BEAST'S SLAVE - CHAPTER 9
Three days had passed, and Emeriel was relocated to the slave quarters in the south wing. The room allocated to him was tiny and devoid of any comforts, featuring only a small bed tucked away in one corner.
Thankfully, Madam Livia had managed to get him overalls that covered his entire body, sparing him from the simple tunics, loincloths, or trousers typically worn by slaves.
As evening descended, marking his first day as a cellar slave, Emeriel secured a wrap-bandage around his chest and dressed in his work clothes. He proceeded to tie his hair up in a ponytail. He hadn’t seen or heard anything about Aekeira.
Whenever he broached the subject with Livia, she would change the topic. Emeriel vehemently refused to believe that his sister was dead and her body discarded. At least during the day.
At night, he would huddle on his cold bed and cry himself to sleep. Every single time.
He hadn’t encountered Grand Lord Vladya, Grand Lord Ottai, or the one they called Grand Lord Zaiper. However, whenever Grand Lord Zaiper’s name was mentioned, the maids and slaves would wear a terrified look. Every single one of them. As if they had witnessed unspeakable horrors.
“He is the worst of all the grand lords,” Amie had whispered to him the day before, her eyes wide as she looked around to ensure no one heard and the hallway remained empty.
“Lord Ottai is a sweetheart when he wants to be, and Lord Vladya is very scary. But like Lord Ottai, he is fair and just in his leadership. But Lord Zaiper? He is monstrous. His slaves die every day. Some starve to death, others are tortured for fun, and some are even R@P£D to death. His slave masters are the worst, and Lord Zaiper does not care. He does not see us as humans.”
Emeriel’s eyes had widened to the root of his hair. “This lord is worse than Lord Vladya?”
“Actually, Grand Lord Vladya is not that bad,” Amie had stated firmly. “When it comes to leadership and affairs of the kingdom, he is as fair as you could expect an Urekai lord to be. He simply h@??s humans. He does not hold back at all when it comes to humans. Compared to Lord Zaiper, he is an angel.” The younger girl had paused. “Avoid Lord Zaiper at all costs.”
A knock interrupted Emeriel’s thoughts as Amie poked her head through the door, her smile wide. “Are you ready to go?” she asked cheerfully.
Emeriel nodded and followed her outside. He had felt relieved when he’d learned that Amie also worked in the cellar.
The evening air enveloped them warmly, the sun casting a shadow along the horizon. As they departed Ravenshadow Citadel and entered into town, Emeriel realized that he did not just draw attention in Navia.
Gazes of both Urekais and humans fixed upon him as he passed.
The Urekais regarded him with a desire to ki|| him or break him in half, while the humans’ glares were similar, filled with condescension and hatred. Emeriel could not blame them. Humans blame the royalties for the misfortune that had befallen their race. And they were not wrong.
Emeriel just wished they would stop associating him with the likes of King Orestus. He had been stripped of his royal attire, so it baffled him to no end how how they could still identify his noble lineage with a mere glance.
“It is probably the way you walk, Prince Emeriel. The way you carry yourself,” Amie voiced out, breaking his train of thought.
Emeriel was taken aback and glanced at the girl. He did not voice his thoughts out loud.
The girl smiled, “I see the curiosity in your eyes. Fear not, they will grow accustomed to it soon,” she reassured him.
Emeriel was not entirely convinced, but he desperately hoped that Amie was right.
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BLACKSTONE DORMAIN, RAVENSHADOW FORTRESS.
“She is awake, my lord,” Livia informed Vladya as they stood on the military grounds. They were now making their way back to his quarters.
Three days had passed, and the girl had yet to regain consciousness. Grand Lord Vladya had begun to doubt if she ever would.
He had contemplated ordering his soldiers to dispose of her body and be done with it, but he refrained. Instead, he had instructed his healer to tend to her, with Livia keeping a close watch.
The girl possessed information that Vladya desperately needed. Answers to the questions that plagued his mind.
As they entered the entrance of his quarters, the maids bowed to him. The soldiers guided him toward the chamber where the girl was being kept. They opened the door, and Vladya entered.
“Wait outside,” he commanded the soldiers before they closed the door behind him.
Aekeira watched as the male figure stepped into the room. It was the second time she found herself in his presence, and this time, they were alone. Grand Lord Vladya terrified her greatly.
Her body still ached, although the pain wasn’t as intense as that fateful night. The herbs they had administered to her had brought some relief, but it had not completely erased the pain.
Aekeira bowed her head slightly. “My lord.”
“You have finally decided to rejoin the realm of the living. I was beginning to wonder if you ever would.”
