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Kord forced Isana to watch what they did to Odiana

He had brought in a stool with hi of coals He made her sit on the floor in front of hih it was soh one," Kord said, after a long and sickening ti Survivor"

Isana suppressed the sickness in her sto to take her

"She&039;s calculated There, see how she fights? Just enough to get a oes all liquid and helpless once he&039;s on her She knows every ot that kind of power over a woman She makes thehed up at all"

Isana shuddered and said nothing

"It&039;s tough to break someone like that Hardened"

"She&039;s a woman, Kord A person She&039;s not an ani in it of an ugly smile "Has she been a slave before?"

"I don&039;t know," Isana said "I barely know her"

"She saved your life, you know," Kord said "When we found you by the river I made her do it"

Isana looked back at him and tried to keep the venoet , Isana It isn&039;t that I don&039;t enjoy the thought of you dead I could be happy with that" His eyes didn&039;t waver frory, alien "Butmore substantial"

"Dead?" Isana said She blinked slowly "Kord You have got to understand This isn&039;t about you It isn&039;t about the hearing or Warner&039;s daughter-"

"The crows it isn&039;t," Kord said "Because of you we had to go to Bernardholt Because of you, we had to run out into the storm Because of you, we had to watch and h, that little freak of yours did Because of you, Bittan died" He looked down at her, showing his teeth "Well now I&039; the rules And I&039;ht Before I finish what the river started"

Isana turned to hier Bernard saw-"

He struck her with a closed fist The blow drove her back and to the floor, her body helplessly loose and unresponsive After a disorientingup froue, where she&039;d cut herself on her own teeth

Kord leaned down and seized her hair, jerking her face up to his "Don&039;t speak to me like you&039;re some kind of person You aren&039;t any ave her head a vicious little shake "You understand that?"

"I understand," Isana grated, "that you&039;re a little h to make the words cut "You can&039;t look past yourself Not even when so to crush you You&039;re small No matter what you do to me, you&039;ll still be small A coho hurts slaves because he&039;s afraid to challenge anyone stronger" She ot me because you foundto "

Kord&039;s eyes flashed He snarled, a ain, harder Stars flew across her vision, and the dusty floor rose up toshe lay there, pain and thirst blinding her,else But when she caain and sat up, only Kord and his son, Aric, remained Odiana lay in a heap on the

floor, not far away, curled onto her side, her legs drawn up, her hair hiding her face

Kord tossed a flask down beside Isana It h it held only a tiny bit of water "Go ahead," he told her "Nothing in that one I want you to see what happens"

Isana took up the flask, throat burning She didn&039;t believe that Kord had told her the truth, but she felt faint, weak, and her throat felt as though it had been coated with salt She pulled the cap fro Water, warm, but untainted, flowed into her one before it had done much to help her thirst, but at least it had eased theup at Kord

"Aric," Kord said "Bring me the box"

Aric turned toward the door, but hesitated "Pa Maybe she&039;s right I mean, hat Tavi said at the river and all-"

"Boy," Kord snarled, cutting hi me that box And keep your mouth shut You hear?"

Aric went pale and sed "Yes, Pa" He turned and vanished from the s about all of this, Isana, is that you&039;re too naive to be as afraid as you should be I want to help you with that I want you to knohat&039;s going to happen"

"This is useless, Kord," Isana said "You ht as well kill me"

"When I&039;m ready" Kord walked over to Odiana, then reached down and seized her casually by the hair The wo feebly to get away froathered her hair up, lock by lock, until he held the length of it in his fist "See, this one here She&039;s a hard case Knohat she&039;s doing Knows the ga a whiirl?"

