Revelations
Pain burned out every thought, scorched her own name from memory. She bucked, shrank, twisted, but the restraining hands held her. The muscles of her abdomen spasmed and the stench of seared skin thickened the air. The brand pressed harder across her quivering belly. A scream issued from the core of her, from beneath her violated flesh, down dust-caked nostrils, dribbling through clenched teeth, and erupting in a thin wail high above the chants. The note expanded, gathering the remnants of ancient pain, swelling until a new sound burst from her throat—lusty as the cry of a new-born, fervent as the howl of men in battle.
Mid-note, the Sildahni chant changed to echo her scream. The hands holding her let go. She struggled upright, her skin slicked with sweat, and every nerve in
