McKee glared down at me, kneeling as he had before. "Now what do you think? Yastine is a presser. The dark side is the only side with such power. She and Graven are the strongest pressers. She can crush every bone in your body in a blink. Do you still think you could never love me?"
He smiled as if he expected me to cave and give in to his demands. My body hated me for my decisions, but my dignity and pride thanked me in advance.
I grabbed my side in pain, still wishing I could scream or cry, but that required more oxygen than I could get. Sharp, searing pain went from head to toe, rippling over me with the throbbing aftershocks.
I had at least three broken ribs—possibly more. It was hard to do a full assessment because everything hurt.
I summoned up my last bit of strength to reply to his ultimatum, and braced myself for the inevitable backlash.
"I hate... you too much to... ever love you," I bit out, the words barely even a rasp whisper between my pained breaths.
He stepped back, jaw clenched, and nodded at Yastine to continue her torture.
She smiled, happy to oblige him in his sadistic pleasure. She threw her hands in front of her again, and just like before, my body caved in on itself, depriving me of air and voice. I managed a cry meant to be a scream, but it was cut short as the rest of my air left me.
Tears streaked my face as my body writhed involuntarily on the floor. She was taking her time, drawing it out, sucking every bit of pleasure out of this as she could. You'd have thought I wronged her at some point, because this sure as hell felt like revenge.
McKee left the room when he heard my bones start to crack and snap. In an effort to keep from killing me too soon, she stopped, giving me a brief reprieve to grasp for air.
My breaths were shallower this time. My lungs weren't taking in much, and my garbled bits of air were more painful than not breathing at all.
I heard McKee crank up his car and squeal out of the driveway, escaping the sight he couldn't stomach, and leaving me with his attack dog. My tears blurred my vision, making the images around me distorted, but saving me from having to see their faces as I crawled toward death.
"Now we can have some real fun, Coldwell," she hissed, laughing.
She walked over to the bay window, and I heard her draw the curtains open, though it seemed like a blur of red. Unfortunately, my tears fell in heavy drops, and my vision returned.
She was most likely watching McKee drive away, but I almost hoped she'd hurry and finish with me. It was just too much.
I was trying to move my arms to grab my sides, but nothing worked the way it was supposed to anymore. The bones inside of my body had turned into jagged knives and stabbed me with every movement.
Her twisted smile grew as she glanced over her shoulder at me. "Don't worry, witch. I'll drain your essence after I've broken almost every bone in your body. I want you to feel real pain before death."
I dreaded her promise if she didn't consider this real pain.
She backed up, her eyes returning to me. I started doing an inventory of everything broken to distract myself from watching her try to toy with my head.
My pelvis, more ribs, probably some leg bones... It would have been easier to count the things that didn't feel broken or cracked.
A loud boom sounded out, forcing me to cry out again when I jerked from the startling explosion. Debris rained in as glass shattered, proving someone had just crashed our party from hell.
The familiar body leaping through the air made tears fall for a whole new reason. Tallis was here. No! She'd kill hill!
Desmond and Ayla crashed through the same window, landing to their feet just as Tallis blasted the stunned Yastine into the fireplace wall. She yelped as she thudded and cracked the wall, landing on the floor with a thud that split the cold tile.
My three rescuers stood there, glaring at the room of killers that surrounded them and me.
"How did you get in here?" Yastine hissed as she slowly stood up, ignoring the burned flesh and blood on her arm from Tallis's explosion.
Tallis's jaw ticked and threatened to snap off. "Craymon blood. Your crests are worthless."
Yastine cursed and motioned for her minions to attack. Two guards simultaneously went after Desmond, but he slid b
etween them and crashed their skulls into each other.
Ayla took on McKee's parents, neither of them offering her the fear she deserved. She was graceful and elegant as she flipped over them, touching them both at the same time. They fell to the floor, completely motionless. She finished them with another touch.
Desmond turned into a bear and tore one of the guards apart, and transformed again as he attacked the second guard.