Bound: Toxic Bite (Book 1)

Chapter XX

As I roused from a heavy slumber, the first thing I was aware of was the coolness of the air and it's loamy fragrance. The ground beneath me felt like I was sitting on rocks and even though my mind felt awake, my body was asleep. I was in some kind of a half awake state, and all I could hear was muted voices. "Hey," I heard a deep voice, but it all sounded like someone was talking trough a tube. I was never more aware of the heaviness of my body. I soon felt someone touching my shoulder.

"She's not awake yet." A similar voice spoke as I tried pushing my eye lids up so I would see who was talking, but I failed.

"You were too harsh." The same hand moved down my shoulder and that was the first thing I felt. Pain. Like a huge bruise. "She's barely alive." The voice faded as I groaned trying to blink my eyes open, but I was just met with blurriness. Colors, figures, but everything seemed mixed.

"I was just following the king's orders." It's like the voice echoed in my head, and my brain was slowly absorbing and registering the words. Pressure suddenly hit me, like all my blood rushed in my head and an unbelievable ache thumped. My whole body felt like it no longer belonged to me. Some parts felt numb, while others hurt like hell. Suddenly, I felt my right arm being lifted and my whole body was slowly pulled up. My back was radiating with strong dull pain. It burned like someone was cutting me with a knife, slowly and painfully. I soon realized my arm got wrapped around someone's shoulder. Someone big and tall.

I opened my eyes slightly, just to be met with a spinning room, a boring cell and dark wooden doors right in front of me. "Hey, can you walk?" I heard a voice ask, but I couldn't even shake my head no. My legs were shaking and I was practically hanging from his shoulder. The ache that consumed my whole body was dull, as if some lazy torturer was standing right behind me, only applying enough pressure to give me the urge to scream in pain. It sat there, just to the side of the right shoulder blade toward the spine.

"Dude, help me out." My thoughts were mixed, the picture before me was still like a cloud of fog right in front of my eyes, but even though I barely saw the guy that walked closer to me, I knew it was one of the guards. Soon, my other hand was wrapped around someone's shoulder and I whimpered in pain that bloomed from my back. I felt them trying to find the right position to hold me, but it was worthless. "This isn't working." The same voice spoke while the other one just released me and I almost fell on my knees. But no matter how much the pain consumed me, how unbearable it was, all I could think about was Dimitri. Where is he?

My legs were lifted from the ground and I felt someone's hand on my lower back, holding me in midair, bridal style. I clenched my jaw at the sudden burn. The pain from my back throbbed in my guts. It was deep and warm, but not in a nice way. It felt like someone had their hand in there and was squeezing my wounds either gently or as hard as they can. When it waned I could move just enough to wrap my arms around his neck, but when it returned all I could do was hold still and breathe, breathe slow and deep until it had passed. My eyes were shut, closed tightly, and I felt like he was moving. No words can explain how grateful I was for his decision to carry me. My legs simply felt numb.

Pain seared through my back better than a branding iron, burning all the way up to my head. It was impossible to open my eyes completely as I still felt like I was in this unpleasant mid-awareness. I heard them talking, their muted voices echoing in my head and I just wished they could talk quieter. Every word they said thumped in my head, gave me the feeling like my blood was constantly rushing in my ears. "She's human. It's still too much." The one that carried me said while my head was leaned on his shoulder. I was unable to keep it straight.

"You heard what the king said, Silas. This girl's no human." The other voice spoke as my ears were slightly adjusting to their volume.

The guard held me still, so my body wasn't swaying, causing the pain to ease down for now. "She's not a vampire either. It'll take ages for her to heal properly." I opened my eyes, my brain unconsciously reacting to the thought. If I'm no human, no vampire, then what am I? But I never got the chance to hear. Suddenly, my thoughts were interrupted by a key clicking in a lock, soon followed by doors screeching. I frowned at the annoying sound, but I couldn't cover my ears.