The beetles liked the soft parts best.
So far, the guards had left me alone. But I knew my solitude wouldn’t last. I heard talk of selling me to a pirate named Hook who had a taste for young ladies with golden hair. Hook demanded his girls remain untouched. The guards complied because he paid well, and taunted me with the warning of his pending arrival.
I pulled my skirt tight, wrapped it around my legs, and braced myself in the corner. I dared not sit on the ground, as the rats and beetles waited to devour my tender flesh.
As I wedged myself in the corner so I might rest, I closed my eyes and dreamed of my prince. Dorian.
I clung to my hope that he lived, that my warning had saved his life. If I died now, or later, on a pirate’s ship, at least I knew I had done everything in my power to stop his murder.
My head drooped, and I stopped fighting the hopelessness that clutched my heart with icy fingers. There would be no escape. Not for me.
But Dorian would live. He must live.
CHAPTER 15
DORIAN
A half-dozen armed guards lined the walls of the parlor. A half-dozen more guarded every entrance to the house. Markus stood behind the lady in question in case she ran, or threw herself through one of the tall, glass windows that filled the room with sunlight.
The room in which we stood was small, no larger than my personal bedchamber. Lady Miermont sat in a chair before the fireplace with her hands in her lap. She looked resplendent in a soft yellow gown, her hair perfectly styled despite the early morning hour. My father sat in the chair opposite her. The two looked to be sharing a pleasant morning tea before the fireplace, not discussing murder, kidnapping, and poison.
I stood behind my father and held Ella’s slipper in the air for her stepmother’s inspection. The Lady Miermont turned away from me, looked my father in the eye, and lied.
“I have no idea where that slipper came from, Your Majesty. Young Penelope has been dead for years. It must have been stolen and sold years ago.”
I stood immobile, glass slipper in hand, and wished, for the first time in my life, to murder a woman. “You lie.”
She turned her face toward me, her eyes too wide, too round. “I give my word, Your Highness. I’ve never seen that shoe before. And no one in this house is named Ella. Since my dear husband’s death, it’s just been me and my daughters. And poor little Penelope, until she died of the fever. It was terrible. So very sad. We’ve mourned her for years, haven’t we, girls?”
On a cream colored couch sat two young ladies very near to Ella’s age, both pretty, but not great beauties like my love. I turned away from Lady Miermont and walked to the couch. I crouched in front of the two young ladies and held up the glass slipper. “This belongs to a woman I love very much. If anything happens to her, the suffering and torture will be endless for anyone responsible, or for anyone who could have saved her, and chose not to.”
The two young ladies, Tabitha and Marissa, blinked and glanced from their stepmother to the king, and back to me. I’d known of them for years, they had attended every masquerade for the last two seasons. Both should have wed by now. Marissa had dark red hair and brown eyes, her lips full and soft. Tabitha’s hair was black as midnight, her eyes a clear, sky blue, like Ella’s. I assumed their less than agreeable mother prevented many would-be suitors from stepping forward to claim them.
I waited in silence. And stared into their eyes.
Marissa shifted on the couch, her dark brown day dress rustling around her legs. She cleared her throat and her gaze darted to her sister before meeting mine. “Perhaps you would be convinced of the truth if you searched the property, Your Highness.”
“Oh, yes.” Tabitha leaned forward. “We have a beautiful home, well-maintained grounds, and a magnificent stable…”
Henry. Her horse.
He won’t leave me. Ella’s exact words.
If she’d run, escaped this house and fled to the city of Termarine, Henry would be her companion. If not, and Henry was here, I would drag Lady Miermont behind him until I got the truth.
I rose, my gaze locked with Tabitha’s as she begged forgiveness with her eyes. I understood her position well. She did not wish to betray her own mother, and yet I had given her no choice.
I looked at Markus, motioned to him and two of the guards to accompany me to the stables. “The rest of you stay here, with my father.”
