Bound by Love

Published by Phaze Books Also by Wendy Stone Beastly Intentions A Gamble Worth Taking Messages of Love Endless A Fall From Grace

This is an explicit and erotic novel intended for the enjoyment of adult readers. Please keep out of the hands of children.

www.Phaze.com

Bound By Love a novel of erotic romance by

WENDY STONE

Bound By Love copyright 2008 by Wendy Stone All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

A Phaze Production Phaze Books 6470A Glenway Avenue, #109 Cincinnati, OH 45211-5222 Phaze is an imprint of Mundania Press, LLC. To order additional copies of this book, contact: [email protected] www.Phaze.com Cover art © 2008 Debi Lewis Edited by Will Belegon

eBook ISBN-13: 978-1-59426-831-1 First Edition – July, 2008 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

Chapter One The sunlight tickled her nose. She tried to brush away the glaring beam with one hand, wrinkling her nose when it stayed with such stubborn tenacity. A sneeze caught her unaware, waking her to a nightmare of bright light and a cuff ringing her ankle. The cuff was attached to a long chain, shackling her to a large bed. Adrianna sat up, staring at the unfamiliar room with a frown upon her exquisite features. Her mind raced as she fought to remember how she’d gotten here. The last thing she recalled was unlocking the door of her walkup apartment in Queens, going through the six deadbolts with a groan. Her father installed them last month, certain that she could never be too safe on her own in the big city of New York. He’d been right, though the deadbolts hadn’t helped her cause. A massive hand came over her face when she’d pushed the door open, causing her to drop her mail and the large ring of keys that jangled as they hit the ancient carpeting of her foyer. She’d been dragged unceremoniously into the apartment, kicking and screaming through the hand that covered her mouth, muffling any noise she tried to make. Her eyes frantically searched for help, or for a weapon; anything she could use to break free. But the huge man that held her in his grip resisted her easily. “Do not fight.” The words were whispered into her ear, spoken gruffly in a strange but melodic accent. Adrianna couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Yeah, right, she thought. Like that’ll happen. She kicked back, hitting his shin with the sharp heel of her boot. He cursed, using foreign words that sent a chill through her blood. Who was this man? And why was he here? Her family had no money; she had no ties to anyone’s fortune. Her thoughts were interrupted when the brute wrapped his arm just below her breast and squeezed, cutting off her breath. “Settle, wench, and I won’t have to hurt you.” He spun her around, hand still clasped over her mouth, giving her a good look at his body. He was tall, with shoulders that seemed impossibly wide and narrowed to lean hips and long, thickly muscled legs. His chest was covered with a strange leather vest; it almost looked like snake skin, but with a pattern unlike any she’d ever seen. His black pants were tucked into knee boots laced with thongs of hide, a faint fringe of fur ringing the tops. And at his waist, pushed through a thick black belt, was a sword that seemed longer than she was tall to her frightened eyes. “This will be much easier if you do not fight,” he said, and she saw his eyes roaming over her with interest. “I will remove my hand if you promise not to scream. If you do,” he added hastily, looking into her eyes, “I shall just be forced to knock you out and take you anyway.” Under his stare, Adrianna felt her resolve waver. She was a fighter but she was smart as well. Maybe if she cooperated, she could come out of this alive. Who knew what this Conan wannabe wanted with her? With a slight nod, she acknowledged his words, giving her assent. He lowered his hand and Adrianna got her first unobstructed look at his face. Long, thick hair that was straight as pins hung past his shoulders, pulled back from his face in thin braids. It was a deep auburn, almost more brown then red. His eyes were brown, wide set and intelligent. High cheekbones and a sharp jaw framed a mouth that was just a hint too full to be perfect. Those lips grinned just then and she looked into his eyes, seeing the humor he must be feeling at the way she was looking at him. “Like what you see, wench? ‘Tis too bad you aren’t mine, but I promised you to a friend. He deserves you for the good that he did me, so see that you treat him well.” He turned and spoke to

someone over his shoulder. “Bring the bitch in. Place her there, on that long bench, so that we may finish this business and return home before much longer.” Adrianna watched, stunned by the man’s words and his nonchalant attitude. He spoke of promising her to another as if she belonged to him, a possession to be given away at a whim. She opened her mouth, only to close it again at a warning glare from her captor. A woman was brought in, petite in form, caped and gagged, her hands bound in front of her. The man holding her was as gorgeous and foreign-looking as the one who had grabbed her, wearing the same strange clothing, except this man wore a gold arm band. In the short space of time that Adrianna got to look at it, she noticed it was intricately carved, and detailed with what looked like precious stones. He, too, had the same dark auburn hair and brown eyes, though his seemed more serious. The woman was pushed onto the couch, her cape falling back off of her shoulders with the roughness of the move. She was naked underneath, her body beautiful and lush despite the grime and bruises that marred its satiny surface. Her eyes, a tawny amber color that matched the sunlit tresses that cascaded around her, shot sparks of defiance at the men now standing above her. Adrianna couldn’t help but admire the feisty demeanor of the slender woman. She almost screamed when she was thrust down beside the naked girl, her hands taken and tied securely in front of her. “What are you going to do with me?” she gasped as the ropes bit into the tender skin of her wrists. **** Damien turned and looked at the woman he’d come to retrieve. He could understand Kaden’s lust for her. She was as beautiful, if not more so, than any woman in their land. Her long hair was russet colored, curling delightfully around her slender, oval face. Huge green eyes stared up at him with a mixture of terror and defiance. Ivory skin, as creamy smooth as the texture of silk, had turned even paler with fright, save for the mark made by the pressure of his hand upon her face. Her lips were strange, the bottom one slightly smaller than the top, giving her an unusual upside-down look. It was an arresting face, one that made a man want to stop and look, count the green flecks in her eyes, touch skin that craved a man’s hand to warm it. Her body was also a delight to behold. Slender, but seeming with delicate strength, her waist could be enfolded between his hands. Her breasts pushed at the white material of her blouse, straining its capacity with their abundance. Her hips were rounded, long curvy legs easily seen in the short skirt she wore, one which scandalized his sense of propriety for what a woman should be allowed to wear. But this was a strange place, and he had to make allowances for the customs and ways of these people. “I mean to take you back to my lands, lady. You are the prize, given by me to one of my men for his bravery and honor.” **** Adrianna sat as if he’d struck her. Taken out of her home, given to a stranger and made to do God knows what? She had to get out of here, and now. Opening her mouth, she gulped in a huge breath of air. But before she could let loose the shriek that burned her throat, a rag was thrust into in her mouth, causing her to gag at its rancid taste. “I warned you,” her captor said pleasantly. “Now sit there and be still. I need but a moment to concentrate on the rest of the task that I must perform.” He closed his eyes, leaving the man he’d brought with him to stand watch over the two bound women. After a few moments, he opened his eyes, and with a guttural grunt waved his hand above the heads of the two women. Adrianna felt a strange tingle start at the base of her spine, a kind of energy that built into a ball, traveling up her backbone and leaving a trail of gooseflesh in its wake. It shivered through her, almost like an orgasm as its heat built. She moaned, unable to help herself, feeling her legs weaken and shake. Her arms shivered as sensation spilled over and through her, pulling out of her until the energy encased her head. Her eyes closed, rolling backwards as the tingling fingers of sensation probed and tantalized her system. Her thighs grew lax, opening, a moistness dewing between them, growing wetter until she felt as if she were dripping. Her breathing grew heavy; the air thick in her lungs as she waited for something she knew had

to come. She longed for it and would have begged had she been able to speak. All she could do was moan against the filthy rag in her mouth. It exploded, sending silvery shots of light behind her eyelids. Pleasure robbed her of her senses and she fell back, her mind going black with the shock. She awoke, no longer gagged or bound save for one chain. Adrianna rubbed her eyes, staring around the peculiar room with disbelief. It was round, floor to ceiling windows gracing the thick stone walls every few feet. The wavy texture of leaded glass filled the windows, distorting the world outside. A door stood closed on the far wall, the only wall not studded with windows. In the center of the room were the bed she was in and a large ornate mirror. “Where am I?” she said softly, her voice unusually loud in the absolute quiet of the room. “Where did he take me?” Adrianna rose from the bed, anxious to go to the window and see if she could recognize anything. She couldn’t have been unconscious that long, so they couldn’t have taken her far. Maybe she could find a way to let someone know she was trapped here, held against her will. She gasped with shock, realizing for the first time that she was naked. Did he do it? The man who’d taken her? Had he stripped her, chained her to this bed? Adrianna shook her ankle, feeling the cuff drag against her foot as the heaviness of the chain weighed it down. She reached over, grabbing the thin blanket she’d been given, and tried to pull it from the bed, cursing when it wouldn’t move. “Who would sew the damn thing to the bed?” she asked aloud, not expecting an answer, just craving the sound of something other than the silence of the room to ease the fear that kept trying to overwhelm her. She stopped struggling with the blanket, resigning herself to walking nude in the small room, and went to the windows. The view was amazing. It seemed as if she could see forever, staring over a vista of trees and water that stretched to the horizon. She could see a forest, cut back and away from immense walls that surrounded the building she was in, at least at this side of it. An orchard lay to her left, large trees heavily laden with fruit. Farther, she could see a garden laid out in neat and orderly rows, people working with hoes, bending and gathering. They were dressed in curious long dresses reaching to their ankles, rough materials that, even at such a distance, seemed strange to Adrianna’s untrained eye. The women wore their hair long, to the waist in most cases, blowing in the slight breeze of the day. One carried a baby at her breast in a sling. A noise below caught her attention, and she strained forward, pressing her face to the window to stare the long distance to the ground. Three men, all riding huge horses, came into view. She squinted to see them through the wavy glass, amazed as she stared at the leather breeches that covered thickly muscled legs and were tucked into rough looking boots. Vests covered their upper torsos, leaving huge arms bare to the sun. Gold colored bracelets banded heavily-muscled biceps, sparkling in the bright light. At their waists, Adrianna swore she could see swords, again one looking as if it were taller than she. She gasped at the sight of these men straight out of some Robin Hood movie set in the day of brigands and duels, with ladies who fainted and swooned at manly forms. Was she in some kind of strange camp or fair where machines weren’t allowed? Or worse yet, one of those strange cults she’d heard about, where they stole women and made them sex slaves, keeping them from everything they ever knew. Before she could think further, she heard the click of a key turning in a lock, and spun around. The door to her prison was being pushed open. Glancing at her naked body, Adrianna hurried to the bed, climbing in to pull the blanket up to her chin. An old woman hobbled into the room, a tray in her hands. She gave Adrianna an angry sneer, and then slammed the tray upon the floor close to the bed. Without another look, she turned and started to leave. “Wait,” Adrianna said, holding out her hand.

The woman turned, looking over her shoulder at the girl in the bed. Her eyes, a vivid blue and incredibly beautiful, seemed to seethe with untold anger as she stared at Adrianna. She stood, waiting for Adrianna to speak. “I…Could you tell me where I am?” Adrianna asked, hesitantly. “I’m afraid I can’t remember anything.” “Ha! Lucky then you are,” the old woman said. Although she was little more than a crone, her singsong voice sounded surprisingly young. “Why am I here? Whose place is this? How’d I get here? Can’t you tell me something? Please?” Adrianna heard the hysteria in her voice but couldn’t help it. She was scared and this glowering old woman was her only source of information. “You’ll know when they want you to know.” With those words, she turned and left the room, moving with a speed unexpected from someone so old. “I’ll know when they want me to? What kind of answer is that? Dammit! Why am I here?!” Frustration made her want to lash out and she looked for something to throw. Her food tray, lying on the floor, caught her attention and she bent over to pick it up, wanting to throw it against the wall, maybe even break the mirror. But instead, her stomach growled, making her wonder how long she’d been unconscious. She set the tray on the bed, staring at the strange food. A gray, slightly sticky looking mass that reminded her of oatmeal sat in a roughly carved wooden bowl. Coarse bread was on the tray next to it. A silver mug held a milky liquid. Lifting it to her nose, Adrianna sniffed at the drink. It smelled sweet, like milk and honey, and she took a small sip. It tasted somewhat odd, but good, and even though she worried about the food being drugged, Adrianna ate everything that was there, relishing it like a gourmet dinner prepared by a chef in a four-star restaurant. Afterwards, when she put the tray on the floor and settled back against the too small pillow, her mind seemed clearer. As the day progressed, Adrianna’s restlessness grew. The crone returned twice more, bringing more food and taking away the empty trays, cleaning out the rough wooden bucket that Adrianna had been given for her more personal needs. She never spoke again, no matter how much Adrianna begged for answers. Threats fared no better, ignored, or worse, smiled at. By the time the sun set in this bizarre place, Adrianna was no closer to knowing why she was here than when she awoke. By the third day, Adrianna had given up. She slept a lot, finding comfort in unconsciousness. It battled the boredom, the tedious inching of time that passed more slowly as the day progressed. When she was awake, her time was spent at the windows, staring at the scenery, watching the people go about their daily lives and wondering if this was all that was left for her. To watch life like a fish in a bowl, always on the outside, growing number every day of her captivity. Would she grow mad if left in this room? **** He stood at the foot of her bed every night, his hands trembling slightly as he reached to pull the blanket from her slumbering body. His eyes roamed over every sweet inch of flesh as he bared the lushness of her slender form. Those same hands reached out, almost touching silken skin, but daring only to hold a lock of her russet hair, watching the play of light, like fire in the satiny tresses, breathing in its sweet scent. He wanted her with a fervor he’d never felt for any woman, a desire for her hands to touch his skin, her mouth to battle with his own in fiery ardor. He longed to feel her under him, surrounding him, her body moving with passionate intent. But it was not yet to be. He had to wait; the time must be exact if she was to stay with him forever. So, every morning, before the first hint of sun could stream through the long windows of the tower room, he sighed heavily, with one last wistful glance at the picture she made lying in slumber, kept peaceful by a few well placed words. Then he would leave her, waving a hand at a corner of the mirror and disappearing within its suddenly murky surface, leaving no clue of his presence for her to find.

Chapter Two Adrianna stared out the windows at the sunset, watching the myriad display of colors. Reds and oranges flared with bright intensity, deepening to amber-tinged purple at the horizon. It was a beautiful sight, one that she’d watched now at the end of four very long days of being held prisoner in this tower room. Her only companion, the now silent crone, had seemed to smirk more than usual tonight, she mused as she combed her hands through her long hair, helping it dry. She’d been given an unexpected treat, a hot bath after many days washing up with cold water brought to her in a bucket by the crone. She’d been excited watching the crone drag in the crude, deep wooden tub, hiding under her sheet as two men, both as bent and stooped as the crone, hauled in buckets of steamy water. When the tub was filled and the men left, she hadn’t even waited for the crone to leave, springing from beneath the blanket and almost skipping to the tub. Slipping into the depths of the steamy, fragrant water, she’d breathed a sigh of pleasure, forgetting even the heavy weight of the chain at her ankle. Adrianna ducked into the water, wetting her thick hair. It felt lank and lifeless, greasy from being unwashed these long days. She took the soap she was handed by the crone, rubbing it through the long tresses, digging her fingers into her scalp in pleasure. When she’d finally stepped, dripping, from the quickly cooling water, she felt lighter than she had for days. Just feeling clean, her hair washed, made a huge difference in her mood. And when the crone handed her a comb, she thought she’d reached as close to heaven as possible while being held prisoner in this place. So now, watching the beauty of the setting sun, hearing the songs of the birds as they settled for the evening, the chirping of the night insects, she was as relaxed as she could be. With a sigh, she rose and placed the comb on the small dresser that was a new addition to the room. There was nothing in the drawers, but it gave her hope that she might be given clothing one of these days and then, maybe, be allowed outside of this room. When that happened, perhaps she could find a way to escape, to find her way back home to New York and away from this strange place. She just had to wait. She settled back onto the bed, snuggling under the warmth of her meager blanket as the air cooled with night’s fall. She closed her eyes and allowed sleep to claim her once more despite the intense feeling of being watched that she had experienced on and off for four days. Adrianna didn’t know how much time had elapsed or what had woken her. She sat up, hugging the cover to her bare breasts as she stared into the shadows of the room, her eyes searching. She turned her head at a sound but before she could look a hand was clasped over her mouth, cutting off her scream. “Shh,” she heard a male whisper from behind, close to her ear. “I do not wish to hurt you, Adrianna.” Oh God, she thought. This is it. She was going to be raped. She started to struggle and felt herself drawn against the naked chest of a man. He was massive, his chest wide and well shaped, his stomach hard against the softness of her bottom. He held her easily, as if her struggles were nothing more than a slight annoyance, proving his superior strength with an arm wrapped around her slim stomach. He held her until she tired, until she lay unmoving against his chest. “Are you finished?” he asked gently, waiting until she nodded before continuing. “I am not here to hurt you, Adrianna. Now, if you will not scream I will let you go.” He slowly took his hand from her mouth, keeping a hold of her waist until he was sure she wasn’t going to make any more noise. Then he released his hold on her, his fingers trailing across the tips of her breasts as he let go.

Adrianna gasped and pulled away, jumping from the bed and scurrying to the end of the chain. It stopped her movements with a sudden jerk, just in front of the mirror. She turned, facing him, her arm protectively crossing her breasts, a hand covering the silky pelt at the apex of her thighs. She heard his chuckle and felt a spurt of anger that he found her so amusing. “If you aren’t here to rape me, what do you want?” she asked, defiance in her tone. “Did I say I wasn’t here to rape you?” he asked from the shadows that hid his face. “I don’t remember saying that, Adrianna. I do remember saying that I don’t want to hurt you, and that is very true. Allow me my way, without struggle and you won’t be hurt.” Adrianna stared at the shadowy figure, his face nothing but a silhouette, a strange glow that seemed to come from the mirror outlining his huge shoulders, the sculpted planes of his chest, his thickly muscled stomach. She could see trim hips and the jutting of his cock that stood so proudly from the darkly thicketed hair at his groin. It seemed huge, like some kind of weapon that he planned to use against her, almost like a sword, to rip into her. Her breathing quickened at the sight of his beautiful body. Fear and a strange kind of desire caused her heart to race, her blood to rush through her veins as her pulse beat frantically. She wondered if he could hear her heart, it sounded so loud. “How can I believe you? That you won’t hurt me?” she asked, fear making her voice a breathless whisper. “You have no right to believe or not, Adrianna. You are mine now, a gift from my lord. I may do with you as I will. No matter how you scream, no one in the castle will come to your aid.” He stepped forward, but his face remained shadowed. “Turn, look into the mirror, and don’t turn around,” he ordered. She stood still for a moment, staring at his powerful body. He could easily tear her in two. What choice did she have? She could make a stand, say no, and be raped. Or she could submit and hope that he didn’t hurt her. She turned slowly, closing her eyes at the shame of her own cowardice. She took a deep breath before opening them and staring into the mirror, its glow a gentle light that illuminated her completely. He came up behind her slowly, almost as if she were a timid animal, ready to bolt at the least provocation. She started when she felt his hands rest softly on her bare shoulder, gently pulling her hair back, baring her completely to his eyes. A shudder went through her; fear, desire, she didn’t know which. His hands felt so warm on her skin, cooled by the chilly air of the room. So tender despite being rough and calloused. “You are so beautiful, Adrianna. I thought it from the first, when I saw you walking down that strange path, exposing so much of your body for the men of your world to ogle. I have found it more so, every night as I have watched you sleep.” He lifted her hair with his hands once more, letting it slide through his fingers to rain like a satiny waterfall against the sensitive skin of her back. “Please don’t do this,” she moaned, feeling him come closer. She could feel the heat of him, his warmth making her want to step back and lean against him. His hands slid down her arms, caressing her skin. He seemed to marvel at the smallness of her wrists. “You’ll want me, Adrianna. You’ll beg for me by the time I’m done with you.” His words seemed prophetic. Even as she defiantly shook her head, her eyes searching the shadowed darkness behind her, she knew she wouldn’t have to fight him so much as herself. He hadn’t but slid his hand down her arms and she already felt her will weakening. “You are so lovely in repose, Adrianna, with your lips barely parted as if welcoming my kiss,” he said as he stroked his thumb softly against her mouth. A heated rush of breath caressed his skin. He smiled, his teeth gleaming against the shadows. Adrianna’s eyes rose, her lips parted, as much in response to the rush of desire she was beginning to feel as to the surprise of his smile. His hand cupped her face, turning it gently to the side, his lips finding hers. Her eyes closed in surprised pleasure at the clean rush of his breath, the heat of his lips, the tenderness of his mouth coaxing hers to open. She trapped a small moan in her throat as she tried to fight

the power of his seduction. But after so long alone in this room and scared of her future, his advances were crumbling defenses already brought low. His hand slid down her body, slowly feathering over nipples hardened by the coldness of the room. A streak of pleasure arrowed through her at his touch, a tingling flash that left her even more defenseless. Her body wanted to open to him. He drew his lips away, turning her to face the mirror once more. The move cast more light on his features. She could see golden eyes set under a wide forehead, thick hair flowing back to lie against his shoulders in heavy waves. His nose was long and thin, his mouth wide and full, above a strong jaw that just missed being square. He was handsome as the other man, the man who had taken her captive and brought her here. But there was something more about him, something beyond the high-handed attitude of the other. She could see it in his eyes as he looked at her body in the mirror. His eyes caressed her even as his hands held her still, easily ringing her slim waist. “Who are you?” she asked breathlessly, bringing his tawny eyes up to her face. “My name, little one, is Kaden. Who I am,” he said, a smile turning up his wide lips as his hands lifted to her breasts, “is your master.” Her eyes closed even as she shook her head in mute defiance at his words, her tongue slipping out to lick dry lips that still tasted of his kiss. “I don’t have a master. I’m a citizen of the United States and I demand you let me go.” Though her words were meant to sound bold and confident, the uncertainty in her voice ruined the effect. His laughter rang out, echoing hollowly through the room. “Little one, what you are now is mine. And while I don’t mind a small measure of defiance, your life will be much simpler when you accept your new status here in the castle. In this time, and this place, you belong to me. Your body,” he gently squeezed the twin globes of her breasts, “knows this already.” Her eyes narrowed, looking into the mirror as she tried once more to deny his words. But her body did betray her, her nipples growing even fuller under the exquisite ministrations of his fingers, sending pulse after pulse of pleasure to throb between her thighs. Maybe, if he’d just taken her body, if he’d used her to slake his own lusts, she might have been able to resist. But he used words spoken in sultry tones and the sight of her aroused body in the mirror to seduce her into responding despite her fears. “I watched you sleep, watched your face as you dreamed. I’ve tormented myself by being so close to you and not being able to touch you. I’ve wanted to touch your breasts, feel their weight in my hands, and taste these hard buds with my lips and tongue.” His fingers brushed over her nipples, her resulting moan loud in the quiet of the room. Her hips moved almost imperceptibly, pushing backwards into his groin, unable to stop as a rush of need flooded through her. She saw his smile, felt his cock pressing into her rounded bottom, the delicate heat of her surrounding him like a caress. He tweaked her nipple and she moved again, rubbing against him despite the panicked look of fear on her face. Adrianna knew she was waging a losing battle, the internal struggle of pride versus pleasure slowly chipping away any resistance she had. Her body was winning over her mind, her breasts pushing against his hands, her hips moving against his groin. Heat built between her thighs in unbearable intensity, and she had to bite her lip to keep from begging him to take her. Kaden’s hands slid from her heaving breasts, trailing down her slim, flat stomach. He stroked down her smooth skin with infinite care, touching the satiny flesh of her belly, feeling the taut muscles below her pale skin. His large hands were dark against her skin, spanning her waist easily. The contrast was sensually exquisite, sending a shudder of pleasure through her, making her gasp. “I know you want this, Adrianna,” he said quietly next to her ear, his breath moving her hair and making her shiver. “I can see your pulse race in your throat. I can feel the heat of you against my skin. I can smell the sweet scent of your arousal, Adrianna. What do you think I will find when I touch you here?” he asked, running his hand gently over the sleek pelt of curls that covered her sex.

