Chapter 12

M ost guests had already returned to their previous activities, making merry, drinking, and chatting. Citizens of Hedonfel weren't easily rattled. Even the band hadn't stopped playing during the entire ordeal.

The mass of blackened goo left behind by the expiring simulacrum had been cleaned up. A round rug covered the spot, the edge of a dark stain peeking out from beneath its tassels.

The curtains on stage were drawn, thudding and clanking sounding from behind them, and my cock throbbed in anticipation. Preparations for the highlight of tonight's entertainment were in full swing. Now positioned down on the dance floor, the musicians played a mellow tune to pass the time.

We took up our seats on the plush sofa once more. While we were away, the maids had flipped the table on its feet again, atop it fresh drinks and a cloche-covered plate. Kerys's bashful smile reflected in the polished silver as I grabbed the gem-studded handle and lifted the dome.

Her brows rose. She did a double take, head tilting as she gaped at squares of white nougat with nuts and fruit inside, arranged in a neat heap on a fine ceramic dessert plate.

I stifled a chuckle. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"That's not it." She wet her lips, eyes flicking from the sweets to me and back again. "How did you know?"

I set the cloche aside. Now all I had to do was play dumb.

"What do you mean, Ella?"

"These!" Her voice cracked as she took a piece of nougat and waved it in front of my face.

I laughed. "What's wrong? Did I offend you? I thought you could use a snack."

Come on, Kerys . Remember. I imported these for you every month, shipped them all the way from Zeridia to our home in Xar'vath. You liked them so much. The joy on your face was worth every copper.

"They are my favorite , Skrain! Even this exact kind from the candy shop on Main Street, and I'd recognize them anywhere because only they have hazelnuts, pistachios, and walnuts inside. I've loved them since I was a girl. Each year, for my birthday, my father rode from our village to Hedonfel to get them as a special treat."

A crushing heaviness settled behind my ribs, and I pressed my lips into a tight smile.

She still didn't remember.

A terrifying idea flashed in my mind, and I pushed it far away, but the echo remained.

What if her memories never returned ?

"Is that a problem?" I asked before picking up a piece of nougat and dropping it into my mouth. I chewed, cracking the nuts, overwhelming sweetness coating my tongue. "These are my favorites, too. I always buy them when I'm here in Hedonfel. Isn't it nice to have something in common?"

I smirked, licking my fingers clean. In truth, I only liked them because she did.

Her shoulders fell, the hand with the nougat sinking to her lap. "I'm sorry. Maybe I was too suspicious of you. There are many people buying and enjoying these sweets. They're popular for a reason. I just …" She sighed. "I probably shouldn't talk about this with you, and I know this sounds crazy, but … I have a stalker."

My heart raged in my chest like a cornered beast. Though I burned to tell her it was me, I schooled my expression into casual curiosity. One brow arching, my elbows on my knees, I leaned forward.

I had wondered if she'd feel safe enough to bring this up to me so soon. The fact that she did meant she trusted me, sought my protection … whether she was consciously aware of it or not.

"A stalker?" I asked.

Kerys gave a shaky nod. "Someone has been leaving gifts in my room. Flowers and this exact nougat. Even a music box! Sometimes, I feel like I'm being followed around town when I'm running errands or I get a strange feeling like someone entered my chamber when I was asleep. Not that I've ever seen anyone who seemed to watch me. The madam thinks I'm making things up, but I'm a little scared."

My cock stirred, unbidden thoughts carrying me to memories of her sleeping. Since my olden days as a blunt killer, I had refined my skills. I'd learned to be quick and quiet on my feet, the night providing cover as I easily scaled the brothel walls with my vines and slipped into her window. During my visits, a sting from my poisoned thorns ensured Kerys wouldn't wake while I was in the room.

My demonic empowerment meant I needed less sleep than a regular mortal, and I had to see her. Protect her. Even if all I did was stare longingly until dawn, my dick painfully hard.

