The Crystal Mines

33 Nik

We were nearing our second week of the endless cycle Erix put us through to create more Shadow Crystals. Each day, as many times as our bodies could handle, we shifted, the Masters dug holes in our bodies, and the crystals they placed inside, took at least an hour to absorb enough blood. When we passed out, they gave us food and water. Both, ash in our mouths and only stayed down for a couple rounds.

The sandy ground below us was the softest surface we had been on since the fecking prison cots. My skin was raw and cracked from the grit and my throat hurt from the dust. But those afflictions we minor compared to what came next. We had just finished a round, and break time was over. As I lay on my back, I saw a Master come forward to remove the crystals from my body, only to begin again.

The pain was unlike anything I had experienced. They weren't kind. Ripping them out, one at a time. Each batch producing between thirty to forty crystals per person. Bloody craters were left in their wake, only to be implanted again. The big ones on my chest and stomach were far from the worst. It was the smaller one on the backs of my hands and feet that would tear a scream from me.

The Master began at my neck, pulling them out using magic. The sound of suction rang right before each release. I threw up the first few days. Now, now I just lay there, bracing myself for the worst ones. My breath caught at the ones on my shoulders and the Master placed fresh crystals in. out of the corner of my eye, Reed shifted near the edge of The Pit.

He stopped watching by the second day. This had been done to his wife so he likely couldn't take it any longer. He pretended to pick at something under his nails. I would watch him from time to time. A point to focus on during the removal process.

Faolan screamed a few feet away. They must have gotten to his thighs. His muscles held more crystals than mine did. We stopped shifting with such little strength left. So, they were getting less and less harvest. But Faolan, his thighs were larger than ours as a Fae. He became their largest producer, and his physique paid for it. Callion held just as much, his strength and bulk spread evenly among the muscles of his body. His arms alone held at least sixteen crystals, whereas mine could only withstand half that. Sorin had grown silent. Callion had said that this is what happened last time. Sorin learned to shut down and take it. But it wasn't commendable. They only harvest more rounds out of him, taking his silence as a que that he could handle more than the rest of us.

Ameer's older brother, tortured for being in the wrong place at the right time. And here I was, next to him, betraying his brother by never mentioning his existence. I flinched at a crystal being removed by my rib. My breasts were on full display, needing as much real estate as possible for the crystals. Luckily, they never placed any on my breasts themselves, only right under them. My thoughts returned to Ameer.

I wondered what he was doing right now. I hoped he was safe, and that he had made sure my mom and Zayden were as well. Feelings of longing flooded my body. Wishing for something that never was or could be and hating myself for never taking the chance to see what would happen if I had just told him the truth. A tinge of guilt poisoned the longing. My mate lay next to me, enduring what I was and all I could think about was another male. But I didn't ask for Callion. I had no interest beyond what my natural instincts craved, and that was for his suffering to end. My thoughts halted. Now came the hands.

"Enough," came a voice from the shadows beyond Reed. He looked up, startled, dropping the pretense of cleaning his nails.

The Masters stopped their harvesting immediately and stood. Stupidly, I propped myself up on my elbows, the effort causing my arms to shake. Erix appeared not far from Reed and glided towards us.

Callion was sitting up fully, blood dripping from freshly planted crystals on his arms. My dragon reared her head inside me. As if sensing my primal anger, he ignored Erix and glanced at me. His features formed into an emotion I couldn't read. I followed a trail of blood down his bicep, and he caught what I was fixated on. His own eyes searched my body, never once lingering on my naked torso. Instead, he inspected every single crystal wound. A growl caught in the back of his throat. I smiled nastily and bared my teeth. See. Not so easy to control the instinct, is it? I tried to say in my expressions. He snapped back around, turning his attention to Erix, who was almost to us. I almost laughed. Almost.