Adrianna gasped, then moaned when his hand returned, his fingers parting her curls, one long finger slipping between her swollen and sensitive nether lips. He sank deeply into the wet heat he found there, his own moan smothered as he dropped his head to her shoulder. He closed his eyes to savor the sensation of her spongy flesh around his fingers. Her hips danced under his talented hand, her body quivering as he drew her closer to climax with taunting flicks against the sensitive knot of her clit. Little keening cries escaped her lips, sweet music to his ears. “You want me, don’t you Adrianna?” She closed her eyes against the knowledge. Her mind fought bitterly with her body but the pleasure was just too much to ignore. Her body wanted him, even as her mind hated him for forcing this on her. With a low curse he pulled his hand from the sleek heat between her thighs, using it to grip her chin gently. Startled, she opened her eyes, staring in bemusement at him in the mirror as the sudden loss of his pleasuring hand left her feeling weak and cold. Adrianna could smell herself on his hand. The musky scent of her own arousal shamed her. She wanted to drop her eyes, to hide deep inside of herself and let him take her body as was his wont. He could, she knew, overpower her slim strength easily, but he couldn’t take her mind unless she let him. And she wasn’t about to do that. Kaden smiled, and she could see the light of battle in his eyes. “You may try to fight against me, Adrianna. In fact, I’d prefer you do. I wish no shy miss in my bed. But remember, I shall win in the end. You will be mine.” He turned her head, sinking into her mouth with lips that demanded response. His tongue forced her lips to part, tasting deeply of her even as she struggled and tried to bite him. He held her chin, his grip steady but not hurtful, even as she kicked at him. He laughed as he released her lips, listening as she cursed at him, as she screamed her hatred of him. His hand ran down the curves of her body despite her struggle, slipping between her legs to part her thighs. Bending her body, he slowly pushed his hard cock against the wet slit that caressed his length with sweet heat. She could feel him sinking slowly into her, inches at a time until she took him entirely inside her small body, her movements helping instead of hindering, as she had wished. **** Kaden held himself still, ignoring the desperate urges that begged him to thrust into her, to spend himself in hard strokes, uncaring of her pleasure. He heard Adrianna’s small shriek at his abrupt possession and laughed, whispering into her ear as she tried to move away from him. “If you hadn’t wanted me, wench, would my taking of you have been accomplished so easily? Would you be so wet if you hated me as you claim?” He slowly pulled out, ignoring her gasp of outrage. With one large hand, he cupped her sex, his finger slipping between her wet lips to tease at her clit. He could feel her body tense, even as her hands tried to push his hand away. **** Adrianna felt his long shaft impale her slowly, filling her until she felt she would explode. His body pushed against her until she bent slightly at the waist, allowing him to go even deeper. His arms were around her, his head pressed against her own. She couldn’t breathe without smelling his scent, couldn’t move without feeling his skin rub against her own in splendid abandon. She wanted to fight him, but her mind was hazy with the drugging pleasure he created with his hand, with his body. A whimper escaped her lips, so unlike the heated cursing of just seconds before. A tiny pulse between her legs became a throb and then a scream, demanding that she move against him, that he move inside of her. Pleas formed upon her lips as she stared at him in the mirror. His face, once shadowed, was now visible in the mirror’s glow. His features were handsome, chiseled, and tight with passion. The shadow of a day’s growth of beard was rough upon his cheeks. His eyes were tawny amber, glowing in the light of the candle as he stared back at her. She saw the flaring of his nostrils, as if he were scenting her like an animal about to mate. “You belong to me, Adrianna.” “No,” she moaned, knowing she was losing the battle of wills. “Yes, little one.” Kaden’s hand rose from her hip, stroking the curved underside of her breast with the back of his knuckles. He brushed his fingers over her nipple, hearing her moan and watching her eyes

close as the sensation tore through her. She knew he could feel the muscles of her pussy contracting, trying to force him to move inside of her, to give her what she needed. **** A tear appeared in the corner of her eye, held by the tips of her eyelashes, a tiny diamond to sparkle in the candlelight. She blinked and he watched it slide down her cheek and catch at the corner of her mouth. His tongue captured the saltiness of that tear before slipping between her lips. With a sigh, she kissed him back, her tongue sliding sleekly against his, tangling in a dance that sent pleasure throbbing through him. His body moved, stroking slowly before thrusting back inside of her, burying his cock in her tight heat. He felt her hands stretch behind him, running over the firm muscles of his lower back, pulling him against her harder, trying to urge him to move faster. Her mouth tore from his and he buried his face in her neck, tasting the saltiness of her sweat under his tongue. “Please,” she moaned, pushing back against him in demand. “Please what, my slave?” he asked, sliding his tongue around the whorl of her ear, his breath hot against her lobe. Adrianna tried to stay silent after the breathless plea passed her lips, but he wouldn’t allow it. He teased her with short thrusts that only tantalized, not satisfied. She tried to show him, taking his hand and drawing it to her breast. But Kaden refused her mute demands, waiting patiently even as the blood pounded through his veins. Her scent made him almost wild with the desire to take her in hard, rutting thrusts. “Please, move! Do something,” she cried out. “You wish me to fuck you? Is that what you want of me, Adrianna? My cock deep inside your delightfully wet pussy, is that what you want?” His words were crude, his voice harsh. Saying it made him even more desperate to take her. “Yes,” she moaned as another tear slid down her cheek to be captured by his tongue. “Tell me, little one.” “I want…” she couldn’t say it, her eyes closing in shame, her head shaking mutely. A cry escaped her lips as he abruptly pulled out of her flesh, leaving her empty, her body thrumming with desire and thwarted pleasure. Her eyes flew open and she stared at him with disbelief as he dropped his hands from her body. “I will leave you then, Adrianna,” he said, his body protesting wildly as he forced himself to turn. “No! Oh, God. Okay, okay you win. Please, f…fuck me.” A sob shook her shoulders. “Say my name,” he hissed, coming back to stand in front of her, holding her face in his hands to force her to look up at him. “Say…Fuck me, Kaden.” “Fuck me, K…Kaden,” she whispered, defeated. **** With a shout, he lifted her in his arms, carrying her the few steps to the bed. He mumbled something she couldn’t hear and then lowered her to the thick mattress, letting her sink into the satiny feel of soft sheets and thick comforters, fluffy pillows cushioning her head as he followed her down. His lips took hers in a demanding kiss, his tongue pushing her lips apart to thrust inside. Adrianna’s arms rose around him, her hands stroking the taut muscles of his back. She returned his fiery kisses, desperate to recapture the way he’d made her feel. She wanted that push pull of pleasure, that shock of intimacy unlike anything she’d ever felt with anyone else. His hand on her thigh had her opening her legs for him, welcoming him into the soft cradle of her hips. His mouth moved down her neck, the rough scrape of his whiskers another kind of sensual caress. His hand captured her breast, squeezing the soft flesh, holding it as his lips found her nipple. She couldn’t help but arch into his mouth, her body singing the pleasure of his lips and teeth as he nipped and suckled upon her breast. With a cry, her hands found his head, holding him to her, her mind spinning with the pleasure he provoked. He pulled away, his mouth moving down her body, across her flat stomach, dipping his tongue

into the slight dimple of her navel before stroking the smooth sensitive flesh above her sex. He could smell her scent, musky and erotic, and wondered if she would taste as tempting. Adrianna watched as his mouth moved over her pubic bone, his fingers finding the moist lips of her sex, spreading them and holding her open to his eyes. She felt a flush move through her face, part pleasure, part embarrassment that he should be looking at her in such an intimate fashion. She must have made some noise because he looked up, a smile hovering around his wide mouth. “You are beautiful everywhere, little one.” With one long finger, he traced a line through her damp heat, sliding over the knotted flesh of her clit and then pushing inside of her. “Even here, you are lovelier than any I’ve seen before.” He licked his lips as she watched, then leaned forward as if relishing his first taste of her woman’s flesh. Her head fell back, a gasp coming from suddenly slack lips as he traced the folds of her sex with his tongue, slowly sliding one and then two fingers into her heat. Her hips moved, rising up to meet his mouth. Tiny cries erupted out of her at the pleasure he gave her, a pleasure that grew like a bubble in her belly until she thought it would burst. Her hands dug into the smooth surface of the comforter, fisting the material in desperation as the pleasure grew until it became almost pain. **** Kaden moved up her body, feeling the rigidness of her slender form. He’d taken her to the brink and left her teetering, determined to be inside of her when the storm of her climax broke over her. He wanted to feel her come around his cock, to know and have her know that he was responsible for the pleasure she felt, that it came from him, his hands, his mouth, his body. With a groan, he sank into her, his cock throbbing inside her velvety sheath, her muscles contracting in shocked spasms around him. Kaden lay still for a moment, allowing her to get used to the feel of his big body weighing her down, holding her to the bed beneath him. Then slowly, his heart racing at the delight, he moved his hips, pulling out of her until just the merest hint of his cock remained in her damp flesh. Adrianna mewled under him, her hands reaching around his wide shoulders, stroking down the massive muscles of his back. She cupped his taut buttocks in her hands, pulling to try to get him to come back inside of her. She clearly wanted more of the sweet friction of his body against her. But it was like moving a boulder. He stayed there, poised on the brink, his lips just nibbling on hers. “Please,” she whispered again, the word ending on a moan as he thrust into her hard, shaking the bed beneath her. He tortured her beautiful flesh with movements designed to drag her closer to the edge, feeling the tiny sting of her nails against his back. “You’re mine,” he ground out between clenched teeth, staring down into her face. She made a sensual picture, her eyes half closed, her hair tousled around her beautiful features from the tossing of her head upon the pillow as the sensations in her body seemed to tighten under his pounding. She held onto his back, her nails digging in as she tried to deny feelings that were out of control. She couldn’t breath, she couldn’t think; all she could do was take this rollercoaster ride of pleasure. “Adrianna!” His tone commanded, his voice ringing through the overpowering pleasure. “Look at me.” **** Her eyes opened wide, fixating on his handsome face as he pushed ever deeper, reaching areas never touched before. Her world seemed to shrink. The ecstasy he provoked, his handsome face straining as he held himself back. Those were all she could comprehend. “See me, Adrianna. Know me for your master. I own you now.” Her head shook, despair, denial stirring to mix with the sparkling joy his churning hips brought to her. He reached between her legs, and she felt the touch of his fingers on the extended nodule of her clit, stimulating her further until she writhed under him, her body pleading to end this slick torture. “I own you, Adrianna, your body, your soul are mine to do with as I will,” he groaned the words into her ear. Her heat clenched down upon his cock, sucking it delightfully back into her satiny wetness. “I

may give you to anyone I please, or keep you for myself alone if you do but show me that you are worthy of such honor.” She stared into the half closed amber of his eyes, seeing the truth of his words there, in the way he seemed to keep himself aloof from the intimacy he was weaving around her. But it was too late for her to try to deny what he did to her. The first amazingly strong ripples of orgasm shot through her loins, so powerful that they were almost pain. Adrianna cried out, her head tipping back against the pillows, her hips pushing desperately against his. Pain and pleasure mixed, hot spears bubbling through her to soak her in a wash of tingling heat, leaving her limp and weak and only able to cling to him. Her body arched under him, almost unseating him in the strength of her pleasure. He thrust into her harder, his own ecstasy rushing through him now, boiling inside and spewing forth in long streams of silky cum. Tears streaked down Adrianna’s face, a mixture of exhausted pleasure, abject fear and, amazingly enough, gratitude, leaving her feeling languid and soft beneath him. She felt him come, felt his sperm splash deep against her cervix. A flash of worry about possible pregnancy flew through her mind but she ignored it, other fears taking precedent. Now that he’d had what he wanted from her, what would he do? Would she become a toy? A simple diversion, something for him to take out when he was bored and then thrust back into the small room so far above the rest of life when he was done? Was she to spread her legs for him at his command, or open her lips if that was his wish? “So many thoughts, little Adrianna.” His fingertips softly smoothed the furrows of her forehead. “So many thoughts, do you not wish to speak them to me?” “Why? Would you let me keep them to myself if I wish it?” She couldn’t help the resentment that tinged the tone of her voice, despite the languor she felt after his lovemaking. He smiled, enjoying her fight even now. “Of course not, my little slave. You should never wish to keep anything from me, nor hide anything. I am your all now.” “And if I don’t do what you want, will you have me beaten?” Kaden let the back of his hand trail over her cheek and down her throat, stopping to wrap his long, strong fingers around the slim column of her neck. “Well, I could just have you killed,” he said, tightening his hold just a little. “Or I could give you to the men of the castle, though when they are done with a slave, it is not a sight for the genteel at heart to view.” He released her throat, his fingers tracing the line of her delicate collarbone to the curve of her shoulder. “Which would you prefer, little minx?” “Death,” she said without hesitating, a fierce note in her voice. “I would always prefer death to rape.” “You would truly prefer death to having your legs spread by the men of the court?” His darkly arched brows rose. “I’ll have to remember that if the time comes for you to be punished.” He grew quiet, his hand slowly caressing her breast, his thumb stroking across her nipple, sending little ripples of feeling through her body. She couldn’t stand the sensations coursing through her no matter how pleasurable. That he was making her feel this against her wishes was more than she could handle. “Stop, you disgust me!” she cried out, horror at her own actions quickly following in the wake of the impulse. He didn’t say anything, his hand stilling upon her breast. Adrianna wished she could call the words back, swallow them. She clamped her mouth shut, her eyes going wide. With a shudder of trepidation she managed a tiny look at the dark face above hers, glancing at him from under the curtain of her long thick lashes. His face was inscrutable, his eyes shuttered and black, the amber almost completely lost in the depth of his pupils. “I think, my slave, I have proven once tonight that I do not disgust you, but if you wish me to prove so again, I will happily oblige.” He rolled suddenly, turning so that she now was astride his loins, his still hard cock buried deeply inside of her. In this position, he took her with hard thrusts, pulling her thighs down so she felt every inch of him filling her with such sweet power. He took her to punish her, but she felt no pain, only intense pleasure,

her body racked with it until he rolled once more, and she lost herself in the sensation of him between her thighs, his arms holding her, their bodies connected in ways that were much more intimate than that of just flesh. Afterwards, she slept, her moist skin pressed against him, her head upon his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. And in the center of the room, the mirror continued to glow.

Chapter Three Adrianna woke alone, the late afternoon sun shining brilliantly in the windows. With a sigh, she ran her hands over the rough material that once more covered the meager mattress. She remembered the feel of satin, the plush of down and wondered if it all had been a dream. But a slight soreness between her thighs and the sticky remnants of his taking of her made it all into reality quickly. At least she hadn’t been forced to bear his scrutiny this morning, under the harsh sunlight that flooded through the windows. Adrianna stretched and rose, noticing a tray on the floor next to her bed and the tub, brought in but not filled. With a grimace, feeling muscles that she hadn’t remembered feeling before, she reached down and picked up the tray. Picking up the cup, she wondered at her own feelings. She’d fallen asleep in his arms, almost content with what he had done to her. How could she feel that way? She couldn’t even say it was rape. She’d wanted him. With a flush of shame, she remembered begging for him. By the light of day, it seemed surreal that he even existed, that anything existed outside this room except for what she could see through the wavy glass. Drinking the honeyed milk, she leaned against the cool pane of glass, staring into the sky. It bothered her that there were no airplanes, no white trails of exhaust across the sky that marked their passage. She didn’t hear any engines, or generators. There were no modern conveniences. It was what it seemed, a backwards place shrouded in mystery. And she was a captive of a man who held some strange thrall over her. Adrianna went back to her bed, setting on the edge to eat the food that had grown cold on the tray. The fare was plain but filling and she ate until she was full, pretending it was a cheeseburger and fries, the milk turning into a large coffee. She wanted a bath. She wanted to wash away all traces of the beguiling man who had taken her last night. She hadn’t been a virgin. A couple of relationships in college and one huge disaster afterwards had taught her that she liked sex and liked men. But no one had affected her as Kaden had. He wanted her as a slave. That was his goal, she knew. He had told her she would be nothing but to him. Staring around the silent room, Adrianna wondered if that would be all bad. Would it hurt to wait upon him, to do as he bid her, if it got her out of this cursed tower room? She could get out, learn her way around the castle, seduce him into complacency and then run away and find her way home. So lost in thought was she that when the door creaked open, she jumped, spilling the remainder of the milk over her naked breasts. She shrieked as the cold liquid hit her skin, her nipples contracting to diamond hard points on top of her rounded breasts. “What have you done?” a female voice asked Adrianna, causing her to start again. She looked up at the owner of the voice and stared. The girl was beautiful and not much older than a child if age here was measured the same. Long, white blonde curls streamed over her shoulders and down her back, huge eyes the color of turquoise dominated a heart shaped face. A full mouth made to always smile was painted a pale pink. Her cheeks were rosy with just a sprinkling of freckles across her small nose. She was buxom and curvy, her tiny waist showed off to advantage by a wide leather belt that held a plain white blouse and long dark blue skirt close to her body. “You’ve spilled,” she said, her hand reaching out to touch Adrianna’s nipple where a drop of the honeyed milk hung, defying gravity. She took it upon her finger, and as Adrianna watched, drew the sweet treat to her mouth, licking it delicately. “Mmmm, I think it tastes better off of you then it does in the mug.” A pool of heat started to gather in Adrianna’s loins from the touch and the beautiful girl’s words. “Who are you?’ she asked, her voice huskier than normal.

“My name is Katiara, most call me Tia,” she said, leaning forward and licking a small rivulet of the milk from Adrianna breast before taking the tip into her mouth, her tongue stabbing at the hard pebble with teasing jabs. Adrianna felt her pulse jump and her sex start to swell in response to the girl’s talented tongue. She jerked back, ashamed at her body’s response. She’d never before looked at a woman as a sexual object or been the slightest bit interested in experimenting, as so many were now a days. “What are you doing?” “Cleaning you up,” Tia said matter-of-factly. “You can’t serve in the great hall covered in milk.” She reached forward as if she meant to draw Adrianna close to her again. “I can clean myself up,” Adrianna jumped away from that hand, skirting carefully around the bed, keeping it between herself and the girl who looked at her with a sparkle of mischief in her eyes. “But it would be more fun if I did it for you, do you not agree?” The girl followed her around the edge of the bed, closing in on Adrianna as she reached the limit of the chain at her ankle. “More fun, and more pleasurable.” She licked her lips, reaching out with a gentle hand to touch Adrianna’s cheek. “No,” Adrianna said, slapping at the hand that wanted to play across her skin. “I don’t think so. Stop that.” But she couldn’t stop the involuntary moan that escaped her lips as the girl once more cupped her breast. “You are a slave of Lord Kaden, a favored of Great Lord Damien, who owns all you see from horizon to horizon.” Tia licked her full lips as she stared at Adrianna’s breasts, softly caressing their fullness with both hands now. “‘Tis my task to instruct you as to the ways of this household and to your duties as his slave. One such duty shall be to spread yourself for Lord Kaden’s pleasure, to be ready for him when he wants you, to…” “I am not his slave.” Adrianna pushed the girl away, forcing the lustful feelings aside as her anger rose. “I am no one’s slave, or sex…kitten,” she finished, unable to come up with a better word. “I won’t spread myself for his whim or any other man’s.” She moved away from the woman, going to the bed and using the small blanket to wipe the remainder of the milk from her skin. “You can tell him I said that,” she said over her shoulder to Tia. “Oh, no. No, I couldn’t do that.” There was real fear in Tia’s voice, making Adrianna turn to face her again. The girl was wringing her hands together nervously. “Lord Kaden told me you were new to our ways and that as such, I should forgive you some indiscretions. But I could never go against an order from a Lord, no matter what the wish of the other.” “I am not his slave, Tia. I am citizen of the United States of America and I will not be treated like a slave.” She turned to face the girl as she said this and saw the curiosity and confusion in the girl’s eyes. But Tia shook her head suddenly, a huge smile blossoming upon her face. “You are funny. There is no such place in Lord Damien’s world. Now come, we must get you cleaned up and dressed so that you may begin your duties and pleasure your master.” Adrianna started to shake her head until she heard the word dressed. It would be heaven to have something to wear and not to feel so naked and exposed all the time. She looked again at Tia’s outfit, the loose blouse cinched in tight with the leather belt, the long skirt that covered to just above her ankles, leaving her small feet bare. A silver band encircled one thin ankle, tiny dark red stones in a filigree setting that was very beautiful. Around the bottom of the band, little silver bells tinkled with a merry sound as she walked. How had she missed that sound when the girl had come into the room? It was such a cheery sound, those little bells dancing as Tia walked towards her. “Are those decoration?” she asked Tia. “It is a sign of my servitude and the pleasure of my master in my actions. The bells are a reward, given to me because I serve him well.” “Who is your master?” Adrianna asked, watching the girl pick up a pile of clothing she hadn’t noticed before. “Lord Damien owns me, as he owned my mother before me. She died when I was but a small child. Lord Damien allowed me to stay, to serve him until I reached my majority; then, I was given the honor of sharing his bed.” “So are you his wife?”

Tia tipped back her lovely head, her flaxen curls bouncing as she laughed. “No, my Lord doesn’t have a wife, and if he did, he would not pick someone as low born as me. But then again,” she said with a twinkle of mirth in her eyes, “she would not share with him what I have, either. She would have the responsibility, I would have his body.” “And that’s what you want?” Adrianna stood before the girl as she shook out the garment she’d brought with her. Without looking at it, she raised her arms, helping Tia get the garment over her head. The pleasure of being dressed was so much that she didn’t mind when Tia once more ran her hands over Adrianna’s breasts, squeezing her nipples gently before pulling the material down and over the beautiful globes. Tia’s hands smoothed over her skin, being so bold as to slip for an instant between Adrianna’s legs and touch the hot flesh between, before pulling the thin fabric down over her rounded hips and thighs. “Why should I spend my days worrying about his household, dealing with his children, spouting orders and worrying over funds for running the manor when I can spend my days caring for his wardrobe and spend my nights with him rutting ‘tween my thighs? I have no wish to grow fat bellied with a child every year, to fret over every gold piece that is spent to keep the castle’s kitchen running until wrinkles spread over my eyes and brows.” Tia reached down. Using a tiny key that she took out of a small pouch at the waist of her belt, she unlocked the chain from the heavy manacle that had rubbed Adrianna’s ankle raw. “Ahh, that evil wench Magda didn’t pad your ankle. I cannot believe the wretch’s pettiness, using you to get back at Lord Kaden. When we reach the kitchens we shall have Cook look at it. She will have a salve that can be used.” She unclasped the heavy metal, running gentle fingers over the abraded skin. Adrianna flinched as she hit a spot that was particularly sore. “Magda? Is she the woman who has been bringing me my food?” “Yes, Lord Damien put her in charge of your confinement. Though why, no one can be sure. Magda hates Lord Kaden with every fiber of her being.” Tia chuckled, flipping her long blonde curls behind her shoulder with a toss of her beautiful head. She carefully wrapped a small piece of silk over Adrianna’s ankle, clipping a lighter weight anklet around it that she had pulled from her pouch with the silk. Adrianna saw the gleam of silver and the sparkle of deep purple stones, so deep they seemed almost black. When the sun’s rays caught them, they shone with purple fire, bright and brilliant. “‘Tis Lord Kaden’s colors. The colors that you shall wear always, to show the men of the castle to whom you belong.” “And what happens if I refuse to wear his colors?” Adrianna asked, suddenly hating the beautiful bauble that felt so exquisitely light around her ankle. “Oh, you don’t want that to happen, Adrianna. It bodes ill for any woman caught without wearing her lord’s colors. Any man of the castle may claim you for a night, or forever if that is his wish, and you have no say.” The alarm in Tia’s eyes sent a shiver through Adrianna’s body. To be at the mercy of one of these big men—for all that she’d met so far, Damien and his cohort and Kaden, were huge men, towering over her average height. “You are right to fear. Some here aren’t as gentle as others. There are those who aren’t claimed and wear no colors. Their fates are not pretty. I will point them out to you. But now we must hurry, for I’ve talked too much, as always.” She smiled, holding out her hand to Adrianna to help her off the bed. “We must finish your hair and then get to work.” Adrianna’s hair was combed, then braided in four thick heavy braids. These were wrapped around her head, creating a crown of sorts, pinned with roughly made pins of gold. Adrianna finally had the chance to look at herself in the mirror. She gasped in shock. The shift that Tia had dressed her in was thin, showing the outline of her nipples and the dark shadow of her pubic curls. It was cut to her waist on each side. There was a deep vee over her breasts, showing the sides and cleavage of those firm mounds. The whiteness of the shift showed off the darkness of her hair, and the sparkle of her eyes. A deep purple ribbon wound just under her breasts, holding the shift closed at the sides. Tiny straps held it over

her shoulders. The hem reached the ground, but every time she took a step, the skirt would open and show off the long line of her legs. “I can’t go down there like this. I’m practically naked,” she exclaimed, shock and horror causing her mouth to drop. “It is your Lord’s wish that you dress this way, Adrianna. You must obey him in all things. Otherwise, the punishments are swift and awful.” Tia grabbed her hand, pulling her from the mirror and towards the door. “Now come, we must go, before Lord Damien realizes I have been gone such a long time and sends someone for us. He would be displeased with me.” She pulled on Adrianna, easily overpowering her. There was another room outside the tower room, a coarse room, roughly made with a table and two chairs setting to the side. A pallet was in the corner, a blanket thrown over it as if someone had just risen from their rest. She was pulled through another door and taken down a long curving flight of stone stairs. They were narrow and cold, lit only by torches every ten to fifteen feet. Her bare feet hurried down the cold stone, trying hard to keep up with Tia. A door at the bottom of the stairs was already open and beyond Adrianna could see the green branches of the orchard. Fresh air blew in on a warm breeze, bringing with it the smell of flowers and smoke, manure and sweat. It smelled as sweet as lilacs to her after her captivity in that tiny room. Adrianna started to move towards it but Tia stopped her, gesturing to a small door that Adrianna hadn’t seen. “No, ‘tis this way to the great hall and the meal should be starting soon. We must get you there so that Lord Damien can see you and tell Lord Kaden that you did as you were bid to do.” “Kaden won’t be there himself to see?” “Oh no, Lord Kaden doesn’t leave his mir…his chambers until night falls and the last ray of the sun has disappeared from the sky.” She smiled, trying to cover her near mistake. Adrianna was too nervous to notice, worried about what would happen to her when she walked through a hall with all those gigantic men, dressed as she was. The silky material was sheer, leaving little to the imagination. It cupped her breasts in a loving manner, held by the purple ribbon that she was growing to despise. “What will be my duties, Tia?” “Tonight will be easy upon you Adrianna, as ‘tis your first time. You shall serve the Lord’s table until Kaden arrives. Then he shall assign your duties. Come now, my Lord Damien awaits.” She tugged Adrianna’s arm, pulling her into the crowded room. Adrianna could do nothing but gape at the scene in front of her. A dark hall, smoky and dusty with rough wooden beams across the ceiling, a room bigger than any she’d ever seen. One long table stood on a dais with four more spread out in front of it, situated so that no man’s back was ever to the main table. Benches ran along either side of the four tables. The main table had high backed chairs on one side only, facing the room. Behind the table was a huge wall hanging, scenes of war and carnage woven expertly into the material. A solitary man rode on a gold background, sword in hand to face his enemies. She could see long auburn hair peeping out from under a shiny helmet and knew this must be Lord Damien. “Come,” Tia hissed, not as boisterous now that they were inside the great hall. “We must get you a tray and show you to Lord Damien, so he may acknowledge you.” Adrianna didn’t understand but she wasn’t given time to ask any questions either. Instead, she was dragged through the hall, the eyes of every man that crowded those tables upon her. She could feel their lustful gaze from where she stood, her arms spread for the huge tray that Tia handed her. Stale bread had been cut in half and hollowed out, placed upon her tray and then filled with a hearty, rich stew unlike the sticky porridge that she’d been forced to eat daily. The smell had her mouth salivating and her stomach growling, but she tried to forget that as Tia turned her and sent her towards the long table on the dais with hissed instructions. Adrianna tried to follow them, tried to walk with dignity and grace while the heavy tray weighed down her arms. She didn’t want to show fear in front of these strange men. She worried that if she did

they’d fall upon her like ravening dogs. There were two steps up to the raised dais and she felt for them carefully with her bare feet, the stones cold and hard. When she reached the top, she finally looked over the men seated there. All were tall and broad, wearing fine garments, tall boots and with long swords pushed into leather scabbards. Huge sparkling gems were fastened into brooches that held capes across broad shoulders. Arm bands gleamed with polished metals around thickly muscled arms. Hair was long, held back in braids away from chiseled faces. And every eye was upon her. She started when she realized it, almost dropping the heavy tray. She looked down the long row of men and saw the face of her captor, Lord Damien sitting, his eyes on her as he conversed with the man seated on his left. The chair to his right was empty. Casting her eyes to the floor, she hurried forward, standing next to Damien, uncertain of what she should do next. A strong finger lifted her chin until she stared into his laughing eyes. He took the tray from her, setting it on the table in front of him before pushing back in his chair and bringing her between his thighs. Adrianna’s breath caught in her throat as he held her arms to her side, inspecting every inch of her. She refused to meet his eyes when he looked at her face, anger at his arrogance flushing her pale skin and making her eyes a stormy gray. All conversation had stopped, all eyes were upon the two of them. It made her flush an even brighter red to be center of attention amid these men. “Oh ho, I think Kaden’s little toy doesn’t like me much,” Damien said, laughter in his voice. “What say you, little toy? Do you hold hatred in your heart for your Lord?” “You aren’t my Lord,” Adrianna hissed, unable to keep still any longer. “I’m no one’s little toy.” The men at the table close enough to hear her words burst out in laughter, one spewing a mouthful of heavy amber brew across the wide table. “This little pigeon refuses to acknowledge her master. I do believe Kaden is in for quite some ride with her.” Adrianna turned to see who had spoke, her eyes narrowed in her ire. It was the man who’d been with Damien the day of her capture. The man who’d laughed at her then was laughing at her now. “You are right, brother. She will lead him a long and merry chase. And will need to feel the bite of his lash before she acknowledges him master. I envy him,” Damien sighed. “It has been long since my own wenches have given me such a chase.” “Maybe if you hadn’t turned Magda into the crone that she is, your wenches would show more spunk.” He picked up his chalice, lifting it in a toast to his brother. “Well, there is that,” Damien acknowledged with a half smile and a lift of his dark brow. “But come, we should get this over. Little pigeon,” he said, speaking to Adrianna again. “You will not like this, but I hope you will have the sense enough to know that it is necessary. If you fight, ‘twill only make it more difficult on you. I’ll enjoy taming a wench with your spunk if you force me to prove my rights as Great Lord.” Adrianna wrists were taken in two strong hands and held behind her back. She struggled against the unseen assailant, her eyes growing wide as she realized she was trapped. She couldn’t break his hold. Would they rape her here, take her in front of these men? “No, little toy, perhaps I should let you fear this test, but that would be too cruel of me. You won’t be fucked, not by us. But you must be examined by me and acknowledged before the castle. Still yourself, I will be quick.” He took the hem of her thin shift, lifting it above her head and over so that it caught on the hands holding her wrists, leaving her naked. A gasp was heard, murmurs and whispers echoing off the stone walls as the men regaled themselves with the sight of her beautiful body, the wealth of pubic hair at her mons still sticky from last night’s tussle with her master, Kaden. Her legs were long and curved and he ran his hands over them, admiring the muscle tone as he would a new horse. He clasped his hand on her rounded buttocks, feeling the satiny skin, the firm muscles that clenched under his exploring fingers. He heard her shriek as that same hand pressed between thighs that were clamped tight, trying to keep him out. He pinched the delicate skin on the inside of her thigh, laughing as she shrieked again, her legs opening slightly to get away from the sudden pain.

