31. Chapter 29 Arden

Chapter thirty-one

Chapter 29: Arden

" Y ou're sure you figured out how to stop tonight from happening?" I ask Camus as we lay in bed the next morning. "I honestly am not sure how I'll handle being assaulted for the third time since getting here."

"If anyone puts their filthy cock on you, I'll kill them. It's that simple. But yes, I figured out a way to put a stop to it."

"The more I think about this the angrier I get. She's whoring out innocent girls for the sake of keeping men compliant. It's smart, but it's sickening. If we make it out of here–"

" When we make it out of here," Camus corrects.

"When we make it out of here, I'm figuring out a way to put a stop to it. Which will likely mean taking her out entirely."

"Careful not to talk about treason too loud, darling." Camus says with a smile in his voice.

"It's hard when it's the only thing I can think about. Well, that and getting back to the others. God, I can't wait to be out of this place."

Camus tenses next to me, and when I turn to look at him, he's biting his cheek and staring at the ceiling.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"Nothing."

"Camus…" I warn. "You've been honest with me up until this point. Don't start lying to me."

He turns so he's facing me. "I know we've joked about just running off into the woods, but honestly, can we just do that? I don't want to have to deal with sharing you. I thought I could do it, but…"

"You can and you will."

"I almost killed you yesterday," he whispers, casting his gaze to the mattress. "You were just trying to figure out your challenge, and I almost killed you. How am I supposed to share you with six other males?"

"By understanding that just because I have feelings for them, doesn't mean I feel any less for you."

He stares at me as if willing me to do or say something. Finally he asks, "Do you love me?"

"I…care about you."

"But you love the others?"

"The only one I can say I love with one hundred percent certainty is Livarius. The others I was just getting to know."

"I guess that'll have to do for now," Camus says. "Let's get you some breakfast, and start our day.

Ursa leads Dira, Solina, and me through the dining hall to the back left corner. There's a guard standing there and he presses his hand to the wall and a door-sized piece of wall shifts backward and up, revealing a dark staircase.

We climb the spiral stairs to a small dark room. Ursa presses her hand to the wall and another door shifts back and up.

The room we step into is a giant sitting room. Couches and chairs are everywhere. In the far right corner, there's a small dias with a bed. The walls are littered with chains and shelves containing any sexual implement you could ask for that isn't powered by batteries. There are crops and flogs. There are ball gags, and glass butt plugs. It's tantalizing and horrifying all at the same time.

"The dresser over there has lingerie. There's options in your sizes." When she sees the disgusted look on my face, she adds, "Don't worry. They're one time use, only."

I approach the large piece of furniture and pull open a drawer. I find the most covering thing that I can and pull it out of the drawer. Dira and Solina do the same.

"Go ahead and get dressed. The men will start filing in soon. You'll want to be ready before they get here."

"Okay," I agree then watch her leave before pulling my clothing off and pulling the lingerie on.

Once my dress is back on, I take a seat on one of the couches the others sit with me. It's awkward and quiet while we wait. I didn't tell them that Camus was going to save us because I didn't want Dira to have a meltdown about it. She's been touchy about anything having to do with him. About fifteen minutes go by before the door to the room opens again, and a few men enter. One of them glances around before his gaze lands on me.

"Camus' shifter bitch. Excellent." He begins unbuttoning his shirt and my stomach does a flip.

Dira Solina and I stand and begin backing away from them. "I've actually already chosen my quarry for the evening, sorry."

"You don't get to decide," he says with a snort. "We're the ones who pick. And if we agree to share you, that's what you have to do. Did they not explain how any of this worked?"

I continue backing away and he continues advancing. My back hits a corner, and my heartbeat goes wild. The other two are descending on Dira and Solina, but I don't have time to be concerned about them right now. I just need to keep this guy off of me for a little longer.

"Nowhere to run, bitch. Now you're going to be a good girl and act like a beast in heat for us. I'm going to pretend that I'm dumping our cum in you to get you pregnant. If you don't obey, then I'm just going to take it anyway. Her Majesty wishes to keep us happy, and this is the way she does it. Now get on your fucking knees."

He presses a hand to the top of my head and pushes. I resist for a moment, and he summons a large icicle in his free hand before holding it to my throat.

"I'm not afraid to rough you up a bit. Now get on your knees or I'll carve into that pretty pale skin."

I slowly drop to my knees, hands trembling at my sides. The man reaches down and pulls down the zipper of his pants.

