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7
DIANE
He turns to me, the inhuman speed causing me to halt. The smooth unreadable expression I associate with his handsome face contorts in fury. The air seems to thicken with his mood making me take a step back. Fighting to control my breath I locked my knees in place, not wanting to appear more vulnerable than I already am.
A distant memory of my father's face starts to materialize in the forefront of my mind. Like magnets, they wrestle to link, creating the image that haunts me in my dreams. I force it down and pull every bit of coherence I have left to remain present. This is a new world and I am no more than a pet.
He crossed the space between us, the speed faster than my mind can register. I gasp, my back hitting the wall as his massive body blocks off every possible escape. I turn my face from his, desperate to create some distance.
Fear squeezes my throat, trapping all sound behind my lips. Instantly, I regret opening my big mouth.What the hell was I thinking?He might have saved me from the others, but he is still an elf. I should have just continued quietly limping behind him. He’s not my hero, I'm not the type of girl that gets one, I remind myself bitterly.
His large gloved hand grips my chin, forcing me to meet his molten gaze. A firm finger traces the curve of my jaw, granite wrapped in silk. The life sparking in places his touch has already abandoned, makes me aware of just how alone we are.
“Say that again” he challenges.
His gray eyes narrow, becoming daggers, daring me to answer him. I can barely feel the ache radiating off my left ankle now, too focused on the beautiful, terrifying elf that engulfed me. Locks of long dark hair fall forward, framing his face. This man is made from the very temptation mother warns me about.
He tightens his grip on my chin as if to remind me of whom I now belong to. Panic and heat weave around each other, serpents constricting my heart.
His strong wide chest presses against my own. Every exhale causes my hardening nipples to graze against him, a delicious dance between predator and prey. My eyes travel down to his mouth, before looking up at him again. His eyes deepen at the action.
I press my thighs together, cursing the way his touch dizzies my senses. I need to get a hold of myself. I thought of my mother, lying weakly in bed. She didn’t have much time, and there is nothing my brother can do if I’m unable to send back money for her treatments.
My stomach clenches as reality dawns on me. I don’t even know if there is still money to send home. Last time I heard slaves don’t get a salary. Turning my eyes towards the ground, I struggle to collect myself. I need to master this new life. And right now, that means figuring out what this man expects from his newest purchase.
“Do you know who I am?” he asks, his tone quiet as death.
I freeze, confused by his question. It’s obvious he is a High Duke, given his position in the grand hall. Surely, he isn't asking me to name him. He knows better than me what happens to the humans that enter the city of Orthani without permission. Only slaves and whores have exceptions and still, they too are only to set foot where their masters dictate.
Uncertain of whether or not he wants me to answer, I decide to keep my mouth shut, nodding vaguely instead. If there is one thing I know how to do, it is how to be obedient regardless of how I feel. Pleasing him is the only way to get on his good side and any hope I have of securing a future for my family depends on it.
“Do you have a death wish?” he asks.
I shiver at the edge in his deep baritone still refusing to look at him. To appear weaker, I force my form as flat as it would go, practically melting into the wall behind me. Angry or not, this Duke saved me from the violent taking of my virginity. My helplessness moves him, or at least it has and I have to know if it could happen again.
“You dare raise your voice to me,” his voice venomous. “The most powerful Duke in all of Orthani, master of war, second to none but the King.”
I flinch at the sharpness of his tone. My heart sinks, the force of his words suffocating me.
Carmicheal.
DukeCarmicheal is my master.
This day can't get any worse. Even the humans in the lowlands have heard whispers of the merciless war-hardened elf next in line for the throne. He is rumored to be the coldest amongst them, feared and respected for his savagery. Yet he is the one who saved me.
“No one commands me to do anything,” he continues. “Least of all a slave," He spat the word. "You have no idea the power I hold, and how far my reach extends. This will be the last time you speak without being permitted to" he said, his tone final.
I don’t want to think of the consequences that await me if I defy the Duke. Nerves force my eyes upward as I try to placate his rapidly changing mood.
“Do you understand?”
I nod my head slowly, not wanting to trigger him.
"Say it," he says.
“I understand,” I reply.
“You understand whom?” he pushes.