His fingers slipped inside, noting the tightness of her vaginal channel, the way her flesh grew damp despite her protests. “Oh, this one is full of fire. Kaden did well in choosing her.” He pulled his hand away, showing the assembled men the shimmer of her juices upon his fingers. Adrianna wanted to sink into the floor. She was being pawed by the devil who had taken her from all she’d known and brought her to this world and her body was enjoying the humiliation. “Stop, please,” she pleaded, hating herself for the note of desperation in her voice. “‘Tis almost done, little toy, and then I shall let you get back to your duties. This is for your own best interest, for once claimed by me, no one will touch you without out my or Kaden’s leave.” He didn’t tell her that he never gave leave for others to use one of his Lord’s slaves. Some of his men cared dearly for their slaves, more so then they did for their own lady wives. It was the severest punishment to give your slave to another, and only used in dire situations. Adrianna was turned toward Damien, her body struggling against the hands holding her. Her movements pushed her breasts into his face, making the Lord laugh and capture one peak between his lips. He suckled gently before biting sharply on the stiff point, forcing another scream from Adrianna’s throat. His hands cupped the full curved mounds, squeezing and kneading her flesh with gentle hands. Adrianna felt a tugging on her womb and the swelling of her sex as pleasure coursed through her. She grew wetter, feeling the moisture thicken, the scent of her arousal ripe in the air around her body. “‘Tis my right as Lord to take a slave if it is my wish. Would you like that, little toy? Would it give you pleasure to feel your Great Lord’s body pounding into yours?” His hand slipped once more between her thighs, cupping her sex and pushing his long middle finger between the swollen flesh he found there. “Your body cries out for mine, little toy. Would you beg for me to give you pleasure?” Adrianna struggled against the hands holding her, wanting nothing more than to run back to her tower room. It no longer seemed a prison to her. Now it held all the security of a haven against the confusion the hands touching her were creating. Was she nothing more than a slut who enjoyed public manhandling and could be had by any man? Tears of confusion and humiliation coursed down her cheeks, dripping onto her naked breasts. She could feel his finger slowly pumping into her tight sheath, touching her inside with almost exasperating slowness. Another of his long fingers tickled the tight bud of her clit, making it grow until it pushed out from its small hood, standing in readiness, begging to be caressed. Her breasts felt full, her nipples hard and begging for a mouth to take them, to suck and tease, to create the tension of pleasure until it burst inside of her. Her head fell back against her shoulders, her breath shortened and her hips moved beyond her will, desperately coaxing him to give her more. She could hear the whispers around her, almost as if they wrapped her in their desperation. Crude words were called out, even cruder suggestions made to Lord Damien about what he should do to the new slave. He pushed her back until she sat upon the table before him, a male slave coming to take her hands out of the grip of the Lord’s brother, Castor, and hold her where she was placed, her beautiful bottom almost sitting in Lord Damien’s plate. Her legs were spread, despite the desperate clenching of her muscles, baring the sweet pink flesh to the eyes of those closest to Damien. His hand moved against her, replacing one finger with two to twist inside of her with savage delight. “She is a prime piece, Damien,” Castor said, his voice almost a growl as he felt his own cock rise in response to the sight in front of him. Her smell was as arousing as the sight, the smell of a woman in her heat, musky and full of a sharp tang that sent many a nostril to flare at its sweet scent. “I do believe she is begging for your cock, brother.” Adrianna heard his words and tried to still the lurching of her hips as they pressed against the invading hand. His thumb strummed her clit, arousing her even more until tiny gasping cries came from between her lips, creating more of the picture of a woman caught up in lust, begging to be taken. “Please,” she whispered between dry lips, fighting herself as much as the hands holding her to the table. “I don’t want this. Stop,” she pleaded.

With a cry, she felt his fingers slip from her sodden flesh. She opened her eyes, seeing Damien staring at her, a slight smile upon his flushed face. “You’ve done well, little toy. It is good for a slave to be loyal to only her master. Kaden will be pleased with you.” “Kaden is pleased with her,” came a voice from behind them. The chair to the right of Damien was slid out, Kaden seating himself and staring at his slave, still sitting naked in front of his Great Lord. He reached out, taking her arm from the male slave’s grip and pulling her towards his own lap, sitting her in it while she struggled to speak. “She did well, Damien?” he asked, his voice booming as his hand slipped between her thighs, finding her heat. “You have a beautiful and untamed slave, Kaden,” Damien said formally, though his eyes sparkled. “I envy you her passionate nature and her scent. Both are as arousing as any slave seen yet in this chamber. Guard her well, my friend, for there will be those bent upon taking her from you.” “I thank you, my Lord, for the compliment as well as the warning. Both are well warranted, for this beauty can turn many heads.” Adrianna felt the thin shift she wore slipped off of her wrists, so that she sat completely naked in Kaden’s lap with the small gleaming band of metal at her ankle her only adornment. She struggled to cover herself with her hands, feeling the eyes of the men ogling every inch of her. Kaden took her hands, putting them upon the edge of the table, exposing her breasts with their taut nipples and rosy areolas. Under her hips, she could feel the hard length of his cock pressing into her, her back against his chest. “Move them from the table, little one, and I will be forced to tie them there,” he whispered in her ear, his breath tickling the tiny hairs that had escaped from the heavy braids. She shivered and he laughed, delighted with her. “This is necessary, to prove to the men that you belong to me, more so than the wearing of colors. They know that you have chosen me over all, even over the Great Lord Damien. Though even if you had let him take your body in that moment of lust, you still would belong to me and no other man. Now hold still, for your movements could make me forget my status here in the hall and take you where we sit, with all these men to witness your abandonment to my caresses and your lust for my body.” His words inflamed her anger, but she stayed where she was, her hands before her. The food on the tray she’d brought was passed, Kaden taking a huge portion upon the plate in front of her. “Feed me slave, for I find my hands busy with other more pleasurable tasks.” His words brought laughter to those around him and Adrianna jumped as his fingers pressed between her thighs, slipping easily inside of her. His other hand cupped her breast, his fingers tweaking her nipple to make it stand high and proud, quivering in delight at the attention. She reached forward with a shaking hand to pick up the gold spoon that sat next to his trencher, dipping it into the thick stew. Kaden refused to help, sitting back and playing with her body to his own lustful delight, enjoying the sight of her, the spoon shaking so that she spilled half of the broth upon herself as she tried to get it to his lips. She jumped as the warm liquid slipped down her chest and over one breast, leaving a rich brown trail upon her pale skin. “Wasteful slave, do you think food is so plentiful you can drop it upon yourself? Here, offer me your breast, let me sup on you as my trencher instead of the plainness of the bread.” He allowed her a moment’s hesitation, before he growled, slapping his palm down upon the table. “Now, Adrianna, do not make me have to punish you.” She turned toward him hurriedly, arching her back and bringing her breast closer to his mouth, closing her eyes in shame and a horrid anticipation that sent her pulse racing. Waiting was torture. Knowing his mouth would touch her, his tongue would taste her skin, had her blood rushing faster than Damien’s hand had done. But when he did nothing for a few moments, she opened her eyes in confusion, staring up at him. “Offer yourself to me, use your hand and lift your breast to my mouth, Adrianna.”

There was a strange silence in the hall, all eyes upon the two seated to the right of the lord. Lord Damien’s eyes also roamed with leisurely lust upon the woman seated in Kaden’s lap, intent upon the fate of the tender morsel of womanhood he himself had brought to this man. A timid hand reached up, taking her own breast and lifting its weight from her body. Her eyes were wide open, watching in fascination as he leaned forward slightly, his mouth capturing her nipple, though no broth was upon it. He nibbled and tugged, causing her to gasp her pleasure. Open mouthed, his lips left her nipple, traveling upwards to clean the trail the gravy left off of her body with long swipes of his tongue, finding her throat and biting down, leaving a stinging bruise there. “More,” he told her, nodding his head at the trencher upon the table. She reached in with the spoon that was still in her hand, bringing it towards him, determined to reach his lips without spilling this time. She couldn’t help the shriek that escaped her lips as his hand jostled her arm, dropping the entire spoon onto her skin and into her lap. Her eyes widened with horror as she realized that the broth dripped between her thighs, running through the curls that covered her mons. A chunk of meat lay upon her thigh, vegetables strewn upon her stomach. She was shifted, set upon the table in front of Kaden as she had been with Damien, her legs opened. When she tried to close them, he slapped her thigh gently, with a warning look in his eyes, allowing himself the joy of looking at her in the bright torch light of the hall. A shriek caught Adrianna’s attention and she saw Tia dragged into Damien’s lap, her blouse pulled open and one plump breast engulfed in the Lord’s big hand. “‘Tis like this every time a new slave must be acknowledged, Adrianna. Don’t fear.” Her voice was full of laughter and lust as she took Damien’s head and brought it to the taut pink peak. “Most of us enjoy the attention,” she giggled, then sighed, closing her eyes and arching her back as he took her in his mouth. Adrianna’s attention was drawn back to her own plight as she was pushed further back onto the table, her arms bent at the elbows to hold her weight. Food was pushed out of the way as Kaden lifted his chalice, slowly pouring the cool golden liquid over Adrianna’s breasts. He followed the trails it made with his mouth, lapping the sweet wine and teasing her nipples with the flat of his tongue. It was dipped in the hollow of her navel, tasting her flesh as well as the wine. **** Kaden laughed as he heard her moan, knowing she struggled with her own sensuality. This public stripping was necessary, this acknowledgement of master by slave important in the training. He didn’t like the feelings that had swamped him when he’d seen his little one in his Lord’s hands, watching in disbelief at the jealousy that had boiled in his gut. He’d wanted to tear her out of his hands, to cover her with his cloak and steal her away somewhere they could be alone. But doing so would have ruined any effect of the training, giving the slave an edge over the master. And that couldn’t be allowed. His tongue slipped further down, sliding between mussed curls, tasting her skin with more delight than he did the rich stew. He looked up at her, smiling when he saw her watching him, her hands fisted next to her body. With a moan of defeat, she closed her eyes, as though determined to divorce herself from what was happening, to ignore the feel of him between her thighs. She seemed she wouldn’t let what happened last night happen again; she wouldn’t submit or beg for him again. Kaden chuckled, knowing her game. But he knew something that she didn’t know. With her eyes closed, she would be even more susceptible to the demands of her body, to the urgings that he was determined to submit her to until she did beg for him again. He inhaled sharply, smelling the wonderful scent of her arousal so close to his nose. **** Adrianna wasn’t prepared for his first long taste of her flesh, or the way his tongue seemed determined to know every part of her. He explored at will, ignoring her clitoris even though her hips moved against his mouth in begging little wiggles. He tasted the savory broth mixed with her own delicious juices on his tongue, breathing in her scent. She mewed, a tiny noise he probably wouldn’t have heard if he hadn’t been listening for signs of her surrender. A shudder moved through her, her head dropping back until it touched the table, her legs

splaying wide. She could feel the heat of his breath against her swollen sex; feel the stubble on his cheeks rubbing coarsely on the skin of her inner thighs. His tongue sent chills of heat through her, making her bite her lip as he finally found the swollen nodule of her clit. With a desperate cry, she reached between her legs, holding onto his hair as he flicked and sucked, licked and bit every inch of her sopping cunt. She tried to direct him, but he grabbed her hand, placing it on her breast, squeezing her fingers around the mound of flesh. When she tweaked her own nipple, he rewarded her, catching the firm bud of her clit between his lips, sucking and flicking at it until her body arched rigid as a bow, her sex contracting in spasms of joy as her orgasm took her over the edge of sanity. With a growl, he sat up, releasing the tie that held the front of his breeches closed. His cock rose hard and thick from between the flaps, tiny drops of clear liquid weeping from its tip. He pulled her forward, forcing her to straddle him in the chair, her legs hanging over the arms. With another growl, he buried his cock inside of her, pulling her to him, his lips finding the tip of her breast as his own need made him attack her as if she were the feast. Adrianna felt him impale her with the heavy fullness of his cock, the contracting muscles of her cunt pulling him into her easily. She groaned as she stretched around him, full to bursting with the length of him. The tension, the need that he’d just assuaged so easily with his wonderful mouth spewed over and into her, a moan tearing from between her lips as she felt his teeth come down hard around her taut nipple. **** His hands reached up, tearing the gold pins from her hair, letting the long russet tresses loose so that they surrounded her nakedness in a cape of silken waves. She was beautiful this way, her hair clinging to his hands as if alive and longing to be petted. Kaden heard Damien growl, heard Tia’s laughter and then her groan as her lord and master took her from behind, her body bent over the table in front of them. Another woman was giving out little yelps of pleasure and he looked over the room, taking his eyes from Adrianna’s body for just a moment. Half naked men and women were everywhere in different sexual positions, women on their knees, worshipping their masters’ shafts with loving mouths, rounded asses bared to the pounding pleasure of impaling cocks, skirts flipped up over pale thighs while lords and warriors toiled in ecstatic glory between. The men without women of their own were searching out the unclaimed, two men reaching for the same young beauty at the same time. She shrieked and tried to break free before being tamed with a sound swat to her ass, one man plunging into her, the other holding her mouth to his cock. “See what you have started, wench, with your wicked beauty and your intoxicating scent. You have driven men to public orgy,” he said, thrusting into Adrianna with a grunt of pleasure. “Look around you, little one. Look at what you have caused.” **** Adrianna felt him fill his palms with the curves of her bottom, lifting her and helping her move over his shaft. She did as she was bid, staring with glazed eyes at the scenes of debauchery around her, hearing Tia’s deep laughter. Even as she wrapped her arms around Kaden’s immense shoulders, she gazed at her naked friend, hearing the slap of flesh on flesh, the wet pounding and slick sounds of sex, the smell of come, both male and female pervading the air, stronger even than the smell of dinner. Tia shrieked, again drawing Adrianna’s eyes to the beautiful blonde vixen whose abundant charms were so provocatively displayed. She lay over Damien’s knees, her naked sex displayed between splayed thighs, Damien’s hand resting against the small of her back. As Adrianna watched, he raised his hand, smacking down hard upon one jiggling cheek, leaving a bright red handprint behind. He stroked her skin, stroked around the heated welt and then raised his hand again, leaving another print on the other cheek. “She likes a good spanking,” Kaden said, his lips at her ears. “And Lord Damien likes to give them. They make a good pair, such as you and I will, wench. Now pay mind to me and to what we do or I will think that you want some of what she is getting.” “No, Kaden,” Adrianna whispered, turning to face the man who had slowed his thrusts to allow her time to see the ardent coupling that was happening all around her. “Please, I don’t want to do this here.”

Kaden chuckled, his hands spanning her waist as he lifted her from him. He heard her gasp as he pulled her off of him and smiled. “You do please me, little slave. If I were to grant your wish, take you from the great hall, what would you give to me?” Adrianna could barely think, her body a mass of sensation, the deepest recesses seeming a vast emptiness as he left her. “Whatever you please, Kaden,” she whispered, wishing she’d kept her mouth shut. “What if I wish you to swear your undying love and fealty to me?” He laughed softly as he saw the consternation in her beautiful face. She closed her eyes, dropping her head until it was bowed before him. “I…I can’t do that,” she whispered, looking up at him for an instant before once more dropping her eyes. **** Kaden felt a stir of anger, even though his words had been more in jest than truth. That she would deny him was unthinkable. He was to be her master, her owner in every way. He pulled her close, his mouth next to her ear, her breasts pressing into the thin white fabric that covered his massive chest. “Then maybe you need to take Tia’s place, spread yourself across Damien’s lap for his punishment?” He felt her stiffen at his words. When her head came up and he saw the words in her eyes, he placed one finger against her lips. “Don’t say something that would hurt us both, Adrianna. For if you were to say the words I see in your eyes, you would force my hand and I would have no choice but to let Damien beat you. I wish that no more than you do, little slave.” Adrianna stared at the man who thought to claim her body and soul. “Please, Kaden,” she whispered, licking her lips. “I wish to be only with you.” Kaden trailed his fingers down her face, lifting her chin to plant a hard kiss upon her swollen mouth. “Tie my breeches, toy, so that we may find another spot to continue your instructions.” Adrianna reached between their bodies, her fingers timid as she tried to close the flaps of his breaches over the hard length of his cock. He didn’t help, instead toying with a strand of her hair, brushing it over her body from the hollow at her throat, over the curves of her breasts and down to her stomach. He flinched once, when she accidentally poked him with her nail before she successfully tied the strings, managing to not foul the knot and to tie it to his satisfaction. With another kiss of praise, he pushed back his chair, lifting her easily over his shoulder. She rested with her stomach pressed hard upon him, her hair hanging almost to his knees. She shrieked and struggled, stopping when he planted his hand hard upon her soft ass with a resounding smack. “Stay still, wench or I shall think you too greedy for your master to wait to find a more private place.” **** Adrianna felt the blood rush to her head, hearing it in her ears as he moved. She could only imagine the picture she made to those gathered, her most intimate anatomy exposed to every eye. She heard voices but not the words, laughter ringing throughout the hall. And then Kaden was walking, with her bouncing hard upon his shoulder. A door scraped open and she felt fresh air upon her skin, smelled the clean scent of grass and trees after being so long cooped up inside. Cool air caressed her face, and she breathed deeply of its sweetness. She was outside! If she could get free of Kaden, could she escape?

Chapter Four Adrianna was tossed from Kaden’s shoulder to land sprawled in a pile of soft, sweet smelling grasses. He quickly followed, covering her with his big body while she was lost in the impact, before she had a chance to gain her breath. “Now, wench,” he said, nuzzling her breasts with his face, “I think something was said about you owing me a boon.” “A boon?” she asked, confused. “Yes, little toy.” His mouth found her nipple, teasing the pebbled flesh with his lips, never really taking it into his mouth. “But what shall I ask for?” He propped himself over her on one elbow, his hand toying absently with her hair as he studied her face. “There is so much I want from you, Adrianna.” The breath she’d just managed to recover caught in her lungs at his words and the expression on his handsome face. Could he come to care about her as more than just a plaything? A slave to take care of his needs, without thought to her own desires? She’d once dreamed of a man such as Kaden coming to take her from the humdrum existence of life in a tiny town, taking her to his castle and loving her with his all. But she’d given up her dream, moving when she’d gotten old enough, finding a job and making a living in New York City. He seemed to catch himself, grinning as if what he’d said hadn’t meant anything. “But for now, what shall you give to me, lovely slave, for granting your request?” Adrianna felt her face flush under the heat of his gaze. “What do you want?” she asked, her voice just barely above a whisper. He rolled suddenly, and Adrianna found herself lying on his massive chest, her hips against his, the hard flesh of his shaft caught between them under his breeches. “Undress me.” The command was issued, and now he waited. Would she do as he ordered or would he be forced to punish her? Adrianna sat up, her hands shaking as she reached for the filmy material of his shirt. She took a moment to look around, noting the quiet as night had fallen. The last ray of the sun had set while they had been involved in the hall. The air was cool but not cold, refreshing even as it sent a shiver of goose flesh over her now that she was away from the warmth of his big body. “Pay attention, wench,” he growled, putting just enough irritation in his voice to make the warning clear. Startled, she set back to her given task, a difficult feat as he refused to help. She moved his heavily muscled arms, pulling the shirt over his head, his long hair catching in the fine fabric before falling loosely around his wide shoulders. She found her hands itching to bury themselves in the mass of satiny locks, to rub against his finely-shaped head and enjoy the texture of him beneath her. Instead, she closed her fingers into fists and forced her body to slide down the length of him, sitting upon his thighs as she struggled with the knot she’d made in his breeches cord when he’d ordered her to close them. Kaden stared down at the redheaded slave girl, enjoying her plight. Her body reacted to the feel of his, though she was loath to show it. There was no denying the contracting of her pupils, the fine shake to her hands as they came into contact with his skin. He refused to help her, allowing her to move him as she wished, becoming putty in her hands. All but one part of him; that part remained hard as iron, covered with the sweet excretions of her cunt. His cock twitched under her fingers and he saw her pull back, biting and chewing upon her lower lip as she stared at his breeches in confused dismay.

“Hurry, wench, and finish or I shall be asleep before I even think about taking you. That would displease me greatly, Adrianna. Don’t think to lessen your duties to me by taking your time.” He deepened his voice to a growl. “What are my duties to you, Kaden?” Adrianna asked, her voice meek as she once more applied shaking fingers to the task of unraveling the knot. “Oh, they are legion, my little toy, and completely at my discretion. But you shall do what I ask of you with no complaint. Good slaves are rewarded, Adrianna. They are treasured above most all, even wives of some of the men.” He watched she finally managed to untangle the knot and saw her eyes widen as he sprang free of the flaps. He allowed her eyes to look upon him in the dim light of the torches and the huge moon that had just begun to rise overhead. With trembling fingers, Adrianna reached out, touching the thick head, the long, wide shaft that had fit so well inside of her. He was still sticky from taking her in the hall but she knew he hadn’t yet seen to his own pleasure. His gasp and growl as she wrapped her hand around his hard heat let her know he enjoyed her ministrations. Surprisingly, she wasn’t dismayed by his description of what he wished of her; instead, she was enthralled with the feel of him, the heat of his body, the hardness of him under her. Kaden’s surprise at her unbidden caress quickly changed to pleasure as she explored every inch of his cock and the heavy sack of his balls with her soft little fingers. She petted, stroked and teased him with timid touches until he felt he was writhing on the fire of his own desire. He groaned his pleasure in her, watching her with half closed eyes as her face drew ever closer to his cock. With a sigh, she parted soft lips, licking them with a greedy tongue before touching them to the tip of his cock. Her tongue played over it, flicking gently and gaining the tangy taste that she knew to be a mixture of him and her both. She hummed at the taste, the vibrations playing from her lips to his cock. With a sigh, she licked down the side of his long shaft, her tongue slippery as it sought out every veined inch. **** Kaden watched, inhaling sharply as she ran slick open lips up his cock, the heat inside her mouth teasing him, making him want to bury himself, feel her suck him deep, her throat tight around him as he pumped his come inside of her. Instead, he allowed her to go her own way, her explorations driving him to the brink of madness. “Wench,” he growled, surprising her. She looked up at him, as if she’d forgotten he was attached to that piece of flesh she found so fascinating, the head of his cock between her lips. The sight of her worshiping his cock with pure sensual innocence was almost enough to make him lose control. If it weren’t for the training of a lord and warrior, the hard edged control that he’d exercised his entire life, he might have reached down and rammed himself into her mouth, fucking her face without restraint. “Yes, Kaden,” she whispered, the soft words blowing across the tip of his cock. “Take me in your mouth, slave.” **** Adrianna hated the words given in order even as her body reacted to them. The need that she had thought satiated came back with a rush of damp heat between her thighs. It was an itch too deep to scratch, a need that had her rubbing herself against his leg even as she did as she was bid. She filled her mouth with his heated flesh, her tongue stroking and twisting around the veined shaft both to please him and herself. His moan was like a caress, drawing her need to a different level. Her pleasure seemed tied to his. The more she gave to him, the more she felt. Every flick of her tongue made her squirm more, every deep draw she took upon his hard tool created a whirlpool of pleasure in her own loins. She took him until the head of his cock butted against the back of her throat, making her gag. Adrianna felt his hand in her hair, his fingers wrapping around the thick tresses and using them to set a pace for her. He spoke in soft growls, telling her what he wanted. She felt as if she were wrapped in night, here under the stars. The only voice in the world was his, the only taste the one she had in her mouth, the only breaths to be taken the ones he allowed her. He became her world, there with the moon watching them, his pleasure the only thing necessary to make her happy.

