with her chunky black boots. Her pale silver hair was tied back in a loose plait, and my hands itched to wrap its length around my fist and pull her closer to me.

“I can feel the turn of your thoughts, My Lord,” she muttered beneath her breath as she circled Viktor once more before she kicked the leg of his chair, startling him awake.

We’d ended up staying in the bed upstairs for a while longer, just being in each other’s presence before finally coming down here to interrogate our prisoner. Silvana knew we’d have to go back there—to that hell that held her hostage for so many years. But she knew I was by her side, and I wouldn’t let anyone take her from me.

“My thoughts are exactly where they need to be, My Queen. On how stunning your ass will look while I fuck you in a puddle of Viktor’s blood.” I smirked as Viktor looked between us, his face slightly more pale than before.

Silvana pulled her blade from her boot and smiled back at me. “I love it when you talk dirty to me. Makes my all tingly and eager to kill unworthy males.”

Bastian cleared his throat and chuckled. “I was interested in waiting this one out, but I’m going to head upstairs and keep watch. You two make me ill.”

“Bye, Bastian. I’ll try to save you some scraps when I finish him off.” Silvana giggled.

“Oh, don’t worry about it, Ice Sickle, he isn’t really my type. I like my males more… imposing. Intelligent. Controlling. Less bitch boy,” he replied.

I chuckled, knowing he was being sincere. I knew what Bastian’s type was, and Viktor wasn’t even close.

Viktor just stared between us, not speaking.

“Now, Viktor,” Silvana started, the blade tapping rhythmically against her thigh. “I’ve so been looking forward to meeting you. Honestly, even before you took my male. After you took him? Well, that surely sweetened the pot for me.”

I could hear Viktor grinding his teeth together. “I’m not telling you anything. Your mate —” He spat the word as if it was foul-tasting in his mouth. “—and his pathetic males already tried.”

Silvana nodded for a moment. “I understand, Viktor. Truly. You see, as you know, I don’t quite remember everything about my past. But what I do remember? What Raiden has filled in? I imagine that our… master could be quite intimidating.”

Viktor stared at her for a moment, as if unsure what to say. About what would be safe to utter. “He doesn’t intimidate me.”

She chuckled and leaned in closer to his face. “Oh. Well then. I apologize. He intimidated me, if I’m being honest. But that wasn’t my point. You see, Viktor, here’s the thing about intimidation. Whenever I’m scared of someone, I try to remember that there is always someone out there worse. That’s how I’ve survived this long. While I may not fully remember everything Keres did to me, the snapshots? The glimpses? Well, they were enough to push me to become… more, Viktor. More scary. More vile. More intimidating. So, while I understand that you don’t fully trust that fact yet, just remember this moment. I did warn you.”

Silvana turned and looked back at me, that fire I loved so much in her eyes. “I’ve been thinking about this new idea, and I’ve been eager to show you.”

I returned her smile and let my arm drop down in a dramatic motion, urging her on.

She crouched down in front of the bound male, a smile curving her lips as she used her dagger to cut the front of his tattered shirt down the middle. Pushing it to the sides, she used the blade and sliced a small hole as long as one finger close to the right side of his ribs. I watched, curious as to what her plan was exactly, and we both ignored Viktor’s muffled cries. He was clearly trying to hold back his screams, which seemed to motivate my queen even more.

She pushed two fingers beneath his flesh and bit her bottom lip as she stilled. My head tilted to the side as Viktor stilled for a moment before trying to push away from her.

“Fuck! Fuck! What are you doing?!” he cried, his voice vibrating between his screams.

“I was curious how extreme cold would affect me breaking your ribs. One by one. Bastian has blood upstairs, don’t panic too much, Viktor. I’ll make sure you heal.” She moved her fingers up slightly, I assumed to do the rib above. Viktor’s breathing became more labored as she moved slowly and surely. “We have time do to this a few times, I think. What do you think, My Lord?”

“I think I want to try. Do you mind, My Queen?” I asked.

She pulled her fingers from his body and licked the blood from her fingers. “Of course not, just one moment.”

She stood, stashing her blade back in her boot, and then punched him directly on the two ribs she just froze solid. Viktor’s screams echoed throughout the small concrete space as they mixed with Silvana’s laughs.

“Oh, don’t get me going too early, Viktor! You have so many more bones to go!” Her arms dropped to the armrests caging in his body. “I want you to think about every single female you ordered to be taken, raped, and killed as I shatter every bone in your body, force you to regrow them, and do it again,” she said. “And we’ll continue shattering and regrowing until you tell me everything it is that I want to know.”

Tears streaked down his pale face as his bottom lip quivered. “You haven’t even told me what you want to know.”

A grin spread across her face that spoke of the absolute insanity she was willing to dish out. “Everything.” With that, she pushed up off the chair and strutted back toward me. “Your turn, My Lord,” she purred as she ran her hand up my chest.

I grabbed her long braid and pulled her closer, quickly pressing my lips to hers. Our tongues danced for a brief moment before I pulled away and spun her around, her back to my chest, and her ass pressed against my aching cock.

“I can do my part from right here, darling, with you arching against me as I do. We both know just how much you love to watch me work after all,” I whispered against the spot just below her ear.

