Chapter 21

Walking out into the hall of the king's castle alone is a thrilling experience. Me. An earth witch. Walking royal corridors to go and select a dress given to me by a queen. That's quite a step up. Shaw told me precisely where to find the room I'm looking for, so I follow his instructions, passing the odd guard or court member. They don't acknowledge me but side-eye me in silence as we pass one another, then hastily start whispering to their companions as soon as possible.

I find the large white double doors Shaw told me to find and step inside. The door slowly closes behind me, and I stand in awe at this room.

Dresses line the walls. Fantastic gowns of all colours covered in sheer silk, protecting them from dust, light and moths. Ahead is a black rail as tall as me. Hanging there are ten dresses. I walk over and start looking, excited to choose one of my own. My fingers settle on a deep red one with black trim and a chiffon skirt.

‘You think you're something special, don't you?'

I drop the dress and spin, startled to hear I'm not alone.

‘Cole…'

‘You're not, you know. You're nothing. Not to me. Not to them. Not to anyone.' His words are laced with venom, and he attempts to look smug, but I see the muscle in his jaw twitching. He's mad. Furious.

I kind of like it and struggle to find the strength or want to hide my smile. I return the dress to the hanger and face him.

‘Is that right?'

‘You should be ashamed of yourself. Degrading yourself like this. Letting him touch you. Kiss you.'

‘Letting him fuck me?'

He winces at the crude word. I remember my father telling me Cole hated that I swore. So I'll make a point of it.

‘He is a killer.' He steps forward. Each step is slow until he stands before me. ‘And so are you. You murdered twelve of your own coven.' He sneers hatefully. ‘Then you return to cut out my father's eyes? Have you no shame? No decency?'

I could tell him that wasn't me. That a wraith took them. I could even rub it in his face that my lovers killed that wraith.

I don't. I simply smirk and enjoy his anger.

‘You are putting everyone at risk. Return the Grimoire and come home. I will make your death quick. I will show mercy.'

‘Mercy? You stabbed me before fucking my best friend right in front of me. You watched them all cut me.'

He shrugs and runs his hand over his jaw, accentuating his smile. But something on his wrist catches my eye. A bracelet, just like the one I wear.

I snatch his glamour from his wrist, dodging him as he attempts to grab it back.

I laugh. I knew it. He was wearing a glamour, covering the deep scars I left on his face when I boiled his blood. It's grotesque.

His hand is around my throat in an instant.

‘When I get you back, which I will, you'll pay for it all.'

‘Is that before or after you kneel in front of my lover and swear your servitude to him this afternoon?'

‘You think he'll marry you?' he scoffs, looking at me like I'm filth. ‘You? A Blood whore slut.'

‘I'm a whore, alright. His whore. His slut. Would you like me to describe it in detail, Cole? What he does to the woman you were to marry? How he knows exactly what to do and how to do it?'

‘That's because he's had so much practice with all the other whores he's had.'

‘Do you happen to have a list with their names? I'll send them a thank you note. Especially to whoever taught him that trick he does with his tongue.'

He tightens his grip a little more.

‘I will stain the snow of our village red with your blood when he tosses you aside like the whore you are.' His fucked up face leers into mine. I'm sure it still hurts like hell. ‘You will beg for me to end your suffering, and I can not wait to hear your pleading. Just like you did when you were tied to the tree at the Blood Rite, and my father had the blade between your legs. That was music to my ears. I think about it when I take your best friend to bed every night.'

‘And I do not think of you at all as I lie beside the man you hate.' I force my face forward, holding that smile. ‘Or underneath him. Or on top.' His face goes rigid with rage. ‘Now get the fuck off me.'

‘Your bones will end up in our crypt or the village gates. Mark my words.'

‘Well, let's hope they don't end up at the gate. Or yours will be put up there just the same. Yours and everyone else's in the coven. You know as well as I do that if they find out I came from your coven, you'll be slaughtered. So perhaps you should work a little harder at protecting our secret. Because if it all goes wrong and Shaw turns me away, I won't return to you. I won't run. I'll come here and ensure everyone knows precisely what I am.' I shove him, and he releases me to stagger back a few steps. ‘If I'm to die, you better believe I will be taking every single one of you with me.'

‘Spoken like a true blood witch.'

‘And don't you forget it.' Taking a minute, I straighten my dress and smooth my hair. ‘I shall leave you to practice your kneeling. See you soon, Cole. I'll be the one standing tall, right next to your new master.'

I grab the red dress and stride past him, feeling proud.

My hand reaches for the door handle.

A series of thuds ring out. A very specific series of thuds.

‘Furatus aer. '

My chest feels crushed as I breathe out my last bit of air.

I turn. Cole has my father's cane.

He also has my father's trigger and has used it on me.

The compulsion takes over. The need and panic. I'm on my knees before him, awaiting my instructions.

‘I may have to kneel before your brutish, murdering, monstrous lover.' He undoes his trousers and holds himself in front of me. ‘But not before I have his girl's mouth wrapped around me.' He taps my lips. ‘Open.'

I shake my head and seal my lips shut.

I can't breathe.

