Starkeeper of the Fractured Crown

I hated myself more in that moment than I had my entire life. I hated the way my mind worked, what my body responded too. I hated all of those men for running away and keeping quiet rather than telling the guards exactly what I liked. Telling them that I should be locked up, reformed.

I wassick. And this man was playing right into it.

The self-hatred in me grew.

And grew.

And grew.

He pulled his hand back, and I coughed, gasping forair, pulling at my restraints on instinct to grab my throat.

I felt something cold and heavy now strapped around the middle of my neck. Tight enough to stay in place but loose enough to prevent it from pinching my skin.

Trick smiled in a way that would make grown men run in fear. “The perfect accessory for my dark little Angel.”

Trick took a step back, leaving my body far too cold, and he looked me over. His eyes slowly taking me in from head to toe and back, as if memorizing what I looked like for the restraints he was about to build for me.

His eyes finally found mine again. “See you around, Kyra.”

And he disappeared in a blast of shadows and nightmares.

The shadows disappeared from around my wrists, causing me to fall back against the wall, knees weak.

Cole ran over, the shield finally gone. “What did he say to you?”

I reached for my throat, my eyes falling to my other wrist only to find them clear of burns.

But my fingers brushed something metal around my neck. A thick, smooth chain, connected by a large circle, hollow in the middle. Just a simple ring connecting both sides.

My eyes lifted to Cole’s, my lips parting in horror as Cole inspected the necklace, his hands hovering, never touching. “He fucking collared me?” I whispered, shaking with fear and anger. “What does that mean?What is he going to do to me?”

Cole was shaking his head, the confusion in his eyes enough to tell me that he had no idea what his High King was planning. “I don’t know, Talons. He’s never done this before.”

He reached out, probably to touch the necklace, but I jerked out of his reach, hissing as I put weight on my injured ankle. “Don’t touch it,” I snarled and stormed for the woods.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m fucking going home,” I shouted. “I still have no idea if my brother is alive and if I stay here, I will try to kill you.”

“You can’t kill us, Talons.”

I spun around, just at the edge of the trees. “I know I can’t kill you, Cole, I’m not that stupid!” I snapped back. “Doesn’t mean I’m not stubborn enough to try. It’s a stupid gods-damned flaw. And I swear to the gods, if you let your High King anywhere near my cottage, I’ll spend the rest of my days finding a way to end your stupid immortal life.”

He didn’t look frightened. In fact, he looked annoyingly calm. Why wouldn’t he be? He was used to this. To Trick Michael targeting people, taking them away, doing all sorts of…

I pressed my legs together and snarled between my teeth, wanting nothing more than to crawl out of my body. “I hate you,” I told him. Trick Michael. Whoever. “I hate you so much, it makes me want to vomit.”

Cole frowned then. “I don’t control him.”

“Someone needs to. Fucking murderers.” With that, Iturned on my heel and headed for home.

6

My Bible, Chapter 11, Verse 3,

Don’t allow yourself to fall into the trap that is this world. Lies are threaded within the seams of vile words and treacherous vows. Keep your head above the waves of glass and bleed the truth until someone sees.

Trick