Library

Chapter 8

Astrid

J ust as I think about playing with Ted again, clicks of heels land on the stones down the hall. Jumping up, I clasp the metal bars of the cell and try to peek out as far as possible to see who's coming. Dilan approaches in a long black dress and her high pearl collar.

Without a word, she eyes me momentarily, then opens the door and waves her arm. "We're moving you to the tower."

Part of me worries about what that means. The master said he would do that, but he's a liar. A tower could mean that he'll throw me off the top.

And it would be more difficult for Wyatt to get me out of here.

A hint of irritation coats her voice. "Let's go, miss." Glancing around at the items in my cell, I think about grabbing the books, but she stops me. "You can leave everything."

Nodding, I scurry to her and out into the unknown.

It's a long way up thousands of stone steps through a tiny, curved stairwell until we reach a landing. The bottoms of my feet are cold and bleeding from the journey. Dilan opens a black wooden door on the left to reveal an oversized round bedroom with a tall ceiling. A porcelain bathtub stands in an arched alcove near the back. Behind a small wall is a toilet and a pedestal that contains a basin sink. In the center of the room, a gigantic bed takes up much of the space and across from the foot of it sits a window seat with my favorite thing—bookcases.

Dilan escorts me inside, then shuts the thick wooden door with finality behind us. Another woman in a white shift dress and metal collar hovers near the tub with a towel laid across her bent forearms. A full-length mirror leans against the wall next to her. And in front of it is a gorgeous wedding dress on a dressmaker's mannequin.

It's almost medieval, with gold and red threads creating intricate patterns on the capped shoulders and down the front bodice. A long cape forms from the sleeves and pools like a waterfall at the base. Around the neck of the dummy lies a red circlet with an onyx stone carved to look like a bull's head.

Moving to a window, I gaze out over the entire city below. "Oh my god! You can see everything from here!" If I jump on the green velvet covered bed, I can see even more. The only limit to the distance is the clouds coating the gray sky.

"Mrs. Strauss, please get down." The way she says it, so exasperated, makes me feel like I'm an unruly child. Embarrassed, I step off the bed, but continue my journey around the room. "Nari here will care for you. She'll help you bathe and tend to your needs." As if she cannot stand being in the same room with me another moment longer, she spins on a heel and hastens from the room, and the distinct sound of the lock being slotted makes my pulse raise once again. I bet Wyatt can kick it down.

Once she leaves, I turn to face the woman with long black hair and almond eyes, who stares at me as if willing me to cooperate with her. She doesn't say a word, so I venture over to a tall window. Digging my fingers around the edges, I tug, but they don't open. The seams are sealed and leaded. There's no way out.

The other woman glares as I wander around, but continues to hold the towel out as a peace offering. Surely, none of these other, um, slaves, want to be here either. I could find solidarity with them. Maybe we could form a team and bust out together. Swallowing, I try my hand at making another ally. "Nari? Will you help me leave? I don't want to marry that old man."

Her mouth forms a solid line as her brown eyes narrow at me. "You ungrateful bitch. Master deserves better." The shock of her words makes me gasp.

Has everyone drunk some weird potion that makes them unable to see what a monster he is? Although, when I remember our meetings, I recall the trance-like state he put me under and wonder how long I can resist him. There's something magical…and horrifying about him. He's like a giant spider you trapped under a blanket. If you lift it, it may jump and bite you. But if you don't, you won't know where it crawls to.

Maybe he's poisoned everyone here.

Giving in, I walk to the tub and pull off my dress. I hate being naked in front of these women. I'm pretty sick of it, actually. But it's also making me feel like the skin I'm showing doesn't matter anymore.

Perhaps I should have asked Nari about escaping after she helped me, because for the next half hour, she scrubs my skin so hard it turns pink. Rips through my stringy hair with her nails until I think my scalp is bleeding. Then she tosses the towel in my face for me to dry off.

Fortunately, then she leaves in a huff just as Chloe walks in with a tray, eyeing Nari like she's done something shocking. "What's going on?" she asks as soon as Nari slams the door.

I dry off and wrap the towel around me as Chloe sets the food down and hurries to help me out of the bath. She picks up a comb and spins me around to face the small mirror over the sink basin and strokes through my long blonde locks. My skin is now paler than before, puffy cheeks sunken in from lack of sunlight. But my blue eyes are still shining.

"Oh, I don't think people like me around here."

She chuckles and untangles a knot. "Just ignore them. They're jealous."

My brow furrows. "Of me? What for?"

As she finishes with my hair, she hands me a fresh dress, and I toss it over my towel, then remove it modestly from underneath. Setting up the lunch tray, she continues. "Because you're Mrs. Strauss. You're married to the master."

Shaking my head, I try to figure out why anyone would envy my position. "It doesn't make any sense. I'm the one who has to have a child with him. It must be this room, or perhaps the books that they want."

With a wave of her fingers, she points to my food on the side table near the window seat and sits next to me with her knees up. A little snorted laugh escapes her nose. "Neither. It's him they want. They love the master, and you get to have something special with him."

Choking on a piece of bread, I spit out, "Love him? But-but why ? He's a slave owner. He keeps us captive. I still haven't gotten my outside time like Dilan said I would."