A little voice in her mind fought, argued, cried out against the means used to make her his slave. She ignored it, wishing only for that blazing fire of ecstasy that he’d shown her before; willing to please him to get it. Kaden took what he could of her hot little mouth, his hips rising to meet her lips even as her hand wrapped around his thick shaft to stop him from pushing too deeply. His come started to flow up his shaft. With a growl of pleasure, he held her still, her mouth tight around his buried shaft, and let it spew from him. Adrianna felt the first hot burst of his come and swallowed reflexively, his cock pulsing on her tongue. Another long stream of tangy liquid shot from his cock, and she struggled for a moment against the hand that held her before giving into the inevitable. It surprised her, the amount and the taste, the way it felt in her mouth before sliding easily down her throat. **** Kaden surrounded her hand with his, jacking it gently up and down his shaft. “Suck, Adrianna. Get it all,” he said urgently. He could feel her throat working, see the hollowed out places in her cheeks as she sucked greedily upon him. Finally, he let her loose, feeling her mouth come off his softening cock with a sound like the pop of a cork. She sat up and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, staring at him strangely. Kaden felt the cool fingers of the night air caress his naked chest and wet cock as Adrianna shifted, moving off his body and sitting with her back to him, knees drawn up to her chest. Her arms folded around them, hiding her naked form from his eyes. He allowed it for the moment, too pleased with his little toy to take her to task for this tiny bit of defiance. His hand reached out, idly playing with the line of her back, the edges of her long hair. “That was very nicely done, Adrianna, if a trifle sloppy. But never fear,” his voice seemed to almost purr the words, “after a few more such sessions, you shall be an expert at sucking my cock the way I wish it to be done.” Kaden felt as well as saw the tension that came to her shoulders and back. A tiny smiled played upon his lips. His little toy was so easy to bait, rising so nicely to any verbal challenge. She was also sexually frustrated after taking care of his need so wonderfully. Now to the decision; let her wait and see if that made her more pliable, or take care of that frustration and reward her for her generous act? His cock rose again with the thought of rewarding her and the added rewards to his own erogenous zones. **** “Will you ever send me home?” she asked suddenly, her voice harsh as the question tore from her. She knew her mistake instantly, the silence coming from Kaden like a shower of cold, turning her body into ice. She felt his hand leave her skin slowly, heard him rustle behind her. She refused to look, a mixture of terror and new founded courage keeping her head up. When he stood, his body once more fully clothed, she refused to look up at him, even when he came to stand right next to her. Kaden snapped his fingers, seeing her slight flinch despite her attempt to disguise it with a defiant tip of her chin. He reached down, taking her arm and yanking her up, careful even in his ire not to bruise her flesh with his abundant strength. “Your home is with me now,” he said, his voice a quiet hiss in the dark. “Where I go, you will go. If I command it of you, you will lie down upon the ground for others to walk upon. If I command it, you will be put to death. Forget the life you lived before this one, you no longer exist there.” Adrianna’s eyes snapped up at the end of his words. “What do you mean, I no longer exist? I had a life, a job. I had friends and parents. They will be worried and want to know where I am.” She glared up at the huge man. “They will never forget about me or give up on finding me. Never!” She did everything but stomp her foot at him in agitation. **** “They have already forgotten about you, little one,” he said, no longer upset. It was the same with all new slaves. They needed to be told the realities of changing worlds. To keep the balance, someone

from this side must be exchanged with someone of that side. The minds of the ones left behind are altered, allowed to accept the differences they see around them, to gain memories of the one taken, making the transition easier. Usually a recalcitrant slave or one that had been tired of by its owner was used. Kaden found the entire out with the old, in with the new attitude of some Lords disturbing. But it was the way of the world. And since Kaden had only one slave besides Adrianna, a male servant he used only for cleaning, he hadn’t been able to use his own slave to take her place. Damien had found a woman of the right age. A hostage that could have been ransomed off; instead, she was now residing in the small rooms that had been Adrianna’s, living her life, believing she was her. So his words, while not quite true, were in a sense correct. **** “My family will never forget me, they’ll never give up looking for me,” Adrianna repeated. She slowly backed away from the smug look on his face, her feet moving of their own accord. Without thought, she turned quickly, her hair spinning out around her, and started running towards the huge front gate built deep into the wall. She heard Kaden’s curses over the hard beat of her heart, but it didn’t stop her. She had to get away. She had to find a way to get home. So intent was she on the gate, that she didn’t feel the sharp stones cutting into the tender flesh of her feet, nor see the two huge men standing guard on either side of the wooden structure. Her hands reached out, grabbing the heavy weight of the huge beam of wood that blocked the gates closed. Adrianna strained against the weight, tears streaming down her face as she fought to lift it free of the brackets that held it to the gates. Little panting screams of rage and frustration came from between her parted lips as she struggled with the effort to lift a beam that took two men to remove. She felt the hand upon her arm and turned, seeing the strange man who stared down at her naked body with intent interest. Without another thought, she took her rage out on him, her hands swinging widely as struck him over and over until the other guard grabbed her. Still she struggled on. When her arms were held tightly behind her, she used her feet, kicking and screeching at the top of her lungs. The guard that she had struck stepped forward, easily evading her kicking feet and slapped her hard across her face. Adrianna went limp, her naked body hanging in the guard’s arms, her head lolling. Blackness mixed with little sparks of color twirled in front of her eyes. She heard a distant roar, but the pain dulled everything except for the throbbing of her cheek and her swelling lip. Suddenly she was free, falling forward, an arm coming to stop her descent. With a quiet cry, she felt herself picked up in gentle arms, the air rushing over her naked body, her face coming forward to hit against a hard shoulder, battering her already bruised cheek. She murmured her pain and then lay inert as blackness took her away from the hurt and despair.

Chapter Five Adrianna’s eyes fluttered open slowly. A cooling cloth gently lay upon her throbbing cheek. She moaned as the reality of her situation imposed itself stubbornly, the bright sunshine entering the circular tower room. Forcing herself to open her eyes, she looked at the person who was tenderly bathing her wounds, expecting to see Kaden. Instead, her eyes focused upon Tia’s bright head. “Oh, so you finally wake. I worried that the guard’s light blow might have addled what little senses you had. How could you, Adrianna? How could you run from your master that way? Do you have any idea what he could do to you now?” Adrianna took the cloth from Tia’s hand, holding it to her face. The shackle was back at her ankle, once more chaining her to the huge bed. She was naked, the meager blanket pooling at her waist as she sat up. “I guess I didn’t think.” Tia stared at her, mouth wide open, shocked at the sorry excuse. “Is that the best you can do, girl? Do you know what Lord Kaden may do to you now? This is a serious breach, a very serious crime, Adrianna. He could have you whipped or worse. The man whom you hit has a right now, over you and over Lord Kaden. He has the right to ask for the use of your body if that be his whim. And that isn’t all.” Adrianna dropped the cloth on the bed, uncaring of the wet spot it made upon the mattress. She stood, going to the mirror and standing in front of it, staring at the bruise that covered the side of her face, her lip split by the blow. Touching the swelling, she probed gently, wincing at the pain. It felt and looked as if someone had taken a baseball bat to her face. Would Kaden let her be foully used by some man just because she’d tried to escape? He’d seemed eager to keep her to himself, to keep her away from the others; but that hadn’t stopped him from stripping her naked in the great hall, in front of all those people. Shame welled, tinting the cheek that wasn’t black and blue a rosy pink. “What must I do?” she whispered. Turning, she faced Tia, repeating the question to the beautiful blonde. “What must I do to make amends?” A smile blossomed on Tia’s face and she nodded, staring for one second past Adrianna’s body and into the large mirror. “You must beg pardon of the guard and also of Lord Damien. For even though you are Kaden’s slave, he is Great Lord and rules all in this castle. If it ‘tis his want, you shall be given despite Kaden’s wishes. You must also make amends with Lord Kaden, amends of his own device that you shall do most willingly if you wish all to be forgiven.” Adrianna nodded, her eyes downcast, feeling cowed. She hated the feeling, hated thinking that she would be made to apologize for something that was forced upon her. It wasn’t her choice to be brought to this strange land, to be given as some kind of sex slave to a man she’d never met. How did he expect her to feel after stripping her naked, toying with her body, arousing her passions until she begged for him? She hated to even think about the fire that had tangled its way through her nervous system, melting her resistance to his every touch. “I will do what I have to do,” she murmured, walking back towards Tia, resolve straightening her spine. “Good. I was so afraid that you would be stubborn, Adrianna. The spankings aren’t bad, but the punishments given for striking a Lord or one of the Castle Guard are dear.” She wrapped her arms around the naked girl’s shoulders, pulling her close into an embrace. Adrianna let her hands rest against Tia’s back, feeling the woman’s breasts, covered only be thin white fabric, rubbing delicately against her own bare chest. The rough material chafed her tender nipples,

rousing the heat of passion that hadn’t been tamped that far down. She felt her breath catch; her heart beat just a little harder. She ran her hands down to the firm curves of Tia’s hips. “Does it hurt?” she asked the buxom blonde, whispering her question in Tia’s ear. “Which? The spanking? Or the beatings?” “The spankings, when Lord Damien was spanking you last night, you seemed to enjoy it. Isn’t it humiliating?” Adrianna leaned back slightly, looking into Tia’s face as she awaited the answer. “It is a strange feeling, for sure. One that sends a burn to your skin, a rosy glow that is quite becoming. The heat seems to shoot from your rear, tickling your pussy and arousing it to wetness.” She leaned forward and kissed Adrianna on her cheek, then resumed her telling before the younger woman could become shy or pull away. “Damien knows just how hard to whack and when to rub, even when it would be good to lean over and kiss the reddened flesh. His lips feel so wonderfully cool against that heat. It creates the most pleasurable shiver.” She kissed Adrianna’s other cheek with a delicate touch, mindful of the bruises, letting the woman rest more firmly against her body as she listened. Her fingers moved on the soft skin of her back, caressing in tiny circles up the valley of her spine and then back down, going further with every tiny trek. “Does he ever hurt you?” Adrianna sighed, closing her eyes and relaxing into the soothing touch. “Oh, yes. Yes, he does. But he only hurts me in the most special and erotic ways.” She let her fingers slip over Adrianna’s curved rump, trailing in tiny circles at the underside of the firm globe. “Yester eve, after you and Kaden left,” she let her voice grow whispery soft so Adrianna would move closer, smiling when the young girl did just that. “He wailed on me quite properly, turning my bottom cheeks so red I thought they would glow when he finished. Then he…But no, you don’t wish to know what happened in the hall after you left.” Adrianna’s thighs felt lax, her world grown hazy by the soft wandering of Tia’s hands. The woman’s words had her interest piqued, arousing the curiosity that always seemed to get Adrianna in trouble. “Yes,” she said. “Please, tell me what happened?” She ran her hands up Tia’s back, enjoying the cool feel of the linen shirt under her palms. Tia kissed Adrianna’s lips gently before returning to her tale. “He slapped my bottom, both cheeks several times, stopping in between to tease and tempt my poor hungry pussy. His long fingers felt quite wonderful, slipping against my wet skin.” Taking small steps, she pulled Adrianna to the bed as she talked, sinking down upon the mattress, arms still around the girl. With a sigh she hoped would be taken for tiredness, she slipped down against the bare pillow, holding Adrianna close so her head rested in the curve of her neck. Adrianna sighed tiredly, her eye throbbing to the same wicked beat that seemed to heat the flesh between her thighs. With her eyes closed, she could almost see Tia’s naked body draped across Damien’s lap, her legs spread slightly, her bottom cheeks rosy. She’d seen the wetness of the woman’s sex and had been intrigued by the thought of what a spanking could do. Her father had spanked her a few times at a child, but she remembered those times as humiliating and painful, not in the least arousing. An uncle she’d stayed with once when she was eighteen, while her parents had gone on vacation, had taken it upon himself to punish her, pulling her skirt above her hips and wailing on her poor panty covered bottom. It had felt strange to expose her panties to a man, to have her bottom touched by someone not her parents. It had been a good feeling, one that had sent her emotions spinning. When he’d finished, he’d pushed her off his lap so that she’d landed upon her butt on the hard floor and then demanded that she go to the room she was using for the night. As she had left, Adrianna had glanced back at him, watching for just an instant as he stood, adjusting a large bulge in the front of his pants. Her uncle had enjoyed spanking her, she realized now. “What are you thinking?” Tia asked suddenly, seeing the way Adrianna’s cheeks had colored again. “Of my uncle,” she answered truthfully, rolling to her back as Tia slipped down and lay beside her. “He paddled me once, a few years back. My father hadn’t touched me since I was little, but I stayed with my uncle and sassed him when he asked me some question.”

“Did you enjoy what he did?” “Not at first,” Adrianna sighed as Tia moved closer, her lips lingering for an instant upon her cheek, moving slowly down to slip along her jaw line. “But after he was done, he pushed me off of his lap. I felt him, in his pants. He was aroused.” “Mmm,” Tia moaned, sipping gently at Adrianna’s mouth, pulling back when the girl stiffened at the first touch of tongue against her lush pink lips. Stroking the lustrous dark hair, Tia kissed her again, slowly deepening the kiss until Adrianna responded, opening her mouth to allow Tia to taste the dark sweetness of her kiss. Gently she moved her hands over Adrianna’s body, carefully touching her bruised cheek with the lightest of touches, kissing it before moving down her body. Adrianna felt the butterfly touch of Tia’s lips lighting with the utmost care against her skin. It sent shivers through her, that gentleness; kindness instead of the brute force and overwhelming passion that had been her existence the past two days. A slow heat built between her thighs. A need rose inside of her, to touch Tia the way she was being touched, to caress and beguile the pale-haired nymph whose body had intrigued her so at the gathering last night. Tia’s mouth touched softly, just barely taking the hard bud of Adrianna’s nipple in her mouth, using her lips to rub and nibble the pebbled morsel. The heat of her mouth, the softness of the caress had Adrianna arching, pushing against Tia, a moan escaping from her lips. This gentle push towards passion was so different from the mind-altering whirl of how Kaden made her feel, or the lust she had experienced when Damien’s big hand had held her thrall in its grasp. Tia took Adrianna’s soft hands, placing them on the hem of her blouse. “Take it off of me, little Anna,” she sighed quietly. With the thrill of the conquering, she felt the girl do as bid, pulling the shirt up and off Tia’s head, untangling the golden curls that caught in the fabric with gentle fingers. She dropped the blouse to the side of the bed and arched her back, eager once more for the feel of those soft lips and that sweet tongue against her skin. Without being asked, Adrianna’s hands went to the tie that held Tia’s skirt, pulling the knot loose with trembling fingers. Tia slipped out of the skirt, which was nothing more than a long piece of fabric around the waist. Adrianna’s hands were there, pulling her back so they were pressed together, her skin sleekly rubbing against Tia’s. “I’ve never done anything like this before,” she murmured shyly, even as her hands roamed the fine curves of Tia’s body, tentatively touching places she’d always liked having touched. She stroked the curve of her back, sliding her hand over Tia’s soft shoulders, pushing her hair away from her face with a delicate hand. Their lips met with tender passion, nether wanting to rush the hushed dreamy pleasure that floated through them. Tongues met and explored, teased and fought as breath became more heated. Hands caressed, finding silky skin that curved, undulated and shuddered delightfully. Tia’s moan sent Adrianna’s heart skipping wildly, her breathless demands and whispered instructions, along with the endearment “little Anna”, filling her with the wonder of someone caring for her. She twisted around, pushing Tia under her. With a timid smile, she kissed down the slender lines of her throat, nibbling with delicacy at the small hollow above her friend’s thin collar bone. Tia’s hands guided her way, gently yet irresistibly pushing her toward the full slopes of her breasts, her large nipples already hardened in anticipation of the warmth of Adrianna’s mouth. With a sigh, Adrianna felt the pebbled tip with her lips, teased it with the tip of her tongue, enjoying the way Tia squirmed and arched against her as she begged silently for more. “Please, Anna,” Tia moaned, her hands gliding into the heavy weight of Adrianna’s long hair. Adrianna obliged her tender plea, taking the morsel into her mouth, suckling hungrily upon its sweetness. Her fingers slid down the smooth full curve of Tia’s waist, floated across her trim stomach before descending to rub gently at the soft skin of her thighs. Her lips followed her hand, suddenly anxious to please the woman who had become her friend, to thank her for the gift of friendship in a world that Anna found so strange and alien. Tia spread her legs, allowing Adrianna full reign to explore with fingers and tongue, writhing beneath timid touches all the more erotic because of their unschooled talent. Adrianna found herself

inches away from the intoxicating scent and shape of Tia’s swollen pussy, which wept its moisture in delicious need. With trembling fingers, she spread the swollen lips, breathing in as she moved closer, letting her tongue slip out and taste the delicate flesh. With a moan at the first sip of sweet juices, her tongue flew, lapping at Tia’s cunt with vigor if not expertise. She explored at will, laving the swollen outer lips and the tender inner lips, suckling at the tasty flesh she discovered. Adrianna found the hardened bud beneath the small piece of flesh that covered it like a hood, coaxing it into peeping out with the tips of her fingers before nipping it with her mouth and teeth in tender play. “Slip your fingers into me, Anna, my love.” Tia groaned and fretted, her hands fisting into the miserly blanket. She arched as the untutored girl did as she was bade, sobbing as she was stretched delicately from the inside, two slender fingers pumping wantonly against the spongy walls of her pussy. The tongue on her clit flicked and played, seemingly lost in the taste and texture it found there. Adrianna pulled at the tiny nodule of flesh with her teeth, capturing it between her lips to suckle gently. Tia grasped her head with greedy hands, her thighs closing with rapt abandon over Anna’s head, drawing her closer, almost drowning her in the rush of juices that escaped as she climaxed with frenzied joy. The feelings continued as Adrianna refused to stop, her mouth locked on Tia’s sweet mound, lapping at the tangy juices until she was reluctantly pulled away by the limp slave. “Gently, sweet Anna, gently little one. I’m too sensitive now to take such wonderful caresses.” She pulled Adrianna up, holding her to her heaving breasts as she sought to even out her breathing. “You are pleased? I didn’t botch it up?” Adrianna heard herself ask these questions, cursing inwardly. She felt like an inept little girl trying to please. “If I’d been more pleased, they’d have heard me in the great hall.” Tia laughed gently, kissing Adrianna, tasting herself upon the other woman’s mouth and tongue. **** They kissed for a moment, long tenderly passionate kisses meant to show fondness, not just desire. Tia kissed Adrianna with all the love she felt for the new slave, a girl that was lost in the strangeness and customs of this new world. She enjoyed her time with Lord Damien, but she didn’t love him; not as a man loved a woman. She gave him her loyalty, her fealty and her faithfulness. But he never had her heart. That was a gift to be given to someone of her own choosing and not something that could be taken from her. She pulled Adrianna over her, feeding off the girl’s rosy nipples, enjoying the way they felt as they hung from her body. Heat radiated from the girl’s pussy, a heat that Tia was well acquainted with and she couldn’t wait to taste of her sweetness. Her fingers found their way between the dark curls that were all that hid the girl’s mound from her eyes, delving into the wet heat with a sigh of pleasure. Her cunt was slippery, her clit extended and needy beneath the talented touch of Tia’s slender fingers. Adrianna rocked against Tia’s hand, her hips jerking in an unsteady rhythm that begged for release, tiny cries escaping from her mouth. With a husky breath, Tia released Anna’s nipple, reaching down with her other hand and drawing the woman up until she straddled her face with her thighs. With a groan of satisfaction, Tia pulled her down, burying her face in the pungent heat, gasping as Anna’s smooth juices slipped into her mouth. “You taste so good, little Anna,” she said, her voice muffled by Adrianna’s flesh. She went to work, lapping with the flat of her tongue against the slender inner lips, nipping with sharp teeth that gave just enough pain to be enjoyable. She reveled over every moan that came from Anna’s mouth, every trembling cry that slipped out, enjoying giving pleasure as much as she had receiving it. Adrianna’s hips thrust hard against the tongue that teased as much as it pleased. She stared down at the bright hair that showed from between her thighs, seeing blue-green eyes peeking at her, lustful humor apparent in their azure gaze. Tia gave her a saucy wink, grabbing hold of Adrianna’s taut rounded buttocks and pulling her closer, letting her fingers slip into the crack provided by those rounded globes, squeezing gently before slipping between.

**** Adrianna felt the finger pushing with care at her anus and froze, never before having experienced anything like that. But she couldn’t stay still long, for Tia took her lack of movement as consent, pushing into that puckered opening. The pressure exerted was too much. With a cry of joy, Adrianna’s body convulsed in spasms, her climax robbing her of thought and breath, sending her mind reeling with pleasure of body and soul. She reached for the post to the bed, supporting herself with shaking hands as the hot waves of sensation tore through her body, sending white sparks of light to flash behind her closed eyes. **** Kaden watched the two girls from his prison, the rays from the sun his only guards. His cock throbbed and twitched, the swollen head pushing at the soft cloth of his breeches as if trying to fight its way free. He longed to release it, to fist it in his big hand and find some relief from the torment watching them had caused in his loins. But no warrior or lord worth his salt would spill his seed outside fertile fields. It was just not done, for women were plentiful and even the ugliest and most scarred could find a welcome romp when needed. But not many had been given the provocation he just had, or the knowledge that he was trapped here until the last sun’s ray disappeared beyond the horizon. He watched as his new slave, his little toy, shuddered her joy and then slipped into the embrace of the lusty Tia, kissing her gently upon lips that he knew tasted of Adrianna’s sweet spendings. He knew that taste, the scent of her as if she’d been in his life since the first breath. Her arousal could send even the most celibate of man to rut, and he’d seen the effect it’d had upon Tia. Oh, but to be in that bed right now, he thought with a grin, to feel rounded breasts press against him, lush lips on his body and around his cock. Tia was an expert cock sucker, drawing out a man’s pleasure until she’d wrung you inside out. His little toy would learn from the best, and he decided right then to have Tia coach her on the intricacies of a man’s cock. But none of that solved his problem of the moment. He shifted upon the throne-like chair, his only furnishing in the stark room. A fire roared in the grate, keeping the cold and dark from the even the furthest corners. A tiny round table sat next to him, a chalice of red wine growing warm upon its surface, forgotten the instant Adrianna had risen and stood in front of the mirror, her fingers touching the ugly bruise upon her cheek. He’d wanted to go to her then, to comfort her and take the look of fear out of her eyes. He’d wanted to hold her, to take her back to the bed and make love to her in the bright light of day. But, that was impossible. Damn Magda and her horrid temper and stubbornness. It was her fault that he stayed trapped behind this damnable mirror during the light of day, only allowed out when the sun set and darkness ruled the sky. And damn him for being foolish enough to think he was invincible, to consider going against a witch of Magda’s reputation and skill. He hadn’t recognized her that brilliant summer day so many years ago. He’d only seen a girl, tall and blonde with golden skin and eyes that shone with a blue more pure than even that of the sky. He’d ridden into the clearing, determined to claim the wench, to slake his raging demon of lust between her slender golden thighs before riding on to catch up with Damien’s army. Even now, the memory was as clear as if the event had happened the day before. Each sentence she spoke, each touch of her skin, caress of her lips, even the final fury of her anger when he’d denied her. The dark clouds of the storm that had gathered as her words rang out in rage. He could almost smell the scent of the sweet grass in the clearing. She stood, her body proud and unbending as he rode towards her, the gold of her hair flashing in the rays of the sun. She’d made a fairy chain with a few wildflowers, stringing its length through her hair in adornment, making her look as if she were some nymph of the woods come to offer him the pleasure of her slim body. And Kaden was willing to take it. He’d been without a woman on this long campaign, loathe to take the slaves of others or the captives that they collected as they wended their way along the outskirts of

Damien’s domain. Uprisings had been occurring, townspeople driven to revolt by a witch who wanted to match her powers against Damien’s. They’d been forced to fight. The townspeople were no match against Damien’s men, who were well versed in the arts of warfare and eager for a fray to break up the tedious peace. Kaden was more reserved, citing caution instead of arms; the witch’s reputation was not to be discounted. He’d stayed behind at the last town, placing their own loyal people in positions of power, and assuring the townspeople that all would be better under Damien’s rule. But now, catching up to Damien seemed secondary to the spell the wench before him was weaving in his loins. She stood, her skin golden, clothed only in a clinging white shift that emphasized the swelling curves of her body. A thin black belt held the shift tightly to her waist, the hemline not quite reaching her ankles. She stared at Kaden, her blue eyes amused as he dismounted from his horse, throwing its reins over an overhanging branch with careless disinterest, his eyes on the prize. “My name is Kaden, wench. I ride with Lord Damien, master of Daring Castle and all these surrounding lands. You wear no colors.” She laughed, a husky chuckle that ran like fingers up his spine, tickling his imagination as well as his libido. “I need wear no man’s colors, Kaden of Daring Castle, for I am a power onto my own.” Kaden cocked his head, raising his eyebrows at the challenge that she’d issued with her words. A woman must have a man to claim her or be left to the many. To say that you need no man was to say that you had the same powers and strengths as a man, a feat no woman could accomplish. The few who had tried were now meek slaves, lavishly devoted to their lords beyond all others. Tamed and tempered by fine hands, these slaves had lost their independent nature and saucy mouths to the men they had once thought their equals. This wench also could be claimed, and if he weren’t in such a hurry, he might have been tempted. Instead, he wished for nothing more than to find sweet relief between trembling thighs. “Then do you wish to challenge me for your rights? Or will you yield the moment, that we might both find pleasure in the afternoon?” Kaden smiled, the white of his teeth standing out amazingly bright in the sunlight. He knew the power of his looks and the affect his darkly handsome mien had on women. He knew this golden beauty would be no different. She stepped forward, boldly taking initiative. With a sigh, her hands slid down the front of his shirt, caressing the rock hard muscles of his chest, pleased at his manly form. She pulled at the laces that ran down the front, opening the thin white linen, stepping closer so that if he reached out, she would be in his arms. Kaden kept his hands at his sides, content to let her have her way for the moment. He shrugged the heavy leather jacket off his shoulders, letting it slide to the ground behind him. The leather was useful, not only for warmth but to protect him from the heavy steel of the hauberk that rested over his saddle. Now the leather garment would protect this wench’s knees from the hard ground as she took his cock into her sassy little mouth, Kaden decided with a smile as her hands continued their exploration. The girl, who was more than the girl she seemed, pulled his shirt from his head, exposing the large expanse of his chest to the sunshine. He preened under its soothing rays, enjoying the heat upon his flesh, the feel of woman against him. “Your name, wench, for I would know the name of the owner of the cunt that will soon be riding my cock.” His words were crude, for such crudeness used effectively could sway even the most irksome female. “What is the use for you having my name, my lord, for you will just as soon forget it when you go to the next woman and the next.” Her lips touched his throat and he felt a flush of heat, almost as if it came from her skin. The sensation was startling but pleasurable, stirring a soft groan from between his lips. “‘Tis because I asked it of you, wench. I wish to know your name, so that if I pass this way again, I might find you.” Kaden felt more of that heat as she ran her mouth down his chest, her tongue coming out to flick at his flat nipples, making them rise as if to her command.

