Page 18 of A Bond in Blood (Blood Bound Duet #1)

Chapter 18

I woke in a strange bed, not recognizing the red comforter covering me.

Until I turned my head and found Olen. Snoring like a beast.

My tears fell from my eyes, and I pulled the blanket up to my chin, startling the body beside me.

“Morning,” Olen grunted.

“Evening,” I replied.

The bed shook with his laugh. “Fine, evening. My morning.”

I shifted, watching him hop from the bed, his earrings jingling with the movement.

“Will you help me get home?” I whispered.

His shoulders stiffened and he shook his head. “No, princess. I will not.”

“Why?” I cried.

He crossed the room again and placed himself on the mattress near my feet.

“I’m going to tell you something I should not utter.”

My breath hitched in my lungs, and I nodded my head.

“Ulrich is not the monster you’re experiencing.”

I shoved Olen away, scrambling from the bed. My hand went to my hip and my eyes widened, realizing I was completely nude.

Olen grinned at me, his eyes tracking my body.

“Stop!” I yelled, covering myself as best as I could while I rushed back to the bed.

“What in the Gods were you thinking? Where are my clothes?” I demanded.

“Burning in the kitchens. You were dripping wet and covered in sand and rot from the dungeons. None of that was getting in my bed.”

I shook my head. “My undergarments? My chemise? None of it could have been kept on my body?”

Olen shrugged. “I’ve got a sensitive sense of smell, princess.”

He stood, crossing the room and opening a door, revealing a small wardrobe. His hand reached forward, then a shirt was flying through the air, and I grasped it. He didn’t turn until I stood and slipped it over my head.

“It’s insulting for you to proclaim Ulrich is not a monster.”

His smile was irritating but amusing at the same time as he replied, “I didn’t say he wasn’t a monster. I said he isn’t the monster you’ve encountered.”

“That makes no sense.”

“It does. Just not to you,” Olen responded as he sat back down on the mattress.

I shifted my gaze, finding the narrow door leading to the hallway to Ulrich’s room.

“What did you say to him?” Olen asked.

“I—” I held my tongue, shaking my head. “It doesn’t matter.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” Olen was standing again, his eyes narrowed with determination. “It very much matters. Ulrich has not had power that uncontrollable in millennia.”

Olen stood before me, glaring into my eyes. “What did you say?” he asked slowly.

“I called him a coward.”

“I tell him that daily,” he laughed. “What else did you say?”

I kept my mouth closed, taunting the beast before me with my silence. My words, yes they had been cutting, but observant enough to send Ulrich into that rage. Confirming he was as much of a coward as I believed him to be. Attacking me all because I’d hurt his feelings .

“Princess,” Olen sang, snapping his fingers in my face.

I slapped his hand away, turning from him.

His hand gripped my arm, pulling my body against him and forcing me to crane my neck to meet his eyes. “What did you say?” he repeated.

His hand landed on my lower back, pressing me closer.

“I—” The heat of him was shocking. It took my response from me.

Olen leaned down, his scarred face nearly touching my own. “We could make a deal,” he whispered.

The word snapped me out of my daze. With a scoff, I shoved him against the chest.

“Stop!” I demanded, running my hand through my knotted hair. “I’ll tell you.”

Olen’s eyes ran up and down my body, causing my knees to go weak. “But we were just about to have fun.”

“You were teasing me, trying to gain some self-satisfaction,” I replied.

I sat on the bed, pulling my knees against my chest and repeated what I’d told the king on the beach hours before. When I finished my recount, I met Olen’s eyes, finding a gaze that was wide with both shock and rage.

“Why in the Gods would you say that to him?” he grumbled.

“I’m not wrong,” I countered.

“You could never be more wrong,” Olen groaned and rubbed his hand across his jaw. “Fuck, princess you really must have a death wish.”

“I wish for him to die,” I replied coldly.

