A Panther Against a Rat

**Shaira's POV**

By Chief Owan's decision, Assu and I could stay the night in the house of custody and begin our journey back to Sagoria the next day with the first ray of sunlight. I would have liked to spend the night in a place where Zania or Angro were with me, protecting me, because despite Assu having secured my release, I no longer trusted him. He hadn’t mentioned, when he proposed pretending to be my husband, that we would need to make that journey to his place of origin to dissolve this apparent marriage. Also, he hadn’t said anything about what the flaw was in the story Zania and I had concocted, leading me to believe that he might have just lied to me and our version of events might have also secured my freedom.

As night fell, I lay down on the only bed in the house, hoping to have a peaceful sleep. At least I wasn’t alone, and before lying down, I saw that Assu had pulled out a jug of liquor from who knows where and was preparing to drink it.

“Care to share a drink with me, beautiful?”
I didn’t like that he called me "beautiful."
I refused, of course. I only wanted to sleep and wake up to find I had regained the life I had before losing my memory.

I was more exhausted than I had realized, and I fell asleep to the sound of Assu taking the jug of liquor to his mouth.

I awoke to a terrifying sound, but I couldn’t identify what it was or where it came from.

Everything was dark around me, except for the faint glow of an outside light filtering through the windows of the Tahuri, just enough for me to see, as I opened my eyes, that a man was almost on top of me.

I was about to scream, but a large, rough hand covered my mouth, pressing tightly against my jaw.

“Don’t even think about screaming, bitch, or I’ll cut off an ear when I’m done with you,” said the man holding my mouth shut. I recognized that voice, that way of speaking, even his smell.

It was Omawit.

Terror seized my heart, my stomach, my arms, and my legs.

I had believed I was safe in the house of custody, with Assu spending the night in the same place, so how the hell was this happening?

My eyes searched for Assu, hoping to alert him somehow to what was happening, but in the darkness, all I could see was Omawit’s body on top of me and, in the distance, leaning against a wall, the one who was supposed to protect me, sleeping soundly.

“I swore I’d take you tonight, that you’d be mine, and I know very well that everyone’s lying, that it’s all a setup, a farce organized by those who want to fuck you first, but I won’t give them that privilege,” said Omawit, still not releasing my mouth, his breath hovering over me like a creepy gust of fire burning my skin, “I’ll be the first to possess you, damned eteri.”

I struggled and tried to free myself, even attempting to bite the hand pressing against my lips, but all I did was make him angrier.

“Stay still, bitch, or I swear I’ll make this even more painful for you,” he whispered in my ear after running his disgusting tongue over my cheek, “If you make any noise or try to get away, I’ll gouge out an eye and disfigure your face, understand?” Omawit showed me the sharp edge of a knife he held in his free hand, “It’s up to you whether this is just a memory or a mark that will stay with you every time you see your reflection.”

With that threat, he convinced me to stay still, at least until I could figure out a way to get hold of that knife or for Assu to wake up and help me.

“Do you understand, bitch?” Omawit asked, “Now I’m going to let go of your mouth, but if you scream or speak loudly, I’ll slash your lips. Do you understand?”

I nodded frantically.

How was I going to escape this scoundrel?

Omawit released my lips, and his large hunting knife hovered near my face, ready to inflict a terrible wound if I didn’t keep my word. I kept it and swallowed the scream that had been about to burst from my chest.

“That’s right, now to what I came for,” Omawit said maliciously, his eyes scanning my body with a face twisted with evil, “This might hurt a little, but if you don’t hold back and make noise, I’ll ruin that pretty face of yours.”

I gripped the blanket that had been covering me from the night’s cold, staring at a point in the ceiling’s void, preparing for the worst. Maybe, when he was excited and distracted, I’d have a chance to escape, and what was about to happen wouldn’t be so terrible, but for now, I had no choice but to let him do whatever he wanted with me.

Omawit tore the shirt the woman had given me, and the sight of my bare torso lit up his eyes with a wickedness that pierced my stomach and twisted it violently.

This couldn’t be happening.

I couldn’t let it happen.

Maybe he’d carry out his threat, or maybe he’d hesitate and, feeling attacked, flee like the coward he surely was, having crept in like a vermin under the cover of night to achieve his wicked goal.

I couldn’t let fear defeat me.

I had to defend myself.

A disfigurement was preferable to what this scum was about to do to me.

Just as he was about to tear my pants, I prepared to grab him by the hair and drive my knee into his disgusting face, but I never got the chance to do what I envisioned. Before Omawit could lay his hands on my pants, a beast, appearing out of nowhere with the strength and skill of a panther, pounced on the scoundrel and shoved him against the wall where Assu was still sleeping, who, even after nearly having Omawit’s body thrown on top of him, continued to sleep.

I looked in the direction of my savior, but he had his back to me, and the faint glow of the outside light didn’t allow me to recognize him until I saw him launch himself again at Omawit without pity or hesitation. He slammed Omawit’s body against the wall and began strangling him with supernatural rage and fury, as if possessed.

Then I recognized him.

“Angro,” I exclaimed. His name slipped from my lips like a mantra invoking a protective and wild power I never wanted to part from.

The fight raging over his body woke Assu, who rolled over as if he were the one being attacked. Assu’s movement surprised Angro, who then let go of Omawit for a second, and the coward, like the crawling animal he was, took advantage of the distraction to slip away and flee through the house of custody’s entrance. I saw Angro prepare to follow him, but I called out to him with urgency.

“Angro!”

My voice, calling his name with such need, dissuaded him from pursuing. He stopped under the doorway and turned around. His eyes pulsed as they met mine, which silently called out to him.