“I did not think I would, my lord,” she replied sincerely, meeting his gaze. “Where is my brother? How is he?”
“I ask the questions here, slave. It is not the other way around,” Grand Lord Vladya stated without missing a beat. “How did you manage to survive being mounted by the beast? Frankly, I did not expect you to live through that.”
Aekeira clenched her fists. By the Light-gods, she h@??d this man. She h@??d them all.
“I do not understand what you mean, my lord,” she retorted. She could hear the sharpness in her own tone, and Aekeira was quite certain she was glaring at him.
Grand Lord Vladya’s icy, grayish-yellow eyes bore into her. “Allow me to rephrase the question. This time, provide a response more to my liking than your initial one, or I shall summon the nearest slave master to strip you bare and lash your back with thirty strokes of the whip. Am I understood?”
Aekeira sensed that he was not bluffing. Any trace of rebellion vanished, and her heart thudded in her chest. “Yes, my lord.”
“Good. Tell me everything that transpired from the moment you entered the forbidden chambers.”
Aekeira proceeded to recount the events in detail. She described how she had walked in, how the beast had stalked her, pinned her and mounted her, and how she had endured the ordeal.
Aekeira tumbled over her words a few times, as she tried to detach herself from the horrific memory as much as possible. “I lost consciousness multiple times. I believed I would die. Truthfully, I do not know how I managed to survive.”
Grand Lord Vladya scrutinized her with an intense gaze. Aekeira endeavored to look innocent. As if she were not hiding any details at all.
“Do not rejoice just yet,” the male finally stated. “Rest well and diligently follow your medications, for in five nights’ time, our people will celebrate the moonlight festival. On that night, you will be required to fulfill your duties once more in the forbidden chambers.”
Aekeira’s blood turned to ice. Just as she had begun to hope for a chance at survival, this man shattered her expectations. Tears welled in her eyes, “Surely, you cannot mean that,” she whispered.
“I assure you, I never utter words I do not mean,” he replied calmly. “Do not worry, for I am not completely heartless. The healer will attend to your needs, providing you with the necessary treatments and herbs. However, make no mistake, your duty remains unchanged.”
He pinned her with a stare, “Whether you choose to return to the forbidden chambers or send your dear little brother in your stead is of no concern to me. But one thing is certain, one of you will be there.”
“You have no soul. You are a manifestation of the devil himself,” Aekeira spat, disregarding the consequences.
“Compliments, slave. Compliments.” There was no remorse or anger in his eyes, only a chilling indifference as he turned and exited the room.
Tears streamed down Aekeira’s face, and a sob escaped her. By the gods of light, she had never been one to shed tears carelessly. Regardless of the circumstances, she refused to start now. Not because of a male such as that grand lord.
Her body ached as if she had been immersed in boiling water overnight. The area between her legs felt raw and bruised, and the mere thought of being mounted by the beast once more caused her to break out in cold sweats.
Just the thought of it made her feel like she would die.
However, she would rather return there than for Emeriel to be there. Even if it meant being R@P£D to death by a feral beast.
Aekeira had withheld something from Grand Lord Vladya.
She had not disclosed how the beast had repeatedly sniffed her arm, growling and pressing its nose against her skin.
As if it wanted to take a bite. As if the very scent that arm gave was all it wanted the most. It was the same spot where Emeriel had touched her, pleading with her not to enter the forbidden chambers.
The beast wanted her younger sister. That beast may have mounted her, but it was Emeriel’s scent that it was fixated on.
Why? Aekeira had no idea. Nevertheless, she would do everything within her power to keep Em away from that chamber. Or die trying.
.
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Boris, the Urekai slave master, observed Emeriel’s every movement with the watchful gaze of a hawk surveying its prey in the depths of an ancient forest. Emeriel felt incredibly uneasy as he arranged the bottled wines in the wooden barrel. So uncomfortable that a bottle nearly slipped in a moment of panic.
Fortunately, his reflexes kicked in, and he managed to catch it just in time.
Good thing too, because breaking any wine bottle would result in fifteen lashes from the scorching whip. And, two nights in the dungeon, as dictated by Master Gaine, the second Urekai slave master.
Pull yourself together, Emeriel! Ignore him. Stop looking in his direction! Emeriel picked up yet another red wine bottle and gently placing it in the barrel, alongside the others on the lower level.
“Two white wines and a perry for the twins at table four,” Amie walked up and requested. She was one of the slaves serving the numerous patrons at the tavern.
“Coming right up,” Emeriel quickly fulfilled the order and handed it to Amie, who took them and hurried away. When he glanced back, he noticed that Master Boris’s eyes were still fixated on him.
Those creepy eyes were way too watchful, Too unsettling.
.
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