Cruel Empathy ✓

Chapter 6

***Anna***

Anna felt like hell. This had to be the longest day of her life, and it was still not over. She had been punched, "stabbed," "shot," and almost drowned. She had enough trauma to last a lifetime.

She had never had a person look at her the way Rye had looked at her, with pure rage. She had almost convinced herself before that Rye wouldn't hurt her, but now she wasn't so sure. When he tied her wrists he pulled the rope so tight that the fabric dug into her skin painfully. Even his men felt wary of his mood.

Rye had given her some sort of chain necklace. It didn't feel like a present when he had given it to her, but more like a leash. Was she to be his whore now? Bile rose to her throat at the thought, and she tried to scoot her body forward and away from him. Rye pulled his arm across her chest and pushed her body back against his and held her there. She felt stiff as a board. She didn't want to touch him at all.

They had been riding hard for at least an hour. She had never ridden a horse before and she didn't think she'd ever want to again. They were riding at a breakneck speed, and she felt every bump and jostle all in her backside. It didn't help that she had had to pee for the last twenty minutes or so. She was now almost to the point of losing her bladder all over herself, and on Rye for that matter. The thought would have given her pleasure to cause him any discomfort, but she didn't want to anger him again, and frankly she didn't want to sit in pee.

She turned her head toward him. He really scared her now, and she didn't know how to talk to him anymore. He glanced down at her awaiting to hear what she wanted. "I have to pee!" She yelled to him over the sound of the horse. He scowled at her.

"You'll wait!" He answered. That ruffled her feathers.

"I've already waited! I'm about to go all over myself! I'm not like a man. I can't just whip it out and pee mid ride!"

Rye sighed, and gave a loud commanding whistle. He brought the horse to a stop and leapt off. He then grabbed Anna and brought her gently to the ground. She started to walk but her legs were jello and Rye had to hold her to keep her from falling over.

He had to help her pull down her pants. It would have been humiliating, but Anna was almost too tired to care. When she was finished, Rye pulled her pants back up for her and guided her back to the horse.

"You speak crudely for a woman," he scolded.

Anna scoffed, "Would you prefer I speak in euphemisms or say what I actually mean? How is a lady supposed to say it? 'Rye, I must relieve myself now?' It doesn't sound quite as urgent."

"Yes, that sounds a bit more like it. A lady would certainly not refer to a man 'whipping it out'."

"I can't refer to it, but it's okay for a man to do it in front of me? That is such a double standard!"'

"You speak so strange," he grumbled.

"Yeah, well, you stole a girl from another universe so you better get used to it," Anna retorted under her breath. Ryevin pulled her back on the horse and gave another loud whistle and they were off again.

She should be better mannered toward him, but she was so extremely tired and so unbelievably scared. She was also losing hope and that started to break her. She wanted them to make camp for the night so she could sleep. But what if Rye tries to force himself on her? She couldn't take another trauma tonight. Her wrists hurt from the rope. Her ass hurt. It was all too much. She started to silently cry.

***Ryevin***

Ryevin felt Anna cry. Her chest moved up and down with her sobs and he would occasionally feel a wet tear roll down his arm. The feeling of unease continued to fester in his gut.

She was exhausted. She could barely hold herself up when they had stopped to take care of her needs. He was pleased to see she still had some fire in her when they had spoken. He had been worried that her spark had been extinguished on the cliff when he had harshly told her she was never going to return home. His stomach dropped when he thought of her face then. She needed to hear it. Once she let go of her foolish notions of returning home, she could start accepting a life with him.

"Almost there!" He shouted to her. He wanted her to eat. To rest. Tomorrow will be a new beginning. The fates willed them and tethered them together. They had even brought her to him from another world. She will adjust. She had to.

***Anna***

When they had finally stopped for the day, Anna's eyes were red and puffy and she was dead on her feet. Rye's men pitched up some tents in a matter of minutes and were now eating a simple supper. Rye gave Anna some water along with bread and cheese. She tried to eat but her stomach was too quesy. When he saw she wouldn't eat anymore, he led her to a tent.

Her back straightened and she felt a sharp pang of anxiety in her chest. Rye opened the flap and inside were two pallets with furs laying side by side. She needed to wretch. She darted to the side and quickly keeled over and emptied her stomach.

Rye hunched over her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. He put water to her lips and she was able to clean out her mouth. She started to take head clearing breaths and she stumbled as she tried to rise. Rye swiftly scooped her up and carried her like he was a groom taking his new bride to bed. Her heart pounded like a sledgehammer.

Rye's lips softly touched her ear and his breath tickled her as he whispered,"Shh. Just sleep. Only sleep." He leaned down as he entered the tent and then laid her gently on the furs. He kneeled in front of her and slowly removed her boots while keeping his gaze on her face. Anna held her breath and didn't dare move. When he shuffled to get back up on his feet, she couldn't help but flinch. Rye gave a deep sigh and Anna tracked him as he left. She let out the breath that she had been holding and then fell into a deep sleep.