A sharp noise caught somewhere between surprise and discomfort hissed between her teeth as Dante jerked her head back, pulling hair and flesh. Pain detonated deep within her skull and spread beneath her skin like a heatwave; her hands bolted around his savage grip, instinctively trying to relieve her of this sudden affliction while her addled mind tried to catch up to what was happening here.
What was happening here?
Violeta heard the snarl in his voice, then the sound of her body crashing into the dresser. She hit the floor with the grace of a ragdoll, a loud violent thud rattling her bones. The force of impact left her breathless, coughing and gasping around a need for air. She laid with her head on her arm, swaying and staggering to slide her knees beneath her and push herself up. Her spine cried out in protest; through a curtain of hair, she saw him advancing toward her.
Heard the things that he said.
Why?
Clawing the ground, she barely made it an inch toward the bedroom door before he had his hand around her neck. Her back hit the wall and a cry climbed its way up her throat--she bit it before it left her lips and washed it down with the blood spilling from her tongue. She rolled her eyes open, squinted through a cloud filled with tears and blinking specks of light. Her head was spinning; she could not yet fathom what had put her here. How Dante could do this.
But when she looked into his black, humanless stare, she felt real fear.
It went through her like a vicious tremor, leaving debris and panic in its wake. Violeta wheezed and clutched his arm, digging her nails desperately into his skin in an attempt to pull him from his grip. She clawed until she drew blood, a futile attempt that had cost her a few vital seconds. This forced her into focus. Grinding her teeth, she raised her arm and brought it over the one he had extended between them, pushed down on it with no avail. To merely say that he was stronger than she was was an understatement.
What did he mean? What did she do?
In a split-second decision she thrust her elbow into his face and kneed him.