Page 80 of Stealing Tink

When the next finger breaks, I bite down on my tongue so hard that a coppery wetness fills my mouth.

“Wait,” says the Nomad, voice rushed. “I have a trove of treasure hidden in a cave to the southeast of Morvan.”

Snap.

I gag on the blood in my mouth.

“The Gathers, it’s docked near here,” says the Nomad. “I could lead you there. You could have an entire fleet of ships at your disposal.”

“Oh, that is a good one,” says the first guard.

Crack.

I’m not sure how much longer I can hold onto consciousness.

From the looks of it, the Nomad isn’t sure either. “It’s okay, Wanderer,” he says, his voice suddenly calm. “It’s okay if you need to fade away for a while.”

But I can’t fade away. Can’t pass out. Peter bloodlet me too many times. My body is used to the pain. No longer provides me the relief of unconsciousness.

When they break the last finger, I make the mistake of thinking it’s over. Until the second guard snaps my left wrist.

My whole body tenses, seizes, the pain unbearable.

“Stop,” says the Nomad. “Please, just tell me what you want me to say.”

“We don’t want you to say anything,” says the guard. “Little creature like this should have known better than to seduce someone better than her.”

Venus makes a noise across the room that indicates she agrees.

My other wrist snaps.

Cold sweat pours all over me. I slump forward, but the weight of my body pulls pressure through my wrists, which is worse than the original pain, and my spine goes straight once more as I try desperately not to let my hands touch the back of the chair.

“There,” says the first guard. “Silent as a bug.”

Tears pour down my cheeks. I try to move my fingers, but I find myself facing a fortress of pain that makes them immobile.

The guard is right. I am silent. Truly silent.

And in some way, it’s worse than the night I lost my voice.

Everything is loud, and I am quiet. Trapped in a body that can’t communicate. Trapped in a realm of pain, with no way to escape.

All I can do is look at the Nomad, but he appears as silenced as I am, staring at my hands still tied behind my back, dangling in what must look like such strange angles.

“You shouldn’t have touched her,” he says, so quietly, I almost don’t hear him over the ringing in my ears.

“What was that?” asks the guard.

“You shouldn’t have touched her,” says the Nomad.

“No, you’re the one who shouldn’t have touched her,” says the second guard. They make for the door, and so does Venus.

She turns around, mouth open to say something, but then her eyes go wide.

“Where is he?”

CHAPTER 34