Vampire Enslavement (Lords of Bondage) (46 page)

She wished Druscilla would refuse him, but the prince would probably take her body anyway. She averted her eyes while Diermont plowed into Druscilla. When her friend screamed out, Kiera shuddered. She hoped he wasn’t doing her anally, but with the prince, anything was possible.

She saw Torin edging closer to her. The way he had stood up to the prince had given her a new respect for the lord. Torin was so handsome. Any female would swoon over the lord, but she couldn’t feel any romantic attachment to him. She knew Modez was the reason. It would take time to get him out of her system.

Torin put his arms around her and whispered in her ear, “You don’t belong here, kitten. I don’t think I belong here, either.”

Diermont withdrew from Druscilla and slapped her on the ass. The sound drew their attention so that they watched the prince. “The wench was a lousy, lazy fuck. The jelly wasn’t much help. Her vagina fit me like a tunic made for a three hundred pound man.” His cock dripped semen all over the floor. It swung limply between his thighs as he railed at Druscilla. Raising his balled fists in the air, he said, “She couldn’t tighten herself up for me, her prince,” Diermont said to Torin. “She must be punished. Urinate on the bitch.”

Torin’s arms slipped from Kiera and he put some distance between them. “Excuse me? I think I misheard you. It sounded like you ordered me to piss on the wench.”

“You balked at beating her but she must be punished. Piss on her. Wet her hair and face with a lemon-colored rainfall from your cock. Teach her what happens when she persists in being lazy when asked to service her betters.”

Torin shook his head. “I’m not pissing on anyone.”

Diermont’s face burned with anger and his eyes sizzled with fire. He marched four steps to Kiera, grabbed her arm, and pulled her to where Druscilla crouched on the floor. “Piss on the lazy cunt. Do it, Kiera. I want to see you make a puddle on your friend.”

Diermont had gone insane. Well, he had been crazy forever but now he had truly lost it. “No, I’m not doing it.” Like Torin, she had to draw the line. Diermont’s hands closed around her throat, choking her. She tried to push his hands from her, but she wasn’t strong enough. He was killing her in his rage. She heard Torin shouting at the prince and she felt someone tugging on her throat. Torin was trying to free her from the prince’s killing hold. Her vision turned to black and she knew she was going to pass out from lack of oxygen. Blows were being exchanged between the males. Diermont’s hands weren’t on her throat any longer.

She collapsed on top of Druscilla. She managed to keep her eyes open while the two males went at it. She worried for Torin. He would be punished for assaulting the prince even though he did it in her defense. After a while, Torin appeared to be the winner, but both males were covered in bruises and were bleeding from cuts. Torin opened up a portal and swooped Kiera into his arms. Another hybrid took Druscilla.

Torin took Kiera to the room she shared with Lord Ross and deposited her on the bed. “The prince has become violent toward the ladies. He beat Druscilla and tried to choke Kiera to death. I had to fight him to prevent him from killing the females. He is out of control.”

Lord Ross covered his sleeping human slave with a blanket. “What should be done, do you think?”

“I think we need to move our females to a safer location, somewhere away from Diermont.”

“Our females. Do you have a claim on Kiera?”

Torin nodded. “I will take her as my leman. She must be separated from the Halloran’s for a year before she is free. Otherwise, Diermont will have the right to take her from me.”

“I thought Kiera belonged to Modez as well as the prince. I’m not sure he’s willing to give her up.”

“Modez has a mate. He entered into a mating bond with Gwyneth. He will not care what happens to Kiera.”

Kiera appreciated the fact that Torin was trying to rescue her, but she didn’t want to be his leman. She didn’t want to belong to any man. She could disappear for a year and earn her freedom that way. She would be a serf no longer. If she allowed Torin to keep her, she would belong to him. He was an honorable male, a very desirable male. But he wasn’t hers. He would never be hers. She knew this because Torin had bitten her before at one of the mating balls and the bite hadn’t taken. They hadn’t shared sex but she doubted that would have made a difference. Eventually Torin would find his mate and he would tire of keeping a mongrel.

“We cannot move the females tonight. We need a safe locale. And perhaps we should bring Modez in on this.”

“Why does he need to be involved?” Torin frowned. “He doesn’t even like Kiera. He’ll celebrate when she turns up missing.”

“The situation between Kiera and Modez is complicated,” Lord Ross said.

