Chapter 29 #2
He wasn’t getting her message. Warning bells went off in her mind, so she plastered on a fake smile. “On second thought, maybe I will take you up on the offer. Let’s have another ale first, then we can go.”
His face lit up. “I’ll be right back.” Ivan practically bounded off to the barmaid.
As sneakily as she could, Orelia tucked herself into the remaining crowd and made her way toward the back door, away from the bar.
Knowing Vade would have her hide if she didn’t take extra precaution to get out before Ivan came back, she slunk under the height of those standing and slipped out the back door.
Doing as Vade had taught her, she stuck to the shadows, moving through town as best as her wobbly legs would carry her. Others just as drunk as she was stumbled their way through the street, but Orelia didn’t risk walking out in the open, lest Ivan find her.
More than Vade’s training of how to move with stealth was the innate sense of precaution all women had.
The prickling on the back of the neck that said, ‘Get out while you still can.’ Ivan hadn’t listened to her, insisting she come home with him, and she’d been around men who didn’t get what they wanted long enough to know the night could have ended badly if she hadn’t gotten away from him.
But he was kind, and handsome, and she thought she remembered him saying his father was Lord, or something, of Ravere. Surely nobles behaved like gentlemen, but why take the risk?
Orelia hurried across the street and entered the field that would act as a shortcut to the cabin. She left the noise of the night behind and welcomed only the light of the moon guiding her way.
“Wait up!”
She froze.
Ivan jogged across the street. “I came back, and you were gone.”
“I uhh . . .feel sick, so I left. Sorry.”
“I can get one of my cooks to make you something to ease your stomach.” He threw a thumb over his shoulder, expectant eyes waiting for her to agree.
Orelia started to walk off. “I have to go.”
Ivan pulled her back. “You sure you haven’t changed your mind about tonight?” He tried to kiss her, but she didn’t let him.
“Ivan, I said I don’t feel good.”
“Come on,” he said against her neck. “You’re so beautiful. I just want to show you how much I want you. I thought we were having fun.”
She pushed him away. “I told you no. Why aren’t you listening?”
His eyes flashed, making her skin prick in an unsettling manner. “You’ve been all over me all night. I know you want this.”
“I might have earlier, but I don’t now. I drank too much and I’m tired.” Not a lie, but Orelia also didn’t like that he wasn’t respecting her rejection.
His clean-shaven jaw clenched. “Then why did you waste my entire gods-damned night if you weren’t planning on fucking me?”
She scoffed. “Excuse me?”
He lunged and grabbed her upper arms tight enough to bruise. The kind man from the tavern had disappeared as a possessive look slid across his face. “You owe me.”
She struggled in his grip. “I don’t owe you anything! I changed my mind. Let go of me!”
“You’re coming home with me.”
She wasn’t strong enough to stop him from pulling her along. Orelia fumbled through the grass, almost rolling her ankle twice. After a hard yank, she managed to get her arm free.
When Ivan came after her, Orelia slapped him hard across the face. The moon showcased the bright pink handprint she’d left on his cheek.
“You fucking bitch!” His wild eyes didn’t promise rape, they promised death.
Fear spiked through her like a geyser. In the middle of an open field, there was nothing to summon she could use to defend herself.
Orelia turned and ran.
With the restriction of her sandals and the grass thickening the closer she got to the middle of the field, she didn’t make it far before Ivan caught up to her.
He yanked her around, reared his arm back, and punched her in the face.
Pain ricocheted through her skull. Stunned, Orelia blinked through the aching throb, blindly feeling for something to hold onto.
Ivan grabbed her shoulder, holding onto her for leverage as he punched her again, and again, and again, making solid work of her face.
She was his puppet, unable to do anything other than register the waves of intense pain that sent sparks shooting behind her eyes.
He released her, and Orelia fell to the ground, coughing through agonized groans.
Ivan straddled her and continued wailing on her face, each land of his fist hitting harder.
Orelia wasn’t sure where she was, she only knew pain. Blinding. Searing. Pain.
Finally, the blows stopped, and he stepped off of her, breathing heavily.
She couldn’t see out of her right eye. Orelia groaned, tasting something metallic and feeling smooth grass beneath her hands. The ale seemed to kick in, making her numb to the attack. But when she tried to spit out the blood that had pooled in her mouth, pain lanced through her face.
“Fuck you, bitch. You aren’t even that pretty, anyway. Waste of my fucking time,” Ivan grumbled. He kicked her hip and sent her rolling into the ditch.
Orelia went tumbling down the steep decline, stopping when she hit hard dirt. She laid there in a dusty, bloody heap, and the pain she’d been numb to seconds before barreled through her body in full force. The tingling of her healing was faintly there, though it should have been much stronger.
Tears streaked through the hot blood on her face, and her right eye had swollen completely shut. She managed to move a few fingers and touched her nose, wincing.
Broken.
She should have just gone back to the cabin with Vade, then none of this would have happened. Now he wouldn’t know where to look for her. If he even bothered to come looking again.
Orelia started sobbing. Her head pulsed with each strained breath, and her skin felt like it was sliding off her face. She stayed curled in the dirt, cursing herself for not being cautious enough. This was her fault. She should have anticipated this could happen.
Snot and blood dripped from her swollen nose as she cried harder.
She laid there listening to the owls hooting in the trees, marking the peak of night.
The temperature felt like it was dropping by the minute.
In her slinky dress, she quickly started shivering.
Bloody teeth chattered as she curled into herself further for warmth.
She laid there for at least a half mark, she suspected, but the tingling of her healing was too weak. Orelia tried picturing the Omnimagia like an orb inside her core, calling to her magic, but nothing responded. She was empty. Void. Something was wrong.
“Vade. . .” A blood bubble popped between her lips with his name. He would never find her out here.
“Vade. . .” she whispered, voice hoarse and broken.
Her eyes shut, the cold draining her energy, and the unhealed wounds too painful to bear.
There was a sharp tearing in her chest. Whether it was the spell, or an injury, she didn’t know.
She cried into the dirt, shivering, wishing it would all go away.