Prisoner Read Online Free PDF

suddenly that they no longer had to worry about the general's glares. Which reminded him—why had the Illussor been after him?
    His own people did not want him, the Krians wanted him dead, and the Illussor wanted him…for something, though Beraht could not even begin to fathom what. The next time death came up as an option Beraht was going to take it.
    He did not bother to fight when von Adolwulf grabbed what was left of his shirt and hauled him close. Looking up was going to give him a crick in the neck eventually. "You'd do well to remember, Beraht, that you are my prisoner. After what happened to my men, I will not be so kind as to kill you."
    Beraht's anger flared anew at the sound of his new, hated name. Damn it, he'd been earning a real name from his Brothers. He would have belonged, would have had a place and a full Star. Instead, he was now worse than nameless, and the star at his back would never be filled past yellow. "It's not my fault!"
    "Winter's Tits it's not! Why?!" von Adolwulf threw him to the ground. "Why? Why would the Illussor want a worthless Salharan?"
    "When you figure it out let me know," Beraht snapped, picking himself up off the ground.
    "If I were you, Beraht, I would cease being flippant." von Adolwulf's eyes were a strange mix of gray and green; they reminded Beraht of a jade pendant he had seen once, around the throat of a woman in a market.
    It really was no wonder everyone was terrified of the bastard. Beraht shoved away his own trepidation. Maybe if he angered him enough, von Adolwulf would lose his temper and beat him to death. Not a pleasant way to die, but Beraht would take what he could get. "Sorry, flippant is the only way I know to be. If you don't like it, ignore me or kill me." This time when the general came after him, Beraht braced himself and attempted to fight back, dodging away from the hand that reached out to grasp him.
    Fighting without magic was hard to do, however. Especially against a man who made bears look small. Just how far gone had he really been? Beraht hit the ground with a pained grunt, the breath knocked out of his lungs and unable to see clearly for a second. When his vision cleared, he saw all too well the anger and pain that filled von Adolwulf's face.
    "My men are dead. All of them. Not through battle defending their homeland or reclaiming lost ground. Not for a cause. But because the Illussor wanted you badly enough they Screamed. "
    "That Scream could have killed us too, you know." The heat had gone out of Beraht's voice, though he wanted it back. Every fiber in his body railed against the man pinning him down.
    The Scarlet Wolf. His own men had been terrified of him. Salharan soldiers dreaded hearing his name. None of them ever expected to live to see the day after a battle against him.
    Now his jade eyes were the color of storm-tossed leaves, dark yet bright, full of anger, but also pain. If Beraht were a weaker man, he might have felt sorry for von Adolwulf.
    But no one had ever given Beraht sympathy. He'd be damned if he gave it to a general who scared even his own men to death. "If I hadn't still had yellow arcen in my boot, we'd both be dead, General, so maybe you're angry, but it's not my fault. I'm as ignorant as you."
    With a rough, muttered curse, von Adolwulf released him and roughly hauled Beraht to his feet. "Keep your mouth shut," he said, brutally grabbing Beraht's chin and forcing him to look up. "Do as I say. Try to run, and I will cut off your feet."
    Beraht narrowed his eyes and dug his nails into the wrist that held him. "General, one day you'll grow sick of me. You'll try to rid yourself of me, but you won't succeed. I'll not leave your side until you take away my name. I refuse to live quietly with the name you've shamefully forced upon me. So don't get your hopes up about cutting off my feet."
    Von Adolwulf's grin was nothing less than wolfish when he let go of Beraht, seeming unaffected by the bloody marks left by Beraht's nails. "Do