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Chapter 15
JAKUB
My brothers watch us as we enter the grand hall. Nothing walks to my left and slightly behind me, her movements graceful despite how uncomfortable she must feel wearing the chastity belt. Her footsteps are light, her chin tipped upwards and her spine straight. She is a force to be reckoned with, not just because she’s put my brothers under her spell, but because she mademefeel something other than cold, hard, emptiness.
She’s dangerous for us all.
I should’ve killed her.
I should’ve put her out of her misery and ended this charade, but something stopped me, something I refuse to look too hard at. She still lives and I have the key to untold pleasures and indescribable pain hanging around my goddamn neck. It weighs me down, a fuckingcurse.
“Nice room, shame about the company,” she mutters, her sarcasm fuelling her fire.
She has courage, I’ll give her that. It’s both irritating and admirable, though it waivers a little when she notices the gilt cage hanging from the ceiling above the large dining table. I hear her gasp when she sees who’s inside.
“Nothing, meet Two. She’s a trapeze artist and one of the founding members of The Menagerie,” I explain, looking upwards, following her surprised gaze.
Two smiles coyly from behind her gilded cage, acting every part the delicate, rare creature she loves to portray. It’s part of her act, her charm. Two’s slight frame, small breasts and long pale hair piled up on her head in ringlets, appeal to our clients who fantasize about overpowering something fragile. She’s just like a pretty bird in its cage, perched on her swing and wearing a canary yellow dress that does nothing to hide her pert breasts and thatch of hair between her legs. She might be in her mid-thirties now, but is still as beautiful as she was when she arrived here eight years ago. Two was my father’s second acquisition, but she was Leon’s first. He broke her in, and they are still bonded by the experience, though his interest in her has long since waned.
“We were about to send out a search party for you,” Leon remarks, sipping a glass of red wine, his cool green eyes watching our every move from beneath the applique mask he’s wearing. It covers the top half of his face, the varying shades of gold fabric glued over the top of black molded leather. It’s one of his favourites, and the one he tends to wear when we dine with the Numbers. Like me he’s dressed smartly, with a fitted black shirt and gold cufflinks that glint in the candlelight. But where he has chosen a mask that is more decadent, my own is a dark grey to match my mood.
“We’re here now,” I retort, ignoring the challenge in his gaze. It’s happening more and more these days, but whilst he and Konrad may be older than me by a few years, I’m the true heir to the Brov dynasty, and long ago I proved myself strong enough to take the seat at the head of this table. I was fourteen when I broke in One, my father’s first acquisition, and have sat in this chair ever since. “Shall we begin?” I ask as Nothing stands beside me, her arms folded across her chest. I can feel her anxiety, her anger and fear. It’s distracting, but even more so for Konrad who hasn’t taken his eyes off her. He’s obsessed. I knew it the moment he first laid eyes on her. Leon remains quiet, assessing, but Konrad is barely containing his emotions as he eyes the outline of the chastity belt beneath the material of her dress.
“Whatis she wearing?” Konrad hisses under his breath, knowing full well what it is. Fury paints his face as red as the half-mask he’s wearing. Nothing stiffens, feeling the sudden violence of his anger. Despite that, there’s a hint of a smile playing around her lips. She’s enjoying this tiny victory. I should punish her for it, but I don’t.
“It was necessary. Just think how sweet it will be to finally unlock the treasure trove, brother. I can’t have any more slip-ups,” I say, pointedly looking at Leon who meets my gaze with a hard stare of his own.
Konrad glares at me, but he doesn’t retaliate, all too aware of Two hanging above us. Whilst loyal to a fault, she loves gossip. Normally we don’t tolerate such talk, but her years of service have afforded her some grace. We’re not averse to indulging our Numbers if it’s beneficial to us.
“Do you have anything you wish to add?” I ask, turning my attention to Leon, curious to see if he bites. We may have made an agreement as to how we manage Nothing, but ultimately I have the last say, and if I choose to change shit up, then that is my right as heir. Besides, after his bullshit a few days ago he’s lucky she still remains ours and not just mine.
Resting his hands on the table, Leon presses his palms against the smooth oak. “Who has the key?” he asks, his voice even.
“I do.”
He nods, but doesn’t say anything further. Instead, he stares at Nothing, his eyes undressing her. It doesn’t go unnoticed that her nipples are peaked beneath her white cotton dress. It’s a fear response and not one of lust, but despite that she maintains eye contact with Leon, refusing to submit. It’s been a long time since anyone here at Ardelby Castle has had the courage to do the same. Like me, Leon has very few emotions left. Of the three of us, he was the first to discard his humanity like an old coat that no longer fit him.
“Don’t think that this will give you any respite, Nought,” he says. “There are many things we can do to you despite that contraption.”
“Not without my say so,” I interject.
“Our agreement still stands.” Leon’s lip curls up and a sudden flash of anger flares across his face. That in and of itself is surprising, and it takes me aback.
“It does, for now. Ultimately,I’m in control, Brother.”
Leon taps his finger against the table. “If you say so, Jakub.”
Suddenly, the key around my neck feels heavier than it should. I’m aware of the power that holding this key affords, but I’m also aware of the responsibility, not towards Nothing—I care little for her other than what she can provide for myself and my brothers—but to our bond. It is the only thing left that I truly value. Whatever happens, this woman cannot get between us. I won’t be drawn in by her reckless courage, freckle-spattered thighs or the way she completely gives herself over to pleasure. I won’t.
“Noted,” I reply, forcing my fingers to relax from around the leash. I’ve been holding onto it tightly ever since the moment I clipped it onto the collar around her neck whilst she slept peacefully, as though a monster wasn’t hiding in the shadows watching her.
“We should begin,” Konrad says, cutting through the tension, eager to start. He may not be able to fully indulge in Nothing like he wants, but he’s well aware that there’s more to tonight than dinner. It may satiate his appetite a little while longer, or it could do the opposite and fuel it.
We’ll soon find out.
Nothing shifts on her feet. A kinder man would remove the collar and leash, and ask her to sit at the table. I’m not that man. Besides, she hasn’t earned her place yet. You don’t get to dine with The Masks until you’ve committed to your life here, and I have the feeling that Nothing won’t ever dine at this table.
“What should I do?” Nothing asks, her shaking fingers clutching at her dress. She scrunches the material in her hands, her head turned to face me. The length of her hair hides most of her features, but her beauty is the kind that’s hard to miss. It’s...disappointing.
