The Gathering of Masters: The Bond Once Severed Book 1

32. A Remarkable Rescue

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**Trigger Warning - child sexual abuse is alluded to in this next section. There is no graphic representation.**

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Mara had known they would come to the mine where all her nightmares started.

Of course, the Water Healer had brought her to the place she had tried so hard to hide from herself. Mara felt the healer's presence before she saw him. It was not what she expected. Something about it felt feminine, and this comforted her. When the priest appeared, his avatar remained male, but long hair flowed around him, and the edges of his sharp facial features had softened, obscuring some of his masculinity. He offered his hand, and she held it, knowing she would need his support to watch what would unfold.

The slaves remained in the mine at night. It had been so cold. During the day, she had not noticed the chill because she had been working so hard. But at night, the choice was between being the bedmate to an older miner and frostbite.

The supervisors all left the mine to the warmth of their huts. The only rule overnight was that enough slaves survived to do the work the next day. The supervisors gave warm blankets and soft bedrolls to those who performed best during the day. They could also sleep closer to the small brazier that was to keep them all warm. The culture this engendered among the slave miners was one of physical dominance. The supervisors knew how to keep the slaves in line. They rewarded the strong, made them arrogant, and made them the leaders.

When new slaves arrived in the mine, those slave leaders chose who would warm their beds. Mara had come as part of a group of other children, but their youth had not saved them. They had forced her to understand what the men wanted in return for warmth. Her body still remembered the pain.

The other miners had ignored her screams; this had been a rite of passage for them all. Those who had survived had become hard and no longer cared for anyone but themselves. And while the leaders were distracted by their new sport, they would leave the other slaves alone.

Mara had understood these things only when she was older. At that time, she did not understand why the adults weren't protecting her. The orphanage had been brutal, but the adults had been fair. But when her village had fallen, she and the other orphans were given as tribute to the new overlords. Then, she had been frightened but still harbored the illusion that adults would protect children, protect her. That fantasy evaporated after her first night in the mine, and then she only wanted to die.

These memories flashed in front of her. Mara burned with anger and embarrassment that anyone would see these horrors. But the priest did not flinch away; she did not feel any disgust or judgment from him. Instead, Mara felt only acceptance. His arms encircled her, protecting her as she watched her younger self run away from the sleeping cave's warmth. It surprised her how much comfort she took in the priest's embrace. She could not remember the last time she had allowed anyone other than Paulo to hold her this way.

The young Mara had chosen frostbite over being a leader's bedmate. She had escaped to the other side of the mine, hiding in a small cave, hoping no one would find her. Mara remembered the fitful sleep, dreading the touch of another man. Then she woke to a man's touch, or at least assumed it was a man. Mara had been frightened as the touch warmed her cold skin. She had felt his hand slide over her legs and arms. She kept her eyes closed as horror filled the back of her throat with bile, but then the rage came and flared further with each touch. How dare he find her here? How dare he touch her again.

Her skin began to burn where the hands grazed her. But her anger blunted the pain, and she wouldn't let anyone hurt her again. This time, she would stop him or die trying. She prepared for action, but before making any sound, Mara was distracted by a puff of warm air that gently but firmly hit her face. Then, Mara heard the soft voice she would learn to love so much.