Fuse by E.L. Todd

Twenty-Two

Days passed without meaning.

Cora hurt everywhere. Two of her ribs were broken, her wrist was sprained, and dried blood caked her face. She wasn’t given the luxury of bathing. She was barely allowed to relieve herself.

She was still alive, but that wasn’t a good thing.

Just when Cora thought she was weak enough to pass into the void, she held on. Her spirit was gone and so was her hope, but somehow, she persevered. Every time she knocked on death’s door, death didn’t answer.

Where was he?

When the physical beating didn’t make a difference, they returned to the drowning chamber. When that didn’t work, Rune shoved bamboo sticks under her fingernails. No matter how excruciating it was, she never mentioned Flare’s name.

They didn’t intend to kill her, but it would happen eventually. Her body would give out somewhere down the road. She kept hoping for that day, praying for the sweet escape of something that most people fled from.

Heavy footsteps sounded outside her cell. The movement was slow, like the person had all the time in the world to get where they needed to go. “Has she said anything?” The powerful voice of the steward leaked through the bars of her chamber. He kept his voice low, barely above a whisper.

But Cora heard it.

“No.” Aggravated, Rune spat out his answer. “But she will.”

“It’s been weeks.”

It’d been weeks? The knowledge only made Cora more depressed. Her captivity felt like an eternity, not a few weeks.

“She’ll crack, Your Highness.” Despite Rune’s determination to make it happen, he didn’t sound confident.

“She’s stronger than that.” Awe was in his voice, but in a sinister way. “She’s part elf?”

“Yes.”

“I haven’t seen an elf in a very long time.”

Cora remembered what Flare had said about the history of Anastille. The elves fled into their realm once the battle started to take a turn for the worse. If the steward had seen one before, that could only mean he was alive 400 years ago.

And it would mean he was fused with a dragon.

She swallowed the lump in her throat at the realization. He had the power to infiltrate her mind and detect her moods. If he opened his mind to hers and she accidentally allowed him to enter, he could manipulate her into getting the information he needed.

Now she was terrified.

“She’s not so special,” Rune said. “She’s a pain in the ass, that’s it.”

The steward chuckled in a condescending way. “You say that because she bested you—a woman.”

Rune held his tongue.

“I will have a visit with her.”

“What if it doesn’t work?”

The steward was quiet for so long it wasn’t clear if he was going to say anything at all. “Then we’ll flog her.”

Cora knew how painful that would be, but she preferred it over a mental battle.

“Hopefully, it won’t come to that.” Rune approached the door before he opened it. “Darling, you have a visitor. Please give him your respect. This isn’t a man you want to piss off.”

She pretended like she hadn’t been eavesdropping. “Oh, goody.”

The steward walked into the room, his hands buried in the sleeves of his robe. “Hello, Cora. You don’t look too well.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen better days.” She sat up and leaned against the wall. The slight movement made her ribs scream in protest. They dug into her stomach at an odd angle. Her appetite had evaporated since the injury occurred.

“You know, we could clean you up and treat you much better. But you have to do something for us first.”

Rune carried a chair into the room and placed it on the stone floor.

Without looking at him, the steward took a seat. “Let’s talk as friends for a moment. Forget Rune. Forget your injuries.”

“Like that’s so easy to forget.” Her temper flared up uncontrollably. To belittle her pain like it was nothing was insulting. This guy obviously had never had a bad day in his life.

The steward continued on like she hadn’t just snapped. “That sword is truly marvelous. Where did you get it?”

She held his gaze defiantly, her lips pressed tightly together.

“Is the blade made of dragon scales?”

She crossed her arms over her chest and got comfortable since they would be there for a while.

The steward cocked his head, similar to the way Rune did. “You’ve held your silence for so long, I’m not surprised you won’t answer my question. But for your sake, I wish you would.”

“I also wish you would stop talking. It’s annoying.”

His eyes narrowed on her face. “I’m about to do something you aren’t going to like.”

“It’s okay. I’m used to it.”

“Very well.” His eyes bored into hers, crystal-blue and shiny. Then his voice sounded deep inside her head, similar to Flare’s when he was a dragon. Tell me about the sword.