“There is a situation?” Torin appeared perplexed. “How is that possible? He hates Kiera and she despises him equally. Modez mated with another just days ago. The bond will be hitting him hard. He won’t be able to do anything more than feed the bond and he’ll be doing it in bed with his mate.”

“Theirs isn’t a happy union, from what I understand.”

“Modez and Gwyneth have been closeted in his chamber for days now. I can guarantee you there’s a good deal of fucking going on in that bed. So I must assume their union is a good deal happier now.”

So that was where Modez had been hiding. He had taken Gwyneth back, the lying bastard. She knew he was spinning tales when he tried to claim he intended to break their bond. No male did that. The mating bond was too strong to break without it damaging the people involved in it. “Lord Halloran can go to hell. I want my freedom.”

“Are you sure, Kiera?” Lord Ross asked. “Are you certain there is no reason to remain under Modez’s protection, no reason at all?”

He wanted to know if she had conceived. “There’s no reason. I am certain.” Only she wasn’t certain at all. She felt sick. She wondered when morning sickness was supposed to hit. Was it too soon for that? She didn’t know much about pregnancy and she knew even less about mongrel pregnancies. Her mother had told her little, but she did recall her puking and pissing a lot many months before her baby sister had been born. “I don’t want to be with any male. I know you mean well, my lord,” she said to Torin, “but I want to be alone.”

Cabrian looked troubled. “Torin can take care of you. You cannot last on your own. Staying hidden from the Halloran’s won’t be easy.”

Kiera nodded. She planned to be gone long before Torin could make arrangements for her. She couldn’t rely on one of the nobles. They couldn’t protect her.

Chapter 30

“Adevax,” a heavily veiled woman said with a gasp. “I’d know you anywhere.”

The male called Peter stared at the woman. Her voice triggered distant memories of the past, long before his time in captivity. Her face was obscured by her veil and only her eyes were visible. One eye swirled with a multitude of ebony shades intermixed with amber. It was a chilling sight to see an eyeball with no distinguishable pupil and he recalled only one woman with such eyes. That woman had been a thorn in his side when he had lived in Adevax. Clearly she knew him since she had called him by that name. It had to be Gwyneth of Turloch. “Well, well, well. If it isn’t the Jelly Queen herself. What are you doing here?”

The woman emitted a high pitched shriek. “How dare you call me by that hideous name! I am your queen and you are sworn to my service.”

“You’re not my queen. I heard that Adevax is dead and his brother took the throne.” He didn’t try to hide his disgust of the woman. He wondered why she hid her face. Did the others at the villa know of her reputation in the North? His people had called her the Jelly Queen because she had gone through hundreds of pots of jelly when entertaining her string of lovers. All while she was mated to the king. Her affairs were legendary and the king hadn’t seemed to mind since her liaisons had benefitted the kingdom. He had zero respect for the woman. “Why do you hide your face?” Gwyneth lifted her veil. The sight of her burned, scarred face made him gasp in horror. “Who did this to you?”

“My mate. He tried to kill me.” Gwyneth lowered the veil to conceal what was left of her once beautiful visage. “Modez apologized.
Apologized
, as if he can excuse his dreadful behavior by uttering meaningless words of regret. We’ve been keeping quiet about my condition, but eventually everyone will know what he did to me. I cannot forgive him for this. I want him to pay.”

He shuddered. “You expect me to assist you, I assume. You think I’ll do so because you were once my queen.”

“You owe me, Adevax.”

“I owe you nothing.” The king had been the one to elevate his position to that of warrior. He had been a nameless orphan until the king had seen him playing with a toy sword in a field. He had seen his potential and had given him a real sword and a place in the barracks.

“You have no loyalty!” Gwyneth railed at him while she pounded her fists in the air. “I treated you like a son. What did you do to repay my generosity?” Gwyneth spit on the floor. “You got yourself captured on your first raid. So pathetic.”

“I made a name for myself. I became the best gladiator in Rome. Everyone called my name in praise. They worshipped me.”

“They scorn you. Everyone in Adevax speaks of the warrior who lasted not a day. A fortune spent on his training, yet he was felled by one poison arrow.”

“None of our kind are immune to the poison of the vipermantis plant. Those arrows have felled many, not just me. I was a slave but I refuse to feel shame for it.”