She eyes my sandwich for a moment and says, "There's a lot to learn living here. And I can ask Dilan about going outside. The master wants you to, so it should have happened." Lowering her voice, she leans forward. "But my offer still stands. I hold the keys to the door and will let you out if I can sneak away."

Not even speaking, so I don't get caught, I just nod slightly at her. Maybe if I can slip out, I could find Wyatt down in the city somewhere. He's my hero. He'll be waiting to rescue me.

"Besides. We have a large library on the first floor. I'm not really a reader. Yasmina pretends to be because she idolizes the master."

As I chew slowly, I try to figure out how these women are so desperate for him. I mean, he's incredibly handsome, yes, but obviously not a good person. "How many of you are there?"

Brushing off some invisible crumbs from her dress, she stands and wanders around the room. "Oh, I think we're down to about thirty now."

Once more, I nearly choke on my bread. " Thirty? Thirty slaves in his harem?"

She laughs and shrugs. "I mean, at one time, there were about a hundred. When I first arrived at fourteen, there were."

The bite I had falls out of my mouth as my jaw drops open. "You were fourteen ?"

"Yeah. I was an orphan and ran away… Anyway, the master didn't touch me until I was eighteen. I worked in the kitchen, mainly."

Blinking, I try to think about myself at fourteen and avoiding Tom's paws under the table. It could have been worse. "Did-did he sleep with all hundred?"

As I finish the food, she gathers it up for me and smiles. "It's a privilege to get to. We're trained. He likes the best of the best to satisfy him. I'm not sure how many he's had." She walks toward the door. "At least it beats kitchen work."

Chloe leaves me with a knowing look as she slyly points to the door lock, and I wave her goodbye. The rest of the afternoon and evening, I curl up to read Robinson Crusoe and draw old ships on the new pad of paper they left me. And try not to imagine my new husband having sex with thousands of trafficked women.

The bed is comfortable, and I rest easier under the stars that shine through the broad windows sitting high above me. It's almost like being free.

The next morning, I watch as the sun rises in the east of the tower, pondering how many days I have left until I'm doomed. I think it's only two. After Nari enters and shoves my breakfast tray at me with a sneer, I curl up on the window seat to finish my book, missing my one friend I've made here.

Hopefully, she comes through and can let me out. I've planned a strategy for running down the path toward the drive and the city. I don't know exactly where to find Wyatt from there, but I'll just have to start asking questions.

A key slots into the lock, and Dilan enters with an air of superiority. With a stoic look on her face, she says, "Miss, it's time for your wedding."

My breath catches in my chest, and immediately I think of vomiting up my eggs in the toilet. "But it's not my birthday until tomorrow, right? I'm not eighteen!"

Where is Wyatt? I thought he'd be here by now. Maybe I could rush her and scramble away.

"Master would like to do the ceremony now and sign the paperwork. He won't bed you until tomorrow." She pauses as my vision blurs with every heartbeat. Is this really happening? What if Chloe makes it here and somehow lets me out first? As if the thing I'm most worried about is that, she says, "You're a virgin. Are you not, miss?"

The question annoys me. It's not her place to know, and it's not important, but I'm afraid of the pain that may come from the act. She seems to know a lot about it, so maybe she's asking to give me pointers. "Yes."

Blankly, she stares at me for a moment and blinks.

Placing my hands on my hips, I lift my head. "Is that a problem?" I never really thought about sex. In fact, it seems weird. Someone sticking something inside me like that. Why do people do it? I guess he wants to impregnate me. I need to get out of here before that happens.

"No. The master will appreciate hearing that. He enjoys virgins and has a desire for his bride to be pure." Part of me wishes I had just given myself away to a random guy so I could bypass the consort's expression when he finishes. With her fingers, she beckons me. "Let's get you cleaned up and dressed for the ceremony. It's to take place in the back garden, but near the house."

Just behind her in the doorway stands a guard I haven't seen before. With his arms crossed, he stares me down, begging me to try something. My heart pounds so hard it takes my breath away. There's no escape.

Nari's gloating face pops out from behind Dilan's tall frame. She strolls to the wedding dress and helps me into it. Every button she does up my back makes me shudder. Dilan herself works on my hair, curling it and placing the ringlets on the crown of my head once she's finished. I do look like a medieval princess of a castle somewhere, and the change is shocking. I've never looked this polished.

I'm petrified.

The fear grows when Dilan escorts me through the house until we wind up in a well-manicured and fenced garden. My feet move as if I'm trudging through sand. When I think about bolting, the big guard they call Sev comes to stand beside me. He grips my arm as if walking me down the aisle and like I don't have a choice. Two more men in suits stand just behind me. Sweat almost drips onto my made-up face as beads of fear form on my forehead.

Then, I see him.

Despite being old, he's exceedingly handsome. And the high-collared deep red waistcoat he wears does nothing to make him less so. The long tails of his jacket wave in the crisp autumn breeze as he poses like a marble statue alongside a minister underneath an arched trellis heavy with red roses.

Dilan places something in my palm and folds my fingers over it, then hands me a bouquet of the same flowers as the ones on the arbor. "His ring. Good luck."

Spinning, she seems to hurry away from me until it's just the bull and I facing each other. And as if he truly resembles one, his nostrils flare at the sight of me. He lowers his head and waves his fingers, beckoning me toward him. With a snarl to his upper lip, his voice is husky and dry when he finally speaks.

"Come, my betrothed. It's time to fulfill your duty."

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