Page 156 of Conquered (Highgate Preparatory Academ:y Compendium)

“Servants' door, all the old manors have them. Can’t have the help cluttering up the hallways. Fucking elitist pricks,” he mumbles as a small click sounds in the room, and a second later the door opens to reveal a dark passageway.

“He definitely went this way,” he tells us, stepping to one side and shining the torch on his phone onto the floor, highlighting spots of red.

“Check it out, I’ll wait here,” Rowan says, getting off the bed and holding out a hand. “I’ll help get you sorted, Lilly.”

“Just because you’re four minutes older, doesn’t make you the fucking boss,” Roman grumbles, but does what Rowan says and heads into the gaping darkness, shutting the secret door behind him.

“Has anything like this happened before?” Rowan asks me, his voice laced with gentle concern as he helps me out of the bed, tucking my trembling hand into the crook of his elbow. My other hand strokes over the fading bruises on my hip.

“I–I think maybe, but I’ve been too out of it to know if it was just a dream or not,” I confess quietly, pausing when his steps stop. I look up to see that his jaw is clenched, his face hard. I swallow thickly, trying to find the courage to ask a question in return. “D–do you know who it was?”

His eyes close, a deep exhale leaving his mouth before he turns, facing me, his hand coming over mine and tucking it further into the crook of his arm.

“We’re not sure, but I wouldn’t be surprised if your uncle has a broken nose and two black eyes tomorrow.” His eyes soften, his hand squeezing mine gently.

“Adrian?” I whisper, but don’t hear if he replies as I tear from his grip, making it just in time to throw up in the toilet. I heave until there’s nothing left, stomach acid burning the back of my throat.

I hear the sound of Rowan talking to someone, but my mind is too full of what he just implied. My uncle has been stealing into my bedroom at night, touching me, sexually abusing me, whilst I was too drugged up by him to defend myself.

All of a sudden the walls feel like they’re closing in, my breaths coming in short, sharp pants as the weight of that knowledge sinks in.

“Hey, Princess,” a deep voice I vaguely recognise sounds as if from far away.

“Look at me, Lilly,” the voice commands, and I turn my head, finding familiar grey eyes full of worry looking back at me.

“That’s it, my love, good girl. Now breathe with me, in and out,” Ash orders, and it takes me a second to realise that he’s on a phone screen and not actually in the room.

A wave of almost crippling sorrow hits me, but I do as he orders and follow his deep breathing until the edges of the room go back to their usual place.

“Ash?” I rasp, my throat raw and tears dripping down my cheeks as I wrap my arms around myself, still sitting on the bathroom floor in front of the toilet full of my own vomit. “H–he touched me, Ash.”

“I know, Princess, I know. And I will personally chop off each and every one of his fingers for daring to lay a hand on you,” he growls out as a deadly fire burns in his eyes, a fire that warms me enough to sit up straighter.

“I wish we could come and get you right the fuck now but we can’t, Princess.

” Frustration is clear in the way he says the last part through clenched teeth.

“If my father even suspects…shit, he may order Adrian to kill you, and I just can’t live in a world that you are not a part of.

That’s not an option, Princess.” His eyes beg me for my understanding, for my forgiveness.

“I–I know, Ash,” I reply softly, lowering my gaze as my throat constricts at the thought of spending one more second with the fucking pervert that is my uncle.

“Look at me, Princess,” Ash directs once more, voice hard, so I do as he says. “You will not have to face him again. One of the boys will be with you, day and night.”

“How can you make that happen?” I ask, mind swirling with the game that we’re playing, the tightrope that we’re walking.

“We’ll tell him that Julian has given us orders to,” Roman tells me, and I look away from Ash into his laughing brown eyes, which currently are full of evil humour. It also confirms my suspicions that Julian has something to do with this.

“He won’t question it if it’s my father’s orders,” Ash interjects, and I look back at him.

“Because then he’ll have to admit what he’s been doing, and Julian won’t like that one bit.

” His lip curls, and I shiver at his words.

Not for the first time, I curse being a woman, curse the fact that these old men all want something from me that I am not willing to give them, so they will try and take it by force.

“We won’t let Julian near you either, Princess. I swear.”

I gaze into his eyes, full of a fierce fire and love, and I nod, scrubbing my own eyes with my hand. “Okay,” I say, my voice a little scratchy but stronger than before.

“That’s my girl,” Ash tells me, pride making his eyes shine. “Now, Mai is on her way to help you get sorted, and the boys will be with you until she gets there.”

“I love you, Asher Vanderbilt,” I confess, beyond grateful for everything that he is doing for me.

“I love you, Lilly Vanderbilt,” he replies, voice soft. “I’ll see you soon, okay, Princess?”

“See you soon,” I respond, my heart dropping as he ends the call.

Somewhere, a clock chimes one in the morning.

Thirteen days. I’ll see him and the others in thirteen days.

All I need to do is survive until then.