ESCAPE

King

I opened my eyes to see Sorin standing next to me. I was lying on a hospital bed overlooking a large city. The closeness of civilization unnerved me. Sorin was standing in front of the window looking every inch like her owned the city and everything in it. I glared at him. He sighed and smiled at me as if that would stop me from being difficult.

"How are you feeling?" He asked

I felt a lot better actually. Stronger. The pain I had been supressing was a dull throb and I felt like I had energy. But more than that I felt different. There was an energy inside me that I hadn't felt before. It hummed in my views and made me want to run out of here leaving only a trail of bodies. I was ready too and a whirlwind of power was only a touch away. I closed my eyes reaching for it, but suddenly it was gone. I opened my eyes to find Sorin leaning over me with an iron collar in his hand. For half a second I though I was free, then I felt the warm sting of something else around my neck. I reached up and touched a new collar. Something inside me screamed, but I couldn't let the sound out.

"What have you done?" I hissed

Sorin frowned and reached out to touch my hair. I recoiled in disgust. The thing around my neck felt foreign and wrong. It was a hundred times more uncomfortable than the iron collar. I reached up to rip it off, but he grabbed my wrist. I tore away from his grip and he rolled his eyes.

"You can't take it off Asteria." He said

My eyes narrowed, "Wanna bet?"

He shook his head and laughed while throwing his hands up. I grabbed the metal around my neck and yelped. It stung me. I looked at my hands and saw burns marking my skin. Yet, my neck didn't burn from the metal.

"What is this?" I demanded

He sat on the edge of my bed and I shifted as far away from him as possible. His eyes flashed and he pulled me back to him. I let out a low growl.

"It's going to keep you in check. Only I can take it off and only I can touch it with my hands. Defy me again and I can make the heat unbearable. In this world you are mine and I expect you to treat me as a Master. In this world I am King and you are a slave. I expect you to learn to submit when I tell you to." Sorin warned

I tried to push away, but his grip was stronger than iron.

"Understand?" He asked

"Never."I said

He smiled and got off the bed.

"You value you're freedom. I can give you more freedom than any other Master. You can go anywhere and do anything you want. But it will be because I allow it and because you have learned you're place. Until then you will hate very second you resist me and every time you defy me. I make the rules here, Asteria, and I can break them." Sorin growled

I looked at him and smiled sweetly. He seemed taken aback and that let me get into his face. My lips were a breath away from his and his golden eyes hooded. I rested my hand against his shoulder and leaned in. His arm wrapped around me and I looked into his eyes.

"It not in my nature." I whispered and the wildness built up again in my viens, "You can't tame a wild thing."

My nails dug into his skin until it broke. I pushed away leaving scratch marks across his shoulder. Blood dripped from the cuts and his eyes burned with anger. I turned my back to him and I heard a hum of a growl coming from him. He pulled me back to face him and grabbed my shoulder. I felt like I was burning from the inside out. The pain left me breathless and when he let go I felt exposed. My shoulder pulsed with heat and I screamed in pain. What had he done? My legs gave out and I realized he had pulled me off the bed. He let me go and I fell to the ground holding my shoulder.

"Wild things can be trained." He spit out

He walked out and used the edge of the bed to pull myself up. I felt weak and naked. A foreign presence had taken place inside my soul. I stumbled to the bathroom and the chain on my new collar strained against me. I looked in the mirror and power exploded from me. I howled in agony like an animal. Something deep inside me revolted and I retched in the sink. My shoulder was bright red and burnt. A bright red sun rose from my skin like a scar. It covered the whole front of my shoulder and collar bone on my left side.

He had branded me.