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The words resonated in my brain, making me rattle with fear and uncertainty. I still hated Reaver but was grateful he brought me to this bedroom, despite Murmur ordering him to take me back to my dungeon cell.
I still wasn’t sure of where I was, but if the douche king wanted me spruced up and trained in etiquette, it was easy to guess his plans for me. I was to become a whore. Fancy and well-mannered, but a whore. Sexual servitude wasn’t uncommon in my realm, nor was it something looked down upon. But this wouldn’t be servitude because there was no way in hell I’d ever volunteer. With my heart in my throat, I’d followed Reaver back to the elegant bedroom, my limbs shaking, making it hard to walk as my knees wobbled uncontrollably. Reaver tried to put his hands on me to hold me steady, but I’d shot daggers at him and threatened him with cutting off his dick and balls if he ever touched me again. Based on the heated look he gave me, I doubted my threat had had the intended effect. Which only made me hate him even more.
Wrapping my arms around my waist, I tried to calm my breathing. But it was hard. I’d longed for a different life for so long, but this was far from what I’d imagined.
The doorknob turned, and I stiffened, not knowing who would walk through the door. The moment I saw him, I expelled a relieved breath. I didn’t know why. He was an asshole. He was a demon. I should hate him. And I did. But somehow, once I confronted Murmur, Reaver seemed less dangerous. I knew I was fooling myself and this was a way for me to feel some modicum of comfort in such a bleak situation.
His stare was severe, face sharp and determined as he came to stand in front of me, fists at his sides. “Come with me.”
“No.”
His clenched jaw conveyed his frustration. Good.
“Murmur’s minions are on their way to the dungeon. When they see you’re not there, they will come here. And once they have you, they will hurt you. You either come with me right now or wait for them, and trust me, they will not have any mercy on you.” He turned on his heel and walked out.
Shit! Fuck! I followed. “Where are we going?”
“Stop asking questions and be grateful I came for you. No one else has the luck you’ve had since you arrived here.”
“I didn’t arrive here. You kidnapped me,” I hissed.
He whirled on me with a lethal stare. I took several steps back until I became caged between his big body and the hallway wall. He looked down at me, our faces inches from each other, his scent enveloping me. “I won’t apologize for taking you. This is what I do. I’ve been in this world my whole life. Don’t expect me to believe in rainbows and sunshine when all I’ve ever known are dark clouds and fucked up shit.”
I stared up at him, speechless.
“It’s nothing personal, my little creature. I kidnapped many before you.” His nose ran over the shell of my ear, and he inhaled, eliciting a shiver from me. “And I’ll definitely never regret taking you.”
Oh my goddess.
After stepping away from me, he resumed walking, not waiting for me to join him because he was so damn confident. We walked to the opposite side of the manor, down long hallways and many closed doors. I saw no one except for guards.
Not one female or any of the mortal clients Murmur talked about. If this was a brothel, where were the moaning sounds and the pounding of bedframes against the walls?
We arrived in front of some strange contraption made of two metal doors, a panel of strange buttons on the wall next to it. Reaver pushed one, and it lit up blue, like everything else in this realm.
“Aether.” I hadn’t meant to say it out loud. The last thing I wanted was to strike up conversation with the asshole demon, but I was unfamiliar with this magic and the machinery it powered.
“Yes.”
The two metal doors opened and a giant metallic box lay beyond it, big enough to fit several people.
He walked right in and turned to look at me, his stare as intense as ever. “Are you coming?”
I took a deep breath, shaking my head. “There’s no way in hell I am getting into that thing.”
“You have nothing to fear.”
“Aether is failing this realm, just like the sun is failing mine. How do you know we won’t get stuck in that thing?”
“Aether is much more powerful than the sun, since it comes directly from the Crystal Forest. Besides, Murmur hoards it.”
“So, he leaves the rest of Raetia struggling as the aether fails them, just so he can be comfortable?”
He remained silent.
“Wow, your uncle is a jewel of a male.” My smile was sickly sweet.
He smiled. “Come.”
