And her name is…

He looks much more awake than I feel, and I know that’s due to the energy that flows through every cell of my being. I shudder for a moment at the thought of being eaten like a pig roast and pray Kheliq never wonders about the power hidden in my liver.

“What’s wrong?” He asks and his worry.. surprises me.

He’s not worried about me. He’s worried I’ll have second thoughts and tell the guards what we did like I do so many other stories.

“Tomorrow is bleeding day,” I return easily. “I find myself wishing this had happened the other way so I could have something to look forward to. Not that I expected this to…”

“He’s bleeding you tomorrow? What happened to once a month?” He asks it suspiciously and I get the impression that he and Kheliq aren’t as close as they seem when they’re down here.

“It’s been once a week since my birthday,” I return, moving toward the shelf to get my other set of clothes.

It is a conscious effort that I put forth to not say what I want to. How I will enjoy killing Kheliq and using his life energy to heal all the scars he’s made. How when I burn this place down I will start with everyone he cares about and turn them to husks at his feet. I especially don’t voice howhewill be among those, but I can’t afford loose ends.

“Can you survive that?” He returns, and I turn as I enter my cell and look at him, purposely doing it through the bars.

“No.” The word is flat and uninflected, but itstartleshim. “A human should only give blood once every two months, and they shouldn’t lose as much as I do most of the time. If he keeps this up I’ll die before…”

Fuck. Fuck!

My stupid brain to mouth connection must be half asleep for me to keep talking. Less is more with Wulfric now and I need to shut up, but I need a cover up because I know he’s heard me.

“Before?” He almost growls the word.

I sigh. “Is it wrong to hope someone is looking for me? I will die here, sooner or later, if I stay. If I didn’t have one tiny iota of hope I would have lost myself five years ago when I saw what I did to those guards.”

I turn away from him and move to my cot to keep from smiling. Not a word of that is a lie. When I saw what I had done to those guards and registered that I was back where I started, for just a moment, I felt the life energy of every single life in the city. It was only a moment. My desperation combined with seeing what I could do, how I could take a life; something I’d never tried before, told me I could take them all and no one would ever hurt me again.

But I could feel more than Kheliq, and the guards, his wealthy friends, and other high status citizens that gorged on my blood. I could also feel all the men, women, and children outside this inner wall. They reminded me of my home and all my people that Kheliq and his men killed to get to me. They got none of the benefits from my blood and had nothing to do with my war against him. I know some of them will be hurt when I come back for my revenge, but something in that moment was too final, and I couldn’t kill them all.

I have to believe that I will have another chance at an escape. Spending my life here, how ever long or short it could be, was a horrifying possibility and I can’t accept that I chose to leave Kheliq in charge of all these people over my freedom. The people were better off dead.

—

Wulfric left silently at some point while I was getting dressed and the next morning I’m woken up to hands pinning my shoulders and ankles to the bed. I already know it’s Kheliq’s men pinning me to be bled and sagged back into the bed.

“Why good morning ungentlemen,” I say, though my cheek is pressed into the cot. “Here to shorten the life of your unwilling blood bag again? You know, even if you fed me right, losing this much blood is killing me. I’ll only have a few months like this.”

“Shut up you little liar,” Kheliq bites back, lowering himself with the jar and the blade.

I cringe from the sight but try not to let him see it. “I didn’t know a Sioga’s body requires so little blood to function. That must be an asset in battle.”

“What on Earth are you talking about?” His tone is more bored now and I see him watch my blood drip into the container greedily.

“It would only serve that your kind must suffer severe blood loss with little consequence for you to believe a human could suffer it to this degree and have no side effects.” My tone is clipped and I am already beginning to feel dizzy.

“You’re not human..”

“At least half of me is or I’d have your stupid ears,” I spit but someone punches me in the back of the head.

“You’ll be fine halfbreed. Or, you’ll die and we’ll drain what’s left for one last round of its magic healing. With such a large amount at once we’d likely take it to those in the outer wall to avoid it going to waste. What a treat that would be.”

