Saltbound and Bloodsworn (by Allison Franklin) novel Chapter 17

Saltbound and Bloodsworn

Chapter 17 Chapter Seventeen

The door to Eloise and Isla’s room burst open. Missus stormed in, her face contorted in anger. She strode toward Isla and back handed her hard enough to

ause stars to burst behind her eyelids.

You little traitorous, bitch!” Missus spat down at her

Missus! What is this!?” Eloise screeched from her bed.

Is this her?” Missus asked, turning to the guard looming in the doorway.

That’s the whore.”

sla’s vision finally cleared and she tried to pull herself up. Before she could right herself, Missus hand struck her face once more, sending her to the floor

his time. Isla’s head cracked against the stone.

Stop!” Eloise begged, emotion clogging her voice.

Move aside! Her first day here and she’s already disrespected our Prince’s kindness by injuring one of his guards!”

No! It wasn’t her!” Eloise lied.

We have witnesses! Choose your words carefully, Eloise, because if you lie again you will be punished just as severely. You know the consequences of

ttacking a guard.”

“here was a moment of silence. “I do,” Eloise stated firmly. “It was not Isla who did this.”

Missus scoffed. “Your loyalty is misguided and brings to question your dependability. Pick her up!” she said, snapping her fingers.

Eloise stood in the path of the two hulking figures who strode in through the doorway. “No! I won’t let you hurt her!”

The man closest to her shoved and Eloise tumbled back into her cot. They each took one of Isla’s arms and hauled her quickly from the floor, threatening to

ear her arms from the sockets.

‘Stop! She didn’t do anything!” Eloise cried.

Isla heard a lock turning over followed by the pounding of Eloise’s fists against the wooden door.

“What… what is happening?” Isla asked, her head still swimming from the hits she’d sustained.

“You shall be punished for what you’ve done,” Missus explained.

“I didn’t… What did I do?” Isla’s mind couldn’t even recall what she had done wrong.

Missus swiveled around. “You maimed one of the Prince’s loyal guards,” she spat, forcefully turning Isla’s chin so she could look up at the burns the guard

holding her right arm had sustained when she’d dumped the porridge on him. “You will be punished. Once you are healed, you will be reassigned, if the

Prince is lenient.”

“And if he isn’t?” she gulped as they resumed dragging her down the hall.

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Chapter 17 Chapter Seventeen

Miggs didn’t answer, and somehow, her silence was answer enough. After all, Isla had already been responsible for one death of the Mate Killer’s entourage Would maining second push him over the edge? Exactly how far did his leniency toward her antics extend? They made a turn and led her down a dank stairwell. The sound of their shoes thudded against the cramped hallway which only became more so the further they went.

Eventually the men had to go single file with one leading her and the other shoving her forward. The hallway opened to a large room that featured chains hanging from walls, the ceiling. People were locked in stockades, attached to the wall with barbed wire around their necks, while others merely sat in a

bundle of hay, slowly wasting away in their own feces. The smell was enough to make her gag.

They led her to the farthest wall. One of the men shoved her against the stone and she began to shake.

“P-p-please…” she started to beg though she knew it would be in vain. Her hands were collected together and a tight clamp locked them in place. “He w w

was h-h-hurting a 1-1-little girl!”

The man she had scarred walked to the wall where the chain was connected to a bracket. With a grin of victory, he took the excess and vanked it downward. She cried out as the chain pulled her up until her back was taut and her toes barely skimmed the ground.

“P-p-please, don’t do this!” she screamed.

She jerked as Eloise’s dress was ripped from her neck, revealing the skin of her back. She felt cold air kiss her buttocks and shame filled her entire being. What did they plan to do with her? Her trembling was a violent thing. The only air entering her lungs was sucked through short gasps between her teeth as she braced. The guard she had violated leaned back against the wall in front of her with his arms crossed, satisfied with her fear. She tried to look over her shoulder but before she could, she felt the first lash of a whip. Her back flinched but the rest of her body froze in shock, a scream lodged in her throat. Then the second lash hit and the scream was forced through her windpipe.

“Continue until blood drips to the floor,” Missus demanded.

“Please!” Isla begged right before the third scored her back.

She heard whoever was striking her grunt with the force he used to bring the whip down on her flesh. By the fifth her back felt as though it were on fire By the tenth, her nerve endings were alight with energy as though she were tossed into the center of a thunderstorm. By the fifteenth, a stinging numbness threatened to drag her below the surface of consciousness. By the twenty-fifth she heard the first drop of blood hit the stone beneath her.

“Five more for good measure. Make sure she learns her lesson,” Missus instructed.

There was a hesitation with the next crack, as if even her minion thought the punishment was unwarranted, yet the hesitancy didn’t stop his actions. Five more lastungs and the whip no longer struck the air… but the pain did not end. The chains were released and Isla fell to the ground. Each breath felt as though it were ripping the wounds in her back wider. She could taste blood in her mouth, fed it sliding down her sides, her legs. Darkness ammed her

vision.

The screeching of a metal door being flung open and crashing against a stone wall made everyone in the room jump Isla merely turned her head in the doorway stood a panting, half-shifted, enraged male. The Mate Killer braced both hands against the door frame. His back bowed and he dropped his head

while gritting his lengthening teeth, fighting a shift that threatened to take over completely

“Y-your Highness?” Missus whispered in exasperation.

“What… is the meaning… of this?!” Prince Sylvan yelled. He released a loud roar as the bones along his spine and arms cracked

“The Tridean prisoner, she…”

“Mine,” he growled, looking up with eyes black as onyx. “Away. Now.” His voice sounded foreign to Isla’s cars, animal, as if his woll were speaking for him. The hairs along her arm rose and fear trickled along her spine. Prince Sylvan’s nose pricked and his eyes flicked in her direction.

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Chapter 17 Chapter Seventeen

The Seto Killer dropped to one knee. He threw his head back and took in a shaky breath while the guards around Isla slowly stepped aside. It was clear why the prince was there, and they needed to get as far from their trespass as possible. Chains rattled as nervous prisoners tried to prepare for the beast of legends to surface and annihilate everyone in sight. Prince Sylvan lurched forward, both hands landing against the stone floor. When he opened his eyes, they were back to their natural sther.. but the fury remained.

“What is happening here?” he asked again. Prince Sylvan rose to his full height, though he winced as he did so.

Everyone in the room took several steps back as if just his standing was enough to strike fear into them. Isla laid her cheek down against the cold stone. She licked her lips and closed her eyes, hoping to case the pain radiating through her back and the nausea clenching her stomach. She could hear the shuffling of feet and the scent of spice and citrus overrode the scent of blood. She whimpered and a low growl reverberated against the stone. A warm hand brushed

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