Page 9 of The Endless One

Ajax had taken her. Not Leon. And she’d known the moment those golden eyes had locked with hers that she wouldn’t like his plan. She didn’t know this god or what he wanted from her, but she knew that there was going to be a reckoning.

Sliding from the bed, she landed in a crouch on the other side. Someone had changed her clothing. She stared down at the gossamer nightgown clinging to her skin. It was sheer, clearly intended to show the highlights of her body without giving too much of her form away. It was an outfit meant to seduce.

And someone had taken her clothing off to put it on her.

The girl she had once been would have blushed bright scarlet. Jessamine still had the urge to wrap her arms around her breasts like someone could see her even now. But there was another part of her that was just angry, and that part was so much louder.

Staying low, she made her way to the window. Maybe, if she was lucky, she could jump. But looking down, she could see she was in a familiar room at the highest part of his castle. Not nearly as tall as her own, but still a good five stories up. She wouldn’t die, but she wasn’t sure if Elric could fix her body from wherever he was.

No jumping out the window, then.

Turning, she surveyed the room. There was only a single door. That’s right. She’d forgotten there hadn’t been a private bathroom, and she’d made a comment to her mother about it. At the time, it had been the greatest inconvenience because she’d had to walk down the hall at night. Leon’s father had given her a private guard to ensure that she was safe during those midnight trips, but she had still been furious that she’d needed someone to walk her to pee.

Now, she was just angry that there wasn’t an easier way to get out of the room. How dare he put her here. Memories filled the space, and all she wanted to do was bat them away.

“Focus,” she whispered as she headed toward the wardrobe in the corner. Maybe she would find a weapon.

She quietly opened the door, remembering the right one squeaked. Again, that was something she had noticed in another life. Royals shouldn’t have squeaky wardrobe doors.

Unfortunately, it still made a loud noise as she revealed more sheer dresses. No real clothing, no undergarments, nothing but thin fabric that was meant to inspire the mind toward passion and nights of pleasure.

Slamming it shut, Jessamine decided she didn’t care if someone knew she was awake. She spun and angrily stomped over to the nightstand beside her table. The lamp would have to do.

Because it didn’t take long for someone to alert Leon, or whoever he was now, that she was awake. She held the lamp by the heavy base and swung it the moment someone walked into the room.

But she wasn’t dealing with Leon right now. She’d never seen him move so fast. His hand whipped out to grab the base of the lamp and twist it out of her grip. Slowly, his head tilted, like a dog that was confused by what she was doing.

“Is that how you greet every god you meet?” he asked, and then his lips quirked in a cruel smile. “Perhaps it is, if your only experience is with Elric.”

She ground her teeth in anger. “He’s far better than you. I’ve never felt the need to hit him with a lamp.”

“A lucky man, then.” He threw the lamp onto the floor with a resounding crash. “Now, you’re going to be a good girl and sit on that bed. I’ve been gracious enough to share this body with Leon Bishop, and he has much he wishes to say to you.”

“Absolutely not.” Jessamine gathered her hands together, ready to whip a spell in his smug face. If she could distract him for even a few moments, she could dart down the hall.

This god might not know that she’d been in this castle before. Maybe she didn’t remember all the ins and outs of it, but she’d been here for a week, and she had always been a curious woman. Wandering the halls during the day had been her way to get her bearings in a new place that was eventually going to be tied to her kingdom.

Now, she would use that knowledge to escape.

Then her hands cramped and curled in on themselves. She hissed out an angry sound, but that was all she could do through the blinding-hot pain as her hands were forced to her chest, immovable.

The God King wrapped his hand around her throat and lifted her by it. Her neck and back screamed as her spine was stretched. She would have screamed if she could, but her entire body felt like it had become a prison of his making.

He deposited her onto the side of the bed and arranged her body for her. He pulled her arms down to her lap, made sure her fingers were gracefully resting against her knees. He moved her around like she was a doll and he was the only person allowed to play with her.

Finally, he leaned back and surveyed his work. “There. Now you look like the princess I thought you were. With a little training, you could be perfect.”

Perfect? For who?

Her jaw ached from trying to open her mouth so hard. She wanted to spit in his face again, just because it would make her feel a little better to see his eyes widen like they had before.

Then he blinked, and all that yellow disappeared from his eyes. They faded to green, then the blue that she was used to. Leon looked back at her, and the magic that had trapped her fell away. Instantly, she lifted her hand and slapped him.

A bright red handprint glowed on his cheek, but Leon didn’t seem to mind. He just laughed and rubbed at the spot that must sting.

“I expected nothing less from you,” he muttered. “But be careful. Keep that up and I’ll let the god take control again.”

“Bring him back. Tell him to let me use my magic and we’ll see what happens,” she snarled.