The march to the stables took too damn long. The door sat wide open, swinging on its hinges in the slight morning breeze.
“Hello?” Markus yelled into the darkness, but we heard no response. He looked at me and we both drew our swords as we stepped into the dark interior, shoulder to shoulder.
We eased forward, waiting for our eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. As soon as I could see, I quickened my pace, my feet silent over the scattered straw and dirt.
A horse whinnied, the sound startling both of us as Henry appeared to yell at me in horse speak.
With no one in sight, I put my sword away and walked to the irritated horse. “Where is she, boy?”
“Harrumph!” A muffled noise came from inside the stall. I opened the door to discover an old man lying in the straw at Henry’s feet. Somebody had stuffed a sock in his mouth, fastened with a leather strap tied around his head. They had bound his hands and feet but he struggled to free himself on the ground beneath the horse’s huge body.
It seemed a miracle Henry hadn’t trampled the old man to death. I led Henry from the stall and handed his reins to a guard.
When I returned to the stall, I knelt at the old man’s side and removed the tie from his head. He spat out the sock and rambled in anger as I worked to untie his hands and feet.
“They took her! You have to get her back.”
“They took Ella?”
“Yes. Took her to the dungeons. Lady Miermont convinced the royal guard that Ella murdered the Grand Duke.”
Now I really wanted to kill that woman. Slowly.
“Where did they take her?”
“To the castle dungeons.”
I turned to Markus, who shook his head. “We’ll never make it back in time. The auction started at dawn.”
ELLA
They saved me for last. I squinted as the sun shone in my eyes, now well past dawn’s first light. They’d lined up the prisoners and marched us, in single file, to the small courtyard behind the castle. Rough hands grabbed me from behind and shoved me forward until I stood atop the small wooden block. I held my head high and glared at the mix of monsters and humanity that peered up at me with curiosity and lust. Most of the bidders remained, a dozen frightening faces who looked at me like I was a piece of meat. An investment.
I’d heard of the dungeon auctions. Everyone in the kingdom knew what happened to the king’s prisoners. As an alternative to execution, convicts and traitors were offered a chance at a new life, though it was not much of a life. Pirates bought many to serve time as members of their ship’s crew. Others went to mercenary units, who patrolled the borders of the kingdom, the most dangerous job in the realm. Vampires purchased the majority. Vampires kept human slaves and treated them as pampered pets, as reportedly, a happy human donor’s blood tasted sweeter.
As the king didn’t enjoy executing women, they were rarely given an option, and were forced onto the auction block regardless of their preferred punishment.
I didn’t care who paid a king’s ransom for my head. I’d escape them, steal Henry from my stepmother’s stables, and return to my original plan. Termarine. If I survived this process, this inconvenient detour.
At least I’d never suffer my stepmother’s scowling face again.
The king’s dungeon guard lifted his hand toward me and smiled. “And now, the last prisoner of the morning. This beauty is guilty of murder, my friends.”
A pirate who’d watched me with rapt attention for the last hour bent double at the waist with laughter. “You expect us to believe that, Sisaro?”
The guard puffe
d out his chest. “Yes. You idiot. She poisoned the Grand Duke himself, with necroberry juice. Killed him with his own wine.”
I narrowed my eyes but refused to argue. No one here listened to reason or denials. They heard such claims from every prisoner who stood where I now awaited my fate.
The pirate’s hair, long and black, fell to his waist in a braided mess. He wore not just a sword, but a dagger on his hip, and a second knife blade winked at me from the top of his boot. His face, scarred but not ugly, looked not over twenty-five, too young to be a scourge of the high seas.
Beside him stood a vampire, his hair and flesh as pale as snow. His long black coat and trousers, fashioned after the lords of the castle, reflected the sun in stripes with gold. House of the Sun. A daywalker. His family treated their blood slaves as precious treasures, with collars and chains around their necks; their pets were never out of their masters’ sight.
