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Chapter 5
CHRISTY
“I’ll run you a bath, you can clean up. I’ll ask Renard to bring you something to eat,” Konrad says as he leads me into a large bathroom situated at the far end of a long, wood-paneled corridor. This is the only room Konrad has bothered to show me after unlocking the door into what I assume is The Masks private quarters.
“Who’s Renard?” I ask, knowing full well who he is, and not buying Konrad’s sudden kindness for one second.
“Our butler.”
I nod, watching Konrad warily as he moves about the space gathering towels from a cabinet situated beside another door that leads to God knows where. He moves with confidence, not in the least bit bothered that I might try to attack him and run. Though, I’m not foolish enough to try. Aside from the fact that he stands at least half a foot taller than me, putting him at least six-three, he has wide shoulders, thick arms and thighs that fill out his suit. Konrad is built,intimidating. He’d overpower me in seconds.
“Don’t you have maids who do this kind of thing?” I ask, swallowing hard and wondering how, in the twenty minutes it took us to walk here from the dungeons, I didn’t see another living soul. Nala and Renard had mentioned the ‘Numbers’ but who were they? Where were they? Surely a place as huge as this required staff to run it?
“We have staff, yes, but the majority are forbidden to enter our quarters, or this wing of the castle.”
“Wing?”How big is this place?
“Our home is vast. You could easily get lost in it. There are many hiding places...” His voice trails off as he eyes me. I can’t help but shiver at the implication of his words. He’s already admitted he likes the chase. Hewantsme to run and hide. The man’s a predator, that much is clear. Swallowing my nausea, I push down the fear I feel bubbling, refusing to give him that. “There are only two other people who are allowed up here. Renard, and Nala. You’ll get to meet them soon enough.”
“Nala?” I ask, feeling sick that a girl as young as her is forced to work for such men.
“Renard’s granddaughter. She grew up here. This is herhomeas much as it is ours. I warn you though, both are loyal to The Masks. Understand?” I meet his gaze, and there’s a flicker of challenge in them. Little does he know that I’ve already met both. Nala had brought me food and water, her grandfather had helped. Knowing that gives me strength. Perhaps I’ve found allies in them both. “Understand?” he repeats.
Nodding, I look away as he busies himself filling the clawfoot bathtub that sits in the centre of the room. The walls are thick stone, much like the dungeon we’ve just come from, except there’s no mold or dampness in this room. In fact it’s warm, heated by an open fire. There’s a small, arched, leaded window that sits to the left of the room, allowing natural light into the space. I find myself wanting to peer out of it, to know that there’s a world out there, a world where my family is waiting for me.
“The view is quite spectacular,” Konrad says, noticing me staring. “But in case you were wondering about escaping through it, I will warn you that the drop is more than a hundred feet. Not even the moat that surrounds the castle will break your fall. At best you’d break your neck and be paralysed, at worst crack that pretty little head of yours wide open. Both would be a waste.”
Snatching my eyes back to his face, I swallow hard. The thought hadn’t even occurred to me. I have no intention of escaping, at least not today. First, I need to find a piece of paper and a pen so that I can write down all the directions I’ve memorised walking here from the dungeons. I have no idea whether they intend to lock me up in these rooms or allow me the freedom to roam, either way I need to be smart, and writing down everything I noticed on our walk here is the right thing to do.
“I’m not a fool,” I blurt out, before slamming my mouth shut.
“We’ll see,” he replies, and even though I can’t see his face, I know he’s smirking beneath the Mask.
My throat tightens with anger, but I swallow down my sarcastic response. He can goad me all he wants. He can try to intimidate with bloated silence, but it won’t work. I think he’s expecting me to run. I think he expected it the moment he unchained me, but that’s what he wants, and I won’t give him that despite me goading him earlier. Instead, I meet his gaze, the cool blue of his eyes assessing me as he perches on the edge of the bath, waiting for it to fill.
I stare back, refusing to back down.
The silence between us allows me to go over the mental map that has formed in my head, and that’s what I do as he tries to unravel me with his stare. I’ve memorised how the smell of damp and mold of the dungeons made way for the scent of dust and mothballs as we passed through some kind of cellar, the walls lined with bottles and bottles of alcohol. I recall the way the uneven cobblestone beneath my feet had turned into smooth wooden floorboards, as we stepped out of the cellar into a cavernous room that echoed with every step. My stomach grumbles, reminding me of the smell of bread baking in some distant part of the castle as we walked along a dimly lit corridor that was lined with wooden panels, periodically lit by ornate sconces. We passed door after door, most of which were closed, and those that were open were empty of people.
“I think that’s deep enough,” Konrad says, standing suddenly. He cocks his head to the side, waiting.
“Will you be expecting me to strip and bathe whilst you watch, or am I to have some privacy?” I ask.
Konrad’s hand stills over the bottle he’s picked up and is about to unscrew. Presumably it contains some kind of bubble bath, though there’s no label that gives any indication to what the liquid is that’s sloshing around inside. “When we strip you bare for the first time it will be allthreeof our gazes that drink you in, not just mine. There are rules we have agreed upon, that is one of them.”
“How very noble of you all,” I scoff. “I’m surprised you’ve got the wherewithal to hold back, given all your threats so far.”
Turning my back to him, I grab a glass resting on the sink behind me and hold it under the tap, filling it halfway before lifting it to my lips. The water is cold, soothing, and instantly quenches my thirst. Nala and her grandfather, Renard, might have brought me food and water previously, but that only took the edge off my hunger and thirst. I’m ravenous. My stomach growls once again, reminding me that I have more pressing needs beyond the one to escape this place.
“How irresponsible of me. I never offered you any water. You’ve been in that cell for quite some time. Tell me, Zero, how come you haven’t begged for it before now?” Konrad asks, his tone suspicious as I turn back around to face him.
Remembering Nala’s request to keep her visit secret, I think on my feet. “The stone walls were damp. I didn’t know how long you’d keep me there and I wasn’t willing to die of dehydration. I did what I had to do.”
“So you’re a survivalist? Interesting,” he remarks, uncapping the bottle and pouring the purple-coloured liquid into the water. The smell is heavenly and for some reason it makes my shoulders relax a little as the scent of lavender and bergamot rises in the air.
“You could say that,” I reply, not giving anything away. It’s true that I may know a little about surviving in extreme conditions, but it’s not because I have any experience of it. I just have a healthy thirst for knowledge. It comes with the territory. Not having friends of my own—unless you count the dying—means I have to fill my time with other things. Ballet and reading anything and everything helps me not to feel so lonely. “Besides, I don’t beg,” I add, unable to help myself.
“Is that so?” Konrad removes his suit jacket, chucking it onto a chair situated next to the window. I watch as he unbuttons his cuff, and rolls up his shirt sleeve showing off thick forearms with veins that protrude beneath his skin. He has beautiful arms. Powerful.Lethal.
