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Larissa’s muscles clenched with pent up rage as Silus paced at the doorway of their bedroom.
“You will not leave this room,” he ordered. “The Council requires my presence. I’ll not only have to aid in the sentencing of your brother but answer for your humiliating behavior tonight.”
Her heart heaved with worry. “Will you not speak on Cain’s behalf? He is your brother by law.”
“He’s nothing to me!” His eyes narrowed to pinholes, darker than his soul. “And you will not speak of him under my roof!” He gripped the door, removing the key from the lock. “Disobey me, and you will be punished.”
The door slammed and she flinched. The familiar sound of the lock turning preceded his footsteps. She preferred isolation to his company.
Her mind turned to Cain, her worry stifling. They would execute him. By now, the bonding was likely done, and Annalise irrevocably belonged to Adam. Cain was truly alone in this world, as was she.
Their abandonment of Cain, their unquestioning trust in Adam... She could not be in the middle. But there was no middle. No one cared that Cain had been called to the same woman as their brother. No one trusted what went against tradition.
The truth slapped her like iron, weighing her down to an unchanging place. There was no growth here. No escape. No hope.
Cain’s experience, his pull to a woman designed for someone else, proved that promised soul mates were not always the answer. They had been taught nothing but lies, promises from inexpert Elders, in order to keep them obedient and docile. And when those lies were exposed, the rabble-rousers were punished.
Larissa desired truth. She was through pretending. Her serene veneer had cracked long ago, and she was finished putting others before herself.
She’d find Cain and escape this place, once and for all. She’d never survive an eternity with Silus. There was no hope in this lonesome place.
The Elders would meet tonight. They’d want to deal with this situation swiftly and...
Her heart ached. If only she could speak on her brother’s behalf. But females were forbidden to attend Council meetings.
Silus was not an Elder, but with two of his forbearers on the Elder Council, he assumed an undeserved authority, and no one blinked an eye. His lust for power might be a secret to the Council, but she knew his desires to one day hold a position of influence.
She scowled at the door, her shoulders shaking with his imposed imprisonment. Her breath labored as her jaw locked. The walls of her sanity constricted until the indignant screams inside her head vibrated her spine.
Be the obedient wife...
Submit to your husband, he is your lord and master...
Fetch my shoes...
Lie still...
She sprung to her feet, eyes narrowing in the lock. Pulling back her lips, she hissed and kicked the door, splintering the wood into the hall.
She growled under her breath. Her nose lifted, scenting the air. The house was silent.
Her wrist twisted, her hand curling, claws digging into the wall like talons. She prowled through the silent hall, her nails scoring the plaster.
She threw open the front door and loomed at the front step. A prison behind her, the wide-open future ahead.
The moonlight cut through her nightgown as her bare feet pressed into the boggy ground. Black hair fanning down her back, she walked like a pagan into the woods.
The further she walked from her home, the faster her steps. Her heart beat steadily, its increasing tempo edging her on. Sprinting into a run, she raced through the trees. Branches whipped at her clothes and mud caked between her toes.
Reaching the edge of the forest, she slowed her steps and crept along the shadows. The barn loomed in the fallen moonlight. The wind held still.
Scanning the vacant surroundings, she dashed across the field, pressing her back against the planked wall of the barn. She slipped into the shadows, and winced when the wide door groaned as she pulled it open.
A smile overtook her face. Cain told the truth. The car filled the space, keys dangling beneath the wheel.
The door squeaked as she opened it. So many buttons and dials. She turned the key and her breath caught as the machine roared to live, softly vibrating beneath her legs.
Panting with excitement, she twisted knobs and pulled levers, gasping when the car rushed backwards, crashing into the back wall of the barn. She needed to go forward.
Her foot pressed the pedals and wheels turned, the engine roaring. She pushed the lever in the center and her body flew back, the car propelling forward and crashing through the barn door.
She laughed and gripped the wheel, the car careening into the cornfield. The bumpy drive bounced her on the seat as stalks of corn whipped noisily at the glass. And then she was free, shooting onto the road and speeding into the night.