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“Go ahead and scream,” Kenric whispered. “No one will hear you.”

Bria swallowed the scream that rose in her throat. She would never allow him to know the terror she was feeling, the sheer unabashed fear that froze her limbs.

“Who is the Midnight Shadow?” Kenric demanded again. He pulled away from her, having undone all the hooks of her dress.

Bria wanted to dissolve into a fit of sobs and become the frightened child lurking just below her consciousness. But she was an adult now, and she fought back the urge.

Kenric reached up to her shoulder and eased her dress down over her arm. All the while, a smile etched his lips. He was enjoying her humiliation, her terror.

Finally, she lifted her chin and met his glare. “I remember the bramble patch,” she retorted bravely. “And I am not that child any longer. You do not frighten me.”

Uncertainty flashed in his dark eyes and Bria knew a moment of victory.

But then the cruel anger etched its way into his slanted eyebrows. “I should,” he growled and pulled her dress roughly from her shoulders.

“Stop it!” Bria pushed at his hands, knocking them away. She grabbed at the dress, keeping it from falling any lower.

“Tell me who he is and I will stop,” Kenric urged, a tight smile on his lips. “But it would be much more fun if you didn’t.”

Bria couldn’t stop humiliation from painting her cheeks red. Fear ate away at her bravery. “Terran will never allow you to do this.”

“On the contrary,” Kenric said, wrenching the dress from her grip and sliding it down lower and lower. “He ordered it.”

Bria grabbed the material before it slid completely from her body. “Liar! He didn’t tell you to -- to hurt me.”

Kenric reached out to touch her fingers, sliding his flesh along the length of her knuckles to the tips of her fingers to pry them open. “All you need do to stop this is tell me who the Midnight Shadow is.”

The dress dropped to the floor, pooling around her ankles. “You bastard,” she hissed.

Her chemise was now the only barrier between his evil gaze and her flesh.

Kenric flashed her a grin, displaying sharp white teeth. His scorching look assaulted the flesh beneath the sheer fabric.

“If you touch me, I’ll tell Terran.”

“My dear,” he said silkily, “he already thinks you’re a slut. Who will he believe?”

Slut. The word rocked Bria. Was that how Terran described her to his men?

Suddenly, Kenric stepped away from her into the darkness and Bria knew a moment of fierce relief. She reached down for her dress, but he suddenly caught her arm and pulled her forward, into the dark corridor.

“I’ll let you think about it for a night,” Kenric hissed. “I’ll be back come morning to continue our discussion.”

In the dull light from the distant candle, Bria saw Kenric open a cell door.

She tried to pull away from him, tried to free her wrist, but his grip was relentless.

“And keep in mind you wear only a chemise now,” Kenric propelled her into the dark dungeon with a tug of his wrist. “It will be a short discussion.”

Bria landed on the floor, her hand skidding in some grime. A bolt of pain seared through the wound in her shoulder.

“I want the name of the Midnight Shadow,” he called, slamming the door shut behind her.

Bria rose and raced for the cell door. Through a small barred window, she could see the candlelight flickering on the table. Bria grabbed the bars and shook them frantically. He couldn’t leave her in here! He couldn’t leave her alone in the dungeon!

Then Kenric bent near the candle. The light disappeared with a quick puff of his foul breath. Blackness surrounded her. It was so complete and so thick she couldn’t see her own hands on the bars before her face. Utter despair swept through her. How had this happened? How had it come to this point? Overcome by fear, she began to tremble.

Something shifted behind her. Bria turned slowly, eyeing the darkness.