‘You have betrayed me and broken my heart. You have humiliated me, Ashe, and torn apart the coven.' He sneers in disgust. ‘You are the reason my father is dead. So do as you are told and open your mouth.'

I don't. I'll die first. He grabs my face and starts to prise my jaw open.

‘When you have a dick in your mouth, you can breathe. And you are not leaving this room until you have had cum in your mouth, then you will take ten strikes. And you will not take a breath if you refuse any of what I have said. Now… open.'

I close my eyes, disgust swallowing me whole, knowing how this works. His words are law. I'm tied to them and will not be free to breathe until I've degraded myself.

‘That's it,' he says, his voice rough and heavy as he forces his fingers inside my mouth. ‘Eyes forwards. Don't move.'

My fists ball up in my lap and tears spring behind my closed eyes.

Don't cry, I tell myself. Don't you dare give him the satisfaction of seeing you cry.

He releases me, and I hear choking and wheezing.

Fearfully, I open my eyes.

Cole has his own hand wrapped around his throat. He staggers back, slowly turning redder and redder as he chokes himself. His eyes bulge, and his tongue protrudes from between his lips.

He's looking behind me, to the door, but I can't look. He's ordered me here. To stay. So I stay.

Slow and steady footsteps come closer. More than one set.

When I see Dorian walk around me, his demonic eyes firmly on Cole and a small doll gripped in his curled-up hand, I could sob in relief. His knuckles are white with how hard he holds that version of my ex.

‘Sit,' Dorian commands slowly, the words ground out through his clenched teeth.

Cole falls back in the chair, his swollen and bloodshot eyes looking fit to burst with fear and pressure. He gasps in a breath when his hands slam down on the arms of the seat as if pinned there. But no one's touching him. Dorian stands over him, that doll firmly in hand.

‘Touching her?' Dorian says, slowly shaking his head. ‘Big. Mistake.'

Cole looks up at Dorian in terror.

‘W-what do you care? She's just a-'

Dorian's fist tightens on the poppet of Cole, and he starts to choke again.

‘I strongly recommend you do not finish that sentence.' He lets go, leaving Cole to slump forward with a splutter.

‘How are you doing this?! Stop! I order you to stop! I am a coven leader!'

A hand rests on my shoulder. ‘Not yet, you're not.' I slump as Archie stands at my side. ‘We're here, Pixie. Don't you worry.'

Cole looks from Dorian to Archie, and when the door closes with a click, they look past us all.

‘I was curious if you knew her trigger,' Shaw says from behind me. ‘I needed to know. Now I do.'

I think on those words. Shaw sent me down here alone. Did he know this was Cole's plan? That he was here waiting?

He spent the night dream walking. He can plant ideas in another's mind. Was this Shaw's doing?

‘If you kill me,' Cole panics. ‘You'll be starting a war.'

Shaw walks across the room. I hear chair legs scraping against the floor, and he stops in front of me, placing a chair down before sitting in it. I look up at him, and he gives me a slight wink.

‘Not a very nice way to treat the woman you love, Cole.' Shaw rests his hand on my cheek, lifting my face so I can see only him. ‘Not nice at all.'

‘I don't love her.'

'Oh no?' Shaw laughs dryly.

‘Especially now you have touched her. She's vile to me.'

Shaw keeps looking at me with a strange and steady comfort, even as he speaks to Cole.

‘I know different. I see much more than you could ever understand, and I know you love her. It kills you that you don't have her. It drives you insane. I dare say it haunts your dreams thinking of everything I'm doing to her.' He runs his finger along my lower lip. ‘Of all the things she's doing to me. That's what you dream of, isn't it, Cole?'

He has dream walked into Cole's mind.

Archie's hand clamps down on my shoulder as my vision starts to blur.

Cole starts to laugh. It's strangled with fear, but he's determined not to be seen as a coward.

‘She'll pass out if she doesn't complete my command,' he mocks. ‘Then she'll wake and pass out again. Forever and ever. My words are final, and you can punish me all you want, but none of you have a choice. You can watch as your whore sucks my dick, or you can watch as she suffers. Either way, I'm good.'

I fall forward, slamming my hand into the floor in desperation.

Air! I need air!

‘She can't breathe, Shaw,' Archie says, kneeling beside me.

When Dorian goes to come towards me, Shaw holds up his hand to stop him.

‘Actually, Cole,' Shaw says calmly, even as I struggle before him. ‘Your wording wasn't quite as precise as it should have been when you commanded her. You said she couldn't breathe until she had a dick in her mouth.' Shaw undoes his flies and pulls out his cock, stroking it slowly as it grows in his palm. ‘You should have specified whose.' Shaw leans forward and takes the silver chain's end around my neck. As he sits back, it grows longer. Then he tugs. ‘Come, Pixie. You know what to do.'

I can't stand, so I crawl, my eyes on him and no one else. I reach him and rest my hands on his knees. His fingers knot in my hair, and I open wide as he guides me down.

‘Ahhhh. Yes. That's good, Pixie. That's real fucking good.' He collects my hair atop my head and moves my head.

Air. Sweet air fills my lungs. I can breathe again.

