Claiming The Remnant

Chapter 1

[ Taiya ]

THWACK

His fist connected with the side of my face, HARD. My ears were ringing and I could taste blood in my mouth as the stinging heat from the blow radiated across my cheek.

“Where is the Remnant?” My assailant demanded for what seemed to be the millionth time.

I was dog tired, we had been at this for days? A week? But never one to quit I pulled myself up a little so I could take a deeper breath.

“f**k you.” The words came out drained but I spat the blood that was pooling in my mouth at him, spraying it all over his scowling face just to really get my point across. s**t, he was pissed. I chuckled breathlessly at his anger, sagging back against the chains. I didn’t have the energy to hold myself up. I was strung up by my wrists. Thick manacles held me tightly, the metal cutting into my flesh, there was a hefty chain connected to them, operated by a winch that kept me upright. Constantly forced on tiptoes, arms stretched above my head it was difficult to breathe and my muscles burned with the effort. Not to mention the discomfort from the imbued cuffs he had put me in. They were very weak and a constant irritation.

He wiped his face with a wet rag.

“Tell me where the Remnant is.” His deep voice echoing off of the cell walls.

“Ask – your – Brother.” I rasped, taking a gasping breath between each word. I grinned at his furious face despite the pain it brought to my swelling cheek.

“You already said that one.” He replied, tilting his head to glare at me. Had I? What was I even trying to say, what kind of s**t come-back was that? Go ask your dead Brother? What the fu....

CRACK

He punched me in the side of the ribs and my whole body swayed with the impact. The pain where he had hit me was sharp and hot. Crap.

I looked straight into his plain, dark brown eyes and quieted the panic within. This was not my first rodeo, I'd been tortured before although not by my secret lover - that was new. I wasn’t sure what the game plan was here or how I was going to get out but I had to keep it together and I had to trust him. I didn’t really have much other choice. Getting captured wasn’t really the mistake, getting captured by King Leoré that was the mistake. I had never heard of anyone escaping his dungeons but then I’m sure his other prisoners weren’t as epic as me or the Captain of the Guard's lover.

With immense effort I avoided trying to breathe and instead focused on forcing out the blood that was filling my lungs. Cunt had broken a rib and it had punctured my lung. Put on a show sure, and yeah, it had to be pretty real but breaking my rib? For fucksake.

“Healer!” He yelled for at least the third time since we started this gruelling session. With a clang and creak and a squeal the cell door was unlocked and opened. The Healer that entered wasn’t one of the ones I'd seen previously, they were all old men, seasoned and well practised in their craft as well as being very familiar with the goings on of the palace dungeons. This Healer looked at least a couple of years younger than me and his eyes were wide with horror at the blood pouring over my teeth and lips. For dramatic effect I gave him a wink.

“f*****g get on with it then!” Garrett, Captain of the Guard shouted.

The Healer nearly jumped out of his skin when Garrett shouted. The Captain was right though, I mean come on, I was drowning in my own blood for Pete’s sake. With frightened eyes the Healer stepped closer and extended his palms to me. Instantly the pain was numbed and I could feel the magic pulling at my insides as it moved everything back into place. The lad was tall and skinny, his hair, like all the best Healers, was long and so blond it was almost glowing in the dim light, but it wasn’t actually glowing unlike his eyes. Weirdly his hair was braided. Every Healer I’d ever seen wore their hair straight. Each magic had a colour and healing was pale gold. I'd seen enough glowing gold eyes since being locked in this cursed dungeon to last me a lifetime.

The Healer finished and the glow left his eyes as the magic was called back, returning them to their natural muddy green. After a small bow he turned to leave. Damn he must be fresh out of training, the others wouldn’t have bowed to a prisoner, well a genuine Fae would have but they were long gone. What the hell? I must have tired out the other Healers too much. I smiled to myself, bring it on, I knew how to take a beating.

The urge to cough had become too much and I started to sputter. Garrett sighed as I tried to reign it in but the blood had irritated my lungs and whilst they were freshly healed the Healers left in my world were nowhere near as proficient and skilled in their magic as the Fae. A Fae Healer wouldn’t have left even the tiniest trace that there had been an injury.

The winch groaned as Garrett operated the mechanism lowering me a small amount. Enough for my feet to be flat on the floor but my arms were still raised.

“10 minutes.” He growled, giving me a hard stare. This wasn’t my lover being kind, it was sensible, I was coughing so hard I couldn’t breathe and with how hard it was to breathe strung up like that I would likely suffocate before I could get it under control. I'd like to think he wasn’t actually trying to kill me but he had really stepped up his game; the King must be pressuring him to get the Remnant. I knew where it was and it was safely, ahem, tucked away as it were. All be damned I wasn’t telling a soul. I'd take it to my grave if I had to! I half chuckled while wheezing through a cough.

Garrett strode purposefully over to me and grabbed my chin roughly, forcing my face to look at his.

“If you can laugh then perhaps you don’t need the full ten minutes.” I swallowed a cough as his eyes bore into mine. He was not a conventionally handsome man, his face wasn’t symmetrical, his nose was a little too big and there were a few scars across his face, the most prominent ran along his jaw on the left side of his face; a bright white straight line. He had told me a dozen differing stories about how it happened, everyone more far fetched than the last. His hair was brown, cropped short, just brown, nothing exciting or special and to be honest he looked more ‘thug’ than Captain of the Guard but he was witty and interesting and... could keep up with me physically, in more ways than one, wink wink.

I raised my knee but too slow, I was nowhere near the sweet spot between his legs before he blocked me.

“Where is the Remnant?” He asked coolly.

I was trying to think of a witty reply and failing miserably when the cell door opened again.

“Captain, the King has requested your immediate presence in the throne room.” The intruding guard announced whilst holding out a shirt for Garrett. Garrett gave me a look that seemed to say a lot of things. I got the impression that he wasn’t pleased about being summoned, especially when he was just getting warmed up.

He put the shirt on covering his muscular chest; every time he came to torture me he was only wearing loose black joggers, no shirt, no shoes, no weapons. Garrett glared at the guard.

“Shirt, shoes and weapons outside the cell.” He ordered. “Stand by the winch and watch her like a hawk, two minutes and pull her up to tiptoes. Any funny business, pull her up. When I come back the prisoner best be alive and secured in this cell, do you understand?”

“Captain.” He affirmed.

Garrett glared at me while the guard followed his orders. This was unusual to say the least. Why was he getting the messenger to watch me? Did he not have another guard waiting? What was going on? Perhaps this was my opportunity.