V I
nd distance, and all that remains is the sound of my own voice tearing itself apart as I scream, curse, threaten, b
ed me grow, watched me bleed, watched me train until my body shook, and now it watches me be ripped out of it without protest. Servants press themselves
cts with a rib, followed by a grunt from one of the guards holding onto me. I feel the grip around my right arm loosen for half a second, and that's all the time I need. I rip my arm free long enough to
my c
ay in hell I am
ding my hair and twist sharply, ducking low before driving my knee up hard towards his stomach. I feel it connect, then hear the man grunt out loud, the air leaving him completely, just as he finally lets go of my hair. Another man lu
not exp
snaps to the holster at one man's hip... A gun... s
, the feeling all too familiar, as I tear it free and spin, raising it wi
nte Ac
watched me take down h
ver. Years of drills, years of muscle memory have all led me
me carefully, his gaze momentaril
being shot. His gaze is locked on me, dark with intent, and s
thinking
he exact same moment, hands clamp around my wrists and wrench them upward. The shot tears into the open sky, sp
I stare at him in disbelief. I have nev
e my chest might split open. I quickly snap out of it, realising that no matter how handsome he is, this is the same man who is trying to kidnap me and force me into a marriage I never asked for. And so I begin to thrash, trying
quietly and smoothly, as if stati
y. My wrists twist painfully, and that's when he reaches up to my hands and takes the gun away.
y neck where his breath would lightly fan my skin. For a moment, I shut my eyes, trying my best not to let him get to me
o I'm facing him again, and bends slightly, hauling me u
diately rushes to my head just as I yell out
k, my voice cracking, shredding itself apart. "Put me down!
venting me from striking or clawing. I twist and scream, my rage spilling out of me in ugly, broken sound
mly behind the windows, my home standing tall and indifferent a
s i
s how
roat to tighten as my chest seizes, and suddenly the fight drain
ie
body betrays me completely. Tears spill from my eyes, hot and furious
orn from somewhere deep and wounde
drop me or toss me aside. Instead, he sets me down carefully, still holding my w
d to me. Instead, he lets out a sigh and
ss and humiliation. I cry not because I am weak, but because everything I was has been ripped out of me in one night, because my fathe
the tears, beneath the pain, beneath the rage, a burning feel
is the end of me... but they
e of the Cost
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