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He was smiling at me now, a full grin exposing all his teeth. Amusement filled his gaze. “Now, you won’t tell anyone about this. You won’t fight me anymore, and you will do as I say. Understand?”
“I won’t tell anyone. I won’t fight you,” I repeated softly, trying to mimic what my body would be forced to do without the necklace.
I struggled to keep my breathing slow, to hide my panic. I couldn’t take another night of this. Another night of being someone else’s entertainment. Of being at their mercy.
“Good. Now go to bed and sleep. Don’t mind my presence. Act as if I weren’t here.” He finally let go of my wrists as I fumbled off of him. I started to make my way toward the bed before he said, “Don’t tell me you sleep in your dress?”
I looked down and knew he was compelling me to act as if he wasn’t here. And I would put on a nightgown. I silently walked over to my dresser and pulled out a white slip. As I made my way to the bathing room, he smirked, “You normally change in there?”
“Yes,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Pity,” I heard him say as I slammed the door shut between us. I wasn’t about to change in front of him.
His eyes roamed over my body as I emerged from the bathing room and made my way toward the bed. I clutched my necklace tightly, staring up at the ceiling. Should I press it? All Kole had ordered me to do was sleep. I was only supposed to use it for an emergency. I doubted Sie would be pleased when he came to find out that I was just sleeping and Kole was just doing his job. Was he really only concerned that I would sneak off again and wanted to make sure I didn’t? Did he get in trouble when I left that night? I thought back to the new bruise over his throat, how Kole wore the collar of his uniform high to hide it.
I pulled the heavy comforter over my head, knowing full well he was staring at me. What was the point of him being in the same room as me? He could just compel me to not sneak off. He didn’t have to watch me like a hawk.
The next few nights were similar. Kole didn’t talk to me. He just followed me into my room, dragged the chair across the floor, and watched me sleep. Or he thought he watched me sleep as I never could drift off with him there.
I knew the underside of my eyes were turning purple from the lack of rest. I tried to take naps between my lessons and after dinner while Abherham was still with me until Kole’s shift started, but it wasn’t enough. Something in me never let myself fully rest. I didn’t trust Kole, and my body refused to sleep while he was watching me.
Peter said as much during our morning training sessions one morning. “You look like shit.”
“I can’t sleep.”
“I can see that,” he said as we ran together through the gardens and around the lake.
“Can you train me in self-defense? Like how to break out of holds and stuff if someone is holding me down?” I was a good fighter only because I was agile and quick. My motto during school was to never get caught, but now…
Peter looked over at me through his sweaty hair, eyeing me carefully. “Yes, we can add that to your training. I can incorporate that into our combat fighting, but my best advice would be to run. You are fast and can probably outrun most of our kind. If you do get caught, it will be more difficult for you to break out of holds since almost everyone is larger than you.”
“But not impossible? Can you show me? Like today?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said. “Is everything okay, Scottie?”
“Mhmm,” I lied. I wanted to tell him. I wanted to beg for a new guard, but I knew that was just me being weak. The only reason I wanted someone else was because he made me uncomfortable. I also knew that if I told Peter, Kole would know that I hadn’t been compelled.
A week of restless nights weighed heavily on me. My eyes waned as I slumped into my bed. I started to relax about Kole’s intentions. I figured a couple more nights of this, and he would grow tired of just watching me sleep. He would trust that I wouldn’t sneak off again and then go back to his usual spot outside my door. I just had to hold off until then.
Exhaustion overtook me. Peter had trained me harder this morning, and my body ached for rest. I tried to silently shake my head and bite the inside of my cheek to stay awake, but I couldn’t. I thought I saw Kole lift off from his chair and come to my side of the bed. I thought I saw him smile over my body, but I couldn’t tell as the room around me turned black, and sleep finally came.
TWENTY-SEVEN
SCOTLIND
Hot breath caressedmy face at the same time a crushing weight came down on my chest. Then my neck tightened, restricting my air flow. I couldn’t breathe. My eyes fluttered open in an instant, adjusting to the dimly lit room. Two solid brown eyes bored down into mine. I knew those eyes.
I tried to push Kole off of me, but it was too late. His knees were digging into my arms, holding them in place as he straddled me on my bed. His hands were wrapped around my neck. Unable to move any other part of me, I kicked my legs furiously, trying to shake my body out from under him. His fingers loosened their grip enough for me to fling my head forward, connecting his with mine.
Throbbing instantly greeted me as my vision blurred and I saw stars. I tried to focus, knowing I only had a second to act. Kole sat up as he cried out in pain from the collision, shifting off of my chest. I flung my left arm free at the same time I lifted my knee into his groin. Hard. He collapsed on his side, cradling the tender area with his hands. I didn’t look back at him as I sprinted toward the door. My breathing was raspy and uneven, slowing me down, as my lungs greedily took in the air around me.
The lock clicked into place before I touched it. I unlocked it and reached for the handle, only for it to click again. Quickly, I glanced behind my shoulder and saw Kole’s body covered in golden markings. He was using his telekinetic ability to keep the lock latched. I cursed under my breath before slamming my body into the large door, again and again, hoping it would budge.
“There’s no use,” Kole said as he managed to peel himself off the bed. “You know a nix like yourself can’t stop me.”
“What do you want?” I said, my voice quivering, still breathless. He smiled at me, really smiled. He took his time stalking toward me. A hunter circling and toying with his prey.
“You see, little nix, I’m not the only one here in the castle who despises Advenians like you. Nixes are nothing more than vessels for people with power to control. You are nothing. You will always be nothing. You should have been a servant, but look at you,” he sneered as he threw his hands in the air gesturing to the room around us. “Here you are living with the grand notion that you are actually meant to be the Queen. You think you actually deserve this? That the people of Tennebris will live to see a nix on the throne? That they will follow you? We made ourselves into a laughing stock for the Luxians. It’s time we start rivaling their power and we can’t do that with a zero on the throne.”
