Page 22 of Of Nightmares & Fire (Elusive Umbra #1)

Chapter twenty

Astraea

“Do you have any idea what you have done?!” My father screams at me.

The power of his voice blows the hair out of my face, and the spittle makes me flinch.

“Our closest allies and one of our biggest threats and their heir, whom I may remind you was meant to be the victor of that fight, are now sitting in my war room, ready to discuss what I am going to do about this betrayal of yours!” He spins on his heel, tucking his hands behind his back, and paces the short distance in front of me in my bedchamber.

Where I have been escorted like a prisoner.

“It wasn’t my promise to keep,” I say under my breath. His feet stop immediately, and he pivots to face me.

“What did you just say?” His lip is curled back, and his hands drop to his sides, where he continues to clench and unclench his fists. I know I’m making things worse, but something in me is choosing this battle.

“It wasn’t my promise to keep. Therefore, it was not my betrayal.

” I say with my tone surprisingly even. His eyes nearly bulge out of his head, but I don’t stop there.

“I followed the tradition that was set by our ancestors. Well, the royal family before we became the royal family anyway. They can’t argue if they want to claim to be loyal to the realm.

” I say, looking down at my hands and more blood I feel tainting the skin there.

Even if it weren’t my hands that made the killing blow.

It’s never my hands, but nonetheless, now I have Benat’s blood there.

I should not have taken my eyes off my father, though. The retractable switch that my father keeps in his chest pocket comes down on my hands like a strike of lightning across the delicate bones. I recoil, pulling them to my chin as I cry out in pain.

“I can’t even be the one to deliver the punishment I wish to because I have to deal with the repercussions of your actions!” With those words, Pravin slithers into the room like the snake he is.

“Wait, right now? Before my dinner with Ky—the winner?” I almost slipped by using his name.

Marking myself a little too familiar with the newcomer.

It wouldn’t be like using Benat’s name, but he is too flustered to notice as he retracts the switch in his hand and turns to face his number one guard dog .

“Keep the marks somewhere that is able to be hidden; I don’t want anyone poking their nose where it doesn’t belong before the time is right.” He says, ignoring my questions, and strides from the room, slamming the heavy door behind him.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way… what’s it going to be, princess?

” My gut reaction is to spit. I don’t know where it came from or why, but the saliva floods my mouth, and I let it fly into his wretched face.

He is stunned silent for a moment as he stares at me wiping the spit from his eye, but after that brief moment, we both start sprinting.

He chases after me while I run for my bathing chamber.

“You fucking bitch! You are going to pay for that!” He growls and chases me into the room.

I don’t know what I was thinking by running to the only spot in my chamber that is a dead end.

I turn around to face him, and he laughs.

“Not a very smart girl, are you?” He taunts, and my lip trembles with building anger and fear.

He’s only punished me a handful of times, but for some reason, it always seems worse.

Dirty, almost. I look at him and the space he occupies in the large doorway.

He’s not a huge man… I could force my way back into the bedchamber. I could try…

I run for the small wedge of space, but he is quicker than me.

His arm snaps out, barring my exit and wrapping around my middle.

He throws me toward the counter, where the basin of water sloshes as my hips ram into the stone.

The heavy stone bowl wobbles so much from the impact that it falls, crashing and splitting in two as it hits the ground.

His hand comes to the back of my head, his fingers tangling in my hair that is still down from the battle, and he shoves me forward.

With his other hand, he rips the buttons of my dress down the back. Ruining it completely.

“Hold still, and this will be over quickly.

You know, as well as I do, that it hurts you a lot less if you don't struggle.” He says through clenched teeth as he tugs at the material more.

The seam in the back splitting over my ass.

My eyes fly wide when the skin there meets air.

He growls as he slaps my bare ass with the flat of his hand.

The sound of the contact competing with the crack of a whip. I cry out in pain, and he groans.

I thrash in his grip, bruising my hips as he pins me harder with one of his legs.

My face aches where he presses it to the counter, and with each painful hit, I hiss as my head hits the wall below where the mirror hangs.

The hand that holds my hair becomes tighter in its grip.

He's ripping strands out at the root. I can’t help the tears that bloom in my eyes as I finally give up my fight.

My muscles weaken as I give in, and he rips my head back so that I can see my reflection in the mirror.

My eyes are bloodshot from the tears, and my face red from the fight and being pressed into the counter.

My hair is a mess of knots, and behind me he stands, chest heaving and his trousers tented.

The sick bastard is getting off on this.

Just as I think he's done, he leans down, rubbing his arousal on my ass cheek as he does.

“Why don’t I punish you a little bit for myself too? That stunt you pulled spitting on me…” The hand that isn't holding me down comes around, and he holds it out in front of my face. “Go on, princess… you want to spit? Spit. I’ll give you at least that before I punish you the way I really want. ”

“I hope you burn in Zameil.” I ground out with my lip curled back.

“Fine… have it—”

“Princess Astraea?” My heart flops at the voice that comes through the bathing chamber door, and I’m quicker than Pravin this time.