The stone on stone sound of the door opening hits my ears, and the man in front of me flies through the air toward the other side of the room. His back hits the ground, his dick flopping out of his pants as he lands. The other two men have stopped what they were doing to Solina and Dira. Predictably, Dira looks pissed. Solina is relieved though.

"What the fuck?" my attacker demands, pushing off the floor and fastening his pants before readying his magic.

"Ah ah...you don't want to do that," Camus says.

"Prince Camus!" the man says with a gasp, then dips into a low bow. "What a pleasant surprise."

"Yes, it was quite the surprise since you were putting your hands all over my mate." Camus turns his hazel eyes on me. "You alright, darling? Do I need to kill the man or just maim him?"

"Your mate?" the man asks, feigning innocence.

"Don't let him fool you. He called me—what was the phrase you used? 'Camus' shifter bitch'?" I say, as Camus helps me to my feet.

"Well, he's not wrong about all of that, but no one else gets to call you that—only me." He brushes a stray piece of hair over my shoulder, and smiles down at me. "That was a close call."

"Too close. Where the fuck were you?"

"Bribing didn't work. I had to find other means to get rid of the guards." He kisses me, and nips at my bottom lip. "So kill, or maim?"

"Maim, I say. He didn't get very far."

"As you wish."

Camus turns on the man, and I cross my arms over my chest with a smug look on my face. In the back of my mind, there's a tiny voice scolding me for enjoying this, but I am going to enjoy it. I'm so sick of men kicking me around, and treating me like shit without any repercussions.

Camus pulls his dagger from his waist, and theatrically stalks over to his prey and begins circling him. The man is trying to act stoic, but the fear in his eyes gives him away. I'm surprised he hasn't pissed himself yet.

"Now, I can't do anything to his face, or Grandmother would have my head. But I can injure him just about anywhere else."

"Does he have children?" I ask.

"Three of them. Plus Stars know how many bastards. His activities here don't even scratch the surface of his love of brothels and whores."

"Watch it," I warn.

"I wasn't talking about you, of course."

"Right," I deadpan. "Well if he already has heirs, I don't see why he needs his balls anymore."

"You vicious little thing," Camus says with an approving look. "Pants off, Haryk."

"N-no," the man stutters, and his face is white as a sheet. "Please. Anything but that."

"Anything?" I ask.

"Yes. Anything."

"Take your shirt off," I say and prowl toward him.

With trembling hands, he reaches up and slips the shirt off. I hold my hand out for Camus' dagger, and he raises an eyebrow at me.

"Give me the dagger, darling ."

The sarcastic look on his face gives way to one of surprise. He gently places the dagger in my hand, then steps back, holding his hands up in a placating manner.

"Lay down," I instruct the man. "On the floor. I'll get a better angle that way."

"Arden!" Dira hisses. "What are you doing?"

"Teaching this man a lesson."

I glance at his friends in the corner who are watching, enraptured; horrified. Haryk lays down on the floor and for a second, I swear I can hear his heart pounding in his chest.

"How old are your children?" I ask sweetly, touching the tip of the dagger to my left pointer finger.

He's barely able to get out the words when he responds. "They're all over a hundred now."

"Any girls?"

"One."

"Do you wish this fate for her one day? Do you wish for her to be locked in a room with no access to her magic, forced to suck the dicks of men more than, what, six times her age?"

"Eight times," Camus corrects.

"No. Of course not," he answers, fury replacing his fear.

"So why is it acceptable, then, for you to do it to others? You told me you were willing to just take what you wanted from me. Should I go find someone to just take it from your daughter? Should I convince Cyndair to make your sweet darling little girl a permanent fixture here?"

"You wouldn't dare."

"Wouldn't I? I'm starting to feel like the only way for me to fix the way that men treat women around here is to start threatening to defile their mates and daughters." I know I would never actually put a woman in that position, but he doesn't need to know that. "Camus, do you have any magic suppressants handy?"

"Always," he says and pulls a small bag out of his pocket. "Gotta make sure I'm dosing you regularly."

"So these are the strong ones? The ones made for me?"

"Yes."

"Good." I grab Haryk's cheeks and squeeze until he opens his mouth. Then I drop the pill into his open orifice. "Swallow." Once I check his mouth for the pill, I step back. "We'll need to do this quickly so no one else sees. It won't be pretty, but it will get the message across."

Straddling Haryk's legs, I hold the blade to his gut and press until blood pools. He hisses in pain, and I grin down at him before dragging the dagger in a straight line, cutting through the skin.

