25

Time dragged to the point of standing still as the guards continued to use her body with deliberate brutality. Whenever darkness blissfully consumed her, she was brought back around by a slap on the face or ice water tossed over her body. On the few occasions when a bone was accidentally broken, the vampire would feed her his blood to heal it before continuing with the abuse. Worried for her sanity, she focused on the memories of holding little Roger in her arms. Although the stamina of a vampire was extreme, the guards eventually tired of abusing her and sent for replacements.

The reprieve she had gave her an opportunity to ponder upon her foolishness in being overly confident in her position with Samuel. Has she realized that her vile outburst would have suffered such consequences, she would have held her tongue. It was just that she’d said such things to him in the past with no repercussions. Then, she’d never said them with such abundance and vehemency. Nor ha