I pushed my face against the cot to look up at him, and the smile gives me chills. He doesn’t want to lose me as an asset, but my death would give him another hook in his people and a way to gain their loyalty. The world would never be fair, but Kheliq would always tip an outcome in his favour.

I close my eyes so he doesn’t see them changing. It is always an effort to hide my true self from him but I won’t be able to do it much longer. If he keeps bleeding me like this I am going to die, and the only hope I have is getting out.

My head is getting heavy and I don’t open my eyes even as I feel Kheliq leave and the hands pinning me to my bed let go. My arm is still dripping blood on the floor and after I hear the door to the stairwell close I feel someone tie a bit of fabric over the cut.

“What are you doing?” One of the nameless guards asks.

“You think he’ll be happy with us if we just watch her bleed out onto the floor?” Another answers.

“I think he’ll be pissed to know someone touched her outside of what he demands,” someone else adds in.

“Well.. whatever. I’m not taking it off now.”

I try to move, but it feels like my whole is being weighed down. It’s feels like my soul is too heavy for my muscles to lift. Pulling my arm back into my bed under the blanket feels impossible and I can only shake it slightly before I give up and sigh. A hand around my wrist startles my eyes partly open and I catch the eyes of the guard holding me. His eyes look startled and I’m sure my eyes are darker than they should be, but he just curls my arm into my side and pulls the blanket over me.

In that short moment I see his eyes have more than pity. The pain there is clear and I know I can use that. Then the darkness returns, and I’m asleep.

—

It’s been weeks and what little food I get barely carries me through the night anymore. I crawl to the food tray when I wake up and eat sitting against the side wall before I crawl back to bed. I need an opportunity to drain the life energy from someone or something or I’m going to start fading away.

Wulfric has continued to come down and have.. whatever I’m willing to call these little exchanges. I always sleep better on those nights, but the other guards have come to believe that he’s torturing me in some way. Many morning I’ve woken up with bruises or hickies, which they assume are welts, and I don’t say anything about them.

He doesn’t take things to the next level though, always focusing on me. I’m not sure if this makes it easier or harder, but he doesn’t take anything else. Actually, we barely speak at all anymore. There used to be him snide comments towards me and my quick witted retorts, but now it’s all about him getting his taste of me. To be honest, I think if he missed a week and I didn’t get to take that small amount of his life energy from him… I don’t think I’d be alive.

Wulfric usually comes down today, and I wonder if he will but I don’t bother asking. Our exchange feels less awkward every week, but I also feel like I’m losing myself by being so compliant, still I haven’t the energy to fight him. I haven’t spoken almost at all over this week, but it’s funny how much you learn when people think you’re out cold.

I’ve just finished my lunch and I crawl to the gap in the bars for the tray. The bars are cold against my back and I make my eyes look heavy before I slump sideways to lay on the ground.

“Again?” One of the guards I rarely hear speak barks.

Someone’s voice sounds like they’re shrugging when they say, “she did say the blood loss was killing here. Maybe she’s dying.”

“So, what? Do we just watch?” Another asks.

“Yup.” Another replies.

“It seems.. cruel?”

“Yup.”

They go around their little semi circle debating how long they think I have. Some of them make bets on the day and location in my cell where I die. I resist making a sarcastic comment and my efforts are rewarded.

“What about the blight?”

“Clearly if the king is so blasé abouther,he must have other ways to reverse its affects.”

“I heard cases outside the wall are increasing, and they don’t know how it’s spreading.”

“Nearly a whole town got it last week.”

“It feels like it’s heading this way.”

“Whatever it is, we’ll be fine within the walls.”

I stay on the floor for another hour and then groaned as I pushed myself up, “my Fucking head.”

I turn and look at the guards, grimace and then slide back to my cot. My skin is cold and sore from the stone floor but I know from experience that it’ll feel a little better if I can warm up. With the blanket firmly wrapped around me I pull my legs up into it and look back at the eyes watching me.