“Be out in a minute!” I call to her. Pravin’s grip tightens a little more before he finally pushes me forward and yanks his hand free of my tousled hair. He stands up straight, adjusting himself and slicking his muddy brown hair back in its usual style.

“You pull that shit again, and I will make sure you can't sit on that pretty ass for a week.” He walks from the bathing chamber without a backward glance, and when I finally let out the breath I had been holding, it comes out on a broken sob.

It's only a moment later that the door swings open again and I come face-to-face with the jade green eyes I know and love. The emotion from everything floods from me. Tears stream down my face, and snot clogs my nose. She sits on the floor with me, and we start rocking. I’m not sure if it's her or me, but when I can finally see through the moisture in my eyes, I see that she is crying too.

“We tried,” she whispers, as her lip trembles, and I nod. “We tried.” She says again, and her thumb strikes a line under my eye, wiping away the tears, and I sniff the snot that has worked its way into my breakdown. I lock my gaze to hers.

“If I leave again, you are coming with me.” She nods immediately, agreeing with my declaration with a sad smile.

We both know there is no way that my father is letting me get away again.

It would take a miracle to be so lucky. No.

She may not know it yet, but I can feel something shifting within me.

I’m getting tired of living my life being told what I have to do. “I'm glad you’re here.” I finally say.

“They can't get rid of me that easily.” She jokes, but her smile still doesn’t reach her eyes as she stands. She grits her teeth, but she doesn’t complain as she helps me to my feet.

“Are you okay? Your back, I mean. Kellan told me that he brought you a salve.” I ask, whispering the last word. She shakes her head.

“Yea, he did. I don’t blame him for what happened, you know?” She asks, and I dip my chin. She doesn’t have to say who she blames. It's the same man I blame for nearly everything bad that has ever happened in my life, but I also blame myself.

“I know. I'm sorry about Barrett.” I say, meeting her gaze.

“Me too. He is the reason I only got a whipping, though. He saved my life. He lied to the king. Said that I never returned to your chamber after preparing your bed while you were at dinner. He was late to his post the morning after you escaped. They are saying that is when you were kidnapped.” She says, and I scoff, stepping out of my ruined dress.

My backside is pink around the edges, and the center is red and raw where most of the punishment was.

“Things are going to change, Cole.” Wrapping a towel around my middle, I level her with my eyes. “I can't live like this anymore, and if I got one thing from my father, it’s my stubborn ways.” If I can't please him doing what I’m told, I may as well do what I want and damn the consequences .

“I have some more salve. Let me help you.” She pulls a small tin from her skirt pocket and holds it out in offering, but I put my hand up in refusal.

“Absolutely not. This is nothing compared to what you endured. What you must still be enduring. You keep it.”

“Wherever he got this batch… it's stronger than anything I’ve ever seen before—I have my back wrapped in bandages, but Astraea…

It's not to hide the wounds. It's because there are no wounds.” My brows hike up my face, and as though I need to see the proof for myself, I push her to spin around.

A knock at the door of the bedchamber stops me, though.

“Trust me. They are gone.” After I chew my lip for a brief moment, I tip my chin and look down at myself.

“I can't go to the door looking like this. I’m sure they are here to collect me for dinner with—the winner. Would you tell whoever it is that I require a little more time to prepare?” Hurriedly she makes her way to the door, and when she turns around after closing it, her face is ashen.

“What?” I ask as I drop the towel and pick up the tin she placed on my vanity table.

As I begin rubbing the cream that’s inside over my skin, my senses are hit with a particular, familiar smell.

Something that reminds me—of something, but I can't for the life of me figure out what . There are other scents too—warm, maybe cinnamon and clove; it’s spicy and— oh, warming on my skin.

“Astraea?” I look up from my jarring experience with the salve, remembering my friend who just answered the door and is now looking at me the color of sun-bleached sand .

“Who is it?” I ask, straightening my spine. In my experience, not much can get Cole speechless, so seeing her standing there, with her jaw nearly on the floor, has all the hair on my body standing on end.

“Kyros Kahzal of Deimos …”

“Why is he here? Doesn’t he know that—” I begin, but she interrupts.

“Astreaea!” She whisper-shouts my name, and I stop where I am, pulling a new dress up over my thighs.

“Deimos, as in, the last kingdom to relinquish its magick… As in The Mad Queen Phaedra Lazuro… How is he a suitor? I thought the queen didn’t have any heirs.

” She asks, and I keep getting dressed as quickly and quietly as I can.

I wrap my hair up in a quick twist and rub some balm over my puffy lips.

There is nothing that can be done about my eyes or the redness in my cheeks.

I can only hope that the shadows of the firelight throughout the castle can help mask that.

“He was announced as the ‘appointed heir’—well, he and his brother actually. I have a lot to tell you, Cole. Will you be here when I return?” I come to a stop in front of her, and our hands immediately gravitate to one another.

“I will be waiting. Please stay safe.”