“You shan’t be leaving, Lord Kaden,” she whispered, her husky voice soft as smoke, sultry with power as she used her touch and her kiss as tools to weave her spell. “You wish no longer to serve Lord Damien.” Kaden felt the heat of her touch, the power of her words and shook his head, trying to clear the confusion he felt. Words came to his lips, words of treason and treachery, wanting to spill from him. He clamped his mouth closed, his hands coming up to grab the wench’s arms, wanting to thrust her away even as his arms pulled her closer. She nodded her head, recognizing his resistance, the strength of his loyalty to her hated enemy. With a sigh, she let the gown slip from her slender form, revealing lush curves and a tiny waist, breasts that tempted his hands and a tiny nest of thick curls that hid all but the luscious swelling lips of her sex. “You wish to stay with me, don’t you my Lord Kaden? You wish to belong to me and me alone. Your strong arm shall become as mine, to slay my enemies. Your loyal heart shall beat only for me. I shall be your love and the only woman you lust after. I shall be your dream and your will, your thought and your breath. The only name upon your lips shall be mine.” Kaden tried desperately to back away, tried to loose his hands from their hold upon the woman’s body. Her voice was inside his head, whispering to him, taunting him with visions of pleasure and lust. “No,” he moaned, shaking his head. “Magda,” she whispered, her lips close to his ear. “Say my name now and become mine in all ways.” Lust pooled in his loins in a staggering spurt, taking him to his knees, his hands falling away from her body. His head dropped, his eyes closed. His hands balled into fists as he fought to keep from saying what she wished, what his traitorous body was trying to force him to say. She lifted her head, the blue of her eyes shining with amusement and a lust of her own. Taming strong men to her wicked ways was more arousing than the actual act of sex, breaking wills and turning even the most loyal of hearts as intoxicating as the strongest orgasm. Using her hands, she lifted his handsome head, seeing the struggle on his face, running gentle fingers across his eyes. “Look at me, Lord Kaden,” she whispered, adding the sultry edge of power to her dulcet tone. “Look at the one you shall call Mistress, the one whom you shall love above all.” Kaden opened his eyes, knowing he was losing this fight. He stared up at the beauty of her face. “Magda,” she whispered, leaning down to find his mouth, letting her tongue run along the firmly held seam of his lips as he tried to fight from giving in to her. “Say my name and the struggle will be done. Say my name and collect the reward for your devotion. Say my name, Kaden, and then you may have me in any way that you wish, everyday for the rest of your life.” **** She kissed his mouth, feeling his lips tremble just slightly, knowing she would be victorious. With gentle hands, she caressed his head, stroking his hair as her lips moved over his, tempting him to kiss her back, to taste of the power of her mouth, to become hers in everyway imaginable. With a quiet chuckle of delight, enjoying his struggle, she drew back, her mouth just a mere breath from his own. She looked into eyes that showed his confusion and fight, basking in his pain even as she reveled in his pleasure. She’d been born a witch, receiving her power through a long line of witches, her mother, Krista, going to special lengths to find just the right man to father her. Roarke was the seventh son of a seventh son, his mother dying in childbirth just seconds after he was born, her dying breath captured in his first. There was power in that exchange, a power that enhanced a witch’s own. Magda’s mother had taken that power for her own, capturing it when she’d seduced him to her bed, mating with him to become pregnant. In that moment, when Roarke’s seed had spewed into Krista’s fertile womb, she’d plunged the sacrificial dagger into his throat, breathing his last breath and holding it as sperm met egg, fusing that power to make it sublime. Thus, Magda had been conceived and had grown a devoted pupil to the teachings of her mother’s people, learning the ways of the heathens and of the witches with a respect for the powers of old. She was tapped into those powers, her mother’s covenant to enhance the line running through her veins, pulsing with life, making her stronger than any had known.

Until Damien, that is. He’d arrived here, unknown, but more powerful than any she’d seen. She’d thought of seducing him, of trapping him in her web of desire as she was doing with his second in command, but, truth be told, she feared him, sensing in him something that she’d never felt. So she would take his Lord Kaden, make her his, and send him back. He would get close to Damien, closer than she would be able to, and then he would kill him. A soft moan interrupted her thoughts, bringing her back to the pleasurable task ahead of her. Running long fingers through the fine silk of his hair, she pulled him closer, letting his head rest against the swell of her breast, the hard tip teasing his cheek. She liked that he was tall, that he towered over her as he did. It gave her more pleasure to make him into her slave despite his brute strength. “Come, Kaden, one little word uttered and all the confusion shall be gone. Say my name and find unending pleasure in my arms and in the softness of my body. Say my name and be my love, Kaden.” “I…I can’t do this,” he said, fighting against the pull of her, the siren song that radiated from her body. “I won’t do this,” he said, his voice stronger. He pulled away, stumbling back on teetering feet as he sought to pull from her power. He half ran, half fell to his horse, startling the beast so that it reared when he tried to grab his sword from the sheath which he had looped over the saddle’s pommel. “You dare to refuse me?” Her voice filled with harshness, detracting from the shell-like aura of her beauty. “You would dare to think you are powerful enough to come up against Magda?” Kaden turned, his chest heaving, a sheen of sweat beading his forehead as he battled the silent foes that inhabited his mind. She still fought to control him through his passion, his cock iron hard and pulsing inside the tight restriction of his breeches, almost painful in its need for release. His eyes turned to her, feeling the power of her beauty like a physical blow, his resolve starting to crumble as she stood before him, naked as the day she was born. “I will never betray my Lord,” he hissed through gritted teeth, holding his sword before him in both hands, hands that trembled slightly as he fought her and the weaknesses of his body both. “I would split your lovely body upon this sword before betraying Damien.” Magda raised one slim hand gracefully, waving off the threat. No man was immune to her beauty; it was as much her power as the tools of the craft that she wielded with such ease. “Kaden, my love, I would never ask of you anything that you weren’t willing to do. Put down the sword, put it down and come to me. Say my name and we shall find pleasure with each other.” **** Kaden felt himself weakening and knew he had little time. With a shout he rushed forward, swinging the razor sharp sword with all his strength, determined to cut down the witch before she could befuddle his mind with her evil seduction. Power hit him like a stone wall, sending him tumbling backwards to land upon his back, his arms jolted, the blade flying from his hands. He lay there for the space of an instant before rolling to his feet, losing all natural grace in the face of the powerful witch. “You shouldn’t have done that, Kaden,” Magda said, walking towards him. She easily ducked the fist he swung, coming in under it to press her body against his. She could feel his strength draining, the touch of her body a powerful aphrodisiac to the male senses. “No, Magda. You shouldn’t have tried to seduce my most loyal follower.” Damien’s voice boomed from the edge of the clearing, his horse stomping the ground as the huge man swung from his saddle. “Now let him go and come with me. You’ve caused enough mischief.” “Mischief?” Magda laughed, her hair flying behind her as if alive, feeling the power of her wrath. “You call my deeds mischief? I have brought the great and powerful Lord Damien down, causing unrest and disquiet amongst your men. And this one,” she waved her hand at Kaden, “will be mine as well.” Damien heard the mumbled chant and rushed forward, but was too late. Kaden disappeared from the glade as if he’d never been. **** “Where did you send him, witch?” Damien asked through gritted teeth, his sword ringing from its sheath with a sound that was almost musical.

“Your man is safe, Damien, for the moment. I have trapped him within a mirror hung in a hall of my court.” She walked around the huge man, her eyes flickering with interest at the man she’d only seen from a distance and in the reflective surface of her crystal stream. “He shall remain safe as long as I am unharmed.” She trailed one finger over Damien’s wide chest, clothed only in a thick leather vest that was open down the front. “Maybe we could barter for his return.” “Or maybe I should split you in two and storm your keep.” Damien let his sword fall, resting the tip against the heavy leather of his boot. He watched the small blonde with wary eyes, unmoved by the outward beauty of her appearance, for he could see inside of her, to the part that was black and vicious with hate. “Ah, but Damien,” Magda said, pressing her naked breasts against the man’s wide chest and resting her weight against his body. “Without me, he stays trapped in the mirror. With my death, the curse becomes permanent. He will remain in the mirror during the light of the sun, and only when it has set shall he be free to roam outside its gilded edges.” She chuckled, enjoying the power. With a sigh, she ran her hands down her body, cupping the rounded globes of her breasts and shivering when her nipples peaked with excitement. “Reverse the curse, witch.” Damien watched as she reveled in her nakedness, feeling his own arousal at the sight of her voluptuous curves. He’d been on the road for weeks, leaving his Tia at the castle, for she hated the dirt and dust of travel. The sight of this blonde-haired wench, her body made to cradle a man’s, would make even the most saintly of worshipers hard. “Reverse it, or pay the consequences until you do.” “Damien,” she said, her voice chiding as she sadly shook her head, hair rippling around her. “Threats carry no weight with me. What could you do that could cause me harm?” A smile flickered across Damien’s mouth, gone so fast that Magda wondered if she saw true or if it were just a play of light through the trees. It made her nervous, that and the gleam in his eyes. But she believed in her own powers and had too much vanity to believe that she could be taken by any man. “I give you one last chance, Magda. Release my man from your curse, send him back to me now or face the perils of your deeds.” Damien’s mind was already rehearsing the words needed for the spell, his agile brain picking the phrases carefully to allow no glitches that would aid in her escape. Magda walked forward, reaching up with her slender hand and stroking the cheek of the man she had vowed to destroy. “Take him from me if you can, Damien. I shall never release him, not until the day that he vows to love me for all eternity, a slave to my beauty, a willing clown for the merest kind word that might fall from my tongue.” Damien took her hand, pinning it behind her back so that her breasts were crushed against his chest. Leaning over her, his mouth next to her ear, he muttered the chosen phrases. “A slave you desired, but a slave you’ll become. Until the time your spell is done. With these words your beauty shall flee, Until my man is returned to me. Harsh deeds you’ve committed. Your trials must fit. In service to me, With your magicks forfeit. An ugly old crone, for all to see. As I will this, so shall it be!” Magda stiffened, her body twisting as the meaning of his curse penetrated, changing her from the inside out. Her hair grew brittle and thin, graying into a mass with the consistency of straw. Her face wrinkled, her skin grew leathery and jowls hung from what was once taut. Her back stooped and bent, her lovely breasts sagged. Her stomach grew round, then sagged over a mound covered with sparse gray hair. “No!” she screamed, pain visibly shooting through her body unlike any ever felt.

Damien stepped back, viewing his work with a sigh of regret. She’d but only to change the spell, to bring back Kaden and he would have taken her truce, perhaps even granting her the small plot of land holding her family’s keep. Now he would bring her to his own castle, install her as slave and keep her there until she relented and released Kaden from his prison. He sent one of his men for the mirror, vowing torture if anything happened to the delicate piece. He installed it in the castle tower, where the sun would shine upon its face, keeping Kaden safe during the day and alerting him to night’s fall. **** Kaden was trapped in this mirror, his daytime world these four hated walls. At night he could roam at will, but with the first touch of the sun’s light, he would burn, his skin bubbling with blisters at the sun’s intense heat. He remembered the excruciating pain the one and only time he’d been caught outside his mirror as the first ray of the sun pierced the darkness of night. His arm had burned, catching his shirt on fire. It had taken months for it to heal and he still carried the scar. His first night out, he’d sought the once beautiful Magda, sword firmly in hand. He wanted revenge, wanted to force the witch to change her spell and then kill her for her wrong doings. But Damien had appeared before him, speaking words of council, adding his own little twist to the plot of the curse by allowing Kaden magical powers of his own to help combat the solitude and to bring comfort and necessities to his mirrored cell. Kaden stared at the two beautiful women entwined upon the thin mattress, his body still throbbing from desire and need. If only he had the power to bring her here with him, his days would be so much more pleasurable. Kaden smiled at the thought, his eyes roaming over the naked flesh of the two, pictures forming in his head, making his cock harder, his body more desperate to feel a woman’s flesh, no, Adrianna’s flesh, against his own. He heard a small creak and with a start, he saw the door to the tiny room open. The crone, Magda, peered in at the two lovers, her ugly face hardening in distaste as she saw their play. She smirked at the mirror as if she knew he watched. Of course he watched, what else would he do with his endless days of solitude? He could see her eyes and read the silent messages she sent him, messages full of glee at his pain and torment, knowing that he could never be as close to Adrianna as he wished unless she, Magda, relented and released him from this prison.

Chapter Six The clang of metal striking metal rang out, sparks flying to be ground out under boot heels that flashed with grace over the dirt that covered the practice courtyard. The men danced across the yard, thrusting and parrying almost as if it were rehearsed, brutal movements but with a fluid poetry all their own. Grunts could be heard as swords met and parted with enough force to cause dire harm if care weren’t taken. Death had been found before in this courtyard. But it was brightly lit with torches and lanterns not to chase specters, but to allow men to practice late into the evening. Death, while not taken lightly, was considered due course in this time of swords and warfare where men fought to rule other men. Practices could become heated and accidents happened, especially between men with grudges. A thrust too hard, a blow not stopped, and Death was paid its due. Damien watched with callous and critical eyes while his two most important lords strained and hacked, trying to find the chink in the other’s guard. Kaden grunted as Castor’s sword parried his once more, ever present between him and the win. Castor didn’t have the bulk and the strength of the bigger man, but he was fleet of foot, with ease of movement and a refined style that stood him in good stead against even the most talented of swordsman. But Kaden had experience and rage on his side, and soon Castor’s arm grew shaky from the blows, his steps slower as he fought to keep up his guard, both hands now grasping the hilt as he fought to block the heavier strikes. With a hoarse cry, Kaden thrust, his sword catching Castor’s hilt and ripping the blade from his grip with a quick twist of Kaden’s wrist. “Hold!” Kaden looked up, amber eyes locking with Damien’s somber gaze. The point of his sword dropped from Castor’s throat having never been close enough to draw blood, and was sheathed in the leather scabbard at his waist. Both men stood panting, exertion causing sweat to bead and run, streaking chests and faces with the dust that quickly moving feet had raised. Kaden reached out, clapping the smaller man on the back, reaching down and retrieving the fallen sword to return it to its owner. “Nicely done, Kaden. ‘Tis always nice to see my baby brother take a beating.” Damien slapped Castor’s shoulder in jest, smiling though his eyes remained grave. “Not many can run him ragged in the practice ring, myself included.” Castor grunted and, after returning his own sword to its scabbard, went to the troth in front of the stables, bending to dunk his head in the cold, clear water. He threw back his head, drops of water flying from the deep auburn hair that was just a few shades darker than the color of his brother’s, drenching his chest and causing his shirt to cling even more. “You were having a bad day, brother, ‘tis all. Besides, I think it wasn’t me that Kaden fought this eve. In his mind, my handsome face and body became that of that lout’s, Trevor.” “What of Trevor?” Kaden said, speaking for the first time. “Has his mind changed or ‘tis it still his wont to pursue vengeance in the matter?” “The man is more hard hearted than I thought, Kaden,” Damien said softly, his eyes speaking with flashes of red and gold of his wrath at the stubbornness of his man. “He wishes either the public use of your slave or to see her whipped in the great hall. Naught else will repair his tattered pride, so he says.” “Bah, she but tapped him and he laid her out. The ass, most would be embarrassed to carry the tale and cry foul when such a small wench sends them stepping back from her timid blow. Perhaps if I talked to him,” Kaden said, his hand unconsciously grasping at the hilt of his sword. “That kind of talk we do not need at this time, Kaden. Rest easy, my friend. I will protect your slave to the best of my ability and if the lash must fall, it will be wielded by me and not that sot Trevor.”

Damien’s hand fell upon Kaden’s shoulder, his grip tightening until the man removed his hand from his sword once more. The door from the kitchen opened, two feminine shapes slipping through before closing it behind them. They walked across the courtyard, their steps taking them within sight of the three men who stood at the far end, watching their progress. **** Tia slipped her arm around the slender girl at her side, squeezing lightly. “See how they play? Ringing swords and grunting men, that’s what we have around here. And the smell, I swear, Damien will bathe if he thinks to bed me this night.” Adrianna smiled as Tia had wished, but her heart was heavy. She’d heard Damien’s words, for his voice was hard to miss, echoing in the great courtyard. The lash or the use of her body in public by the man, which would she choose if she had the choice? “To let him have the use of your body would be far easier of the two punishments, little Anna,” Tia said, her mouth close to Adrianna’s ear. “‘Tis over and done and a quick bath wipes away the deed. Others will be close to keep the wretch from taking the punishment too far and from what I’ve heard from Trevor’s wench, he’s quicker than a cur long denied a bitch.” It startled Adrianna that Tia seemed to know her thoughts, almost as if she read her mind. But it wasn’t that easy for Adrianna, that a simple bath would ‘wash away the deed’ as Tia had so aptly put it, no matter how fast the man. Since coming to this place her body hadn’t been her own anymore, stripped bare, taken by the man who called himself her master, played with by the kook who owned this circus and this girl beside her. Now she was given the choice of once more having her body used, this time by an abusive asshole, or a public whipping. She wanted to scream, to cry out at the unfairness of it all. She wanted to hate these people for what they were doing to her. And she did; she hated Damien for his nonchalant kidnapping, for his carelessness in playing with her body and confusing her mind. She hated him for the way he ruled this place and for the rules that made her a slave. But she couldn’t find it in her heart to hate Tia, who’d become friend and lover. How she felt about Kaden was still confusing to her. Her body craved his touch, she couldn’t deny that. And she hungered for the sight of him, finding pleasure in the way he looked even now, his white shirt stained and sweaty, torn at one sleeve. His breeches were dusty and his hair hung in sweaty strands, but he still looked the magnificent warrior, the sword at his waist turning him into a buccaneer of old. She felt Kaden’s eyes upon her as she and Tia walked toward the barn that sat just beyond the stables. She turned her head to meet his amber gaze, feeling the heat of those eyes upon her body almost as if a physical caress. It stopped her cold in her tracks, that heat and the deliciously intimate things it did to her insides. Tia laughed, grabbing Adrianna’s hand and dragging her along towards the barn, glancing over at her own master and letting her eyes roam over his manly form before hardening them just enough to let him know she was displeased with the situation between Adrianna and Trevor. “Come, Anna, or they will grow vain from the looks in our eyes and think they can get away with all just because we lust for them.” **** Kaden watched as Adrianna was pulled into the barn, his eyes on naught but her until the door closed behind the two women. He sighed and rubbed his head, feeling the sweat sliding down his forehead. “There are ways, Damien, to take the punishment from her and put it on me, is there not?” Kaden asked, staring up at his lord, speculation in his eye. “Yes,” Damien replied slowly. “But they are difficult and not oft used. And not good for the training of the slave. This you know, Kaden. If you take her punishment, what will deter her the next time a rule may be broken?” “I will deter her, Damien. It was my fault that she tried to run, my fault that she was upset and forgot herself.” Kaden paced a narrow strip in front of his lord, his agitation apparent. “If not for me, she would not be in this position.”

“If you wish to go there, Kaden, then ‘tis also my fault as I am the one who brought her from her world. I stole her from her own land and brought her to you. So perhaps, I should take the punishment also, for her and for every slave I bring here that forgets their place and must be punished.” Damien grabbed Kaden’s arm, stopping his pacing. “You cannot look at this so, Kaden. You must think of the good of the slave. If she’d been allowed to flee in this land, where she knows not our ways? She would be dead, or worse. If we allow her to get away with such aggressive and insolent behavior as hitting Trevor, no matter the cause, the next lord or guard she strikes could hurt her badly, if not kill her.” Kaden shook his head, understanding all of this. It didn’t change his emotions. “I understand all that, Damien. I know ‘tis our way and we must protect those that are weaker even from themselves. I don’t have to like it.” “Do you know what her choice will be?” Castor asked quietly. “Yes,” Kaden said upon a sigh. “She’d prefer death than to submit to another’s hand.” “Then I shall wield the whip, Kaden. It’s the best I can offer, for she must be punished for her behavior.” “I wonder if you worry more about your own pleasure than the skin of Kaden’s slave, brother.” Castor slapped his brother on the back. “I saw Tia’s glare, though Kaden was too smitten with the heated looks his slave was giving him. She won’t be pleased if you harm her new playmate.” “‘Tis true, Tia is sure to give you grief if you overly harm Adrianna, Damien.” “Yes, I have thought of that.” He shrugged when the men laughed. “What man doesn’t think about the welfare of his cock when it comes to the women in his life?” “And what know you, Castor, of Adrianna and Katiara?” Damien turned and stared hard at his little brother, smiling when the younger man flushed. Castor reached into a basket, picking up a piece of the fruit that was piled in it. Taking a bite, his white teeth flashing, he chewed and swallowed before answering. “If you were paying attention, their dalliance could be smelled on them when they came into the great hall this noon. Katiara was also very protective of the little one. She even stood up to a cook who tried to take a spoon to your little slave, Kaden. And the protective gleam in her eye speaks more of lust than just friendship.” Castor took another bite and leaned nonchalantly at the wall. Kaden truly smiled for the first time that eve, enjoying the look of consternation on Damien’s face. Tia had a temper, truth be told, and would make life miserable for Damien if not pleased. It was truth also, that when there was tenderness between a man and his slave, the slave had power. It was up to the man to decide how to let them use that power. “From what I witnessed this day in the tower room, Damien, it would seem that you might be feeling this punishment just as much as I.” Kaden smirked at Damien’s groan. The warrior’s door to the courtyard opened, Trevor and two of the other guard’s stepping out into the cool night air. They stopped for a moment, staring at the three Lords standing by the wall, then continued on, Trevor changing course and striding with decisive steps to Lord Damien’s side, bowing his head as he reached them. “My lords,” he said, the words coming with an insolence that set Kaden’s teeth on edge. “I wonder at your decision. Do I bed the wench this eve in the hall or will her back feel the bite of the lash by my hand? The night grows short, my lord.” Kaden’s growl could be heard plainly in the quiet of the courtyard, his ire apparent upon his face. He stepped forward, stopped from harming the man only by Damien, whose arm waved with studied care, pinning the man with a temporary spell. “I see no mark that the wench might have made, Trevor. How sure are you that she did strike you?” Castor dropped the piece of fruit he was eating, standing tall at his brother’s side when the guard gave a growl of rage of his own. “The mark is not the point, Lord Damien. The point to be made, the wench was not trained correctly. She sought to escape and when I stopped her, she struck me. It is dire consequences if a slave escapes, and to strike a guard who was only concerned with her safety should be punishable with the actions aforesaid.”

“But I have seen the mark that you, yourself, made upon the little one.” Damien rubbed his chin, his fingers lightly scratching at the day’s growth of whiskered stubble. “It would seem to me that punishment and justice has been served to you this day, Trevor, by your own hand yester eve when you struck the wench in retaliation.” Trevor’s face grew red, his eyes hard. “Do you say this because it is so, or do you say this because the slave belongs to Kaden and it is his wish she not feel the punishment that is deserved?” Castor stepped forward, his face inches from Trevor’s. “You dare say this about my brother, the lord who took you in when you had no home and were…” “Castor, ‘tis okay for my guards to speak their piece.” Damien’s words cut Castor off and he was left fuming, backing down only because it was his brother’s wish. But his eyes spoke his ire to the guard, letting him know that this wasn’t the end of this conversation. “So you think I show favoritism because my second in command’s slave is at the block?” Damien waited for the man’s nod before continuing. It was given but hesitantly, as if the man realized what he’d said and wished to take it back, but couldn’t without losing face. “Call your slave over, Kaden,” Damien ordered, seeing Tia and Adrianna standing at the edge of the field, their eyes wide at the words that were being passed back and forth. Kaden did one better, walking to the edge of the field and taking her by the arm. In the bright lights of the torches, the bruise on her face seemed even worse; disfiguring in the way it had swollen the flesh around her eye and lips. He tried to give her some comfort, but looking at the bruise caused his back to stiffen and his anger to rise, making his lips firm and uncompromising and his eyes hard. **** Adrianna couldn’t help the small gasp of fear she gave when he took her arm, his fingers meeting around the slenderness of her. He pulled her forward firmly not giving her time to think to run from this meeting that she’d been dreading since she woke to find Tia’s hands touching her face. “Come, wench, make no protest. It would only hinder your cause if you do.” What had she expected, words of devotion? Caring? Love? She knew better than to think he cared about her as anything more than a possession. He hadn’t even been to see how she was since he’d finally dragged himself from where ever he took himself off to during the day. Maybe he had another woman, someone with whom he spent his days? Adrianna felt a sharp pain in her chest, a knot in her stomach that made her feel sick. For a moment, her feet became rooted in the ground as she stared up at him. He pulled on her again and she tripped, stumbling behind him as she stared up at him with a horrified expression on her bruised face. She couldn’t be falling in love with the man taking her to be whipped, could she? Her eyes left Kaden’s face as she was brought to a stop in front of Lord Damien. She saw the man in front of her and automatically dropped her head, bowing before him as was his due, or so she’d been told over and over. With a start, she felt Damien’s fingers under her chin. Damien reached out and with gentle fingers, lifted Adrianna’s face, angling it so that the bruise was plainly seen in the flickering lights. His other hand came up to probe tenderly at the swelling bruise, stopping only when she gasped with pain and pulled away from him. Lord Damien took her arm, turning her so that she stood in front of her accuser, Damien’s hands upon her arms holding her in place. “Trevor, this is the wench that struck you and that you retaliated upon with a blow to the face that left this impressive bruising. You still believe that she hasn’t been paid in due?” Trevor glanced around the courtyard, his eyes narrowing as he noted the gathering crowd. With a deep breath, he firmed his resolve, determined to prove himself for once. “Lord Damien, the slave tried to escape, a grievous offense. Shouldn’t this slave be treated as any other, not given special treatment because of the identity of whom she belongs to?” Trevor stared at Lord Kaden, daring him to deny his interpretation. Kaden stepped forward, only to be once more waved back by his lord. His temper fraying, he still managed to hold his tongue.

“She tried to escape Lord Kaden and not you, Trevor. Thus you are saying that your hold over her is naught and she should be punished as is the whim of her master. Are these your words?” Damien pushed Adrianna back towards Kaden, removing her from between the men. Adrianna couldn’t help but feel a spurt of gratitude towards Damien as she saw Trevor’s reaction to his words. His eyes narrowed as the meaning registered, but a moment later, he nodded his head, knowing anything more would be considered an affront. Trevor stepped back, bowing deeply from the waist, for the moment resigned to once more being usurped by a lord. Castor stared after the man, watching with a frown as Trevor’s head turned. Speculation turned to amusement as he watched the man walk away, heading not towards the warrior’s door to the castle but towards the side of the stable. Trevor was up to no good. Stepping forward, he started clapping his hands, startling the people gathered round who’d been muttering and whispering amongst themselves. “Well done, brother, very well done indeed.” His words seemed to break up the crowd, who, now that all the excitement seemed to be over, went to look for other pleasurable pastimes. All save Tia, who stood back, waiting with her hands clasped to thank her Damien for his reprieve of her little Anna. “I think you shall have to watch your back, now, Kaden,” Castor said. “Yes. And there must be punishment, Kaden. Also, it must be public or else we shall have problems from others. I’m sorry to say, but Adrianna must be taught the errors of trying to escape.” Damien lifted her chin, staring into the green of her eyes. “Little one, harsh punishments are given to slaves who try to escape and those are given for a reason. The forest is full of terrible beasts and men of no morals who would tear you to bits.” Adrianna stared up at the huge man, feeling like a small child being warned of the big bad wolf. She had gone to New York City from a small town and managed, through hard work and tenacity, to survive. That part of her resented being made to feel weak and helpless. “What’ll be my punishment?” she asked, not bothering to keep the anger from her voice. Damien’s eyes flashed, his own anger at her tone causing his fingers to tighten on her chin. His eyes narrowed and sparked for an instant before lightening, a chuckle escaping to echo through the courtyard. “You do have fire, little one, and more spunk than is good for you. I for one would hate to see such attitude beaten from you. Perhaps, little one, if you could just come to terms with your enslavement you could find happiness here.” She stared up at him, disbelief in her eyes. “You’re crazy,” Adrianna said after a space of a few seconds. “Or I am and this is all a hallucination. That has to be it, I’ve gone nuts.” “Tomorrow, Kaden, her punishment must be public, to prove to the slaves the consequences of such actions and maybe to take a tiny bit of that sass from her sweet mouth.” Damien reached out, grabbing Tia’s arm and pulling her along behind him. As they walked away, Damien’s voice carried back to the Adrianna and Kaden, making Kaden chuckle. “So tell me, wench, what did you do today?” But Kaden sobered quickly, staring down at the beautiful face of his own saucy wench, who seemed unimpressed by the happenings of this night. He took her hand, carefully twining his fingers with her own, bringing it up to his chest to hold her close. “I wish not to do this, Adrianna, but I have no choice. I will give to you the choice of punishments, though, for I do not wish you to fear this so that you turn from me this night. None will be more than you can bear, this is my word to you.” “Why should I be punished for trying to find what I’ve had my entire life, Kaden?” Adrianna stood close enough to feel the heat coming from his big body and smell the spicy scent of man that wafted her way on the cool evening breeze. “It is our ways, and has been so since the beginning.” He kept her hand and turned, pulling her from the practice courtyard and past the barns to where the orchards stood, their fruits ripening in the warmth, hanging heavily on loaded branches. “My mother was a noble woman. She held rank in court that would exceed Damien’s, if she still lived. My father was a land owner, well propertied with great wealth. It was a good match, though not one for love or any of the banal feelings that you women are wont to sigh over.”