Olen had my back plastered against the bed with his hand around my throat before I could take my next breath.

“Do not,” he warned.

“Get your hands off me,” I choked out.

“You will stop threatening my king. Do you understand?”

Olen released me, then leaned against the window by the bed. His arms crossed over him while he stared, waiting for my response.

“Stop speaking to me like I am a child,” I snarled.

The hidden door slammed open, and Ulrich’s presence filtered through the room. My head snapped in his direction, scowling at the death mask on his face again.

“You are a child, Brenna,” the king chuckled.

“Spying?” I snapped.

Olen stood straighter, nodding his head. Once again becoming the unflinching pet at Ulrich’s side.

“I require your assistance,” Ulrich said.

“No,” I replied, standing from the bed.

The king smiled. “Brenna, you do not have a choice.”

His voice trailed off and his eyes went to my body, stopping where Olen’s large shirt ended just above my knees.

“My,” the king chuckled. “Did I interrupt?”

I opened my mouth to protest, but gasped when Olen was suddenly behind me, with his hands wrapping around my waist. His lips brushed my neck, and I froze. My hands went rigid at my side.

“Perhaps,” Olen hissed. “Or perhaps you arrived at just the right time.”

Ulrich approached, a burning heat in his gaze. He gripped my chin, tilting my face upward. “I think I may have.”

Olen pressed further against me, tightening his hold around my waist. The size of his arms and palms made me feel so much smaller than my body actually was.

“What do you say, princess?” he whispered into my ear.

Ulrich’s grip on my chin tightened but I couldn’t have looked away if I had tried. Not with what swam in his eyes. The heat of it all made me forget the death mask covering his features.

The king’s thumb brushed my lips.

“My right hand requires an answer, Ursa .”

I startled at his touch, unintentionally pressing further into Olen.

The man behind me began to move one hand, circling his thumb on my bare skin at the edge of his own shirt hanging from my body. The touch was maddening. Even more so when Ulrich pressed himself against the front of me, trapping me between the two of them.

My head went back against Olen’s chest without my control and my lip quivered.

“Just some fun, princess,” Olen whispered into my ear. His finger trailed up higher on my thigh, climbing until he was nearly brushing my pelvis.

My body begged for it, loudly, forcing my knees to shake the faster Olen circled my skin. A haze of need fogged my mind, blocking out my hate for the two of them. It drowned me in a quiet plea for release.

And I’d almost fallen into the trap, allowing the waves of ecstasy to envelope me. Ulrich’s death mask grew closer, his beard brushed my chin, and his lip hovered just above mine.

My breaths stopped as he leaned down to claim my lips. There was no time to react, no time to think—so I bit down, drawing his black blood.

The king’s body snapped up and Olen let out a loud laugh.

“I guess that’s a no.”

They both stepped away and I scowled. “Do not touch me.”

Olen grinned then shrugged. “You seemed to be enjoying it.”

I let out a yell, throwing my hands up in the air as I rushed out of the room using the door Ulrich had come through.

Two sets of footsteps followed close behind, building my rage.

“Leave me alone!” I cried. “Please!”

“Can’t do that!” Olen yelled back.

Ulrich was silent though, his commanding presence right at my heels.

I picked up my pace, heading right down the hall, hoping I could move faster than them.

A foolish hope, really.

To my relief, the door to Ulrich’s bedroom was open. But to my dismay, every single candle was lit, and the red moon was shining through the window, creating that frustratingly sensual light across the room.

“Look, a mood already set,” Olen jested behind me.

I screamed out my rage again, rushing to the bathing room and slamming the door shut as I went.

I placed my back against it, gripping my head in an attempt to block out my senses.

“Leave me alone!” I shouted.

“Can’t do that,” Olen repeated.

I hit my head against the door and repeated my plea to the silent Gods above me. Begging them to end the lives of my tormentors.

“Being interested in sexual release is not a sin,” Ulrich finally said.

