Burning Truths (Consume Me #2)

2. Kenna

Chapter Two

KENNA

“Open up, Princessa” A male voice breaks through the heavy blanket of fog.

I try to flex my fingers but my arms are numb from sitting in this position for so long. The pants I’ve been wearing for the last several days are crusted with sweat, blood, and piss. I’ve grown used to the stench floating around the room, but his lip curls slightly with his next breath. His long thin fingers dig into my cheeks when he starts to tip my head back, pressing a plastic bottle to my lips. Luke warm water spills down my throat easing the dry feeling in my mouth. He yanks the bottle away mid gulp causing the liquid to splash over my top drenching my chest in water.

“That’s enough.” He says, his voice coming out softer this time.

My eyes are almost too heavy to open, but when I manage to clear my vision his salt and pepper beard is just above my head. Clearing my throat, I open and close my mouth a few times to work my stiff jaw. Everything is stiff and sore, but I shove the pain to the back of my mind.

Looking up at him with soft eyes I try to work the words out of my throat, but it takes too long. By the time a small sound escapes he’s standing above me instead of kneeling.

“Ca-can I shower?” I ask, my gaze roaming around the room trying to judge if there is a functional bathroom in this dinghy rundown place.

He steps back to look over me, the heat of his stare making my skin crawl, but he must see something in my eyes. He runs his hand over his mouth, those sinister eyes studying me.

“The collar stays on.” He answers.

Nothing more, nothing less. He’s barely spoken to me since he first put the collar on me. Fuck, how long ago was that? I’ve refused his company which is why my throat is so sore. No food or water for three days will change so much about you. No amount of training could prepare you for being starved. My energy has depleted so low that my body feels like it’s floating and that has fear creeping up my spine. The worst thing I can do is lose control over my body while stuck here with this fucker.

He slowly moves behind me, the sound of his shoes the only noise in the vacant space. His calloused hands reaching out to grab mine. Tugging my arms further back, a yelp slips past my chapped lips.

He must lean down because his warm breath skates across my shoulder sending a shudder through me, “I’m sorry I hurt you, Princessa. You just made me so mad. I never wanted to hurt this perfect, beautiful, skin. Be a good girl for me and I’ll make you so happy.”

Each word that comes out his mouth makes it hard to hold back the tears threatening to fall. Swallowing back the bile that’s crept up I nod my head in agreement. I don’t plan on trying to escape right now. No, I need to build more energy, and that involves being on my best behavior so he’ll decide to feed me. If I’m going to get out of here or at least make it long enough for Ryker to come for me then I’ll need to control my smart-ass mouth.

My stomach churns when his lips press into the side of my neck, “That’s a good girl. You’re going to love the room I put together for us. I’ve been waiting so long for you.” He says, his voice cheerful.

The excitement in his tone makes me nervous, but I need to get out of this chair before the muscles in my arms are permanently damaged. My eyes slide closed for a second, but snap open when the rope around my wrist falls away leaving only the burn. When he moves away from me I use the space to bring my arms around so I can see how bad the damage is. I whimper when the blood rushes into my arms shooting pin needles over my flesh. Biting my lip hard enough to draw blood I flex my fingers while twisting my wrist.

A large hand skates over my messy hair, “Let me show you our room. I designed it just for you.”

My heart skips a beat when the words our room fall from his lips. Inhaling a deep breath I push off the metal chair to stand but my legs wobble with the weight. I’m fucking exhausted and my thighs shake with the attempt to stand without help. Turning to Shadow, I give him a soft smile letting him drink in my reluctant submission. Calling him Shadow in my head keeps the betrayal from ripping me apart.

Extending my left arm with my palm up, “Help me?” I ask.

The light that enters his eyes shines back at my dull grey ones. He clasps his fingers with mine and slowly leads me to the door. Shifting slightly I allow myself to look over the empty room with a single chair in the center. The discoloration around the bottom of the chair is the only sign that I was here. Even when I leave the stain will remain. I’ve tainted this room, marked it with my presence, yet I’m the one scarred with the memory. I start to raise my hand to touch the collar, but stop myself short when I spot the remote in his other hand.

“Do you want to hurt me again?” I ask.

His step falters with the question, and for a split second I tense preparing for the electricity that never comes. Tossing a look over his shoulder he ignores me, and continues through the rundown building that I don’t recognize. The hope I had of leaving the room I was locked in, and suddenly knowing where I am, quickly vanishes. Nothing I see looks familiar. We make it down the hall halfway when he jerks to the left down a smaller hallway where a deep forest green door is at the end.

“I painted it your favorite color.” He says, a smile in his voice.

I don’t correct him when he says it, but my heart pinches when chocolate brown eyes float through my head. Green may have been my favorite color as a kid, but it hasn’t been for a long time. Letting myself come to this realization almost sends me over the edge, but I straighten my back, and continue forward. Ryker needs me stronger than I am right now. Shadow’s hand pauses over the door knob, twisting his head over his shoulder to look over to me. A sheepish look crosses over his face when he finally twists the metal.

Pushing the door open he moves to the side allowing me to fully take in the space. My throat constricts and the four walls surrounding me begin to close in, suffocating any hope I had of being set free. Creating a cage of nightmares right before my eyes. Everything spins, my eyes unable to focus on anything, though it’s my hands that won’t stop shaking. He steps in behind me, but I ignore the feel of his body against mine. I block out his hand moving my hair to the side, my mind shuts off as his lips touch my skin.

“It’s perfect just like you my sweet sweet Princessa.”

His mouth trails my neck, nipping, biting, and my entire being quakes with the need to escape. Self preservation kicks in and I bolt to the massive king size bed in a last ditch effort to get away from his invasive touch but it’s no use. Lightning licks down my back when the force of the collar shoots power into my body. A wail forces itself free from the overpowering pain causing my knees to buckle and slam into the floor.

I let my body crumble to the floor too weak to hold myself up anymore. The lack of food and water are nothing compared to the bone shattering pain coursing through me right now. Fuck, the voltage in this collar is going to kill me.

Maybe that’s for the best. The demons being held hostage will finally be set free, the chaos harboring inside me will rain down on my enemies and I can watch peacefully on the other side. Find me in the lilies.

I search for the lilies behind my eyelids. A garden with endless rows of color clouds my vision. Orange, red, white and black. My favorite stone bench taking residency in the center, awaiting my arrival with a new world to escape too. Within the paths I see him, stalking through the flowers and picking my favorite one. Our gazes clash and the mixture of brown eyes and blue skies combine with my flowers bring my breathing back down. Inhaling through my nose I repeat those words over and over until I can finally open my eyes.

Breathe through the pain, you can find me in the lilies.

I can feel him standing behind me but I don’t dare move. Not when I’m vulnerable here at his feet.

“Look what you made me do. I didn’t want to do that. You made me, Kenna. I had no choice!”

He’s frantic and angry so I curl in on myself. The sound of his shoes slapping against the floor echoes around me. The sound of the door slamming and locking has my shoulders slumping into the wood planks I’m laying on. I don’t know how long he’s gone or how long I laid there in my own filth but by the time he came back to bring me a small glass of water I’d climbed in the bed and watched the door until my eyes grew heavy.

It wasn’t until my fingers trailed over Rykers name carved into my skin that I finally fell asleep.