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To Bard’s credit, he never reacted or showed a modicum of romantic feelings for me again after that night. I have to respect him for it. He didn’t send mixed signals or jerk me around. His no was a definite, irrevocable no.
Eventually, I moved on and started to have genuine feelings for Dave. But somewhere underneath, I know I’ll never forgive Bard for the way he rejected me—no explanation whatsoever—and he won’t forgive me for trying to hurt him back.
Now, my heart is breaking for an entirely different reason: Bard should have told me the truth. About this place. About what was really in that room. About why a giant might try to bring me here against my will.
And about the vow. “Fuck.” I cup hot water in my hands and splash my face, unable to avoid the obvious realization: If Bard is bound by this “Proxy Vow” this woman just told me about, then does that mean Bard is from here? If yes, then that means he’s not human.
So what is he?
I finish soaping up and rinsing. I dry off with a coarse linen towel that can only be described as a step above sandpaper. I hang the towel back on the thick wooden door, noticing the hook is made of a short tusk. What kind? I don’t want to ask. They might tell me it’s a devil horn or something, which is exactly what it looks like. I’m going to just assume that’s boar.
I redress in my dirty clothes and boots and go to find the woman.
I slowly open the door and look out into the long, torchlit hallway. “Hello?”
I don’t see anyone around, and I’d like nothing more than to get the hell out of here. Home. I want to go home.
I follow the hallway, taking the opposite direction from my room. Door after door is locked in this never-ending stone tunnel. How far does it go? And why is there no one around?
I can’t be this lucky.
The hall turns right, and I walk for another few minutes. Not a soul in sight. It’s like a damned ghost town.
I turn another corner and spot a woman leaving one of the rooms. Luckily, she doesn’t see me and disappears behind another door across the hall. The door to the room she just left stays wedged open.
Hoping it’s my way out, I rush over and go in for a look. On the floor is a naked woman in metal restraints. She’s huge.
A giant?
There are wooden buckets all around her, and a woman my size is slicing into the giant’s skin. Red blood dribbles out, and she collects it in the nearest bucket.
I gasp and cover my mouth, stepping away. I close the door as silently as possible. They’re bleeding her. But why?
“What are you doing here?” The pale woman from earlier is staring up at me.
Startled, I’m about to make up some polite excuse but catch myself before I make the mistake.
“Where the hell were you?” I ask. “I bathed and made myself clean for the king, and you were nowhere to be found. I want clean clothes. I will not displease Benicio.”
Her dark eyes flicker with suspicion. “Your garments are waiting in your bedchamber.”
“Okay. So are you going to take me there or not?” I ask, trying to sound as bitchy as possible. Meanwhile, on the inside, I’m praying she doesn’t press me about what I just witnessed. Does Alwar know about the female giant? He used to be the king. He would care about his people being treated like that.
“This way,” she says.
I follow her back toward my room.
“Your clothes are inside. You will wait here until Benicio comes for you.”
“Thank—I mean, good.”
She unlocks the door with a strange skeleton key. It reminds me of the one in Grandma Rain’s house.
I enter the torchlit chamber, and the door slams behind me. I know I’ve been locked in, so I don’t bother checking.
The room is small with a large four-poster bed in the middle. The comforter is made from forest green satin, but when I check under the covers, I find more of that rough linen.
Guess I’ll be sleeping in my clothes tonight.
Speaking of clothes… Laid out on the bed are a very skimpy pair of thong panties, made of black leather, and a lace top.
I stare at them, my pulse racing. I can only think of one reason the king would want me to wear these to dinner. But what happened to his promise, the one written on his body?
I start searching for anything in the room I can use as a weapon.
There’s nothing here. Bed. Door. Kinky outfit.
My eyes gravitate to the torch flickering on the wall. I go over and try to lift the base, but it won’t come out.
Shit. “Maybe I can light my shirt on fire and throw it at him.”