“Slavery is a sin. Only the unworthy fall victim to it. A male with loose morals and a weak heart will be judged. You were judged and I was thankful for it.”

He clenched his fists. “Bitch.” A smile stretched across his rugged, battle-weary face. “You were judged as well. What do your scars say about you, Jelly Queen?”

“I am blameless! You are not.” Gwyneth pointed one long finger at his face. “And you’re still a slave. A slave to Diermont. What is a Northerner doing working for a Southwestern prince?”

“That’s none of your concern, Jelly Queen.”

“We’ll see about that. I’ll make it my concern. I’ll make sure Diermont listens to me when I express my misgivings about your continued presence here.”

“Do as you will, spiteful bitch.”

“I could help you reclaim your place in society.” Gwyneth’s tone was suddenly soft and soothing. “A few words from their former queen and your sin of slavery would be forgiven. I am very influential, Adevax.”

“I don’t want or need your help.”

“You best remember who you are, Adevax. I was the one who gifted you with a regal name. Before, they called you Snot-nosed Boy.”

“I’ve been called many names, lady. I don’t go by the name of Adevax any longer. I am called Bloodfanger. You best remember that. I only wonder which name you will take next. Certainly not Jelly Queen. You’re too ugly to charm any more males to come betwixt your thighs now that you’re charred of skin and extra crispy.” He touched her veil with one of his fingers, careful not to touch her actual skin. “Make no further demands of me and stay from my sight. You disgust me.”

Chapter 31

Modez had spent countless days nursing Gwyneth. He hadn’t wanted to be closeted in her chamber with her, but his guilt over her disfigurement would allow nothing less. He had to make it right with her. He wasn’t sure how he could do it. He had no intention of honoring his mating bond with her, but now that she was burned and horrific to look upon, no other would ever have her. He owed it to her to at least stay by her side. Until she had recovered.

He looked upon her silent form. She would never recover. The woman was the most vain creature on the planet and he had robbed her of her beauty.

Gwyneth sat up in bed. Her face was covered in that veil she insisted on wearing. She sported a glass eye to replace the one she had lost in the fire. “Why are you still here?”

“I mean to care for you. Until you are well. The healers have been applying poultices and chanting spells. But the outlook is grim. I cannot say again how sorry I am. I never intended to cast you into the fire.”

“Please, spare me. I realize now your hatred for me. I should have known you could never forgive me for the slight infidelity.”

“Slight infidelity?”

“Yes, well the king bit me against my will. I was a slave to the new bond that was forced upon me. What could I do?” Gwyneth sniffed but her tears were false. “Let us not rehash this again. I should never have come here. You have ruined my face and ruined my life. I will take great pleasure in ruining yours.”

“My face or my life?”

“Your life.” Gwyneth twisted on the bed. “Although if your face is ever damaged I will not waste a tear over it. I want you to be as miserable as you have made me. I will discover what it is that you love and I will destroy it.”

“You will fail. I love nothing and no one.”

“I know that isn’t true. I will discover the source of your joy and I will snuff it out. Kill it. You will understand then how I feel.”

“I am sorry you feel the need to hurt me, but I have no strong feelings for anyone or anything. I have my pleasures like any male, but one can easily be substituted for another. Nothing is irreplaceable. Such is the life of a warrior.”

“I don’t believe you.” Gwyneth’s one good eye narrowed and darkened with hate. “You have been warned. You should kill me while you can, before I am able to put nefarious plans in motion.”

“I won’t assist in your suicide, Gwyneth. I won’t stand in your way if you decide to kill yourself, but nor will I be the one to wield that blade. You should focus on getting better. The druids will heal whatever they can. I am willing to hire the best healer in the kingdom for you. Maybe one of them can transform your marred flesh into something resembling skin. You have a son. That is reason enough to live.”

“A sickly child. I don’t even know which male sired him.” Gwyneth’s laugh was bitter. “I only know that it wasn’t the king. He was sterile. We tried for decades to have a litter. Eventually we gave up. He was willing to accept my bastard, but unfortunately his brother did not feel the same. The new king wanted to erase my little prince’s existence because he wasn’t truly of Adevax. There is nothing for me now. Nothing but your impending misery.” Gwyneth threw a vase at him. It missed and shattered on the floor. “I will make it my mission in life to ruin yours. It is my only reason for living.”