a thousand instincts (#1)

Pain and Desire (40)

Aeress

     She won. 

     She faced some of the most elite warriors this world had ever seen and survived. 

     Her broken body warned that she spoke too soon...

     Blood erupted from her lips as she lay there immobile. She coughed it up, struggling not to choke on the metallic taste as it coated her throat and the inside of her nose. There was a smothering feeling, having liquid block her breathing tunnels again, thick like slime. 

      She was still on the floor, just far enough from the exit. Thundering steps followed. She hoped it would be someone of mercy, not that she would truly deserve it. The damage she caused was of equal devastation. 

     "Godhead!" 

     A second of terror hit her body as the faces of her attackers hovered above her. In just a swift passing of time, she thought herself delusional and wondered if she was still in the maze. She screamed, but only more blood had arisen. The sensation of new blood mixed with dried blood revolted her.

     Diana had pushed forward. Her face transformed with a crippling guilt. Even after everything, she still managed to remain gorgeous. "It's over. We'll never hurt you again, Godhead. Please, let us help you. Please!”  

     Aeress shook her head. "Help... Yourselves.” She knew how badly they were hurting too. She would not prioritize herself above them. 

     “Not until you allow us to help you, Godhead.” Maribelle came forward with her deep southern accent. Her brow was split wide open. A nasty bruise was forming on both of her cheeks and her bleeding lip had seen better days. 

     Aeress gave in and nodded, even as they all themselves needed medical attention. She somehow knew their determination was far stronger than hers in that very moment. 

     Her eyes shot wide open-her vision actually went white-when hands made contact with her skin. All the pain she refused to the acknowledge-the broken bones, the torn muscles, the raw, exposed, and bleeding flesh wounds-suddenly had her full attention. Aeress was unashamed and voiced her pain. She knew her scream would have reached the very stars had her throat not been so damaged. 

     She recognized Idris as the person who lifted her. Shocked by his gentleness, but unquestioning, Aeress could only focus on her own physical trauma in that swift of a moment. While touched by his tenderness, the fact that he was moving her only made it worse. Her senses were overwhelmed by a pain that left a ringing in her mind. It reached points of numbness only to come tumbling down into the pits of burning and ringing and similar sensations which tortured her. She was jarred by the intensity of it. 

     Aeress was too weak to fight, but in her head, she was kicking and screaming, just like a child throwing a tantrum. She whimpered as he picked up the pace, jostling her, and she bounced like a doll. The following steps told that the rest of the Viceroy were not far behind. It was a comfort in a way, to know that her children felt some semblance of sentiment toward her. 

     The blood on her face persisted, some of it was drying but most of it was still wet and running still. She blinked against the changing lights, but even this slight activity was a burden. There were so many things she wanted to give attention to, and she had a strange thought that it would be easier to suffer when split in half, one side being her, the other being Godhead. 

     "Idris, be careful!" A male's voice roared-Adonis?-when they got to a new room. The vehemence of his volume forced her to moan in pain. 

     "Shut the fuck up! He knows what he's doing!" Another responded, perhaps Katrin. She had this notable rasp to her voice which was so very commanding. "Lay her here! Get the physicians-"