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“Did you hear me?” she asked, her mouth pressed into a thin line.
“I heard you.”
When she realized I had no intention of answering her question, she rolled her eyes and began scrubbing again.
By the time Reyna returned, my back ached from being hunched over all day. My fingers were pruned from scrubbing floors and furniture. I clutched at my stomach, hoping to silence the continuous growling noise.
Reyna’s eyes shone with delight when she caught my movement.
We hadn’t been fed all day, but I chose not to say anything. I didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of thinking she’d somehow bested me.
“Something wrong, dear?” she asked with feigned concern.
“Just a little nauseous at the sight of such a heinous creature.”
The color drained from Reyna’s face. She looked as though she’d tasted something foul herself. She snapped her fingers and her henchmen appeared at her side. “Luther, take her back to her room. I have plans for this one.”
I ground my teeth, but watched in silence as the taller man escorted Emilie away.
Reyna spoke without turning away from me. “Tristan, will you go make sure my hounds are fed?”
Tristan grimaced but nodded and left the room.
Just Reyna and I now. I would’ve loved to wring her neck, but I knew the vines across my skin would stop me before I got very far.
Reyna let out a long breath through her nose.
“I always knew you were the more stubborn of the Castelli brothers.” She stepped closer and began to circle me, dragging a fingertip down my arm that made me shudder. Then she leaned in close, close enough for me to feel the heat of her breath on my ear, and whispered, “I can’t wait to break you.”
“Why are you doing this, Reyna? What’s your plan? You wanted to bring us here to clean your floors?”
“Well, if you must know; my initial plan was to kill Cyrus obviously and take Osavian for myself,” she stated rather matter-of-factly.
“That’s ridiculous. They’d never follow you. There’d be a rebellion and our people would burn the kingdom to the grown before they’d see you with a crown.”
“That’s where you’d come in. As long as I can make you submit, they’ll follow your lead.”
I laughed. “Well, that’s even less likely to happen.”
She smiled as her eyes roamed my body. “We’ll see. Follow me, Ladon. I’ve got quite the surprise for you.”
I found myself following her despite my unwillingness. Step one of whatever plan I concocted would need to revolve around removing these markings on my skin. I wouldn’t get anywhere while Reyna still had a leash on me.
We turned a corner and then another. As High Commander, I’d practiced making mental maps on more than one occasion, but I wasn’t prepared for the mazes of Murvort.
The hall began to slope downward, slightly at first and then more steeply. I stumbled to keep up with Reyna. My movements didn’t quite feel my own while under her command. They were stiff and awkward, like my limbs could feel my mind’s resistance.
Reyna smiled and winked at me when we reached our destination. One side of an iron double door was propped open. She extended an arm and gestured for me to step through the open archway.
Inside was a…bathtub? A huge rectangular tub that could fit a dozen people at once. I’d expected a torture chamber full of sick devices meant to inflict pain and suffering. Instead, steam rolled off crystal blue waters. A light emanated from the bottom and illuminated the two steps down into the tub. On the far end, a ledge for soaking was visible.
I looked back at Reyna, and she was a vision of depravity.
She returned to that cat-like prowl she’d demonstrated before. “I like to come here sometimes to relax. To sit, think. Maybe even find a little pleasure.”
My skin crawled, and I tried to look away—at the ceiling or toward the pile of linens in the corner. My eyes caught on a counter with wine and bite-sized appetizers before Reyna’s fingernails grazed my cheek.
To my horror, she’d stepped out of her dress and now stood completely naked before me. Reyna was less than a decade older than me, and she had a lithe figure with smooth porcelain skin. But there was no part of me that wanted to look down. She was a horrible excuse for a human being and no amount of beauty would make up for it.
