"Still breathing, Luna?"
Liora's voice was soft, almost playful but it sliced through the air like broken glass.
Vanya blinked, the world still spinning upside down. Blood throbbed in her temples. Her wrists screamed where thick iron nails pinned them to the wooden cross. Every shallow breath burned her lungs. She could barely move, barely think.
"Liora…" Her cracked lips barely formed the name. The sound that came out wasn't a plea. It was a ghost. "Please…"
Liora crouched in front of her, arms folded, a twisted smile curling her mouth. "Don't say my name like that. You had your time. You had your crown. You had your Alpha. Now it's my turn…Common, don't be selfish."
The torches around the clearing flickered, throwing long, shivering shadows on the trees. The rogues had made a circle, silent, filthy, eager. Some whispered. Others just watched, their eyes glowing red in the dark.