There would be no escape from that one and I turned away, not wanting to show the slightest interest. The rest of the spectators milled throughout the courtyard, curious at best, and I found it ironic that my best chance of escape required being sold to a pirate.
The pirate walked toward me and I looked at his face. He did not have cruel eyes, but I had no wish to speak to him.
“What is your name, girl?”
“I have no name.” Not anymore. Not a name I would claim.
The pirate grinned. “I’ll take her. What is the king’s price?”
“Not so fast, my sea-faring friend.” The vampire stepped forward, his winter green eyes locked onto my face. “I, too, will pay the price.”
The guard beside me clapped his hands with glee as the bidding began. I tried to ignore them but tears burned in my eyes even as the heavy metal collar bruised my neck. A long chain hung from the collar. Thick and black, it dragged behind me on the ground, even from this high perch.
Their argument escalated and I closed my eyes, thinking of Dorian. Of his kiss. Of anything but what might happen next. A thunder of horses’ hooves brought their bickering to a stop, and I opened my eyes to find the king himself sitting atop his horse a short distance from where I stood. Dorian ran toward me as the king yelled at everyone to clear a path.
“Ella!” Dorian’s voice boomed over the small crowd and I thought I was hallucinating as the prince came to stand before me. The vampire stepped back, melting into the shadows of the nearby forest. The pirate tipped his hat to me and turned away.
“Dorian? What are you doing here?”
“I came to save you.”
Dorian helped me from the block and pulled me into his arms. I laughed, the sound a half sob as he ordered the guard to release me from my chains.
The iron key made a large clinking sound as the guard inserted it into the back of the collar. He twisted, hard, and I winced as the metal pressed on my collarbone.
“Enough, you brute.” Dorian waved him away and removed my collar himself. He tossed the chains onto the ground and lifted my filthy hand to his lips. “Never again, love. I promise.”
“What are you doing here? How did you know where to find me?”
“I told him, lass.” I spun toward Gregory’s voice and swayed on my feet. Dorian’s strong hands kept me from falling.
“Gregory?”
Dorian pulled me to his side. “We found him tied and gagged in Henry’s stall.”
My mind whirled as I tried to make sense of everything he told me. “But how?”
“The prince came looking for you. Your stepmother lied.” Gregory grinned. “But your stepsisters aren’t as evil as I believed.”
“They told you where I was?” I asked.
“No. But they led me to Henry… and Gregory. Without their help, I never would have found you in time.” Dorian turned me to face him and kissed me hard and fast in front of everyone.
I loved him, so much. But nothing had changed. “Dorian. I…” I turned to Gregory. “I don’t understand. Why are you here? I’m to wed Mr. Netterton. I have to go.”
“No, love. You don’t.” Dorian lifted his hand to my cheek and I pressed my face to his gentle touch. “My father has agreed to plead our case to the courts.”
“What?” I turned to find the king smiling at me from the back of his horse like a proud papa. “I don’t understand.”
The king cleared his throat. “Seems my son is in love with you, Lady Penelope. If you’ll have him.”
I turned to Dorian and our gazes locked. “You’re in love with me?”
“Yes, Ella. I love you.” He dropped to his knee in the dirt before me. “Will you be my bride? Will you marry me?”
A prince knelt at my feet. My future, which seconds ago had seemed bleak, now filled me with hope as I looked down into Dorian’s eyes.
“Yes.” I didn’t want him on his knees, I wanted him holding me, making the nightmares of the last few hours go away. I collapsed into his arms, pressed my cheek to his chest, and breathed in the familiar scent of him.
He stroked my hair with one hand and held me tight with the other. “Never again, Ella. No one will ever hurt you again.”
I soaked the front of his shirt with tears, but didn’t argue. “I love you, Dorian.”
“You’re my life. Promise me you’ll never run away from me again.”
“I promise.” I lifted my head, laughter bubbling up as he kissed me.
