Don't Poke the Luna (Xena and Ryder)

Chapter 287

Xena's POV

The jagged metal trembled inches from my chest. But I could feel how frail she'd become whatever they'd done to her in that dungeon had left her body broken.

"You FUCKING WHORE!" she screamed, spittle flying from her cracked lips.

1 managed to twist my body, using my leverage to roll her off me. The movement sent agony through my injured ribs, but adrenaline numbed the worst of it. As she scrambled to regain her position, I grabbed her wrist with my right hand and slammed it against the tile floor.

The makeshift weapon clattered away, spinning across the wet surface.

Martha clawed at my face with her free hand, her nails raking across my cheek. "I'll kill you! I'll kill you all!"

YOU MOTHERFUCK, I growled, driving my knee up into her stomach.

She doubled over, gasping, and I used the momentum to flip her onto her back. Before she could recover, I wrapped my right hand around her throat and squeezed just hard enough to cut off her air supply.

Her eyes bulged as she clawed weakly at my grip, her movements becoming more and more sluggish. Within seconds, her body went limp beneath me.

hard and trembling. My heart hammered against my ribs as the reality of what had just happened crashed over me. Martha had been here, in this

making it hard to breathe. I reached out through the

"Ama," I called.

is it?" Her response

attacked me. I knocked

Then: "WHAT? Are you hurt? Are you okay?

her, though my voice trembled. "I'm just... the

need someone

panic was evident even through the

"Thank you."

cracked with guilt. “I ran out and forgot to close the door. If something had

now," I said, trying to calm her down even as my own

the hallway. Ama burst through the door with Penelope and two female warriors close behind. They rushed into the bathroom, and Ama's eyes immediately

breaking as she hurried

sofa in the main room. Once I was seated, I reached

Penelope commanded the two warriors,

work, bigding Martha's hands and feet with rope they'd brought. Penelope watched them work, her brow furrowed with concern as she turned