Chained (A Choice of Light and Dark, #1)

by Lacey Lehotzky

One day, I would make my escape. One day, I would see what was beyond these dark walls. One day, I would be strong enough to bleed these bastards dry.

Then, so quietly that I almost didn’t hear, she whispered, “Happy Birthday to me.”

My reverie was broken by a slight shake of the saddle in front of me. Izidora’s laugh was light and airy, filling her whole body as she tipped her head toward the sky, releasing the most beautiful sound I had ever heard into the woods around us. I wanted to hear more of it, more of her.

Then there was Kazimir. Of all the Nighthounds, he showed the most interest in me. Always watching. Always waiting. Always the first to help. Respectful, and yet I sensed there was something more behind his attention. His steady presence was almost comforting and his smoky wood and amber scent familiar. I had been glad to ride on my own, but a small part of me missed the warmth of his large frame at my back, encircling me in a wall of safety.

So far, the others had summoned joy from her, but I wanted to be the one who coaxed that side of her out. I wanted to be the only one she smiled at. I wanted to be the only one she sought out when she was struggling. I wanted to be her everything.

I would do anything for her, and she had no idea. She could ask me to strip naked before the whole town and I would do it. She could ask me to free climb the peaks of the Agrenak Mountains and I would do it. All I wanted was for her to look at me like I was her savior, and she needed nothing else in this world.

I ran a hand over my face, hiding a growl as she rejected me in favor of the twins. They even made her laugh with their antics. Why couldn’t she laugh like that with me? Didn’t she see that I was the right choice for her?

She was a fucking goddess in my eyes, and I was made to worship her.

“We may have removed the chains from your body, but only you can remove the chains from your mind. You have an opportunity now to change your story for the better. You are not meant to be a victim. You are meant for so much more.”

You will never be able to please everyone, so make yourself happy instead.”

He had raped her, tortured her, and he deserved every bit of blood she coaxed from him. I wanted to resuscitate him just so I could end his life again. Slowly.

She was my sun, and I was the moon in constant pursuit, yet never quite fast enough to catch and unite with her.

His touches were tender, and though I did not want them at first, he’d slipped past my walls somewhere along the way, and those touches knit the shattered pieces of my soul together.

His lips brushed softly over mine. “You have no idea the lengths I would go to for you. I am not like the others. Once I have you, there will be no letting go. So choose carefully, Izidora.”

“What a good girl, so wet for me already,” he crooned, and I flushed, his words fanning the flames of a deeply rooted need for affirmation.

His emerald pools were deep in lust as he looked up my body, hooking his eyes on mine. “I want to show you what it’s like to be adored, Izidora. I want you to scream my name as I make you come over and over from the pleasure I bring you. You taste like fucking honey, and I will gladly drink from you, day or night. This is only the beginning.”

“I will miss both of you. See you when you get back,” I beamed, stepping around the male I’d shared a bed with last night. “Twin sandwich!” they screamed one last time, crushing me between them and forcing all the air from my lungs with a barking laugh. Once they’d thoroughly smashed me, Zekari ruffled my bed-matted hair, and I swatted his hand away.