If she hadn’t experienced this already, she would have been thrown off. Your voice is more annoying when it’s inside my head.

The steward’s eyes widened even farther, clearly surprised she knew how to communicate so easily. Tell me where the dragon is.

Let me think about it. Hmm…nope.

Now his blue eyes turned ice-cold. You will tell me what I want to know, child. A foreign pressure exerted on her skull, similar to what the Shaman had done. But it was just a push, like something heavy was leaning right against her brain. Despite her weakness, she could fight it.

She held his gaze the entire time, not giving any indication of a struggle. Her mind was her own, and she wouldn’t allow it to be infiltrated, not when Flare’s safety depended on it. The steward would see his plan to sail to the lost island of the dragons. That secret had to be kept at all costs.

Sweat trickled down his forehead, and his face turned beet red in concentration. Drops absorbed into his mustache then fell to the floor. His hands started to shake from the exertion.

She didn’t break a sweat.

The steward abruptly withdrew then rose to his feet. Now he gave her a new look, a derisive sneer on his lips. She was officially his enemy, someone he had to annihilate. “Will you die to keep your secrets?”

That answer was simple. “A million times over.”

“Then you will be flogged to death in the courtyard—where the entire city can watch. And you will be naked.” He turned on his heel, and his robes billowed around him in a glorious way. The gold stitching reflected the minimal light in the cell and glowed on its own. He walked out and shut the door behind him, the massive lock clicking into place.

His final words played in her mind repeatedly. Stripped naked, she would be flogged for everyone’s entertainment. Her bare skin would be on display, and all her respect, vanity, and privacy would be deprived of her. In her final moments of life, she would be seen as a reckless whore.

And then she would die.

* * *

Steel cuffs were tight around her wrists. The chain connecting them together was much stronger than the rope she’d had before. There was no way she would get out of this one, not when she was chained to two other guards.

The city square was filled with people on all sides. A sea of faces stretched far into the distance, flooding the streets and alleyways. They’d all come to stare at the strange creature before them, the hybrid.

She fought against the fear in her chest, knowing it wouldn’t make this moment any easier for herself. Now that she had to be naked in front of thousands of strangers, she realized just how good she’d had it in Vax. No one had ever seen her naked body before. She was conservative when it came to her appearance.

Now, she would be on display.

They marched her to the pole in the center of the square. It was made of steel and was buried deep into the ground. There was no hope of her ever pulling it out. The screams and yells from the crowd became louder as she approached the last place she would ever stand as a living person.

The two guards removed their chains then hooked them to the metal clip several feet above the ground. It forced her arms up, making her stand on her tiptoes just to reach. The brown robe she wore swayed in the slight breeze.

One guard untied the strap around her neck, and the robe slid down her body to her feet. Every inch of her skin was revealed to anyone who wished to look. Her breasts hung from her chest, her nipples hard from the breeze, and her ass was directly facing the man who would whip her to death.

She was humiliated.

All she could do was stare at the pole in front of her and concentrate on the faceless metal. She tuned out all the yells erupting around her. The material from the robe touched her feet, and she took comfort from the warm fabric.

If this were how she was going to die, she would leave this earth with her head held high. It was difficult to be proud when she was naked, but it wasn’t her choice. Her freedom had been stripped away from her. All she could do was make the best of it.

Rune stood fifteen feet behind her. “This is your last chance, Cora.” He threw the whip against the stone at his feet, making a loud cracking noise. “This will be a bloodbath.” He cracked the whip again, intimidating her with the sound.

“Just get on with it.” Her voice was lifeless. Death was near, but it was also far away. She had to get through the pain and the humiliation first.

“I was hoping you’d say that.” He prepared himself, holding the grip of the whip. He aimed before he threw his entire body into the action, striking her across the back so hard, blood splattered into the air.

Cora wanted to cry out. The pain was tenfold what she’d anticipated it to be. Her delicate skin was ripped from her body and thrown to the ground. Warm blood oozed from her wounds, trailing to the small of her back and then her ass.

