The Serpents of Viksenti [Reverse Harem]

Chapter 4

     I didn't know how long I lay in my new bed, with Brady's fingers working at the holes in my back, but I knew it was a long time. The nymph had begun the slow repair of the crevasses between my shoulder blades where my wings had once rested in their full glory.

     It felt like it took the majority of the morning before the nymph finally took a step back and mumbled, "I'm sorry, but I'll need to take a quick break. My magic is... quite drained."

     "Take your time," I assured him, "I'm in no rush." I hadn't realized what Zephyr had meant when he had said he would have one of his men take a look at my back. I hadn't known there was anything they could do. With the rarity of healers, it had always seemed like an impossibility when I dreamed of it. Brady could have taken years to heal my back, and I still would have been eternally grateful. But tomorrow? Tomorrow I could start growing my wings back.

     Vik ripped them out once a month. A punishment for a crime I never seemed able to make up for. The first time I felt the sensation of having my wings ripped from my body, it was as if time and space had been altered. I didn't know where I was or how I got there. I couldn't speak for days, couldn't move for weeks, and couldn't look into Vik's eyes for longer. And at the end of each month, when my wings had grown just enough to be grasped, he had them ripped out again. He never did it himself, no. But he was always there to watch the torture unfold. And he would always be there to follow the abhorrent act with an immediate attempt to soothe my pain with his words and his touch. As the blood dribbled down from between my empty shoulders, Vik would stroke my hair. "You knew this would happen," he would croon. "This is just a lesson, Kar."

     Vik's touches aimed to please me, to bring immeasurable pleasure that would make me forget my own name, my own existence, and the horrible things he had done to me. And when I was finally sated and he lay beside me after finding his own release, I would turn over in the bed. Sex became an apology to drown out the horror of having my wings ripped out.

     I would feel the emptiness where my wings were, where the unused muscles screamed in agony after being ripped apart again and again. The healing had gradually grown more laboured, until there was barely enough wing to rip out at the end of each month. Every thirty days, the same pain followed like clockwork. And Vik was always there, making the same excuses. I would never forget his actions. When retaliation happened - and it would - my revenge would be swift and severe, and no one would be able to stop it.

     I was a priceless bird, forced to have my wings clipped so that I wouldn't fly away. And as it turned out, I didn't even need wings to make my escape from him in the end.

     When Brady left, I took it as an opportunity to look around. Rhynn had given me a rushed tour of the multiple wings of the living quarters on their way over. The shifter pointed to each of the doors leading to separate residences, indicating where each of the Six lived.

     Viksenti was where Zephyr's Six normally operated, but since the others were busy training new recruits in Lornley, there were only three occupied wings. Four, with my addition. Each wing emptied out into a massive common room and kitchen.

     I was surprised when I saw it initially, not expecting to find it so... homey. There were plush couches everywhere, and screens set up in different spots for communal use. A large kitchen and table took up space in the far part of the expansive room, and I had a feeling the kitchen would be well-stocked. Rhynn had led me through the common space and into the wing that I would be using. I had my own private sitting area, a small kitchenette, an outrageously large bathroom with a tub that looked large enough to be a swimming pool, and the bedroom that would be mine. The immense, circular-shaped bed could accommodate my wings once they were fully healed and grown again. The room was sparsely decorated, but that was fine by me.