Reversal of Fortune [malexmale]

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

I was losing track of time.

Sleep was impossible now. Every time I closed my eyes, the Shifter was there to invade my dreams, destroying everything I was holding onto, everything I was hoping for. Images of Yiuwa being brutalized and slaughtered, my family butchered and revived, only to be put to death again.

To add to the torture, every bit of food they fed me was nothing, but raw meat, their mocking laughter and jokes about it being members of my family only made me sick to my stomach. So eating was no longer an option.

And the temperature only seemed to drop. When I was knocked unconscious and woke once more, I would be covered in frost. My lips froze together at one point and when they were forced open by the torturers, they bled profusely. My leg was fucked up beyond recognition. It was mangled now, bent at an awkward angle, the flesh torn to pieces and healed improperly so it no longer really looked like a leg. And some sick part of me laughed at the sight of it because it reminded me of an episode of some fucked up cartoon I'd seen a few years ago.

The torture this time around was worse, I noted grimly. Worse because now, I really did feel it, right to my soul. The walls I'd thrown up to protect myself were nothing but piles of rubble now and I was exposed and raw. Now, thoroughly shredded and aching.

I was given a brief moment of reprieve as one of my torturers took my uneaten meal to the next torturer who would no doubt shove it down my throat forcefully. I laid splayed out on the floor now in a pool of my own frozen blood. My fingertips were turning purple from the cold, my toes already numb. My clothes were gone by now. Every part of me hurt. Even breathing burned my lungs and chest, broken ribs expanding and cracking further with each breath.

Each time I came dangerously close to death, I was yanked back by a healer, only for the torture to start all over again. And the healer did a hack job every time on purpose so it hurt even more when things were being healed.

And what terrified me the most was the lack of Uriel in the corner and the Shifter coming in to mock me personally. Where were they? What were they up to? Had they gotten to Yiuwa? What about the others? Was Stanton okay? Fuck, and Hades? I had no idea what was happening to them. I was told nothing and if I wanted to know something, I'd have to do something I simply did not have the stomach for at the moment.

Gods, the not knowing was the worst part.

What if the Shifter already had them? What if this was part of the torture? Jesus fuck, this was unbearable. There had to be someway to get information. Anyway.

I swallowed thickly, then grimaced when I heard heavy footsteps in the hallway outside. I pushed my hands down on the stones, moaning in pain as my bones creaked and cracked loudly. My skin peeled where it had been frozen to the stones, leaving behind raw blisters. I shoved myself back as far as I could into the corner, wheezing for air, clouds rising up from my lips.

The door came open and I was surprised to see Uriel coming in with the plate of meat. I said nothing as he slammed the door shut behind him. He glanced at the door, almost like he was expecting someone to come in after him before he came over and dropped the plate in front of me.

"Eat," he commanded. I glared at him through my hair that was growing out into my face. I said nothing as I lowered myself back down on the stones. Uriel curled his lip. He got down and grabbed me by a handful of hair, giving me a violent shake that jarred my fucking brain around in my skull, making me dizzy.

"Fucking eat, you idiot," he seethed, then got in close to me, "If you don't fucking eat, one of the other assholes is gonna make you do it. You better not be giving up on me, got it?" I looked at him, confused and he just glared at me intently. It was like he was trying to tell me something with his eyes, the way his pupils expanded and his lips pressed firmly together.