His arms get a little twitchy, and I turn to Camus. "Hold him down?"

"With pleasure," Camus says with a bright smile.

Solina joins, and helps Camus hold Haryk's arms. Dira watches from the corner, horrified. I begin drawing another curved line in his flesh.

"You know, I have been wronged by just about every fae man who I've ever come in contact with. This really isn't personal. You were just the final straw."

Haryk cries out in pain as I start my next line.

"You need to understand that once I've had my way with Sangaris, men will no longer hold the egregious amount of power that they currently hold." Another line. "Men will fear women. Men will fear me." Another line. "And when you go back to your mate tonight, I want you to explain to her exactly what happened. I want you to tell her who did this to you." Another line. "And I want you to tell her why. If you don't, I'll know. And if I find out that you lied, I'll make it even worse."

I finish the word, and lean back admiring my handiwork. Blood pools at each line until the word 'PIG' shines in crimson across his belly.

Camus stands, and holds out his hand to help me up. There's blood on the front of my blue dress. I add to it by wiping my hands clean on the soft fabric. Camus pulls me to him, and kisses me as Haryk begins pushing himself up off the floor.

"You crazy, fucking bitch," Haryk says.

Camus pulls back and stares down at me before gently brushing his nose against mine. "Watch how you talk about my mate. She got her pound of flesh, but don't think I won't flay every inch of skin from your body if you insult her again. And I'll do it while you're alive."

The weight of what I've just done falls over me. The version of me that just carved words into a man's skin is a version that didn't exist six weeks ago. Or maybe it did, but I never let her come out to play. But I never would have done something like that before I left the human realm. I never would have done something like that before I left Feldorn. For a second, as I reflect on that, I feel guilty.

But I scold myself. He was going to take from you, so you took from him instead. And maybe, just maybe, it'll make a difference for another female fae later on.

He grabs his shirt and begins to pull it on.

"No no. Leave that off. Let everyone admire my handiwork," I say, grasping his shirt in my hand.

"Listen, Haryk, as far as anyone is concerned, I was never here. And Arden wasn't the one who did this to you. If you tell anyone, I will secure your daughter a place in this room for the next event. And I'll make sure the most depraved of the men are here to take advantage of her."

Haryk makes a frustrated sound and heads for the door. Just before he leaves he looks at me and says, "If you didn't have your fucking guard dog, you would have been choking on my dick. You better watch your fucking back. Both of you."

Camus moves toward him and I place my hand on his chest. He glances down at me. "I'm not just going to let him talk to you like that."

"I am. It's all just talk, he knows if he hurts me, you'll kill him. If anyone hurts me, you'll kill him. He's all talk. Bye Haryk."

He growls and storms out of the room. His friends try to leave, but Camus holds up a hand to stop them.

"You two are staying. Others will be here soon."

He kisses me and pulls the dress over my head. I stand awkwardly, not liking how exposed I am.

"Camus," I whisper.

"Shhhh. You know I like an audience. Besides, I'll wipe their memories before we leave. I get to fuck you while they watch, and you get to live in peace knowing that they don't remember it."

He entwines his fingers with mine and pulls me up onto the dias. As he begins unbuttoning his shirt, three more unfamiliar men enter, and halt the second they see him. One of the first guys shakes his head ‘no', and they exchange worried looks.

"Welcome! Have a seat gentlemen. In a few minutes, you'll get to see what it's like having a willing participant. In the meantime, pour yourself a measure of alcohol and get comfortable."

A few seconds after Camus stops speaking, the door opens one more time, and this time Gormon enters.

"Brother, why are we–"

"Gormon?" Dira asks, standing and walking toward him.

Gormon takes in her scantily clad appearance, and he growls. "What is the meaning of this?"

"So you didn't know either? This is what Grandmother had planned for our ladies this evening. A sexy romp with other males. Isn't that fun?"

"Get dressed," Gormon growls and throws Dira's dress at her. "You're leaving immediately."

Dira nods, dropping her gaze to the floor. She doesn't argue with him, and looks like a scolded puppy.

"You know this wasn't her idea or anything, right?" I ask, moving toward Gormon. "You know she was being forced to be here just like Solina and I were."

"Yet you're up there about to fuck my brother with an audience. You'll forgive me if I don't take the word of a common whore."

"Gormon!" Dira protests and moves toward him.

Gormon spins to face her and smacks her across the face with a deafening crack! And I see red. I snatch the dagger from Camus's belt and storm down the steps of the dias before sinking the dagger into Gormon's shoulder.