Page 9

My blood freezes, though my expression remains coyly interested. "Permanent?"
"You're wasted in those dungeons." His hand slides up to grip my throat lightly. Not choking, just... controlling. "I could keep you here. In my chambers."
Hope and horror war within me. Private quarters would mean regular meals, a real bed, maybe even a bath. But it would also mean being at his constant disposal, with no respite.
Still, I think of the girls in the dungeon. Of Mara's thinning frame and Jessie's distrustful eyes.
"That's... quite an offer," I manage, leaning into him as if overcome. "What about the other girls?"
His grip on my throat tightens fractionally. "What about them?"
I trail my fingers up his arm, making my touch light, enticing. "I worry for them when I'm not there. They look to me for... guidance."
"Not your concern anymore." His voice hardens.
I press gently against his chest, just enough to look up at him through my lashes. "But it would ease my mind to know they're cared for. When I'm... focusing all my attention on you."
His eyes narrow, but I can see him considering the implications. A happy, willing bedmate versus one distracted by concerns.
"Fine." He slides his hand down to grope my breast again. "I'll see about getting their rations increased. But you'll be mine exclusively. No more being passed around."
The relief is genuine, though I mask it as gratitude. "You're so generous, Captain."
"Remember that when you're on your knees later." He presses his mouth to my neck, teeth grazing my skin. "Now pour the Amerinth. I'm hungry—and not just for food."
I detach from his grip with practiced grace, moving to the decanter while his eyes track my every movement. The emerald silk whispers against my skin, a constant reminder of how exposed I am.
As I pour the purple liquid, I catch my reflection in the polished metal of a wall sconce. I barely recognize myself in this perfect mask of desire and compliance.
But behind my eyes, where he can't see, there's steel. I'll endure. I'll manipulate. I'll do whatever's necessary.
For now, the girls will eat better. They'll have blankets. Small victories in a war I'm fighting one degrading night at a time.
The morning after becoming the captain's exclusive plaything is a blur of servitude. I'm shuffled between his quarters and the communal baths, where demon attendants scrub me raw under his orders. My skin stings from their harsh ministrations, but I endure it with a practiced smile.
"The captain likes his possessions spotless," a horned attendant remarks, her nails digging into my scalp as she washes my hair.
I meet her gaze in the mirror. "Then I shall be immaculate."
By evening, I'm dressed in another revealing creation—midnight blue that drapes like water over my curves, strategic cutouts exposing the sides of my breasts and the curve of my hip. The captain had it sent to his chambers specifically for tonight's occasion.
"A garden stroll," he'd announced over breakfast, his hand possessively resting on my thigh under the table. "I want everyone to see what's mine."
Now, as we walk the winding paths of the palace gardens, I understand the true purpose of this outing. This isn't about romance. It's about ownership—a demon parading his prized pet.
The gardens of Galmoleth are nothing like the practical herb plots of my human village. Twisted trees with blood-red leaves tower overhead, their branches forming archways across the path. Flowers that would never grow on Protheka bloom in riotous colors—some glowing faintly in the gathering dusk, others closing their petals as if shy of our presence.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Drez'kor's palm slides down my bare back, lingering at the base of my spine. "Almost as beautiful as what I have right here."
I lean into his touch, a calculated move that makes him growl with approval. "The gardens are magnificent. I've never seen aracin blossoms growing away from the beaches before."
"Our mages adapted them." His hand dips lower, cupping my ass through the thin fabric. "I can have some sent to our chambers if you'd like to see them up close."
"That's very thoughtful." I force warmth into my voice even as his fingers dig into my flesh.
We round a corner, coming upon a secluded alcove surrounded by luminous blue flora. The captain pulls me roughly against him, his mouth finding my neck.
"I've been thinking about this all day." His breath is hot against my skin, one hand already bunching up my skirt while the other grips my breast hard enough to bruise. "About bending you over right here where anyone might see."