He swung her hand as he walked, slowing his long pace to meet her shorter one. “And your father, is he still alive?” she asked quietly, enjoying his mood. For he wasn’t amorous or angry. He seemed inclined to enjoy her company. “They were both killed when I was but a child. A neighboring lord decided he wished to increase his properties and his ranking at court. He ambushed them as they were on their way back from a trip to the coast. It was my mother’s wish to see the great waters and to ride one of the huge ships that float upon them.” He paused, slowly coming to a halt under one of the fruit trees, reaching up and plucking a bright red fruit that resembled an apple from the branch. Kaden inspected the bright skin, turning it in his hands before handing it to Adrianna with a smile. “You barely eat. You must keep your strength up if you are to become the dutiful slave that Damien thinks is in you.” Adrianna rolled her eyes, causing Kaden to burst out laughing. “Damien and you are both nuts if you think that I’ll ever be happy with slavery. Where I’m from, slavery was abolished over a hundred years ago, unless you’re talking about minimum wage which amounts to not much more than indentured servitude.” She bit into the fruit, enjoying its tartness against her tongue. “Minimum wage?” he asked, confused. “Never mind, would take too long to explain. So, that neighbor ended up with all your property and treasure?” “No, I own the property and the treasure. My estates butt up against Damien’s in some areas. I have a castle that rivals this in beauty, far to the east. You’d like it, Adrianna. It’s much warmer there.” He stared at her in the moonlight, enjoying the way its pale beams caressed the fiery beauty of her hair, darkening the shade of her eyes until they seemed almost black. He trailed gentle fingers over the side of her face, tracing the edges of the ugly bruise, regret in his eyes. “I’m sorry for this, Adrianna. That you should be handled in such a way and by someone of Trevor’s status is intolerable.” Adrianna felt her heart drop to her feet and then be lifted to her throat in one swift move that almost made her dizzy. The look in his eyes, the feel of his fingers on her face, the gentleness he portrayed right now were all the things she’d longed for when she’d seen him earlier. And the husky note in his voice was creating the strangest flutter in her stomach. Her hand rose of its own accord, pressing against that flutter as if to still its quivering movement. “Do you forgive me, Adrianna?” To see a man of Kaden’s stature asking forgiveness was something she’d never thought to see. He seemed so sincere, staring into her eyes, his hand against her skin, warm and strong. “I do, Kaden. It was my fault as well. I’ve always had a hot temper and it boils rather easily.” His smile was blinding, and he bent his head, taking her lips in a quick kiss before sitting at the base of the tree, pulling her down next to him. “Tell me of your world?” **** “You want to know? “Would I have asked if I were not interested?” He leaned back, making himself comfortable and then cradling her against him, her head against his chest. “It’s very different from this place.” Adrianna leaned back, letting him pull her into his arms. She found her body curving into the shape of his, relaxing against his as she enjoyed the soft breezes and cool evening, the chance to relax after the hours she’d spent carrying heavy trays of food, filling chalices of wine and walking on hard stone floor covered only by a thin layer of dried grass. “How does it differ so much?” Kaden wanted to listen to her talk, hear her voice, and feel her emotions when she spoke of her home world. He’d seen the pictures, spending time staring into the chalice of wine that he used from his prison to alleviate the boredom, his magic creating a portal of sorts where he could view other places, other worlds. Her world had been fascinating, the huge buildings and strange machines, the many people and their exotic ways of dressing and talking. It had intrigued him so that he found his magic returning him there over and over. It was how he had found her, watching that strange place called New York. He could remember the moment his eyes had spied her in the small chalice, skipping blithely down stone stairs to one of those

fascinatingly terrifying metal coaches that seemed everywhere. Her attire had been shocking, her skirt too short, exposing far too much skin. She didn’t seem to mind the men staring at her as she moved through her day. Or the way they touched her, showing far too little respect. No noble lady would allow a man not her husband to touch her shoulder or put an arm around her without screaming to the four winds. “… more. It’s an island actually.” Adrianna finished, yawning slightly and rubbing her eyes like a child would. “And you miss it and wish to leave me to return to it?” Kaden shifted her easily, so she no longer sat on the hard ground. Her body cradled in his arms, her hips resting with intimate ease in his lap. He stared down at her as he waited for her answer. “It’s my home, Kaden. My parents are there, my friends, my job. It’s everything I’ve ever known. Wouldn’t you wish to be returned to your home if you were taken from it forcibly, as I was?” Adrianna stared up at him, as though wanting him to understand. Her hand rose, touching his face, pushing into his hair and feeling the tiny braids that held the heavy mass out of his way. His lips touched hers, a small kiss, as if he couldn’t help himself. He leaned back, rubbing his head against the small hand that touched him with such tenderness, staring up at the stars that glittered with splendor overhead. “I do know your feelings, Adrianna. I, too, have been taken from everything I loved, trapped in a prison not of my own making. I’m helpless against the spell that binds me to it, for would mean my death if I tried to escape.” “What prison, Kaden? You live here, amongst your friends in this castle, with no walls to hold you. I don’t see shackles at your feet or wrists.” She tugged on his hair bringing his face down to hers. “I see nothing that could hold you if you wished to leave. But you stop me, Kaden. You and your laws, and your great lord and his men, they all stand between me and going home where I belong.” Kaden thought of her words, knowing he could never fully explain to her about the prison that held him bound in ways more terrible than shackles and walls. He was held by his own frailty, the sun a more fearsome jailor than any he’d known before. Staring into her beautiful features, seeing the earnest expression in the green of her gaze, the set of her full lips and the tiny quiver in her rounded jaw sent a feeling of guilt through him, unlike anything he’d felt before. **** Her fingers dropped from his hair, going to the laces loosely tied at his neck, playing with the tattered ends. His chest was so hard against her arm, the scent of him, ripe and manly to her senses. His sweat wasn’t the pungent unwashed odor that others of the castle seemed to wear like badges of honor. Instead it was pleasant, a fragrance all his own. The scent of soap and horses, leather and under it all, the scent of Kaden, an aroma that teased her nose, tempted her to move closer to him. But his eyes seemed shadowed, a strange expression fleetingly upon his handsome countenance. He sighed heavily and pulled her closer, resting his chin upon the top of her fiery hair. “I wish I could explain, Adrianna. I wish I could show you my prison and have your understanding of my plight and Damien’s urges to ease a friend’s suffering by bringing you here. He knew I watched you. He knew I dreamed of having you as my own, even though I never uttered a word to tell him.” “How did you watch me, Kaden? I mean, a man like you would stick out easily where I’m from. The sword alone would cause you to be noticed, not to mention your looks. Every woman in the city would be drooling over you.” Adrianna suddenly shut her mouth, realizing that her words would please him. And they did. A smile crossed his face and he dropped a kiss upon the top of her head. “And would you drool too, Adrianna?” “Of course not,” she said, a little too quickly. “I’d never even notice you.” His laugh rang out through the orchard, scaring a night predator from its hunt for some small timid creature. “You managed that lie quite well, Adrianna. I can well understand saving your pride, but you must learn to tell me the truth, little toy. Someday the truth might be all that could save the two of us.” His hand stroked down her back, slipping into the waistband of her skirt. His fingers traced over the fine curves of her skin, causing her to shiver against him.

“But you didn’t answer me, Kaden. How did you see me?” “It’s part of the magic of this world, little one. A magic that is difficult to comprehend even by those of us who have lived with it our entire lives. Some receive its gift and others, well, those that don’t are found to have other gifts.” He stroked her skin while he tried to best explain his world. “Katiara is one who was born without the gift of magic, but she has other gifts, fine gifts that more than make up for the lack. You could say she has a kind of magic of her own.” “What is her gift?” “I think you experienced a little of that gift earlier. She has the gift to please, to shower pleasure on those she wishes. She seduces with charm and understanding, knowing by instinct what is needed to make the seduced feel wonderful, whether it be raw sex or gentle persuasion.” He laughed as he saw her face color in the dim light of the full moon that hung heavily above them. In the distance, a yowling cry could be heard. It was long and drawn out, undulating in the night air with an eerie sound that set hair to rise and flesh to chill. A screeching cry, a scream of pain and then silence in the night air. Even the buzz of the insects stopped, as if to listen to Death’s finality. Adrianna shivered against him, snuggling closer as his arms closed around her. “What was that?” she whispered, as if she too was affected by the fierce nature of life in the depth of the forest. “It was naught more than a beast stalking his prey. You are safe, little one, as long as you stay behind these walls. It is why slaves are punished when they run, though it doesn’t happen often. Most run from bad masters, a trait which Damien discourages with punishment to those who have no care for those whose lives they control. Have I treated you badly, Adrianna? Have I misused you in any way that would make you wish to face such terrors as can be found outside these walls?” Adrianna turned sullen, his words provoking her temper. What did it matter how he treated her? The point of the matter wasn’t his treatment, it was the fact that she was here in the first place, against her will. “I didn’t ask to be brought her, Kaden, or to become a slave in some kind of freaky backwards place. I don’t even know where I am, just that I’m surrounded by men who think they belong back in the times of King Arthur and his round table knights. I wasn’t born a slave and I wasn’t raised to be treated as property by any man. This is why I ran. This is why I want to go home, Kaden.” **** Kaden shook his head gently, determined to not let her remarks upset him. She’d been his obsession since the first moment he’d seen her in his chalice. She was his by right and she would stay his. He would just have to change her mind. Women were flighty creatures, their minds oft changing in a single breath. She would adjust. She had to, because he was not giving her up. “Let us speak of something less confrontational, little toy. I fear this subject will provoke my temper.” He heard her sigh and leaned down to capture it with his lips. For a moment’s time she hesitated, her lips remaining closed against his gentle persuasion. Then with another sigh, this time of defeat, she opened her mouth, feeling the softness of his tongue as it tenderly coaxed her into returning his kiss. Kaden raised his mouth a hair’s breath from hers, staring into her eyes. “Or perhaps, let us not speak at all, little toy.” His mouth captured hers again, this time in passion, demanding responses where before he tempted. His hands ran down her firm curves, feeling her body arch as she came alive in his arms. Her breasts strained against his chest, her hands digging into the mane of black hair that cascaded around his head. He controlled the kiss until she rose before him, kneeling over his outstretched legs. Then she was the one in control, changing the angle, running her hands over his body. **** Adrianna became the predator this night, her prey before her in all his manly beauty. His taste intrigued her, the sweaty, salty tang of his skin an aphrodisiac to her senses. She lowered her hips until they straddled his lap, feeling with pleasure the long hard bulge of his cock. “Mmm,” she hummed near his ear, rubbing herself against that bulge. “Are you happy to see me?” “And I thought you a shy and retiring wench,” Kaden said, slapping his hand across Adrianna’s skirt covered rump. “Rise, wench, and then you can attend me at my bath, for I wish to wash the stench of

fight from my body.” He nipped her lower lip, catching the tempting morsel between his teeth as she started to mewl her disappointment. He flicked it once with his tongue before releasing it slowly and pushed her to her feet before climbing lithely to his own. “And if you please me, wench, perhaps you can join me in the water.” Before she could speak or think to complain again at his sudden change of mood, he grasped her hand and hurried towards the castle doors, anxious to find Gavin, his male serf and set him about the task of preparing a bath for himself and his little toy.

Chapter Seven A splash and then a shriek could be heard in the long hallway outside of Castor’s rooms. A shouted invective followed, then silence ruled once more. Castor wiped streams of water from his face and stared at the bundle that now sat in the filled tub before him, her garments sodden and clinging to her slight figure. “What do you think you are doing, wench?” he shouted, his ire great at being woken in such a disgraceful manner. “I but tried to serve you, master, in the ways that I was bid.” Her voice was soft and silky, smoky as the fine tobacco grown upon his home world. A luxury so prized and sought after on this world. “Bid by whom?” Castor pushed the small woman away with cautious hands, careful not to touch her in any way that could be considered sexual. “By you, master.” Castor stood in the tub, any thoughts of enjoying the heat of the water doused by the small woman who’d startled him so by reaching in and grasping his cock in her small hand. He turned, trying to hide the physical signs of his excitement while reaching for a towel that was warming by the fire. Wrapping it around his waist, he stepped out onto the thick rug laid next to the tub to catch what water ran from his body before turning to look at the girl. “Jetta, how many times must I tell you that I do not use my slaves that way? You are not here to provide me with sex, just to clean and care for my rooms and possessions. You were informed of this when I agreed to take you and the rules haven’t changed.” No, the rules hadn’t changed, he thought, but turning her down was more difficult each time he was forced to do it. Jetta stood in the tub, long black hair hanging wetly over a white blouse now transparent from her ducking. “But master, I am here for all of your pleasures. I wish to please you in all ways, not just by washing your bedding. I wish to muss it also. Please, master. Lord Damien found me for you himself, a present for his brother, whom he loves beyond all else.” Castor tried to look anywhere but at the lithe little body that was being offered to him so sweetly. Jetta was beautiful in the most unconventional of ways, not rounded and curved as the woman his brother loved to take to his bed, but slight with breasts barely formed. She was lean, not soft, with long legs and boyish looking hips. Her eyes and hair were her crowning beauty; thick black waves that cascaded around her in soft curls to her waist. Her eyes were huge and a blue so deep and true as to make one stare. Her face was sharp angles, her cheekbones harsh slashes under creamy skin, softened only by thick rich lashes of black. She seemed an immature youth, little more than a girl, but he knew her age; she’d reached twenty just weeks past. And since that day, she’d been obsessed with the idea of being in his bed. “No, Jetta. I vowed to never use my slaves in this manner and this vow is sacred to me. You must forget this need you have to bed me. Find a nice male slave and, if you fall in love, perhaps I shall ask my brother to free you both and give you a small plot of land to tend as your own.” “And what of my vow, master?” Jetta moved from the tub, releasing the tie on the waist of her red skirt, his color. Beguiling on someone with her dark hair. It fell to her feet in a wet lump, followed quickly by the white blouse worn by all female slaves. With her body now bare in the light of the fire, Castor couldn’t help but notice the puffy buds of her nipples, rosy, ripe, and longer than any he’d seen. They seemed to call out for his mouth and he found himself licking his lips in anticipation, his cock throbbing and hard against the hand that held his towel closed at his waist.

“No!” he shouted, startling them both. “Whatever your vow, Jetta, you must forget it if it involves bedding me. I do not do that. I can’t, not after…” he clamped his lips closed against the words that wanted to spill out, words that explained his past. Words that told of the horrors he himself had been forced to endure under the hands of his own “loving” masters. “Master, I but wish to please you, to gift you with my innocence as was Lord Damien’s wish. I am yours, master. You but have to reach out and grasp the prize.” She took two steps towards him, a siren’s smile upon her bewitching face. Castor took a quick skip backwards, his hand held out to stop her. She stepped into it, taking his wrist and bringing his fingers to the slight curve of her breast, pushing the wet length of her hair behind her shoulders and baring her soft skin to his eyes. Castor caught his breath. The hard tip of her nipple pressed with intimate precision into the middle of his palm. “No,” he said again, though he didn’t remove his hand from her slender frame, nor protest more when she stepped closer. Her naked body brushed against his with her every breath. She lifted her hands to his waist, taking the hand that held the towel and pulling it away so that he stood as naked as she. “Oh, master,” Jetta breathed, staring down at the beautiful evidence of his arousal bumping against her stomach, “‘Tis so glorious.” Her hand softly covered his shaft, her fingers intimately exploring the soft-skinned hardness. “I don’t see how this will fit inside of me, master. I surely don’t.” Castor felt his resolve sliding away. Her hand and her untaught manner seduced him in ways he hadn’t expected. He’d been attracted to her since the first week after he’d been rescued from his home world, taken from the women who’d been his masters. Women who’d had him whipped when he refused to perform their lascivious tasks. He still bore the mark of those whippings, deep scars that had turned his back to the consistency of leather, which no creams or unguents had been able to smooth. When Damien had gifted him with his own slaves, he’d tried to refuse, citing the obvious to his brother, who’d escaped from the same fate that had held Castor for so long. But his brother had been adamant. Castor had become the owner of three slaves, two women and one man. Jetta had been a shock, her unusual loveliness creating a spectacle among the lords that had both pleased and annoyed Castor. Her personality, the sweet innocence of her, had attracted Castor almost as much as her exotic appearance. But he had vowed to leave that innocence alone, vowing to find a woman who didn’t belong to anyone to expend his lust. It hadn’t helped that Jetta was there every time he turned around, tempting his libido as she tempted his palate with her fine cooking. Nor the way she threw herself at him whenever she chanced to catch him alone. He’d begun to stay away from his own quarters, staying in the great hall beyond the time most lords retired, taking a lusty wench to bed if that was their whim. Tonight, he’d thought he’d be safe, seeing her busy with chores in the great hall when he’d called his man to prepare a bath for him, to rid him of the sweat the match with Kaden had wrought. Instead, he’d fallen asleep in the tub, lulled by the quiet and the heat of the water that eased the ache of muscles strained from Kaden’s heavy blows. Jetta moved closer, raising his hand to her waist, as if he were an untrained lad about to bed his first wench. He felt as such, her hand on his cock creating a liquid heat in his loins, pleasure that burned him from the inside. He thought he’d spurt in her hands such as that untrained lad would, and embarrass himself beyond all thought. “Jetta, no,” he said, pulling her hand from his cock with a muttered moan. “Don’t stop me, please, master. I but wish for us both to feel pleasure.” She stepped even closer as he held her hand, pressing the slight curve of her breasts against the damp heat of his wide chest. Rising on her toes, she tried to reach his mouth with her own, surprising him with the crudeness of the curse she used when she couldn’t quite reach. “Who taught you such a phrase?” he asked, a smile turning up the corners of his mouth. He loosed her hand, feeling it tangle in his wet hair, pulling his head down so she could kiss him. “You did, master, the last time I tried to touch you.” Her lips found his, her arms wrapping firmly around his neck in case he tried to escape her once more.

Her untaught lips pressed hard against his, almost bruising his mouth against his teeth. With a chuckle he pulled back. She groaned, her pleas coming fast and furiously as she thought he would try to leave her again. And perhaps he might have, if such thought had been possible now. But she’d broken down his resistance, tempted him beyond the norm with her guileless ways and the sweetness of her temperament. The urges inside him demanded that he be the one to finally teach her the ways of men, to take the priceless gift of her maidenhead as his own. “If I do this, Jetta, we can never return to being master and slave.” **** His words were warning, but she paid no heed, hearing in one sentence that he would be hers finally, as she had dreamed him to be, prayed to the gods of her world for him to be. “Yes, master,” she whispered, pulling on his neck again to bring him back to her. His mouth took hers, teaching her to kiss with brushing lips, taking tantalizing sips of her mouth with his tongue. Gentle hands framed her face, turning it slightly to give easier access to the wonders of her lips and the dark taste of her mouth. Jetta quickly caught the rhythm, her tongue pushing against his to twist and tangle, hearing the moan that came from deep within him and feeling it shiver through her. Her body felt weak, her hands lifting to the wrists that still held her face, leaning against him harder as his kisses made her knees quake. With a muttered curse of his own, he lifted her in his arms, carrying her to the bed. Gently, he placed her upon the silky spread. Standing over her, he stared down at her pale, slight body, her skin almost glowing against the darkness of the material beneath her. **** “You are exquisite,” he murmured, his gaze traveling from her slender feet to the long length of her legs, leanly muscled but sweetly feminine. Her thighs were barely parted, almost as if she were having second thoughts, and shy ones at that. Between them, he could see the fur of her mound, the sleek pelt as black as the hair on her head and as richly appointed, hiding the succulent pink flesh of her inner lips. Her hip bones were prominent but not overly so, rounded and not as sharp as he had expected. Her rib cage was delicate, as if one error of movement on his part could cause her harm, breaking the fragile bones. Her breasts were barely rounded on her prone form, but for the bump of those incredible nipples and the puffy crinkled areola surrounding them. Dark rose in color and prominent against the whiteness of her skin, they drew his hand as if possessed of a will of its own. His fingers close to trembling, he lightly circled those sweet tips, watching as her back arched and she tried to force them back to his hand. He persevered, keeping his touch light, his caress teasing. “Please, master,” Jetta cried, her breathing rough as he tormented her body with such feathery touches. “I wish… more,” she gasped. Castor slid down on the bed, laying next to her and feeling her body turn toward his. She tried to push him back, as if she meant to mount him and take him inside of her in one huge rush. “Whoa, slow down, my little Jetta. We have all night.” He laughed at the consternation on her beautiful, innocent face. “I wish to feel you inside of me, master. I’ve seen what Gavin and Celia do at night when you and Lord Kaden are busy. I see the expressions on their faces and hear the cries that come from their mouths. I wish you to make me feel the same, master.” Jetta’s hands were busy, stroking Castor’s wide chest and muscled stomach. “You watch them?” he asked, intrigued by the thought of her voyeuristic tendencies. “And what do they make you feel?” “Wicked, my master. I feel very strange inside, down …” she tipped her head, her face blushing becomingly. “Where? Show me, Jetta, where do they make you feel strange.” His voice grew huskier as he spoke. Jetta, the obedient slave in all things save her desire to bed her beloved Castor, rolled to her back once more, parting her legs with a shy little smile. Her fingers touched between them, lightly, against the

plump lips that hid her portal of pleasures from him. “Here, master. I feel so strange here, like I do when I watch you sleep and watch as your …,” she blushed again before finishing in a whisper, “cock rises as you dream.” Castor felt a flush rise to his cheek as he thought of her watching him sleep. He’d had no idea she came to his rooms at night. “You watch me sleep?” “Yes, master,” Jetta said, not taking her hand away from between her thighs. “I come here so that none of the other slaves will try to take what belongs to you. They’ve tried and I had to bash one over the head with a pot when he wouldn’t stop his stumbling ploys. So I come and sleep at the foot of your bed, rising before you wake for the day.” A spear of anger burst through him at the thought of Jetta being pursued and almost raped, made to flee to his chamber for her own safety. His fingers tightened on her skin in his anger and his face grew dark. Jetta reached up with her free hand, touching his face with gentle fingers, bringing his attention back to her. “It is fine, my master, for they were not successful and I remain yours to make into a woman grown. Will you not push yourself into me and grunt like Gavin does?” “Oh, my Jetta, you have much to learn, little pet. But first, those fingers between your thighs. How do they feel?” “Warm and sneaky in the wetness between, master, but it is nothing compared to what knowing your eyes are finally upon my nakedness is making me feel.” “And if I were to replace your hand with my own?” he asked softly, hearing the quiet panting of her breath as he leaned closer to her. Her body jerked and arched as his hand skimmed down over her, hovering inches above her own at the junction of her thighs. “Please, master, this feels so strange to me.” “Hold yourself open for me, let your thighs lie lax against the bed.” Jetta did as she was bade, her fingers gently parting the lips of her sex, her thighs opening, one leg pressing against his hips. She could clearly feel his hardness, feel tiny drops of thick liquid falling upon her skin. Their heat caused her to shiver in pleasure. Castor watched as she innocently did as she was told, opening the pink folds of flesh between her legs to him, letting him see the wetness glisten in the firelight. He slid lower on the bed, pushing her thigh up and over his head, resting it against his shoulder as he absorbed his fill of the wonders to be had between her slim legs. “What do you feel now, sweet slave?” he asked the girl whose body was writhing with sensual frustration just inches from his mouth. “Do you wish to feel my hands upon your body, my mouth upon the luscious flesh of your cunt? Would you like me to slide my fingers into you? Tell me, little one,” he ordered. “All that and more, master,” Jetta said, her voice husky and barely audible. “My body aches for you.” “Lay still, wench. Do not move and perhaps I shall grant you what you ache so badly to have.” Castor breathed in the scent of her arousal, letting its muskiness float over his senses. His cock was like hard steel, pushing into the bedding. It twitched with his own lusts, the satiny feel of her skin against his shoulder distracting him from his desire to make this night one of perfection for his innocent little beauty. Her fingers didn’t move, stilled upon the skin of her pussy, holding wide the petals of pink that gleamed with the juices of her desire. He moved forward, just enough so the she could feel his breath against her skin. Then his tongue came out, taking one small lap at her flesh, getting the taste of her upon his tongue. It was intoxicating, that musky tang of a woman’s secret flesh, made even more so because he knew of her innocence. Moving her fingers aside, he replaced them with his own, holding her open while he started to feast upon her, feeling her squirm and move under him, devouring the catch of her breath, the husky cries that she didn’t even try to stifle. Her pleasure aroused him further, until he thought he’d go mad if he couldn’t feel the tightness of her virgin channel around his cock.

