Deceptive Lord (Lords of Bondage) (28 page)

“No, you may not leave yet.
There is one thing that we would have you do for us first, Drest.
We wish to send a message to Nefertiti.
Come, let us show you.”
Ninian motioned for the others to follow him and they were led to a room that held a bed of medium size.
There were shackles at the corners.
“This room is in a special
location.
There is a portal here that is linked to a room in the Flourdan palace.
We can send images through the portal as well as information.
The oracle at the palace receives the messages.
Sometimes, she sends messages back through the portal.
Most of what she sends
are
vague threats, but a week ago, she sent images of Romans intertwined with Flourdans.
Two days after receiving the images, a
Roman
army attacked our borders.
They
arrived
wearing nondescript armor and they carried no flag or banner.
We believe
the army contained Flourdan soldiers as well as Roman ones, as some of the marauders were fair haired.
They invaded the settlement of Laurel and they killed most of the villagers.
They
held Lord Zimmant and his family hostage, along with some of the other hybrids.
They freed the young son of Lord Zimmant to bring a list of their demands to the
King
of the Ircindi.
Apparently,
the invading army demanded the return of the Lady Eden Avenal.
The
King
of the Ircindi had no knowledge of the lady, and he wasn’t going to negotiate with the enemy anyway.
The Ircindians attacked the invaders at Laurel and killed most of them.
A few escaped.
We assume that Nefertiti or someone connected to Nefertiti was behind this assault, since they demanded the return of Lady Eden.
Most of the army was destroyed, but
we believe they will continue to assault the border
.
There is no danger to
Ravenwood, since it is too far from the borderlands.
We have yet to confirm
that Flourda was behind the assault.
The Ircindians killed the invaders before they could be questioned further.
They indicated that the army was dressed and equipped as a Roman army.
They used Roman battle techniques and they answered to a Roman general.
It was only after the battle when they started to bury the dead that they noticed that some of the invaders had been Flourdan.
Some of the dead were Flourdan eunuchs.”

“What message do you wish to send to Nefertiti?” Drest asked.

“I want her to know what will happen to the rest of her people if she
persists in these assaults.
I would like the oracle to see her people in chains, enslaved
and at the mercy of hybrids.”

“What exactly do you wish me to do here?”

“Do to her what Nefertiti did to you.
Do it upon the bed and the oracle will receive the
message.
”

“Are you nuts?
I’m not doing this,” Eden said.

Ninian turned to Drest.
“You must
do this
.
We will not let you take Eden from
the fortress
until the deed is done
.
If you do not do this, then Taran will do it
.”

Eden looked at Ninian in horror.
“No, absolutely not!
I will not perform some degraded act to send
some oracle a message about hybrid superiority.”

Drest sent her a sharp look.
“She will do it.
Leave us.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Eden watched in stupefied dismay as the druids left the room
.
Soon, they were alone.
She looked in horror at the bed with the shackles on each corner.
There were also chains on the bed.
“Why did you tell them I would comply with this?”

“You must.
It is one of the conditions set by Ninian.
If you do not comply, the contract signed will be voided and I’ll be unable to take you home with me.”

“Who made Ninian
king
?”

“Ninian holds power here.
He probably has more power than the
King
.
Ninian has close connections with the High King as well.”

“So you have to act as Ninian’s puppet?”

“I’m no puppet.
We have a hierarchy here and Ninian is at the top.
He is
one of our elders and he is
worthy of respect and honor
.
I’ve been in training
as one of
Ninian’s
apprentices for many years.”
Drest looked at the bed.
“We will do this thing.
It will not be too difficult.”

“I do not wish for anyone to watch us.”

“The oracle will receive images, but there is no way to determine how detailed they will be.
She will not be able to see or hear everything that happens on that bed, only bits and pieces.
It may not even be enough to identify the participants.
She may
only get vague impressions.
We do not know how good this oracle is at messaging, but she doesn’t have the power of the druids.”

“Will you beat me, as Nefertiti did to you?”

“No.
I’m not going to hurt you.”
He walked to the bed and examined the shackles.
He
then returned to Eden and began removing her tunic.
When she was naked, he pulled her to the bed and began to attach the shackles to her feet.
He attached a chain to her slave collar.

Eden allowed him to arrange her on the bed.
The shackles and chains were cold against her skin and she could not stop herself from shivering.
Since she was shorter than the length
of the bed, he didn’t shackle her wrists.
He bound them together with cloth
; he then
attached the cloth to a chain that ran behind her head.
She watched his eyes darken to a deep red hue as he surveyed her naked body.
He undressed quickly.
He returned to the bed and covered her eyes with a blindfold.
She felt his hands brush lightly against
various places on her body, including
the insides of her thigh
s, her stomach, and between her breasts.
He was teasing her.
“You are enjoying this.
I can tell that you like the idea of having an Avenal beneath you, bound in chains to be used for your pleasure.
Ninian hardly had to twist your arm, did he?”