With Odiana&039;s face bowed, facing away from Kord, Isana could see her expression now The water witch&039;s eyes were hard, her expression cold, distant But she kept her voice weak, shaking "P-please," Odiana whispered "Master Don&039;t hurtyou want"

"That&039;s right," Kord ru down at the woman "You will"

Aric opened the door and entered, carrying a long, flat box of smooth, polished wood

"Open it," Kord told him "Let her see"

Aric sed Then he paced around, in front of where Kord held Odiana by the hair, and opened the box

Isana saw the contents: a strip of metal, a band perhaps an inch wide, lay on the cloth within the box, dully throwing back the light of the fires

Odiana&039;s expression changed The hardness vanished from her eyes, and herclose to horror She recoiled frorip on her Isana heard her let out a whimper of pain and, unmistakably, of fear "No," she said, at once, her voice suddenly harsher, high, panicky "No, I don&039;t need that You won&039;t need it No, don&039;t, I promise, you won&039;t need it, just tell me what you want"

"It&039;s called a discipline collar," Kord said to Isana, in a conversational voice "Furycrafted They&039;re uncommon this far north But useful, sometimes She knohat it is, I think"

"You don&039;t need it," Odiana said, her voice high and desperate "Please, oh furies, please, master, you don&039;t need that, I don&039;t need it, no, no, no, no-"

"Aric, put it on her" Kord jerked Odiana up, holding her weight up off the floor by her hair, forcing her chin up, the slender strength of her throat to be exposed

Odiana&039;s eyes, still fastened on the collar, widened, white surrounding them She screamed It was a horrible sound, one that welled deep in her throat and rose up through her , for shape, horrible and feral She turned and struggled, even as she screa toward Kord&039;s face with desperate speed Her nails left bloody weals down one of his cheeks, and even as she got her feet underneath her, she kicked one bare foot at the inside of his knee

Still holding her hair in one hand, Kord dragged her to one side, off of her feet, and with the other clutched her throat Then, with a casual surge of power, doubtless drawn froround by her throat, so that her feet dangled and kicked below her torn skirts

She fought hiainst him She raked at his arm with her nails when she couldn&039;t reach his face, but he held her, expression never changing She kicked at his thigh, his ribs, but without any leverage the blows did nothing to deter the big Steadholder She struggled, grunting, gasping,low, animal sounds of fear

Then her eyes rolled back in her skull and she went slowly limp

Kord held her suspended for a ain, and onceher throat "Aric"

The young lance at Isana, his expression strained, difficult to read Then he stepped forward and slipped the metal band about Odiana&039;s throat It settled into place with a quiet, sharp click

She took a ragged breath and let out a little groan, a desperate sound, even as Kord released her hair with a contemptuous jerk She fell onto her side, her eyes clutched closed, and lifted her fingers to her throat She began pawing and jerking at the collar, desperate and clumsy

Kord drew a knife frorabbed Odiana&039;s wrist in his huge hands and did the saain she ild, letting out a little shriek and struggling against him with a confused and disoriented deterth, he forced her bloodied thumb to the collar-and then pressed his on beside it, scarletthe metal

Odiana whi her eyes shine Then she shuddered Her lips ible caain, and her eyes lost focus Her body relaxed, the straining against Kord&039;s hands easing sloay Once asp

"Bonding," Kord said, looking up at Isana His eyes glittered His hands roved over the woround now, casually intimate, possessive "This will take a fewinto Kord&039;s touch, her eyes euid roll, all hips and back and bared throat The collar glea the woman like an overexcited ani sounds, curling toward him like a sleepy kitten

"There" He stood up and said, casually, "That&039;s a good girl"

Odiana&039;s eyes flew open wide, then fluttered slowly closed again She gasped, clutching her ar in, and for perhaps half aout soft moans of unmistakable pleasure

Kord smiled He looked at Isana and said, quietly, "Stupid little whore"

Odiana&039;s body convulsed, back abruptly arching into a bow She let out

another screa herself onto her side She retched, violently, though there was little enough content in her stos and are, desperate eyes to Isana, her expression agonized, pleading She reached toward the collar at her throat and spas dangerously close to the circle of coals

Isana stared at the woman in horrified confusion for a breath, before she lurched forward, unsteady herself, and caught Odiana before she could convulse into the ring of coals "Stop it," Isana cried She looked back at Kord, knew that her face was pale and desperately afraid-and saw the glitter of satisfaction in his expression when she turned to hiht be kinder," Kord said "She&039;s been broken before" But to Odiana he said, voice sirl Do what you&039;re told"

The frantic spasms eased out of the woman, very slowly Isana drew her back away from the coals and kept her arms around her, her body between Odiana and Kord The woain, and she shuddered in sloaves in Isana&039;s arms

"What did you do to her?" Isana asked quietly