She pressed in closer to my body, her breath hitching. “Let’s see what you can do, My Lord,” she whimpered. I could smell her arousal, and I wasn’t sure what ached more—my fangs or my cock. Both desperately wanted to be inside of her. I wrapped one arm around her hips, my fingers digging into her skin.

“Watch,” I growled into her ear as my opposite hand lifted, releasing shadows across the floor toward Viktor. He started jerking away from them, trying to move the chair. It wouldn’t move, not unless I wanted it to. The thin tendrils of shadow magic circled up his legs and torso and then dipped into his chest. I was careful to avoid his organs, especially his heart. I didn’t need to ruin my queen’s fun, just add to it. I willed my magic to seep into the ribs opposite of where Silvana had shattered them. My shadows soaked into those two ribs for a moment and then dissolved them into nothing.

I could tell the moment the pain registered in his body. He threw his head back and the screams echoed throughout the room once again. I released Silvana’s hip and dipped my hand beneath her tight pants, my fingers finding her core immediately. I wasn’t surprised to find her soaking wet and ready for me already. My middle finger circled her clit a few times as she gasped and dropped her head back onto my chest. She tried to grind against my hand, but my opposite arm hooked across her torso so she couldn’t move.

“Tell me, My Queen. Are you this wet from listening to him scream? Or was my presence enough for you?” I growled against her neck and ran my fangs over the soft skin there while I pushed two fingers deep into her cunt. “I’m waiting, Silvana.”

“Fuck, Raiden. Both. Please. Please. Don’t stop,” she whined. Her eyes were closed, and Viktor’s screams had died down to just moaning whimpers.

“You two make quite the chorus of pain and pleasure, don’t you think?” I asked.

She nodded her head, eager for more that I would happily give her. I released more shadows, letting them curl around her throat and slowly restricting her breathing as I added a third finger to her cunt.

“So greedy for me, My Queen,” I muttered, and gently sucked on her neck, not yet breaking the skin. Using my thumb, I rubbed against her clit as I curled my fingers just right inside of her. Feeling her come apart on my fingers was a sight I would never tire of. I slowly pulled my fingers from her tights and released my shadows from her throat. She sucked in a breath. I kept my arm hooked around her waist so she wouldn’t fall.

I licked her sweetness from my fingers and groaned. Fuck, I needed to taste more of her. I leaned her against the wall behind me, and pulled her tights down, blocking her from the view of Viktor.

“I need you, now,” I growled into her ear.

Silvana reached down and pushed down my pants enough to pull my cock out. She wrapped her arm around my neck, shadow stone dagger still in her hand. She wrapped her legs around my waist as I pressed her into the wall and slowly pushed my cock into her wet cunt and groaned.

Suddenly I jerked as I felt her blade press against my throat—something that should have made me angry or even anxious, just made me even harder.

“Fuck me, Raiden,” she said with a smile.

I groaned at the insanity that was my female and began fucking her against the wall. The quicker I moved, the more her blade pressed into my skin. With one hand on her ass, I used the other to wrap around her throat, constricting her breathing again.

“That’s right, My Lord. Show him whose cunt this is,” she whispered as I increased the brutal pace.

I could feel her core start to clench around my cock as her orgasm hit her, and it sent me over to join her quickly after.

“Feeling better?” I asked her.

She nodded her head, her eyes still somewhat glazed with pleasure.

“What do you say we take a leg bone next?” I asked.

Silvana giggled. “I love the way you think, My Lord.”

For a while, we took turns freezing and shattering bones or just dissipating them completely. I was almost positive the only thing holding Viktor together and upright was my shadows. Eventually, Bastian brought down blood for him so he could start the regrowth process.

“Do you think he’s ready to chat with us? Or should we go one more round and then ask?” Silvana asked me, her blade tapping against her thigh the way it did when she was pondering things.

“Ju-just tell m-me what you want to know,” Viktor mumbled under his breath. Apparently, regrowing and healing this many bones was painful.

“We want to know who ordered you to start the Eternal Outcasts. Who pulled the strings,” I said.

He was quiet for a moment and then he glanced up at us. “I did. Alone,” he grunted.

A blade flew through the air, hitting him on the right side of his chest. “Nice shot, darling,” I said, as he gritted his teeth against the torment and released a pained breath.

“Thank you. I didn’t mean to interrupt; I just hate liars.” She walked over to Viktor and crouched in front of him to peer up at his bruised and bloody face. “Here’s the thing, Viktor, you’re simply not smart enough to be the only one behind this grand scheme, and we both know you’ve been sucking Keres’s cock to get ahead for over a hundred years now. Am I wrong?”

Viktor looked down at her, rage clear in his eyes. “Fuck you, ice bitch. He loves me. You wouldn’t understand. He’s only with those other females because he needs an heir to solidify his place on the throne.” The moment the words came out of his mouth, his eyes widened, and his face paled.

“Why would he need to—” She cut herself off and stood to stare at me for a moment. “I’m done questioning him. Let’s get him cleaned up and when he’s well enough to travel, we take him back to his master.”

With that, she turned and headed back up the stairs, leaving Bastian and me staring at Viktor, completely lost as to what she’d just figured out.