Accidental Surrogate

#Chapter 179 — Bound Trigger warning — Assault (non-sexual)

Ella

"It’s all right, Ella."

The first priest says, approaching me as one might a skittish horse — with slow, measured movements and hands exposed to show he holds no weapon.

"We only want to protect you."

"Protect me from what?" I question shakily, my back flush against the locked door.

"You have a very powerful magic inside you, and if it's allowed to come out you’ll be exposed.We can’t let that happen." He explains, using a tone much too gentle to be trustworthy.

It’s as though he’s trying to trick me, to convince me he’s kind when he truly intends malice.

"I don’t have any magic." I insist, wishing that I did.

Maybe if I was magic I might be able to put a stop to the things happening here — to protect the others without bringing harm to myself.I was so preoccupied with this statement that I almost missed the second piece of information.

"Exposed to what?"

"You do, it just hasn't shown itself yet."

The second priest sighs, keeping his distance but watching me with sharp eyes.

"At least not in ways you understand.Tell me, have you never noticed how much stronger you are than your peers? That you can hear and smell things from much greater distances? That you can run faster, jump higher, suffer greater injuries with less pain?"

He inquires, his hawkish gaze searing into me, "do they not follow you? Gravitate to your side and obey you as a leader?"

My head spins, making me dizzy with the possibilities.He guesses correctly, but that can’t be because I have some sort of special power.It's just the way things are...isn’t it? "And exposed to a world you cannot yet join."

The first man adds.

"It must happen when the time is right - but that time is a very long way off."

"I don’t understand."

I squeak, a sense of pure dread settling in the pit of my stomach.

"We know, Ella."

The second man proclaims, "And I’m sorry that this must happen, it will not be pleasant, but it is necessary for the future of our people."I shake my head, fighting back tears.

Their words are triggering every alarm bell in my young mind.I know what men do to little girls under the guise of necessity, the pretense of helping or protecting.

And I know exactly how unpleasant things can get.

My blood runs cold, and my pulse races, triggering a strange new energy deep in my bones.

It pulses through me like a bolt of electricity, a wild thing writhes just beneath my skin, feral and rabid — begging to be free.

away!" I hiss, my

at each other

spot on — another

"I’m sorry, child."

professes gravely, closing the distance

do this if

terror, unlike anything I’ve ever experienced

instincts are screaming at me to run, to get away at any

these men intend will be far worse than anything the doctor or dormitory matron have

there isn’t anywhere

back and two attackers far larger and stronger than I am bearing down on me.I try to scream, but the second priest clamps his hand over my

sink my teeth into his palm, but he

me away from the door, propelling me further into

grabs my legs, and I’m

thrash violently against their hold, my screams muffled

seeps into my mouth, the metallic tang fanning the flames in

gagging, fighting for air and struggling to focus on

or how to fight them — I’m powerless in their strong grips, and

a feather swaying in the wind

keening pierces the air, sounding very far

grief and pain more complex than the sheer fright in

A deep voice, tinged with concern, joins the terrible

"It’s too much."

"Just a little more."

voice, floating above

"We're so close."

where these sounds are coming from, and the

and i’m nothing more than a pawn in their game — tiny and

onto the floor and pinned

sits on my kicking legs,

a shimmering silk cloth, it’s pearlescent sheen

soft and airy, but when they begin wrapping it around my body, it tightens around me

winding it round and round like

my arms are locked against my sides and my legs tightly shut, I’m completely

the fabric’s punishing grip, and soon they’re wrapping my

silk falls over my mouth, the priest finally removes his hand from my

my scream escapes before the moonlight closes over my gaping lips, locking my face into

though I don’t understand

nightmares come to life - my mind is awake but I’m trapped in my own body, unable to move

there motionless, my brain screaming at my nerve endings and muscles to move, to do something - anything! But nothing happens because this isn’t a dream from which I can wake, this is real, and it’s only the

can hear the priests rummaging around outside the walls of my silken prison, and I strain to identify the sounds: the clink of glass? The jostling of beads?

before drops of moisture seep through

crystals placed in deliberate patterns on my

desperately trying to fight the cocoon, that foreign electricity in my veins warning me that I won't be able to fight much

I’m running out of time, but I refuse

begin to chant then, speaking a language

room, carrying arcane power older than