Warning: Graphic Violence
All three of them were on their knees, chained to the floor like animals, bloodied, bruised, broken in ways that made my stomach twist. Rowan's head hung low, blond hair stained red at the roots. Giovanni's eye was swollen shut, his breath shallow and erratic. Elias...
My heart lurched.
Elias looked worse than the rest. Stripped to the waist, fresh lash marks crisscrossing his back like a grotesque painting. His hands were bound in front of him, but the chains were tight, unnatural, glowing with runes I couldn't read. His lip was split, and a dark bruise painted his cheekbone, but it was his eyes that shattered me.
What were they doing here?
"Elias…" I whispered, my voice cracking like old glass.
He lifted his head slowly, like it took every remaining piece of him to do it. And when he saw me, his eyes widened.