CHAPTER 16
DORIAN, TWO WEEKS LATER…
Wedding bells rang high atop the castle towers as Ella walked down the aisle to become mine, her gown a pale blue that matched her eyes. She held a bouquet of long stemmed red roses cut from my mother’s special vine. On her feet, her mother’s glass slippers sparkled in the soft candlelight. Her golden hair fell in soft waves to her waist, and I couldn’t breathe when she smiled at me.
Mine.
Beside me, my father cleared his throat and patted me on the back. “She’s beautiful, son.”
“I know.” I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Unable to take her body for two long weeks, my cock hardened at the thought of what I planned to do to her later, in our wedding bed.
Markus, a few feet away, chuckled. “You are now officially hopeless.”
“I don’t care. She’s mine.”
“Not yet, she’s not,” my father pointed out. “Not until she speaks her vows.”
My heart hammered with alarm, thinking she might have changed her mind. But then her gaze locked on mine and I saw what I needed to see. Love. Trust. Happiness. “Shut up, Father. Stop trying to scare me.”
The king laughed, the happiest I’d seen him in years as Ella joined me before the court official. A high wizard had agreed to conduct our wedding ceremony, an honor rarely bestowed outside their own ranks.
As silence settled over hundreds of guests, my father stepped forward and introduced my bride to the world. Lady Penelope Augusta Miranda Miermont, loyal servant to the crown, honored daughter of the late Marquis Miermont.
He had reinstated her father’s land and title, cementing her place as a noble lady in the eyes of the entire kingdom.
For it had turned out that her father did not betray his dear friend, the king. Ella’s stepmother confessed to many crimes before my father handed her over to the vampires. Many crimes—the fall of Ella’s father being just one of her schemes.
Ella’s sisters beamed from their place of honor next to their sister. Ella’s radiant beauty shone from her heart and she had forgiven Tabitha and Marissa, rewarding them for their help. My father decreed them royal wards with large dowries. Suitors lined up to beg for their hands, but none of their would-be husbands were yet approved. My father would have final say.
My bride placed her hand in mine and we spoke our vows. We ate cake and drank wine, and I twirled her around and around the dance floor until she begged me to stop, dizzy and out of breath.
But my father claimed the next dance with my wife, as did half the kingdom. Markus laughed at me each time I grumbled, and smacked me on the shou
lder before walking away to dance with a new beauty. My father had granted Markus the title of Baron and ordered him to leave for the far eastern lands, to set up residence in the Grand Duke’s former castle.
Gregory’s honor and new position, as head of my father’s stables, included a small cottage next to the castle, so Ella might visit Henry and Gregory as often as she liked.
I lifted my glass to my lips and searched the dance floor for my wife. She looked flushed but bored as a lord twice her age pulled her along, out of step with the waltz.
She caught my eye, a pleading look on her lovely face.
At last.
I set aside my wine and closed the distance between us. With a quick tap on the gentleman’s shoulder, I took his place and pulled my bride into my arms.
“You’re mine, Ella.”
“And you’re mine.” Her smile was brighter than a thousand suns.
“Yes, I am yours, yours to do with as you wish.” I lowered my cheek to hers and whispered in her ear. “So, tell me. What do you wish to do with me?”
Her hands tightened around my shoulders as rose scent drifted from her hair. “I want you inside me. I want you to make me beg.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, I lifted her in my arms and carried her from the room. My long strides covered the distance to my bedchamber quickly, and one there, I settled her onto her feet.
Her chest heaved. I lifted my hands to her bare shoulders, the heat of her skin like a torch beneath my palms. I needed to bury my cock deep inside her, to make her mine. I needed to hear her sweet cries as I conquered her body, as I made her come all over my hard length. “Take off the dress, Ella. Now, or I will rip it from your body.”
She turned and presented her back. She pulled her hair forward and looked over her shoulder. “I can’t reach the buttons. You must do it.”
Seduced in the Dungeon (Dark Kingdom Book 1) Page 12