I run my tongue along the underside of his shaft and look at Cole. Such rage and pain fill his eyes, seeing me on my knees for his enemy.

So I take Shaw deep into my throat. I want Cole to watch. I want him to see how much I enjoy his enemy.

‘Stop,' Cole snarls, trying to move from the chair. ‘STOP!'

This just makes Shaw laugh.

‘And see her suffocate?' Shaw mocks. ‘Oh, I think not. Do you want to stop, Pixie?' He pulls at my hair and lifts my head.

‘No,' I reply, side-glancing at Cole. The prick. ‘No, My Lord. I don't want to stop.'

He thrusts me down again, and I make sure to moan around him.

‘Don't be shy, boys,' Shaw breathes, relishing as I work him. ‘She has another hole you can play with. It seems a waste leaving it unattended.'

My skirt is lifted, and Archie slides his fingers slowly inside me.

It's hard to focus on my mouth when he's doing such beautiful things between my legs.

It doesn't take long before I'm ready, and he eases into me with a lustful moan. Shaw takes my face in his hands.

‘You look incredible,' he whispers close to my ear. I pant as Archie withdraws and slams into me. ‘Watching you getting fucked is a thing of beauty.'

‘My mouth,' I pant, feeling the effect of the compulsion start to rise. ‘Please.'

‘Begging only makes this hotter, Pixie.'

‘Please. Please…'

Proudly, he obliges, guiding me back down onto him. From behind, Archie's thrusts force Ronan's length deeper down my throat. His hips grind in time with Archie's thrusts, and I gag as he forces himself down my throat.

Mixed with our heavy panting are Cole's furious breaths and grunts.

‘You allow your men to touch her?' he spits viciously. ‘I demand you stop!'

Shaw laughs.

‘How many strikes does she need?' Archie asks, still rutting into me. ‘Ten, was it?' He slaps my backside and speeds up. ‘One.' Slap. ‘Two.'

When Cole tries to look away, Dorian grips the doll, and Cole's head snaps towards us.

‘You don't get to look away,' Dorian states. ‘No. You have to watch every single second.'

Archie continues delivering the blows, and when Shaw lifts me by my hair, I see Dorian standing beside him, his cock out and ready. He waits and doesn't take a step towards me. Not even when Shaw slides his fingers in my mouth to open it wider.

I take Dorian's hand. His fingers wrap around my throat, and he face fucks me hard. Harder than Shaw and more ruthless. It's almost violent as he slams down my throat as far as he will go. Gagging and with tears streaming down my cheeks, he's brutal.

But I love it, and Archie's giving me everything I need to find my release and scream around Dorian.

They share my mouth, snatching me from each other as if desperate to feel me. As if starving for me.

Ronan's the first to spill into my mouth, swearing as he climaxes. Archie strikes his tenth blow, and as soon as he does, I'm freed from Cole's command.

But I don't swallow. And I don't stop. Keeping what he's given me in my mouth, I take Dorian in my hand and work him hard, my lips apart and waiting.

He climaxes, too, and I take all he has to offer.

Dorian closes my mouth with his finger as Archie finds his release.

‘Command complete,' Shaw says. They all stand and tuck themselves away.

I stand before Cole. The man I thought I loved. Who I once trusted more than anything. I was ready to give him everything. And he was ready to take everything from me. To kill me. To assault me.

Raging, he stares up at me.

‘You're a disgusting whore,' he spits with a trembling voice. He's so furious, but the tears in his eyes are pain. I guess, in his own way, perhaps he still loved me as much as a monster like him can ever love someone.

I rest my hand over his heart.

And I spit everything in my mouth onto his face.

He roars in rage and disgust, looking at the sticky liquid seeping on his skin and dripping down those posh clothes of his.

‘You f-f-f-fucking bitch! You disgusting… fucking…' He starts retching before violently throwing up on the floor.

Dorian places his finger over his doll, and Cole's voice becomes mute. I simply look down at him.

‘If you ever use that against me again,' I warn. ‘I will kill you. I will kill your coven. I will burn it all to the ground and dance in the flames.' I tilt my head and force him to keep looking at me. ‘And I will fuck these men over your crispy corpse, Cole. Now, clean yourself up. It's your turn to kneel soon.'

I wipe the corner of my lip and suck my finger clean before turning to the door.

‘I'll tell everyone what she is!' Cole warns. ‘I'll tell the king, and you will never leave this castle.'

‘Do it,' Dorian shrugs. 'They'll kill us, sure, but they will kill you and every member of your coven as well. You're the ones who made a blood witch. A complete cull is what awaits you if her true identity is ever revealed. Mutual destruction. That's what we share. You keep our secret, and we'll keep yours. We both survive.'

‘This isn't over.' Cole is shaking all over, utterly overcome with murderous rage but defeated by the truth. He can't do shit. We can't do shit. ‘You'll regret this. All of you.'

‘Maybe,' Shaw says. ‘But not today.'

Cole scoffs. ‘We'll see.'

Archie hands me my chosen dress, a deviously proud smile on his lips, and Dorian holds the door open for me.

‘Thank you, My Lords,' I say sweetly.

‘Our pleasure,' Dorian smiles.