Summoned and Bound (Summoned Series Romances Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

Magi, the new arrival wore the same style of robes. The rich, heavy fabric was dyed gray instead of black, but the overall look was the same, right down to the hood that covered the man’s head and cast a shadow over his face.
    “For your sake, I hope so.” The other man lifted his hands so that the sleeves fell back, revealing several rings on his fingers. “One of these rings is yours, slave, so do yourself a favor and don’t try anything stupid. You will follow me, do as you’re told, and if I think you are so much as thinking about trying to escape, I will make you suffer in ways you cannot begin to imagine.”
    “I thought my training would be overseen by the mistress. Has there been a change in plan?” Vamir asked. He had assumed he’d see Gwyneth again this morning. If he couldn’t make contact with her again, how in the hells could he take her with him?
    “I’ll be overseeing your testing today. As for my master’s favorite pet, she’s off running an errand for him.”
    The apprentice moved out of the doorway and snapped his fingers. “Follow me. Your trials begin now.”
    Vamir followed his captor, counting his paces and memorizing every turn they made through the twisting corridors. They passed more cells. Some of them had their doors open, but many others were locked and barred from the outside. The scent of food wafted down one hallway, and his stomach rumbled in response, reminding him that it had been a long time since the light meal he’d eaten before leaving the market the day before. The greasy, charred scent that greeted his nose was far from appetizing, but he was hungry enough it didn’t matter.
    The apprentice glanced back and shook his head. “If you’re still alive this afternoon, you can eat. I see no reason to waste food on a potential corpse.”
    Vamir didn’t bother to respond. He simply returned to counting his steps and pushed his hunger to the back of his mind. He’d eat later, after proving himself. For now he had only one purpose, to endure.
    ****
    Vamir’s world was full of pain. It came in a near infinite variety of types and intensities, but it was all very fucking unpleasant.
    The testing had been a long, vicious ordeal that had lasted for hours. He’d managed well enough in the beginning. The apprentice asked him questions about his life and ability to shift his skin to stone. Most of the questions were easy to answer without giving away anything of importance. Those same questions had been asked over and over again throughout the day. The wording changed, the meanings twisted in subtle ways to trip him up if he were somehow lying despite the spells imbued in the torc wrapped around his neck. Over and over, the apprentice ordered him to demonstrate his ability to turn his skin to stone and back to flesh again. The questions continued as he was beaten, burned, and slashed to test his abilities and his endurance.
    Then, he’d been handed a sword and ordered to fight, and then the true testing had begun. He’d held his own against the first slave, a human with no supernatural abilities. After he won a fight, he’d be interrogated again, and then the cycle would repeat.
    The trials were made worse by the need to guard his words and keep control over his instincts to protect himself and change forms. There would be hell to pay if he suddenly grew larger, then sprouted wings and horns mid-way through a fight. As his strength flagged and his mind tired, his will had weakened, but never broken.
    In the end, his years of ceaseless training saved him. A lifetime of discipline gave him the focus to hold on and endure until the apprentice finally declared the testing at an end.
    He’d been carried back to his cell by the very men he’d been fighting most of the day. They’d dropped him onto the burlap-covered straw that was his bed, adding another level of bruising to his already battered body. Normally, he’d heal most of the damage by shifting to his stone form and back