The Bastard Queen (Viciously Yours #2)

Chapter Seven: Crazy Little Blue Fish

The lash wrapped around the tender skin of my arm, metal thorns sinking into my flesh and shredding it as it was yanked back. Gritting my teeth, I forced my muscles to relax despite how everything screamed to clench in anticipation of the next lash. A crack sounded out signaling another hit before the metal spikes broke through the skin of my back. The iron chains bolted to the corners of the ceiling, holding my arms taunt, clanked as my body rocked forward. Achy shoulders from the raised position had nothing on the amount of pain coursing through my body.

"Why do you do this, Inmate?" Fearghas's voice rang out from behind me. "Follow the rules of Slykhelm and you can live out the rest of your days without harm."

Dropping my head forward, I released a low moan.

His boots made scraping sounds over the stone flooring as he made his way around to face me. Eyes trained on the ground in front of me, I had the unpleasure of seeing his brown shoes first. A pale hand reached up and gripped my chin, tipping my bowed head up slightly to meet his. Hard to be intimidating when the person you were trying to intimidate was taller than you, my lips quirked at the thought but I quickly suppressed it.

He squeezed my chin roughly as the fingertips of his other hand trailed from my cheek to my collarbone. Disgust rolled harshly in my gut from the sensation of his touch but I was careful. Pain was the only clear expression to be seen on my face. Dull brown eyes spent a few seconds on each part of my face, trying to piece together my features through the haze spell. Once Mab realized that she couldn't strip me of my internal identity like she almost had when I was child, she did the next best thing. She stripped me of my outer identity. After all, it was harder for the guards to treat me humanely when they didn't have a face to look at.

"You've only been here for a few years and already, your starting trouble. What was the point of attacking another inmate, hmmm?" Fearghas asked, his grip on my chin tightening further.

Twisting my wrists, I gripped the chains in my hands and muttered inaudibly.

He tilted his head with a smirk, "What was that?"

"Come closer." I whispered, blinking heavily.

Stepping into my personal space, Fearghas's nose was almost touching mine as he murmured, "That's a good girl."

Ugh, repulsive asshole.

Licking my lips, I breathed, "Because the crazy little blue fish was talking." And then I headbudded the son of a bitch.

Laughing I watched as he stumbled backwards, blood pouring between his fingers from his freshly broken nose.

Quick as a snake, Fearghas brought his left fist back and delivered a heavy blow to my right cheekbone. "You just don't know when to quit do you?"

Taking a beat, I straightened my spine and shook off all pretenses of exhaustion while rolling my jaw around. The pain was a dull throb that was already disappearing, without his tools the man was weak and pathetic. I'd be buried before I let him 'break me in'.

"What are you talking about, Ugly?" I rolled my eyes dramatically. "I answered your question."

His brown eyes narrowed before he grabbed my jaw again, "Let's try this one more time. Why did you attack that inmate?"

"He got in the way of my movie." I shrugged.

"You beat a man unconscious because he ruined your movie?"

"Why are you judging me? He'll live. Besides, he learned a very important lesson today. Don't interrupt Macha's favorite fish movie."

Shoving my head away, he gave me his back as he turned in small circles presumably thinking over what I'd just said. His head started shaking and then he strode to the wall behind me. Unable to see, I listened to his boots crossing the stones followed by a swishing sound that I was positive was the whip. Tilting my chin up, I literally looked down my nose at him as he moved around to stand in front of me. Pain from the earlier lashes still sung an excruciating tune but I was never one to take the easy way out.