The amusement in his tone turned my body cold. I threw the door open, glaring at him with all of my might.

“I am a woman, Ulrich. A woman who has lived a very long time. I hope you realize I am not an innocent, inexperienced virgin. ”

“I’d be very disappointed to hear if you were,” Ulrich grinned.

“Get out,” I demanded, pointing to the three different exits out of the room.

Ulrich stepped back, that grin still a mocking image across his face. He turned back to glance at Olen lounging on the bed with one leg up and one hand behind his head.

“That bed is large enough for all three of us,” Ulrich said.

“Get out!” I screamed.

Ulrich rushed to me, pinning me against the door frame. “Olen will escort you to the library. You have mere minutes to get some proper clothes on.”

The bedroom door had opened and closed before I could let out my breath. I snapped my head to Olen, who had turned onto his side, offering me a wild grin.

“That was fun.”

“Get out.”

“You heard what he said,” Olen sighed as he hopped to his feet.

“Yes and I will get dressed in private. You stay outside that door for all I care.” I pointed to the door Ulrich had closed behind him.

“I’ve seen everything you have to offer now, princess.” Olen smiled. “No need to be shy.”

“Olen,” I replied calmly. “If you do not give me privacy I will sneak into your room one of these evenings and cut you from your balls to the top of your head.”

His eyes went wide, and he let out a booming laugh. “Gods, Brenna, you may just be spending too much time with Ulrich.” His hands rose in relent as he went back toward the door. “Get dressed quickly.”

I slipped on my most basic gown and threw the bedroom door open, groaning when I found Ulrich leaning against the wall beside the door.

His hand moved upward, and I flinched.

“What was that?” he asked, the light in his eyes dimming.

I shook my head. “Your attacks have created an involuntary reaction, your grace. What did you expect?” I placed myself two arms-lengths from him. “Why the library?” I asked.

Something clattered at my feet, pulling my gaze away from him.

A mask. Another fucking mask.

“Every evening, Brenna. You have been given too many leniencies,” Ulrich said coldly.

I tied the ribbons at my head, staring the king down once more. “You did not answer my question.”

Ulrich held his head high, motioning for me to follow. Still irritatingly silent.

I shuffled my feet, keeping a few paces behind him while we walked through his quiet palace. The booming of music was not shaking the walls like they had each evening.

We climbed the stairs and when we reached the long hallway with the library doors at the end, I stopped.

“Answer my question,” I demanded.

Shadows ran past my feet, climbing the walls around me and Ulrich grinned. “I’m the king. Answers will not be demanded of me.”

“Then I’m not following,” I replied.

“Are we about to have another delicious battle?” Ulrich laughed. “Did the last one not fulfill your needs for violence?”

My mouth opened in shock. “I’m not the violent one!” I protested.

Ulrich’s head threw back with his next laugh. “You tried to kill me for over a month and repeatedly attacked me. Yet you claim not to be violent.” He turned on his heel heading back down the halls with his shadows running beside him. “You may want to consider some self-reflection, Ursa, ” he yelled out behind his shoulder.

I stood at the end of the hall, staring at him in disbelief.

“Come, Brenna,” his voice called down the hall.

I held my firm stance, determined to best him in this new battle. Hands shoved against my back, throwing me forward.

“Come now,” Olen whispered. “Don’t anger his grace.”

I wiggled away from Olen, grumbling while I stomped down the halls. Like the child they were both determined to believe I was.

Ulrich waited at the library doors, holding them open with a fire in his eyes. I passed him, turning to sit on one of the few chairs in the room, but he cleared his throat.

“To the back of the library, please.”

He hissed out the last word with something knowing on his tongue. My stomach dropped. Had he found my letters? The small pile I was collecting at the bottom of my trunk?

My hands trembled while I followed him with Olen close at my heels. We wove through the tall shelves until the table I spent most days at came into view.

Ulrich stepped forward, circling the table and picking up a few of the ink-stained maps.