“
You are a vision to behold.
If anyone has to be bound to this bed, I
prefer it to be you.
It is so much better than having me bound to a bed.
You know what happens in Nefertiti’s bed, right?
First, she has her victim bound and chained.
Sometimes, she restricts their vision as well.
She makes it clear to you that you are nothing more than a beautiful object that exists to give her pleasure,
then
she toys with you for a bit.
You have no choice but to lay there and suffer your captor’s touch.
You now know what it feels like to be the prey.”

She stayed silent while he continued to touch her.
Brief, fleeting touches gave way to lengthier explorations as he made his way to her breasts.

“Nefertiti gives appraisals while examining her victims
.
She is not often kind.
You are formed perfectly to suit my tastes, so I’ll rate you highly.”
He proceeded to identify specific parts of her anatomy that he found pleasing.
“The
countess
also demands her victims be capable of pleasing her and she will check for readiness.”

She felt his hand on her woman’s mound and his fingers found her feminine flesh.
She felt herself grow more aroused as he began to stroke her there.

“You’re definitely ready
.
At this point, I will diverge from the reenactment.
Unless you can find a way to escape your bonds, you will
find yourself being ravished shortly.
Shall I wait while you try to free yourself?”

“You know that I cannot.
I don’t have your hybrid abilities.”

“
Then ravishment it is
.”

She heard the bed creak and give way unde
r his weight as he joined her.
He kissed her mouth and she accepted his tongue.
She felt the weight of his body press against her; she felt his erection press against her stomach.
He slid down her body and she could feel the stroke of his tongue against her flesh.
She squirmed underneath his body, but she couldn’t move much due to the chains and shackles.
She moaned as he began to suckle her.
Moments later, she felt him enter her
body and he began to thrust deeply.
She arched against him and clenched her
pelvic
muscles ti
ghtly to heighten stimulation.
She felt her passion building, and some time later, she screamed as she came rather violently.
He left her; she felt him free her ankles from the shackles.
She pulled her legs and feet closer to her body.
He flipped her over and entered her from behind.

“I believe this position is in violation of your Flourdan laws.
It should distress the oracle to see a Flourdan taken this way
.
Imagine the outrage
,” Drest said.

“You certainly take your duties seriously.”
She hardly cared which position he used as long as his cock
was inside her feminine core, which by Flourdan standards, made her a deviant.
She gasped for breath as he pummeled into her wet depths without mercy.
Finally, he stilled and
released her from the chains.
They dressed in silence.
Drest opened the door and motioned for her to follow him to the meeting room.

Drest looked at Ninian.
“It is done.”

Ninian nodded and indicated that they were to follow him back to the chamber.
“Stay against the wall while I approach the portal’s center.
Let us see if the oracle has a response.”
He walked to the bed
and lay upon the covers.
His features reflected deep concentration.
After several minutes,
he grinned.
“The oracle is much displeased.
She is boiling in her anger.”
He lost his grin as his features grew more solemn.
“She is angry with Eden as well, for taking pleasure
in the act of submission to a hybrid.
The oracle is an empath and she was forced to experience
an
orgasm
of unrivaled intensity
.
She has labeled Eden a traitor
and considers her eternally lost to the hybrids
.
”

“Was this your intention all along?
To turn the Flourdans against me?”
Eden asked.

Ninian stood from the bed.
“No.
I didn’t think any blame would fall on you.
The only intention was to provoke the Flourdans.”

“Why would you wish to provoke them?
It will only lead to war.”

“Yes, it will lead to war.
It would be best to quash the Flourdan threat before they get organized.
They ally themselves with Rome, our enemy.”

“You used me to start a war?
How dare you!”

“That little show on the bed was mere foreplay.
It was hardly enough to start a war.
You should be more concerned with the fact that your own people now see you as the enemy.
That pu
ts you in a precarious position with Flourdans, but it also makes it easier for you to break away from kinship ties.”

“How can they blame me?
I am the captive here.”

“You are the Flourdan who begged to be taken during an ambush.
You are the Flourdan who begs still, the one who begs to be taken in the flesh.
The one who takes pleasure from an invasion of hybrid flesh.
It is humans like you that make it easy for hybrid domination.
You will not fight your enslavement.
You will serve your mas
ter with unmatched enthusiasm, so well that other hybrids covet their own humans.
Hybrids will then breach the human territories and take what they require.
The only humans left alive will be the willing slaves.”