I snickered, head lowering to her hand. My lips encased her slender fingers, and the graze of my teeth made her shudder as I plucked the nougat from her grasp. I chewed, shrugging.

"So, they've never harmed you? Just left … gifts ? Sounds like a very considerate, kind stalker, if you ask me."

"I suppose so." She bit the inside of her cheek, frowning. "I guess I've never looked at it like that."

"Besides, you know I'll keep you safe, right? Nobody gets to touch you but me." Her eyes widened as I slid over to her. I picked up another square of nougat and brought it to her face before she could answer. "Now eat."

Kerys accepted the command from me just like she bowed to the previous ones—instantly and with a smile on her face. Obeying me calmed her as it always had. My wife found peace in the loss of control, pleasure in submission to me. Deep down, her instincts must have remembered I would always do right by her.

Her eyes closed as she dug in, savoring the expensive candy. A quiet hum surged in her throat after she swallowed.

"There you go, my priceless treasure," I whispered. "Have another bite. Do as you're told. You're so good at taking orders."

Pink crept along her cheeks, up to her ears, and beneath her fringe. "Yes, master."

She devoured three squares, kept eating until I handed her a fresh glass of sparkling wine with raspberries. When I ordered her to drink, she obeyed, too.

"So, with your other clients …" I laid a hand on her bare thigh, drawing circles across her pebbling skin. "Do you always come as hard as you did on my lap?"

She choked on her drink, stammering and coughing as she put the empty glass on the table.

I snickered. "I take that as a no."

Why did I laugh when nausea roiled in my gut?

To be honest, I didn't know why I brought it up. When I discovered my wife in the brothel's catalog, I sent Emily to Madam Iletha to ask a few pointed questions and find out what had driven Kerys into this line of work. Soon, the madam let slip that Kerys's father's debt forced her to walk this path.

The rational part of me knew that I couldn't blame her for her past, and I didn't. So-called purity had no value to me. I never understood why people looked down on those working in pleasure houses. When a person chose the life of a courtesan by their own free will, it was a profession like any other.

But it hadn't been a true choice for Kerys.

If I had found her sooner, if I had tried harder maybe, if I was better , I could have spared her that fate. Flashes of light blurred my vision as I swallowed a wave of acid rising in my throat.

Just like every other misfortune that befell Kerys, this was my fault, too.

She glared at me, letting out an incredulous huff. "Are you jealous ?"

I wound a hand into her hair and tugged her closer until her shallow breaths danced over my lips. "Of course I'm fucking jealous. I want to cut off the fingers of every single person who touched you. Rip out their tongues for kissing you. Pluck out their eyes for looking at you."

Her lips trembled as my mouth crashed against hers, and her arms coiled around my neck. She held me tight, hungry tongue searching for mine. I tasted the desperate confusion in her kiss, saw the fight in her eyes.

She didn't want to believe me. But she did.

Somewhere buried inside her soul, was a part of my Kerys. A fragment of her that knew I spoke the truth, that I had a right to be jealous. That she belonged to me, and me alone.

I pulled back, her gaze glassy and hooded as she looked at me.

"You didn't answer my question. Then let me try another. How many times have you come in a row when you touch yourself?" I asked. "How many times has your tight cunt fluttered around your fingers, soaking the sheets of your bed at night?"

"Two times at most," she whispered.

"Now that isn't enough for a hopeless slut like you, Ella. I know your greedy pussy needs more. We'll have to work on that."

Her jaw slackened, but she nodded. I wondered if there was anything I could order her to do that would be met with refusal. Perhaps I would find out soon enough.

The curtains on stage parted, and I stood, pulling her up alongside me. Her brows squished together as she bit her lip.

"Where are we going?" she asked, tension in her voice.

"We'll work on your record right here, right now."

She inhaled a sharp breath, and I couldn't stifle a smirk. "You're joking, Skrain."

"Oh, I assure you I'm deadly serious." I led her down from the platform, toward the stage. "When I'm done with you, you won't know the difference between pleasure and pain, my priceless treasure. You'll love how I make you suffer—and you'll beg for more."