“I’m sure you don’t want more than one.”

She stared at the pole and tried to block out everything else. The sting of her back was excruciating, but she tried to forget about it. If she didn’t, she would succumb to her distant tears.

She refused to give him any satisfaction.

“Does your arm hurt?” she asked. “Why have you stopped?”

People in the crowd murmured quietly to themselves, their words indecipherable.

Rune couldn’t mask the irritation in his voice. He wanted tears of pain, a confession, some sign of weakness.

But he wouldn’t get any of those things.

“That was just one, darling. You have a lot more to go.”

“Do you talk just so you can listen to yourself?” If she pissed him off enough, he wouldn’t drag it out. He would lose his control and go about it quickly, trying to cause her as much pain as possible. Also, humiliating him in front of the steward was an extra perk.

“Bitch.” He murmured it under his breath, but she could still hear it. He aimed before he struck her across the back, tearing off new skin as well as hitting the previous wound.

Her back convulsed automatically, but she didn’t cry out. She bit her inner cheek until she drew blood.

Rune struck her again and again. With every new wound, blood dripped out, soaking the skin that remained and creeping down her thighs. It pooled at her feet and made the stone slippery.

With every crack of the whip, he hit her harder, trying to outdo himself. It was a sick game to him, trying to hit the same spot more than once and then trying to hit some place new. He whipped her across the ass, and that almost made her scream because it was so unexpected.

Minutes passed, and he kept going. More blood pooled at her feet, and her strength dissipated. She could barely hold herself up anymore, so she dangled by her wrists. She was losing her grasp on reality, her mind becoming foggy from the pain and lack of blood.

Her heart began to slow, finally shutting down.

She was almost there.

The suffering would end soon.

All she had to do was wait for it to happen.

Rune struck her again and admired his handiwork. “I can hardly see your back anymore, darling.”

She wanted to respond with a smartass comment but didn’t have the strength.

“Have you nothing to say?” His joy was unmistakable. “Cat got your tongue?”

She was on the verge of the end. Balancing on the edge of a knife, she was about to tip over and plunge into the abyss. But she wanted to have the last word before that happened. “You hit like a girl.”

Rune didn’t respond, letting his whip do all the talking. He struck her across the back again, hitting her with as much force as possible. He made a series of quick strikes, flogging her to the extreme.

Her back spasmed, and her body grew limp. She could hardly feel anything anymore. There was nothing left to feel.

She wasn’t sure if it was real, but she thought she heard the mighty roar of a majestic creature. It was more powerful than an orc and more sinister than a Shaman. It sounded like a dragon’s fierce battle cry.

“Rawr!”

The crowd fell quiet before a collective scream emerged.

Cora, I’m here. Flare’s voice played in her head.

But was it real?

The ground trembled underneath her feet as something landed beside her. It was heavy enough to shake the entire world. Hold on. Massive jaws wrapped around the pole, and effortlessly, it was ripped from the ground. Her chain slipped from underneath and came loose. Unable to hold herself up, she collapsed.

The steward’s calm voice billowed from his seat behind Rune. “Nephew, how nice of you to drop by.”

Flare released another mighty roar and chased Rune down. Cora’s red sword hung at Rune’s waist, bright and shiny under the morning sun. Flare snatched Rune by the arm and threw him down to the ground. Then his massive jaws took the sword off his hip.

“Ah!” Rune crawled away and hid under the steward’s seat.

Cora could barely hold on to consciousness. She wasn’t sure if any of this was real. Was this a dying vision? Something to comfort her as she slipped away? Did she imagine Flare because his presence subdued her?

The dragon walked to her before he gently cradled her in his massive claws. He was careful not to injure her further, but that was impossible. Arrows were released and punctured his sides. Smoke billowed from his nose, the fires of his rage about to be unleashed.

She stared up at the dragon’s face, wishing it were real. “Is that you?”

Yes.

In her final moments, there was only one thing she wanted. “Kill them…kill them all.”

I can’t.

“Why?” Her eyes grew heavy.

He opened his wings and launched into the air. Because I have to save you.