Vanished Sisters The Lycan King's Slave Island novel Chapter 56

Chapter 56

Natasha’s POV

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I don’t know how long I sat there on that cold stone floor, my body shaking with silent sobs, the taste of Brennan’s cock still coating my

tongue like poison.

Get up. You need to get up.

Lucy. You need to find Lucy.

But my body wouldn’t cooperate. My legs felt like water. My throat burned. My jaw ached so badly I could barely open my mouth.

Just a few more minutes. Just need to-

No.

No more waiting. No more weakness. Lucy needs you. Davelina needs you.

Get. Up.

I pressed my palms against the wall and forced myself to stand. My legs trembled but held. Barely.

I wiped my face roughly with my sleeve, trying to erase the evidence of my tears. Then I took a shaky breath and started walking.

The weapons room. They said Lucy and Roderic went into the weapons room.

Where would that be? Near the training areas? Near the guards’ quarters?

I moved through the corridors slowly, trying to orient myself. The fortress was a maze-endless stone passages that all looked the same.

But I kept going. Kept searching.

She’s here somewhere. She has to be.

It took me nearly twenty minutes of wandering before I found it.

The weapons room was tucked away in a corner of the fortress I hadn’t explored before. A heavy wooden door marked with crossed swords. No guards stationed outside-this wasn’t an armory for storing valuable weapons, just a maintenance room where blades were

sharpened and armor repaired.

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Chapter 56

I pressed my ear against the door, listening.

Silence.

Please let her be in there. Please let her be alive.

:

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I eased the door open slowly, wincing at the creak of the hinges.

The room beyond was dimly lit by a single guttering torch. Weapon racks lined the walls-swords, spears, axes, all in various states of

repair. A workbench sat in the corner, covered in tools and scraps of metal.

And on the floor, crumpled against the far wall-

Lucy

My heart stopped.

She was lying on her side, her dress torn and hanging off one shoulder. Her hair was disheveled, tangled. One arm was flung out at an

awkward angle. Her legs were bare, the dress pushed up around her waist.

No. No, please-

I rushed over and dropped to my knees beside her.

“Lucy?” I whispered urgently. “Lucy, can you hear me?”

She didn’t respond. Didn’t move.

Oh God. Is she-

With trembling hands, I reached out and pressed my fingers to her throat, searching for a pulse.

For a terrible moment, I felt nothing.

Then-

There.

Faint. Weak. But there.

She’s alive. Thank God, she’s alive.

Relief flooded through me so intensely I nearly collapsed.

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Chapter 56

“Lucy,” I said again, louder this time. I shook her shoulder gently. “Lucy, wake up. Please wake up.”

Her eyelids fluttered. A soft moan escaped her lips.

“That’s it, I encouraged. “Come on. Open your eyes.”

Slowly-agonizingly slowly-her eyes opened. They were unfocused at first, staring at nothing. Then they found my face.

“Natasha?” Her voice was barely a whisper. Hoarse and broken.

“Yes. It’s me. I’m here.” I looked her over quickly, assessing the damage. “Can you sit up? Can you move?”

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“1” She tried to push herself upright and immediately gasped in pain. “Fuck. Everything hurts.”

“Easy. Take it slow.” I slipped my arm under her shoulders, supporting her weight as she struggled to sit. “What happened? Are you hurt

badly?”

Lucy didn’t answer immediately. She was looking down at herself-at her torn dress, at the bruises already forming on her exposed skin.

And I saw them too.

Oh, Lucy.

”

Her neck was covered in finger-shaped bruises. Dark purple marks that stood out starkly against her pale skin. The imprints were so clear

I could count individual fingers-thumbs on the front of her throat, fingers wrapped around the back. Handprints on her arms. On her

thighs, visible where the dress had been pushed up-more bruises, darker, angrier.

And between her legs-

Blood. Not much. Just smears on her inner thighs, already dried and flaking. But enough to tell the story.

He raped her. Roderic raped her and choked her and left her here like garbage.

Rage flared in my chest, hot and violent. But there was no outlet for it. No way to strike back. I could only kneel there, helpless, staring

at the evidence of what had been done to her.

“We need to get out of here,” I said, forcing my voice to stay calm even as my hands shook with fury. “Can you stand?”

“I think so.” Lucy braced herself against the wall and slowly-carefully-pushed herself to her feet. She swayed, nearly fell, and I ca

her.

“I’ve got you,” I said. “Lean on me.”

Together, we made our way toward the door. But Lucy’s dress was still torn, the shoulder seam ripped completely, exposing too much skin.

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