Abandoned (Born From Shadows #2)

Breathe, Tatianna shut her eyes, breathe. In and out, that’s all she needed to do. Don’t cry, just breathe. She kept reminding herself that it was for the best. Her pain was insignificant each time she forced a smile. She made her eyes seem bright; her love seem real. She did not glance at Riley when she walked past him. One glance and she would break down.

Her hand was numb at the Red Prince’s touch. She knew it was grasped onto his hand, as she walked down the aisle, but she couldn’t feel it. The chains around her ankles forced them to walk slowly to her dismay. She wanted to get out of this mess as quickly as possible. Find somewhere quiet where she could scream out in frustration.

They took no detours, heading straight back to the castle. People congratulated her as she walked down the palace halls, and she bowed her head in recognition. As soon as they were out of sight, their hands were no longer intertwined.

“You have to consummate the marriage, or else it is not official by law,” the Queen said by Tatianna’s side. Dread filled her bones at thought of what that meant. She almost threw up when he kissed her but to…consummate the marriage?

“Mother,” the Red Prince protested, equally disturbed. Darvey, that was his name. She had only found that out today.

“I did not make the law, you of all people know that we are very traditional people. You will consummate the marriage tonight. I am not against sending in a guard to ensure the deed is done. If you want to do it in private then I suggest you don’t protest,” the Queen demanded. Just the thought made Tatianna sick to her core. This was all too much for one day.

“Ok mother,” the Red Prince replied.

“Good,” the Queen said. “Then this is where I leave you, goodnight.” she said when they were standing outside the bed chambers. Tatianna could not move an inch, her legs had frozen, and her body was aching all over.

She wasn’t used to such exercise, and she knew if she walked into that room she wouldn’t be leaving as the maiden she was now. Her purity would be vanquished, and she didn’t want the Red Prince to take away another thing from her, not that. Her mind told her she had to do it, for her friends for her own life, but her body disagreed.

“Are you coming inside, or do I have to drag you?” said the Red Prince.

Come on Tatianna, she told herself. As she willed her body to move forwards, she also cast her mind elsewhere, somewhere safe. A memory.

He moved in front of her, slipping her clothes from her body. He seemed angry and not at all filled with desire, as if she was just a chore that he needed to get done. She pushed away the feeling of his grimy hands slithering their way on her bare skin and focused on her past. She used to dream of leaving the streets, to live inside a palace with the life of a Princess. Now all she wanted was to go back to her old life.

Tatianna’s small hands grasped tightly on her dagger that looked huge in comparison to her small figure. Her cheeks were puffed and rosy on the cold night. She curled her legs into the cloak that was too big for her.

“What’s your name?” A male asked her, he sat down beside her, and she warily crawled away from him. She pointed her knife defensively at his dark skin, almost dropping it due to how much her hands shock.

“G-get a-away from me,” she tried to say with a strong voice, but it came out high pitched and staggered.

“Relax, little warbeta, I’m not here to hurt you. I just want someone to talk to,” the strange man replied. “Here,” he said and handed her a blue blanket that could easily cover her body from head to toe.

She took it from his hand and snuggled closely into it, relishing in the heat. He chuckled at her movements. “Your, welcome,” the man told her, “so how old are you?”

“Seven…I think,” she replied, her voice slightly more confident. She lowered her dagger and put it away in its sheath.

“Where are your parents? It’s dangerous for you to be out here on your own,” he asked.

She sniffled as she held back her cry. “I don’t know,” she told the man honestly, her body unable to control her tears.

“It’s alright, my parents left me alone too,” the man told her.

“Really?” she asked, wiping away her tears with the blanket the man had just given her.

“Yeah. You’re strong, to survive out here. Whenever you’re feeling scared, remember that ok?” The young girl nodded her head, beaming at the older man hoping that she had made her first friend. She had always wanted a friend.

Pain shot through her body snapping her out of her memories and into the present. The Red Prince’s hard body was bare against hers, as he pushed himself into her. She bit her tongue suppressing a scream of anguish. She shut her eyes once again trying to block it all out, think of another memory. A happy one.

A hand ran gently along her side, tickling her stomach. “Nik,” she laughed and tried to push his free hand away. “That tickles, stop or I’ll fall off the fucking horse and take you down with me.”

Nik chuckled from behind her and placed both hands onto Ida’s reins. “Fine then,” he replied.

“So Faithorn, what is it like?” she asked him.

“Well, there is this beautiful beach, the water is too cold to swim in the winter but come summer is like being hit by a wave of fresh air. It is relaxing and freeing at the same time. You would love it. The shops there are plentiful as well, so that means we should be able to eat. The people are nicer than they are in Avalla but there are some weird ones so keep an eye out.”

“There is always someone weird, myself included,” Tatianna replied with a smile on her face.

“Yeah,” Nik agreed, “you are pretty weird.”

“Hey,” she replied as if she were offended.

“You said it first,” Nik defended himself. She rolled her eyes at him with a slight grin, despite the fact that he couldn’t see her face. She relaxed into him and watched Nylif run beside the mare. First to Faithorn, then to Lyracris.

She felt the Red Prince release inside her then he immediately rolled off of her. Tatianna barely had time to push her wedding gown back down before she was kicked off of the bed and onto the floor. The landing ignited her body as if the floor was a flame, burning her skin. There was a stinging between her legs that she couldn’t get rid of no matter the number of memories she slipped into. She curled into herself, hiding the tears were running down her cheeks. She wished she had someone to hold her, instead of crying helplessly onto her legs.