Tangled

159

159

159 Lisa: Enthralled (III) My thigh burns.

It's an odd ache between desire and pain. I itch, rub, and scratch, but those two perfect, circular punctures remain in the skin, though no blood seeps out..

It took so long for the desire he'd forced into me to dissipate, leaving my body feeling more like me again. The power he has to overcome my natural revulsion is terrifying, and I spend way too much time dream Though, he didn't seem to have much interest in the actual sex aspect, outside of... how did he say it?

Oh, yeah.

Flavoring.

The word makes me shudder. He's going to drain me of every drop of blood one day.

And no matter how long I sit here, I have no ideas on how to fight.

back.

What would Ava do in this situation? I can't believe she would sit here and let it happen to her. She'd fight back somehow, right? But...

Ava isn't exactly human, either.

Maybe once, but not anymore.

150 Lisa: Enthrallod (HT)

Shivering in the cold, I roll carefully to my other side, using my clothing scraps as a barrier between my skin and stone.

I can't wear them. May as well lay on them.

My body aches in ways I never thought possible. The frigid temperature of the floor seeps through my bones, an insidious chill that refuses to abate no matter how tightly I curl in on myself. Manacles chafe against my wrists and

ankles. I tug at them with at weak yank every so often, knowing it's futile but unable to resist. The metal is unyielding, the chains too strong for my human strength to break. But I can't give up. I won't.

I have to hold on to hope, to the belief that I'll make it out of here. somehow.

But how?

I have. about vampires. It's not much, just

really

not

they're cold, either. So very, very

his touch had been like ice, his fingers trailing over my skin like the

after he'd taken what he wanted...

human.

150 Lst En

them shivering and weak in the aftermath? It makes a twisted sort of sense, a parasitic existence that feeds off the life force

a way to use it against him. If 1 can make myself too cold to be appealing, too frigid to provide the

No. That's stupid.

die from that

certain I won't die from it right

a deep breath, ignoring the way my lungs protest the damp, musty air. Slowly, painfully, I force myself to sit up, the chains clanking with every movement. My muscles

is it just pain from laying on the stone floor for-how long

my limbs bound as they are. But I can move. My body stretches, twists, and

things get a

I'm used to, adapting everything to my shortened range of motion, focusing on stretching and using my body

159 Lisa Enthralled (III)

Stay strong.

Stay focused.

fight back if I just give up

rhythm of my movements echoes through the dank cell. Breathe in, breathe out. Each exhale is a little deeper, a little. louder as my heart

these chains.

victory over my circumstances fuels my determination to keep fighting, to

against stone shatters the trance, every muscle in my body tensing. The hairs on the back

footsteps grow louder. My mind races, desperately grasping for anything I can use as a weapon, a means

underlies the ever-present must, sharp

chemical.

trepidation as the stone wall groans and

It's not the vampire.

Thank God.

30-18

159 Lisa Enthralled (III)

tiny, barely cresting five feet, her delicate features at odds. with the dreary confines of this place. Short, feathery brown hair frames a face that would be pretty were it not for the sickly, translucent pallor of her skin. Her