His tongue found the hardened knot of her clit, drawing it into his mouth, rolling it with his tongue between his lips. He felt her fingers twine in his hair, fisting as her body arched. With a groan of his own, he slid one finger into the moist channel, feeling the spongy walls give with reluctant tightness around it. The muscles in her virginal pussy spasmed, moving around his finger in delightful contractions as he thrust gently into her. And when he sucked upon her clit, she jerked, her hips rising and pushing against his mouth, climaxing with a startled shriek that made him smile. He lapped at her spending, enjoying the taste of her upon his tongue, the fragrance of her orgasm in his nose. When she finally relaxed against the bed, her moans and cries now quiet murmurs of completion, he rose above her, relaxing into the slender cradle of her slim hips, his cock rubbing against the liquid heat of her center. He kissed her gently, his tongue sharing the musky taste of herself. Her arms rose to hold him, her hands caressing his back, trailing over the long muscles to his hips. “Lift your legs, love, slide them around my waist,” he ordered gently even as his body pushed him, his desire to find his own completion a raging need. When she did, opening to him as far as she could, he let his hard cock rest against her, feeling the wetness, the heat. His lips found the hard tip of her nipple, suckling it gently into his mouth, hearing her gasp of renewed pleasure. **** Jetta stroked his head as he fed upon her nipple, watching with wonder his face and the desire that shone upon it, desire and pleasure that he found in her. She felt the love she knew was wrong well inside of her, wishing that things could be different, that he could feel the same for her. But it was impossible. He was a lord and from a great family. She was a slave, captured from a village far away. Even before her capture and servitude, she’d have been beneath his notice. She felt her body respond to the urgings of his mouth. She felt her need to feel again that same sweet pleasure he’d just given her grow until it became a sharp, clawing ache in her loins. With a whimpered plea, she begged once more for him to shower her with the magic of his hands and mouth. **** Castor felt her willingness and couldn’t wait any longer. He pushed against the tight opening to her pussy, forcing himself to be gentle despite the voice inside him demanding that he plunge and rip his way inside of her. Feeling the barrier that protected her virginal cunt, he silently begged her forgiveness and pushed through with a quick jerk of his hips, burying half of his length inside of her. Her fingers dug into his back, tiny half moon claws that left little indents in the leathery skin. He couldn’t feel it, for the scar tissue had deadened the nerves. All he felt was the tight heat that encompassed him, so tight to almost be pain around his invading cock. But he heard her cry as she felt the sharp sting of her deflowering and held himself still, ignoring the voice that demanded he move, that pushed at him to find his pleasure with deep thrusts. He waited until she relaxed under him, her whimpers subsiding. Her hands moved into her hair as he pressed tiny kisses to her face. She found his lips with her own, showing him what he had taught her and adding her own flare. Soon, her hips were moving beneath him, her body demanding as itchy desire sprouted between her thighs where they were so intimately connected. Castor pulled away slowly, feeling her ankles press into his lower back, trying to hold him to her. When he pushed back in, going further this time, she gasped with the joy of it, her hands running over his arms and into his hair. “Oh, master, it feels so good,” she whimpered, her head back, her hair wild around on the bed. Those beautiful blue eyes that had held him spell bound the past few weeks, sapping his will with their innocence, were closed as she concentrated on the intense waves of pleasure that emanated from the point where they were joined. His mouth found her nipple, lapping the tender bud with the flat of his tongue until she squirmed against him. Her hips pressed against him, undulated under him in need, the tiny surges of pleasure that pulsed through her breast gathered in her loins, growing stronger until she felt herself coming apart. Splinters of ecstasy fractured into her as his cock thrust deep.

“Master!” she cried, her hands buried in his hair, her legs clamped around his waist. Castor felt the muscles inside of her contract around his cock, milking him like a slick, wet fist. His own climax was close. Watching her had sent him to the edge. With a shout, he went over, his cock shooting fiery ropes of hot come into her waiting womb. He jerked and shuddered above her, shivering in reaction to the joy she’d made him feel, a joy he’d been denied for many years by the woman who had once claimed him as slave. For a moment, as he closed his eyes and buried his face in the thick, damp curls of her hair, he was back in that prison, his body not his own. He’d been forced to feel, made to become aroused beyond his will. And when his cock refused to rise, when he refused to give into his mistress’ sick and twisted desires, she would have him beaten or give him to her other slaves for their use. He tried to force the thoughts from his mind. Marissa with her cruel and terrible games, who loved the whip more than she’d ever love a man, was always at the edges of his thoughts. She’d been the one to hurt him the most, taking him in after his last escape attempt. The attempt that had left him injured while Damien had managed to run. He never begrudged Damien that, knowing the punishment for Damien would have been death that time if he had been caught. He shook his head, doing his best to banish thoughts of the tawny haired, amber eyed Marissa. Jetta stroked his hair, her body almost crushed under the heavy weight of his. He managed to lift up on his elbow, feeling her take a deep breath as his weight lifted. “Master, did I please you?” she asked, her face earnest. He kissed her slowly, pushing her hair from her face before rolling off of her and pulling her next to him. “Yes, little one, you pleased me greatly.” Castor liked the way she felt in his arms. She didn’t have the rich curves of Marissa or any of the women of her court, any of the women he’d been forced to please. Jetta’s body was slight, her weight against him more a comfort as he stared into the flames of the fire. “Tomorrow I shall talk to Damien, see if he will take you back. If not, then I will give you your freedom, Jetta. That way, if you wish, you can go back to your home, find a husband and have children.” Castor stroked his hand through her thick hair, not noticing the way her body stiffened as she listened to him speak. “I thought I pleased you?” she asked, her voice trembling, as if she could hardly speak. “You did, little one.” He kissed her brow, reaching down to pull her thigh up and over his own so she nearly straddled him. “But I told you that I won’t use my female slaves that way, Jetta. What did you think that I meant?” “I didn’t think.” Jetta leaned up, her hands resting against his chest. “Please, master. Please don’t send me away. I don’t wish to be away from you. If there is something I can do, something that will please you more, I will do it.” Her words came fast, as if she were afraid he’d try to stop her. “I could use my mouth, like Celia does to Gavin. She slurps on that part of him until her face is in his lap. I can do that, too, master. Please. Let me try?” Castor felt himself hardening as he listened to her pleas, saw the look in her eyes and the tousled look to her thick hair, knowing it was his hands that had done the deed. The thought of her taking him in her mouth was exciting and he wondered how it would feel. But that was neither here nor there. He’d made a vow and now he had to keep it. “Jetta, you were wonderful. But I can’t keep you now that I’ve taken your body. You’ll be happier with someone who will love you and marry you.” Castor felt himself weakening as he looked into her eyes, seeing the panic in her blue gaze, the tears that slowly fell down her cheeks. “No, master, please. I but wish to please you, only you. I love you.” **** She seemed to make up her mind, moving out from under his hands. She straddled his body, slipping down until she knelt over his loins, her mouth moving across his stomach, her soft tongue slipping over the firm muscled flesh. She heard his moan and felt his hands against her, but evaded them. With a sob, she took his semi-hard cock into her hand, slipping the soft, wet head into her mouth. The taste was strange and for a moment, it took her mind off of his words that tore at her heart. She could taste the mingling of their spendings upon his shaft, the salty tang of their pleasure. She could also

feel him grow hard upon her tongue, thickening and growing longer until the tip touched the back of her throat, causing her to gag. She pulled her head back, her lips tight around the veined shaft, creating a delightful tension in Castor’s loins. Her hair cloaked his stomach in satiny warmth, curtaining her face from his eyes. Her mouth pulled at his cock, her head bobbing of its own accord. He knew what she was trying to do. He knew and he couldn’t help but wish that he could keep Jetta as his own. “Suck gently, little one,” he groaned. She reveled in the sound of his pleasure, experimenting and exploring, enjoying what she did to him almost as much as she enjoyed what he did to her. She felt his hands in her hair, pushing it back until he could see her. She looked up at him, meeting his eyes, hers still red rimmed from crying. **** Castor felt his cock swelling in her mouth, her untutored movements driving him mad with sensation. The sight of her, her lips stretched around his cock, slipping up and down his shaft, was erotic in the extreme. Her movements drove him closer to coming, her hands moving over him with gentle persuasion that made him her slave now. And when she swirled her tongue around the head of his cock, the tip flicking with teasing movements against the end, he knew he was lost in her. He tried to pull her off before he came in her mouth but she wouldn’t let him loose, shaking her head with a tiny humming sound that ripped another groan from deep inside. She felt him swell in her mouth and then shake under her, his hands fisting in the thick strands of her hair. The first spurt of his come surprised her, made her gag for a moment as it struck the back of her throat. The second filled her mouth with thick viscous liquid. Another hum of pleasure was drawn from her, vibrating through him as he climaxed in her mouth. Castor’s heart was racing, his body almost numb after the pleasure that had just shaken him. His hands fell limply to his side, even as Jetta’s busy mouth continued to move over him, licking and sucking to clean every last bit of his come from his cock. His eyes closed, he let her continue on for a moment more before reaching down to pull her up, his limp shaft falling from her mouth to lay wetly against his thigh. He pushed her hair away from her face, letting her forehead rest against his shoulder. When she started to talk, he put a gentle finger against her lips. “Tomorrow, Jetta love, we’ll discuss it tomorrow.” His voice was a low rumble, his body almost weak with the aftermath of such a tremendous orgasm. His mind wanted to close down and he turned his head, pressing a tender kiss against her hair. **** Jetta heard his breath even and saw his mouth open, heard a quiet snore emerge. Castor looked so young in his sleep, almost innocent with his eyes closed, his face soft and vulnerable. She loved to watch him at times like this, times when he wasn’t aware, wasn’t putting up a front of toughness. The warrior’s front so necessary for him to cover the many hardships he’d had to endure upon his home world. She’d spent many nights watching him. She’d listened to his sleeping mutters, heard his nightmares when he’d cried out in pain or in frustration. She’d listened to his angry words, his tired pleas for mercy that she knew he’d never admit to in the light of day. He’d been tortured by those women who’d kept him as slave, whipped and forced to perform. Drugged and kept on the edge of arousal until pain caused him to curse and moan. Hatred had flowed through her. Hatred for Marissa, the name he muttered with such loathing that it sent tears to her big blue eyes. She’d been almost able to picture the sufferings he’d been through, especially after seeing his back for the first time. It was no wonder that he’d been against touching her. She couldn’t blame him for being against using her for his own selfish pleasure, or what he considered selfish pleasure. She’d gotten as much as he had. Even pleasuring him with her mouth had been fulfilling and wonderful for her, making her wonder when she’d have another chance. Castor had to keep her. If he sent her away, she’d find a way to come back to him, some way to be back in his bed.

He murmured her name in his sleep, pulling her closer to him, his hand cupping the soft curves of her bottom, kneading it even as he tangled his other hand in her hair. Wrapped around him, Jetta closed her eyes, more comfortable then she could ever remember being.

Chapter Eight Sly lips stole down his chest, a soft tongue trailing over taut skin. He moaned, still asleep, his dreams turning to satiny skin and soft heaving breasts. A murmur of a name broke from his lips, a sigh barely heard by the woman whose teasing kisses and tantalizing caresses stopped at the shaft of his hardening cock. Adrianna looked up into his sleeping face. In the past couple of days, this man had made her feel more, emotionally and physically than ever before. In his sleep, he seemed softer; more vulnerable, younger. When awake, the cares of the world seemed to weigh down his shoulders, making him more somber and unapproachable. It was still dark in the room, hours before dawn. She woke with his arms around her, his hands resting lightly on her skin as he slept. She hadn’t been able to resist touching him. One gentle touch had led to another until her mouth seemed to ache for his taste. Now, with his cock so close to her parted lips, she couldn’t resist the temptation to wake him from the inside out. And hearing her name upon his sleeping lips made her even more anxious to have him. With a sigh, she took his semi-hard cock in her mouth, her quiet hum of pleasure reverberating through her. He tasted so good, felt so wonderfully hot and heavy against her tongue, and he wasn’t even fully aroused yet. Adrianna bobbed her head slowly, dragging her lips up and down the long shaft that got longer and harder by the second. She made love to him with her mouth, her tongue swirling and flicking at the veined shaft. Her hand cupped his heavy sack, squeezing gently, teasing him. “Wench, what do you there?” Kaden’s voice was husky and half asleep, rumbling from disuse. Adrianna started to pull away to answer him when his hand tangled in her russet curls, holding her mouth to him, teaching her the rhythm that he liked. She had to smile as his groans grew louder, his hips jerking against her mouth. She felt his cock twitch against her tongue, swelling and sucked harder; only to groan herself when he suddenly pulled her away. With a grunt, he flipped her to her back, coming to rest between her thighs. His cock found her wet and swollen cunt with little effort, pushing inside of her. His mouth found hers just as easily, feasting against the lush passion of her lips, dipping inside to taste her passion. He rocked against her, her hands turning to claws against his back, raking lightly over his skin. Her hips arched into his, cries of desire and need coming from deep inside of her. Kaden felt the sperm churning in his balls, felt it boiling as it rose, the heat sending shivers of pleasure through his system. He fought it, wanting to make his slave feel it first, a reward for waking him the way that she had. Adrianna loved the way he felt, loved the way his hands roamed over her skin, touching her in places she hadn’t known could be considered erogenous. His palms slid down over her slender arms, his hands curling over hers, twining his fingers with hers and holding them out to the side. Her hips moved under him, urging him to even a faster pace, her lips sought his, her tongue slipping into his mouth with sweet aggression. She moaned, the sound lost under the onslaught of his mouth. With a groan, he tore his lips from hers, his head tipping back as he felt the first contractions of her cunt muscles around his cock. His name was on her lips, her head thrown back into the pillow. When he was spent, his slowly softening cock still held inside her, he let some of his weight rest against her, releasing her hands from his hold to allow her to stroke his back. Her ankles unlocked from the small of his back, her feet sliding down the side of his legs, feeling the rough hair and hard muscles down to his calves. “Little toy, you can wake me that way whenever you please.”

Adrianna laughed at the satisfied tone of his voice, pushing against his chest to roll him off of her. “Don’t get used to it.” **** He laughed, rolling to his side and taking her with him, letting her cuddle next to him in the big bed. The mirror in the center of the room was glowing. Softly, but getting brighter; a reminder that his time was short, that he would have to leave her soon. Kaden hated the thought of getting out of the bed and leaving her there, sleeping peacefully before she had to get up and start her own day, a day he couldn’t share. He hadn’t thought he would feel this way. That he would wonder what she did, who she talked to and be jealous of those people. He hadn’t expected to care this much. And on top of all of this, he had to perform a public punishment tonight. With a sigh, he mumbled a small spell, just enough to make her sleep. When her breathing evened and grew deep, he leaned down and kissed her slack lips. Slipping out of the covers, he retrieved his clothing and threw it over his shoulder. With a last glance at her sleeping upon the wide bed, he turned and waved a reluctant hand at the corner of the mirror. The reflective surface blurred and then turned to waves, sliding over him like water as he slipped inside the doorway. When he had passed, the mirror solidified, becoming just a mirror once more, its glow ebbing until it seemed nothing more than a piece of furniture. **** Adrianna woke for the second time this morning, stretching against the mattress, her hand sliding across the sheet until she reached the edge. Disappointment caused a furrow to appear on her brow when she realized that Kaden was gone. She had hoped that today would be different, that the night spent in each other’s arms would make a difference. She’d thought it would change something between them. But it seemed he didn’t care. She got up, reaching into the small dresser to find her clothing. She’d grab a bath later, before she came down to help serve dinner. But for now, she had some snooping to do. She wanted to know where Kaden went during the day, who he was with and if he had another woman. Slipping out the small door, she didn’t notice the blurring of the mirror or see the wavy features that appeared and disappeared almost as if in a dream. **** Jetta woke and stretched, her body sore in the best possible way. A smile appeared upon her waifish features as she remembered the night before and Castor’s wonderful lovemaking. He had been the best of lovers, sweet and tender, taking her virginity without the screaming pain that she’d been told she would feel. Turning her head, she saw the empty spot that was next to her, the pillow that still retained the shape of his head. Light beamed across the sheets and she slipped out of them, realizing how late it actually was. If Celia noticed she was missing, she was going to be in for a good caning. Finding her clothing hung over the back of a chair in front of the fire, she slipped them on, shivering as the damp material clung to her skin, causing her nipples to rise and push at the semi-transparent cloth of her blouse. Pulling her hair back, Jetta dared to use Castor’s brush, and then tied the thick mass in a long tail that hung down her back. Then she hurried out the door and raced to the great hall, her stomach rumbling with hunger. **** Damien sat in his chair at the table of the great hall, watching as his men came in to break their fast. Tia was at the huge fireplace, stirring a large pot with a spoon that was almost as big as she was. She ladled some of the contents into a bowl, adding some freshly baked bread before bringing it to him, a smile on her beautiful face. “Here you are my fine Lord, a meal fit for even your own royal palate.” She curtseyed, smiling as her hair fell around her face. With daring that only Tia would ever show, she planted a kiss on his fine lips, slipping her tongue between to tease for just an instant before pulling away. “I shall bring you something to drink, master. Perhaps some juice, freshly made this morning by my own two small hands?”

“You’re too happy this morning, slave. Per chance I didn’t spank you well enough last night?” Tia tipped her head as if considering his words. “Hmmm, perchance you didn’t, lord. I might need to be reminded of my place today.” She giggled and moved off, twitching her hips under her thin skirt a bit more than was necessary, glancing back to make sure his eyes were on her. “She’s in a fine fettle this morning, Damien,” Castor said, pulling out the chair next to his brother and slumping into it. “She gave me some new scratches last night,” Damien said, as if that explained it all. He turned and stared at his brother, noting the dark shadows under his eyes, the somber expression upon his face. His hair was mussed as if he hadn’t bothered to brush it, his clothes wrinkled. “You look awful, brother.” “Thank you.” Castor gave Damien a small smile before reaching for the mug of juice in front of him. He sipped it then stared into the bright orange liquid as if the answer to his problems were at the bottom of the mug. “What is it? What can I do?” Castor glanced at the tall lord, smiling at the willingness of his brother to do whatever he could to make his life easier. “Well, first, you can quit feeling guilty.” “Would be easier for me to chop off my arm than to quit feeling this guilt, brother.” Damien shrugged his big shoulders, knowing that he would always feel this way when he thought about his brother and the terrible pain he’d had to face. All because he’d been caught that day long ago, when Damien had managed to escape the women of his home planet. Damien would do anything in his power to make it all up to Castor, give him anything and everything he had to make things right. But no matter what he did, it never alleviated his guilt. Damien still had nightmares of those days long ago, days of being used by women, days of abuse and torture, of being treated as if he’d had no rights, as if he were little more than a cock on legs. Both Damien and Castor had been chosen as breeders, prized because of their size and looks. The genetics that made them muscular and tall was sought after amongst the women looking to become pregnant. They wanted those factors for their daughters, for the next generation of warrior women who would rule their planet. Damien had been three when he brother was born. He’d been born of a woman who was of little rank, being a lowly soldier. Though even a lowly soldier had more rank than that of a man. She’d been without property, without status, a drone for the army. She’d kept Damien with her, using him as her own serf from the time he could be properly trained, sleeping with another woman’s breeder to become pregnant with Castor. His life with his mother had been rough, sleeping on the floor, eating scraps that barely kept his stomach from grumbling. Then Castor had been born, and though little more than a baby himself, Damien had been given the care of the infant. He shared his food with him, sometimes going hungry so that Castor would be fed and quiet, not rousing their mother’s ire with his crying. He slept with the baby in his arms, wore a sling to carry him around his small, sturdy body; a body that was already showing signs of being larger than normal, much to his mother’s delight. She sold them when Damien was six and Castor was three, both boys strong and sturdy and well use to work. Without a glance at the two children she’d carried in her body, she walked away counting the price of their purchase, leaving them with the woman who would take them to market, to sell at the slave auctions. Damien knew that Castor didn’t really remember their mother or much about that time when they lived with her in that small tent. But Damien remembered. He remembered being cold, never having enough to eat, or enough sleep. He remembered the loud cursing of their mother, the slaps and pinches she gave. He remembered her auburn hair and brown eyes, her mouth with its cruel curl, and her voice. Sometimes, in his deepest nightmares, he would still hear that voice and he would feel like that helpless child once again, struggling just to survive. They’d been sold as breeders to the same house, both him and Castor, because of their height and the size of their muscles. Damien had fretted and worried in the days before the sale, wondering if they

would be separated. He’d been determined to stay with his brother, to protect him as he had since Castor had been born. So luck had been with them. It let them grow up as brothers, a mistake the women obviously had not recognized. They’d been forced to work, to build pleasing bodies so that the woman they were sent to impregnate would find them attractive. And finally they both had enough to eat. It was important that a breeder keep up his strength and his sperm count, for breeders that looked like Damien and Castor were important and in high demand. Their training was brutal, but not as bad as the other two classes of males. The lowest class, the ones not smart enough to train or pretty enough to be breeders, worked on the farms. They were used like horses, pulling plows and carriages, moving heavily loaded carts to market. They tilled and weeded, picked and plowed and were generally treated as if they were stupid and worthless. And because they were the lowest class, they were easiest to replace. So they were worked to death, given less care than the lowliest of animals. The house workers were treated slightly better, having to be trained for their posts. They weren’t as easy to replace. House workers were given any job that needed to be done inside, from cleaning to cooking to taking care of the young. Boys were treated as slaves no matter who their mothers were. Girls were raised as warriors and leaders. “I can’t keep her, brother.” Castor’s words interrupted Damien’s dark thoughts. “Keep who?” Damien asked, confused. “Jetta. I need you to take her back.” Castor eyes were dark, pained. He spat out the words as if they were distasteful. “You want me to take back your slave? I need to know why, Castor.” Damien looked to the slave area, searching the gathered women for signs of the dark haired wench. He spotted her finally slipping in the side door of the hall, gathering a small piece of bread to eat as she started to put together Castor’s breakfast to bring to him. The entire time, she sent looks towards Castor, looks of confusion and lust. “You let your cock rule you last night, did you not brother?” Damien laughed, slapping his younger sibling across the shoulder. “It’s about time; I was beginning to think that those bitches castrated you.” “No brother, what happened last night was not a good thing. It was a mistake. Jetta…” Castor broke off as a plate was placed in front of him. Looking up, his eyes met the deep blue of Jetta’s. He saw pain that threatened to shatter her. Tears glistened on her cheeks and she turned without speaking, rushing from the raised dais and out the side door. Castor groaned and let his head drop into his hands, feeling her pain as if it was his own. “This is terrible, Damien.” “No, brother, what is terrible is that you’re rejecting this girl who just wants to please you.” “That isn’t it. She’s been chasing me for weeks, Damien, ever since you gave her to me. She’s had it in her head that she needs to be in my bed, that I should claim her as my bed slave. You know I can’t do that, Damien, no matter how I feel.” Castor felt his brother’s hand settle on his shoulder, squeezing in a sign of support. “Castor, you are a fool.” Damien’s words sat Castor straight up, turning to look at him. “What do you say?” “You heard me, brother. Do you not know that I hand picked Jetta for you? That I found her amongst all the other slaves in my court for you? She is an exotic flower, tender and fragile. And you have stomped on her.” “I didn’t want this, Damien. You forced me to take her. Now you can take her back.” Castor rose from his seat, leaving his food untouched. “I mean it, Damien, take her back. Release her if you don’t want another slave. Send her home or give her to one of your male slaves.” Castor couldn’t believe the pain that filled him, even as he heard himself saying the words. He had no choice. He just couldn’t have sex with a slave. He couldn’t. “If you are sure this is what you wish, brother, I will take her back. But I won’t force her to leave. If you change your mind…”

“I won’t,” Castor interrupted. “Please though, brother, if you care for me. Keep her safe?” Without waiting for an answer, he turned and walked away. “That brother of yours is a real jerk.” Damien looked up to see Adrianna standing in front of him, her eyes angry and shooting green sparks. “And you say this why, wench?” “I saw Jetta run out of here, I saw her face. He made that little girl cry.” Adrianna stood her ground when Damien shifted forward, his eyebrow cocked. “How could he hurt her so? Is that what these men of yours do? Do they get their kicks out of hurting naïve little girls?” “That little girl is only a year or so younger than you, slave. She is capable of handling her own emotions.” **** There was a warning in Damien’s voice, a note that Adrianna ignored. She was mad. Ever since rising and finding herself alone, she’d been angry. The scene she’d just witnessed between Jetta and Castor had only made her anger worse. “She is young in the ways of men, Damien. She was innocent and he took advantage of her. All of your men seem to take advantage of the women they call slaves. Women weren’t meant to be chattel, Damien. They were meant to be loved, to be honored and allowed to make their own decisions. Their bodies should be their own and not to be used at a man’s whim. How would you feel if your mother was…?” “Do not bring my mother into this, wench.” Damien’s voice had gotten low, his tone menacing. “You speak out of turn and about things you know nothing of. Mind your place, slave, or I will have to mind it for you.” Adrianna paid no heed to the warning. “What are you going to do, tell Kaden? Good luck in finding him. I certainly haven’t been able. That jerk jumps into bed with me only to disappear before I wake up.” “Close your mouth, slave!” Damien’s roar cut through all talk in the great hall, bringing all eyes upon the two of them, facing each other down on the raised dais of the Lord’s table. “You’ve been given due consideration, allowances because you are not from this world. But I will not allow any slave to besmirch a lord’s character.” He nodded at the two tall male serfs that stood to either side of his chair, waiting to serve their lord in anyway he might see fit. They stepped forward, gathering Adrianna’s arms between their own calloused hands, holding her easily, even as she struggled. “Let me go!” she hissed, her hair tangling around her face as she fought with the two men. **** Damien glanced around the hall, noting the interested looks in the faces of his men and the few Ladies that were present. He also saw Tia, her hands clasped between her breasts as if in prayer. Her eyes were fixed upon her master, giving a look that begged him to be merciful. Damien thought quickly. He couldn’t allow the wench to get away with speaking to him this way or allow her to talk about his men in such a manner. Threats didn’t work with this one. The bruise on her face proved that pain was no deterrent, either. She had too much pride, too much spark to acquiesce to enslavement. “Strip her,” he commanded the serfs. **** She fought as the two men pulled the clothing from her body, baring her loveliness to the men of the court. Two of the Lady wives that were present stood from the table, their eyes lowered as they left the room. Their mouths pressed together in a way that spoke of their disapproval in the spectacle. Adrianna felt the strange hands upon her body, pulling her clothing away until she once more stood naked in the room full of strangers. The cold air swirled around her, creating a layer of goose flesh that caused her nipples to harden and a shiver to shudder through her. She felt the eyes of the men in the hall as they stared. Lifting her chin, she determined to not back down this time. ****