“Who taught you cartography?” he asked, studying my scribblings.

I was shocked. Sure the king had found my hidden secret, but instead he was admiring the rough pieces I worked on at random.

“My tutors,” I replied quietly.

Ulrich held up the map in his hands. The map I’d been drawing of his city.

“This isn’t half-bad for a pampered princess.”

I bit my tongue, forcing myself not to fight back.

“I have a project for you,” he announced as he approached me.

“What?” I replied, blinking when I found him before me, his chest nearly touching mine.

He smiled down at me. “Do you want to continue following Olen around, claiming my deals? Or would you like to take me up on my offer?”

“I get one hour each day to swim—alone,” I responded foolishly.

Ulrich stepped back and Olen let out a laugh behind me.

“I was not aware we were negotiating,” Ulrich sneered.

I held my shoulders tight. “You’re asking something of me, your grace. I believe requesting some form of payment is only just.”

Ulrich opened his mouth to reply but I held up my hand. “And I request the ability to write to my father with no prying eyes on my letters.”

“That’s two requests,” Ulrich replied. “If I’m to give you two payments then I must receive a fair reward.”

I gulped, cursing my fast tongue.

“Dinner with me, each night—alone,” Ulrich continued. “And my first request you rudely interrupted—mapping out the hidden passageways of my palace.”

Olen choked behind me and the towering man appeared at my side “Ulrich,” he snarled.

Ulrich only held his hand up, silencing his pet.

“I’m already forced to sleep beside you, your grace ,” I replied.

“And I’ve not once stopped you from writing to your father, Ursa, ” he snapped.

Our battle ignited between us while he held our stubborn gaze. Neither moving. Neither speaking.

Olen shuffled beside us, obviously irritated.

“Well?” Ulrich finally broke the silence.

“Explain,” I replied.

Ulrich returned to the table, setting my scribbles back down. “Your craftsmanship is admirable, Brenna. The simple fact you found the hidden passage to my beach caught my attention. And as I’ve looked at your maps each day, I notice you have a keen eye for noting the dark and hidden spaces throughout my city.”

My pulse thumped in my ears, hating he’d picked up on what I’d actually been drawing. That I had found those dark spaces when Olen marched us through Muspell, noting the areas I was sure I could disappear down.

“My palace is filled with hidden walkways. Gods, even ones I’ve come to forget in the years I’ve resided here.” He met my eyes with a grin. “I want you to mark them all down. For me.”

“Why?” I countered. “This feels like a trap.”

Ulrich shrugged. “I’m old , Brenna. I may forget how to get around my home one day.”

Olen chuckled quietly.

The jest was shocking but I held back my responding smile.

“You won’t read my letters?” I asked.

Ulrich nodded. “I cannot promise your father will reply, but yes your words will be private.”

“Why wouldn’t he reply?”

“Brenna, it's been five months. I have yet to receive a letter or declaration of war from the man.”

Ulrich’s smile returned to the vile one that fueled my hatred. His eyes burning with some knowledge he knew would break my heart in two.

“He will,” I cried. “He will reply to me.”

Ulrich threw his hand up, walking past me. “Whatever you say, Ursa . I will begin escorting you through each passage beginning tomorrow.”

I stepped forward, shock widening my eyes. “What? You did not mention this before.”

Ulrich turned on his heel with a wide grin. “Did I not? Oh, well it appears we will have the opportunity to get to know one another twice a day now. Enjoy your swims, Brenna.”

Olen fell back into the chair, holding his chest while he laughed. “You’re a fool, princess. A godsdamn fool.”

My hands balled at my side while I watched the king saunter away. His muscled back was stiff with his hair just brushing his shoulders. Even turned away from me, I could see the triumph on his face.

He’d tricked me, allowing my desperation for freedom to loosen my tongue and agree to something before asking more questions.

Leaving him the victor of our most recent battle.