Damien stepped forward within an arm’s length. He eyes roamed over her slender body feeling a rush of lust that surprised him. He had felt the same lust that night that he’d been made to acknowledge her; but she was Kaden’s toy, not his. A hand on his arm stopped him and he dragged his gaze from Adrianna’s pleasing form, staring down into the worried eyes of his Tia. “Please my lord…” she began. “No, Tia,” He interrupted. Damien’s words were gentle, as he understood her pain. Tia was empathic. It was one of the reasons her power of pleasuring was so great. She instinctively knew what a person was feeling, what would cause them the greatest pleasure. But she also knew what would cause the greatest pain. “Do not plead for your little friend; she has pushed past what could ever possibly be allowed, no matter the excuse. She needs this punishment for her own good.” “But, master, if I might be allowed...” “No, Tia, and that is final. Now, go back to your meal and don’t try to dissuade me again.” He watched as she turned, her back like iron under her white blouse, steps almost stilted as she walked away. Turning his attention back to the problem at hand, he stared down at Adrianna, seeing with astonishment the hatred in her gaze. A smile grew on his face, a smile that only provoked her chin to raise, her eyes to flare. But in their gray/green depths he saw the flicker of fear she tried so desperately to hide. Slowly he reached out, grasping her chin with his fingers. He stared into her eyes, refusing to let her look away, tightening his grip when she tried to pull away. With the other hand he traced a meandering line upon her skin, hearing her breath catch as his touch brushed over her nipples and down her flat stomach, dipping into the smooth curve of her navel. He trailed his fingers through the soft line of her pubic hair, feeling the rise of fresh stubble that hadn’t been there before. It was an interesting combination, the silky soft skin of her mound, the satiny curls and that rough stubble, intriguing his fingers to rub all the more. His hand opened, encompassing her mound in his palm, not allowing his fingers to dip between the swollen lips of her cunt. **** “Stop,” Adrianna hissed, fighting the urges of her body. Part urged her to flee, to run from this manhandling and to escape this madhouse of sexual torments. Another part, darker and more disturbing, sneered at her fear. It tempted her to forget her conscience and to let herself enjoy what Damien was doing to her. It was that dark side of her nature that disturbed Adrianna. The side that had enjoyed her rape at Kaden’s hands. No matter that he’d been gentle and had cared for her pleasure. He’d been a stranger, and had forced himself upon her. The dark side had enjoyed Damien’s hands upon her before, in front of these people, knowing they stared at her body, that they wished their hands were upon her flesh like their lord’s hands had been. That side was enjoying it now. He didn’t hurt her; only Trevor had done that. He reached into her psyche and seemed to see the darkness that lurked, the side of her that enjoyed the earthly pleasures no matter whose hand delivered them. “You are swollen, little slave. What would I feel if I were to allow my finger to slide between these lips? Would you be moist and begging? Would your breathing turn to pants, your hips arch as you tried to find the pleasure at my hand? You, who doubt my rights as lord, who denigrate the society you find yourself in and the position of slave, find pleasure at our punishments.” Adrianna’s hatred brought tears to her eyes, even as her body began to plead for his touch. Her pussy was hot and aching. Knowing he was right brought her shame. She wanted nothing more than to tear herself from the hands holding her and pull away from Damien, running as far and as fast as she could. Run to get away from the hateful thoughts that whispered in her ear that he was right. She gasped as his hand moved, leaving her body. As it went, he slid his finger in her sopping slit, gathering her moisture. She watched as he brought his hand to his face, smiling as he smelled her musky scent on his fingers. “You have such a pleasing aroma, Adrianna. I can’t help but wish to explore more

of the facets of your delightful contradictions. Chain her. Let’s see if her attitude changes after being put on display for the day.” Adrianna felt the hands pulling on her, dragging her backwards until she was well behind the lord’s chair. Her arms were raised above her head, cuffed to long chains that hung from a beam in the ceiling. The chains weren’t long enough, leaving her dangling on the tips of her toes, her arms taking the brunt of her weight. A strap was placed around her head, a large thick strip of leather pushed between her teeth, gagging her so she couldn’t speak. “You will stand here until your lord shows himself and then you shall explain to him yourself as to why I found it necessary to take these actions in his absence.” Damien turned to the assembled crowd, whose eyes had never left the play between himself and Adrianna. “Kaden’s slave is being punished for her insolence. She will be left here in the hall for the day, until Kaden himself can take her to task for her unbecoming behavior.” **** Damien heard the whispers starting. Many times a slave would be hung from those chains, left to the mercies of the kitchen or to the pleasures of whoever of his men happened to be wandering through. At the end of the day, the slave would be bruised and sometimes bloody if they resisted, covered in the drying come of whoever wanted use of their bodies. It worked, and as a threat was usually enough to use against a slave whose ego became bigger than their status. But Adrianna didn’t know of their ways or the things that could be done to her if Damien allowed it. She hung, the cuffs biting into her wrists, her weight causing them to bruise her skin. Her arms likely ached already and she would know that after a full day of this, she’d be in agony. Her jaw throbbed from the gag that tore into the sensitive flesh at the corners of her lips. She cursed her big mouth and her stubborn pride, the same pride that refused to let her beg for mercy from Damien. She couldn’t know how unbelievably desirable she was, hanging from the cuffs, her stormy eyes wide with fear and pain. Stretching her arms above her head caused the heavy globes of her breasts to raise, their tips hard in the cold air and pointing up as if waiting for a man’s mouth. Her ribs could be just seen, bumping out the skin over them just a little. Her stomach was drawn firm and taut, the mound of her pussy barely hidden behind her pubic curls. Her legs were long and slim, the muscles clearly delineated as she stood on tip toe. She was slim and lovely, a delight to the eyes and the senses. Damien went and sat back in his seat, watching his men. He called a few of his most trusted to him, speaking in a low voice that Adrianna couldn’t hear. And then he left the hall, his course set, her punishment under way. His men would obey his orders to the letter; else they would feel the bite of the chains. A fate too demeaning by far for any lord to fathom. **** Adrianna tried to rest upon her toes, letting them take as much of her weight as she could. The slaves would not come near her. Tia tried once and was rebuffed by one of Damien’s men. Tia gazed at her, her eyes dark with the pain she felt coming from her little Anna. And even though she knew Adrianna had pushed Damien into the punishment, her words in front of his men the utmost in disrespect, she couldn’t help but hate him for it. The first of the men came to her before the meal was at end, standing in front of her, staring down at her nakedness. Adrianna felt a sudden fear, worse than any before, at the look in the man’s eyes. His hand rose, his palm engulfing her breast. Adrianna screamed through the leather of her gag, struggling. The man’s strength easily overpowered the bound girl. He smiled, a smirk that told of the pleasure he felt at her helplessness, his hand roaming with ease over the bountiful curves of her body. She shook her head, her body shivering in fear. Why hadn’t she listened? Even Kaden had warned her of what would happen if she kept denying her new status. Why couldn’t she have listened? She felt the man step behind her, his hands coming under her arms to cup her breasts, his fingers kneading the flesh as if it were dough to be worked before baking. He found the twin caps of her nipples, pulling on the pebbled beads as he pressed his groin into the sweet curve of her naked ass.

Adrianna tried to kick backwards, tried to struggle; but she was no match for the strength of the man. She finally hung, defeated, barely cringing as his hand stroked over her taut stomach, slipped across the tops of her thighs to brush the curly hair that covered her mound. His hand delved between her clenched thighs, pushing them apart as he laughed at her weak attempts to escape her fate. When his fingers finally touched her pink flesh, slipping over the swelled bud of her clit, tears were running down her face, sobs coming from behind the leather gag. She could feel him hard and ready behind her, his cock poking into her ass as she hung suspended. And all she could do was wait to feel him rip into her flesh, taking her with no consideration. He traced her wet flesh, teasing her clit. Then, as she tightened with anticipation, his fingers moved, tracing wet lines down her thighs and over her back. His lips moved against her neck, his tongue sliding over the straining lines of her throat as she tried to escape him, to ignore the feelings that started to burn inside of her. When his hand came back to her hungry cunt, she groaned, giving up all pretense of defense even as more tears slipped over her cheeks, soaking into the leather gag. Her hips moved of their own volition, trying to force his fingers inside, where she most wanted them. He resisted with a laugh, moving away and patting her tear stained cheek with a hand that reeked of the scent of her pussy. “You are a sweet piece, slave. Kaden is a lucky man.” With that, he walked away, going straight to the slaves’ area and pulling a female slave along behind him as he left the great hall. Her body was hungry, close to climax, straining to reach the satisfaction that was now denied her. She squeezed her thighs together, trying desperately to still the itch that stung so deeply. With one last sob, she hung her head, closing her eyes against the stares of the others watching her. She concentrated on other things that could take her mind off this punishment. She focused on the feel of the thick iron bracelets that circled her wrists, the pain from where they bit into her skin. It helped, and she felt herself relax a little, her thighs growing lax as the itch eased. “Do you think it is over, slave?” The voice was in her ear, another of Damien’s men behind her. Adrianna jumped, surprised. She hadn’t heard him come towards her, too fixated upon easing the way she felt. Her eyes flew open. He was a stranger, someone she hadn’t met. His clothing was richly appointed, his sword bejeweled and tipped in a brassy colored metal. His eyes were brilliant blue, laughter creating a sparkle that Adrianna hated upon sight. Black hair hung to his waist, braided thickly on either side of his face. He was handsome and young, the youngest lord she’d seen since coming to this place. She wanted to plead, forgetting her pride. She couldn’t stand to be treated this way, as a piece of flesh, her body at the mercy of any and all of these men. Raping her might have been more humane. Then she could claim force. Having her body played against her, having her emotions used and pleasure forced upon her was more than she could stand. The stranger reached up, his fingers feathering across the tips of her breasts. Adrianna tried to pull away. She was fettered by the chains, weighed down by her own slight weight which seemed heavier every time she moved. He laughed at her movements, sliding the warm palm of his hand down her stomach and across the silky soft mound of women’s flesh at the apex of her thighs. “Sweet slave, do you think that Damien planned on only one of his men tasting of your sass today?” Adrianna groaned with fear and unwanted desire. His fingers slipped into the moistness of her slit with an ease that proclaimed her heat. She could hear the wet sounds that came as his hand moved, his fingers sliding over the small button of flesh that seemed to quiver with need. Desire took over quicker this time, especially when he bent and suckled upon the hard tips of her breasts, taking them into his wet, hot mouth and sucking upon them until she cried out behind the leather gag. Her hips moved, pleading with urgent jerking against his hand. With a cry of frustrated pain, she felt his fingers move from her slick flesh, trailing the wet evidence of her desire up her body, over the tip of each of her nipples, bathing the already wet tips with her scent and taste.

“This is to be your punishment, slave. This is Lord Damien’s way of teaching you how to behave. I, personally, think that a good plowing by one or more of us would be a better way of making you aware of your use, but my father has spoken.” Adrianna stared up into his handsome face, noticing the similarities now between this man in front of her and Damien despite the difference in their coloring. It shocked her; she hadn’t thought Damien could be old enough to have a son this age. “Ah, that isn’t pained desire I see in your eyes, it looks more like curiosity. My father was a breeder on his planet. They start them at an early age there. But that is no matter, I must do my father’s bidding and leave you wanting, Adrianna. Beautiful Adrianna, perhaps I should ask my father to give you to me if Kaden can’t control you. I think I could keep you in line.” He twisted the pebbled tip of her nipple between his finger and thumb, squeezing it until it was almost too painful to bear, then releasing the tip. It hardened more as blood rushed to the reddened flesh, creating a sudden swelling that took her breath away. His hand slipped down her stomach once more, stroking the line of skin where her thigh joined her body, his fingers light as a feather upon the sensitive flesh. She tried to jerk away, moaning when the chains bit deep in her skin, cutting her wrist. Lifting one of her legs, he opened her cunt with his finger, sliding it into the wet opening, adding another until he felt her move against him, her groans of need coming from deep inside. And then he moved away, leaving her alone, her body screaming in need. Thus it went. She would be given time to rest between men, time to let her desire settle before another stranger would come to her, his hands treating her with a familiarity that was humiliating and demeaning. He would arouse her body until she begged and cried before pulling away, never allowing her the pleasure of a climax. When her body grew numb and too tired to be teased and aroused again, she was given a chance to rest, an hour before the midday meal. Then the men came back, one after another until she thought she’d go mad with need. **** Damien watched. He saw her reactions to the men who caressed her skin, who mauled her tender breasts and sopping cunt with their hands and lips. He made sure she wasn’t allowed to find satisfaction, or that any of his men took it further than what he had allowed, wishing that there had been another way, wishing that she hadn’t provoked him. For once a punishment is started, it cannot be stopped until it was completed, which would happen moments before the sun set and Kaden would be freed from his mirrored prison. And then it would be his turn to give the sassy little slave her punishment.

Chapter Nine Kaden’s roar could be heard across the crowded hall. He rushed to where Adrianna was hanging, worn out and sore, her body one giant ache. With one pull, he yanked the chains from the ceiling. She would have collapsed, but he picked her up gently with one arm, holding her until he could release her from her bonds and take the soaked piece of leather from her mouth. “Kaden?” she whispered hoarsely, staring up in to his face, almost too exhausted to feel any fear. “Are you going to punish me too?” “No, little one,” he said gently though his face was tight with rage. “I think you have been punished more than enough.” Kaden had watched throughout the day, unable to stop what was happening from his mirrored prison. And with every man who’d put hands upon his woman’s soft skin, his rage had increased ten fold until he’d ripped apart his small room, tearing apart the furniture with his bare hands. He knew she hadn’t been physically hurt by Damien’s punishment; he’d been a part of punishing female slaves in such ways before. The sexual tension builds until the body’s craving for release becomes painful. It was more degrading then harmful and only used to show a slave her place. But Damien had no call to use such on Adrianna. He felt the tremors that shook her small body as he lifted her in his arms. “It’s over, little Adrianna. No more will they torment you, I promise.” Damien met his eyes as he started from the great hall, standing but not trying to stop his man from leaving with Adrianna in his arms. It was nightfall; the punishment was over. She’d stood in chains for eight hours. A short time really, considering her crime and the lack of respect she had shown. Adrianna was lowered into the bed she’d used since being brought to this place. She turned on her side, wrapping her arms around her waist and bringing up her feet until she was curled into as tight a ball as she could. A small sob broke from her, then another. Kaden felt as if his heart was breaking as he sat helplessly, watching this woman fall apart. When she reached for him, he took her gently in his arms, lying on the bed to let her curl up next to him. He stroked her hair, rubbing her back until she uncurled, her legs finally relaxing, her tears drying up. “I’m so sorry, Adrianna,” he murmured in her hair. “I’m so sorry.” “Where were you, Kaden? Where do you go that you couldn’t have stopped this sooner? Did you enjoy what they did to me?” She pushed herself away from him and out of his arms. “Did you?” “By all I hold holy, Adrianna, I could never enjoy something like that. I could never have ordered something like that done to anyone. If I could have gotten to you sooner, I would have,” he said, rolling so she lay upon her back next to him, Kaden staring down at her. He touched the deep marks at the side of her mouth made by the leather strap used to gag her. They would disappear, he knew, and not welt or bruise. But they looked painful. “I’ve never agreed with Damien’s punishments or condoned them.” “Where do you go, Kaden, when you leave me sleeping? Do you have another woman, or children? What is the big secret that everyone seems to be hiding from me?” She reached up and took the hand that stroked her face, traced the ugly red lines and held it in her own. The throbbing of her body had subsided, she ached from the tension and from being left hanging on chains too short for her petite height, but she wasn’t injured. “I asked that you not be told, Adrianna, for my own selfish reasons. Embarrassment being one of those reasons.” He kissed the side of her mouth, then the other side, gently and with such care as to bring more tears to her eyes. “What did you do today that angered Damien so that he felt he had no recourse but to punish you?” “I got mouthy. And why something so little as my speaking my mind should offend that man, I don’t know. Where I’m from, sarcasm is considered an art form.” She smiled as he laughed at her, but

then grew serious once more. “Honestly, Kaden, if I hadn’t been so upset about you leaving me the way you do everyday, I probably wouldn’t have gotten so angry. But between that, and watching Jetta’s heart break, I snapped. I…” she faltered for a moment, staring into the amber eyes that were so close. “I called you a jerk, Kaden.” He laughed again, pleased that she seemed to be recovering and had no lasting effects. He would have to put salve upon her wrists and bind them with bandages for the next couple of days but otherwise she was unharmed. “You may call me what you wish, little toy, but do not do so in front of any lord, for ‘tis an offense deemed punishable, as you have found out for yourself.” “So are you going to tell me?” “Tell you what?” he asked, stroking his hand through her mussed hair. Adrianna sighed in exasperation. “Where do you go everyday, Kaden? Why don’t I ever see you in the morning or afternoon? Are you some kind of vampire that you only come out at night?” “I know not the creature of which you speak. My plight is of my own making Adrianna, a curse that has me trapped. I don’t know exactly how to explain the nature of that curse, but if you’ll bear with me, I’d like to try.” He took a deep breath, then revealed to her his meeting with Magda and the events that unfolded after. “I’ve been trapped behind that glass every day for close to two years now. Magda is a stubborn wretch and refuses to remove the spell. This is why Damien sent you to me. He felt he owed me because I was trapped during my service to him.” “You’re kidding right? You are just pulling my chain on this. Nobody can be trapped in a mirror unless it’s some kind of Hollywood stunt.” “You believe not in the magic of my world or the gifts given by those who rule fate. But it is fact that in this world, magicks exist that would be most sought after on other worlds, magicks that have power that could be considered dangerous if not used in the right ways.” Kaden stroked his hand over her nude body, trying not to scare her. He wanted to be gentle and soothing, to ease her fears. “Ahh, so with great power comes great responsibility.” Adrianna couldn’t help the smirk that came to her face, the line from the movie coming so easily to her lips. “It is true,” Kaden said, staring at her in confusion when her smile grew. “Why do you laugh, little one?” “It’s nothing Kaden, just something that somebody once said.” She shook her head, relaxing into his arms, enjoying the tender caress that he seemed wont to give her. “So, if you are trapped in that mirror, then how do you get in and out? Can you take me in, too?” “No, the prison is mine, and mine alone. No other may pass the boundaries set by the glass of the mirror, for if they could, I would bring you with me. That way I could keep you from mischief.” He flicked a long finger teasingly across the tip of her nose. “The way in is protected by magic, a simple wave of my hand makes the glass liquid. Come morning I shall show you the deed and then you will see for yourself that I do not lie.” Adrianna became quiet, her eyes clouded. “If you are trapped in the mirror during the day, what shall I do, Kaden? I cannot go back to the hall and face all those men. They had their hands on me, forcing me to feel things I didn’t think it possible for me to feel. Am I nothing more than a slut that so many different men can make me lust after them?” “No, Adrianna, little love. You are no slut. Magic again was used to make your body so sensitive to those who touched you. It is one of Damien’s better known punishments, a very effective one. He gives the men he chooses a touch of magic, which they then use against the slave being punished. By not allowing full pleasure to be attained, frustration and pain becomes the slave’s companion for the day. Most don’t allow themselves to sin against their lord again to warrant such punishment. It shouldn’t have been done to you at all, for your sins, if any, were against me and no other.” “But still, to be made to face those men, to know that they had their hands on me, even Damien’s son took part, Kaden. I’m so very ashamed of the way they made me feel. I can still feel their hands on me.” Tears blurred her vision, tears that slowly fell, sliding down her cheeks to wet her hair. She had thought she was cried out, but now, after this day, she couldn’t bear to think about what tomorrow might bring.

“We will face it tomorrow, little love. Do not fear, for Damien is well aware of my displeasure at his treatment of you. Saucy or not, he should have awaited my judgment before calling for such severe punishment. Though you deserved to be taught a lesson, it shouldn’t have been done at his hands.” Kaden pressed a gentle kiss upon her lips, his fingers rubbing lightly against her side. **** She let her mouth cling to his, enjoying the soft pressure, the sweetness of his touch after the roughness of so many. Her body was still terribly sensitive, reacting to his caress as if it were a bolt of lightning. Her tongue pushed past his lips, tangling against his own, feeling his groan as if it came from inside of her. Adrianna needed him now, she needed to feel him inside of her, to touch her everywhere that those men had, to take away the feel of them, of their hands, their breath, their kiss. She needed Kaden to make her feel clean and whole once more, for even though none had penetrated her, she still felt as if she’d been raped. With trembling hands she pulled at the laces upon his shirt, pulling them out, eagerly stripping the white linen off his head. She drew his lips back to hers, her mouth open and hungry, urging him on with whimpers of need and desire, begging wordlessly for him to hurry. Kaden pulled away, gentling her hands by catching them with his own. He waited until she stopped moving under him, until she looked up at him, her lips parted, her breathing harsh. “Slowly, little one. I do not want to frighten you.” He kissed her hands, his mouth soft and moist upon her palms, placing them one at a time on his chest. His lips found hers, brushing softly, opening his mouth to fit it over hers in an almost seamless line. He touched her face, cupping her cheek in his palm, letting her feel the tenderness he felt for her, know the regret that ached inside of him at the abuse she’d been forced to endure. “Never again, Adrianna,” he vowed against her lips. “Never again will I allow you to be put in a position to find such trouble.” His eyes were fierce as he remembered the anger and jealousy that had flamed through him all day. She reached down and untied the flaps of his breeches. She rose from under him to take off his boots and then pull the breeches away from his body. She folded his clothing carefully, running her palms over the fabric to smooth it before setting it on top of her dresser and returning to him. Kaden waited, relaxed against the white sheet, his skin seeming even darker in contrast. His hair was tossed back and up, covering the pillow. The inky tresses of black seemed to call her hands to explore. His amber eyes glowed with desire as they roamed over her nude body, clearly enjoying the blatant display of her charms in the light of the huge moon hanging outside the curved windows. He didn’t realize the beauty of his own muscled form. He couldn’t know the sensual eroticism he portrayed in the perfect curvature of his chest, the thickly muscled ripples of his abdomen. Even his hard cock, so magnificent in its turgid appearance, was part of the spell he wove around her. The gentleness in Kaden’s eyes was more appealing because it was so at odds with his warrior-like appearance. And knowing he’d rather cut his own arm off then cause her harm had her heart tripping in her chest. In that moment, she knew she was in love. It startled and dismayed her. Half of her cried out at the injustice of love, for how could she love a man who believed in slavery? How could she hope to have a future with someone who would see her as only a piece of property and never as an equal? She couldn’t. Knowing that only made her more determined to make the best of what time they had before she found a way to run, to go home to New York City. “Are you all right? If you’d like to wait…” The uncertainty in Kaden’s voice just made her love him more. Adrianna reached up, pulling her hair off her shoulders, letting it slip through her hands in a fiery display. It tickled down her back like a waterfall of satin flames, catching the light of the moon in its red depths. With a sigh, she ran her hands down her arms and across her stomach, slowly stroking and feeling the warmth of her own skin.

With deliberate movements, she cupped her breasts as if offering them to him, squeezing the swollen globes with a sigh of delight. Teasing both herself and him, she pulled gently upon one hard tip, twisting it gently until it hardened into a pebbled bud. Catching his eye, she slowly put her fingers into her mouth, wetting them before returning her hand to her nipple. A shiver took her as it responded to the wetness of her fingers, almost as if it were his mouth. Her back arched, her open mouth creating the image of a wanton woman whose lusts were taking over. A whimpered groan came from between her open lips and she let her hands slide down, over the smooth flat surface of her stomach to the slight rise between her thighs. **** Kaden couldn’t believe his little toy’s actions, her blatant attempt at sexually arousing him after the day she’d endured. She should be exhausted, asleep in his arms, letting him take care of her and assuage the guilt that tore at his gut all day. Instead, he laid there, his body in one big knot of need as she stroked her thighs, slipping her fingers between. Her head was thrown back in sensual enjoyment, her eyes drowsy green, heavy lidded with passion. Her fingers played with precision between her legs, slipping between the swollen and wet lips of her pussy to find the begging tip of her clit, rubbing it gently with circular movements. Her hips jerked in an attempt to find the relief she’d been denied all day. “Do you try to seduce me with your actions, toy? Would you not rather my hands be on you, my lips suckling upon your pouting nipples?” He held out his arm, his action an order to be followed. But his eyes were gentle and affectionate. Instead of hurrying to obey, she went to the foot of the bed, staring up the long length of it to where he laid, his head propped up by the pillow. “What do you down there, my teasing little toy? Come to me and let me love you properly.” “Soon, my lord and master, very soon I will be there. I only want to give you pleasure due a lord of your status, as any good slave should do.” She leaned forward and kissed his ankle, the rough hair tickling her nose. “Since when did you decide to be a good slave?” Kaden stared down the length of his body at the slim figure kneeling at the foot of the bed, her mouth pressing moist kisses upon his ankles and feet. “Well, we all have to have hobbies. Maybe I’ve decided to make you mine.” With her mouth open, she slid her tongue up his calf to the back of his knee, tasting the warmth of his skin, the light tang of soap and sweat that lingered on it. “I’m to become your hobby now? Should I be flattered that you are willing to take the time to make such of me, little one?” Kaden liked the way she looked, crawling slowly up his body, kissing and licking at his flesh as she went, creating tingles of fire that made his cock throb and twitch with pleasured need. “Oh yes, definitely. I mean, I have so little time and there is just so…” she paused, staring up at his cock, not more than six inches from her face, “so, so much of you to explore. You could keep me busy for a long time to come, Kaden.” She reached up with gentle fingertips and brushed the tip of the rigid head, feeling its spongy softness and the damp clear fluid that spoke of his pleasure. Knowing that his eyes were trained upon her in the clear light of the moon, she brought her finger back to her mouth, licking the taste of him off of it with a lapping tongue. Adrianna hummed her appreciation of his flavor, enjoying the sharpness of it with sensual grace. With a smile, she looked into his eyes, letting her hand hover just above his hard shaft. “So, Kaden, what part of you should be my hobby tonight?” “You wish me to order you in bed, Adrianna? For a saucy little minx who manages to find trouble so often and easily, you surprise me.” “I only wish to please my master,” she quipped like the slaves she’d watched the past couple of days always said, bobbing her head in a tiny mock bow. His laughter rang out, making her smile in return. “You wish to please me? What was the line you used earlier? Oh, yes. Are you pulling my chain?”

Adrianna grinned up at him. “Nah, baby, why’d I want to go and do something like that? I just want to make you feel good and stuff.” She wished she had a stick of gum right now so she could pop it or blow a bubble and twirl a lock of her hair. She felt his hand touch her face, stroke over her cheek with a gentle touch that almost brought tears to her eyes. They could have had a good relationship if he hadn’t made her into a slave. He drew her forward with that hand against her face, until she was straddling his legs, her mouth just above the wet head of his cock. “Why are you waiting?” He pushed down on her head lightly. “Make me feel good and stuff,” he finished, making her laugh again, especially as he added a little New York accent in imitation of her. Her lips pursed, rubbing against the heated head of his cock, opening slowly to take more and more of his shaft. Her eyes stared up at him, watching his face as her actions caused his eyes to close for an instant, his head to fall back against the pillow. A gasp and then a moan came from deep inside of him as her tongue traced the long thick vein she could feel along the bottom, of his cock. His hand ran through the bangs of her hair, pushing the long strands away so that he could see her face. Her mouth was wet, hot passion, tight around his cock. She sucked him hungrily, little moans vibrating through her mouth and into him with distracting frequency. Kaden sat up, moving her body around until she faced away from him, her thigh close to his face. “Let me see your hand, little toy.” He smiled when she instantly did as she was asked without taking her mouth from his cock. He put her hand between her thighs, slipping her fingers against her own wet flesh without touching her himself. “Give yourself pleasure, my toy. You are too sensitive now for my touch. Let me watch you find your own joy.” **** Adrianna felt herself grow wetter with the knowledge that his eyes were on her. Watching as she found the small button shape of her clit and rubbed it gently in circles. It was more erotic than anything she’d previously experienced. But he was right; her body was tight with need, her clit a swollen knot of nerves that throbbed beneath her fingers. Within moments, she took her mouth from his cock, her head thrown back. The passion that had been so tightly furled inside of her burst, the explosion burning her from the inside out. Kaden watched as her fingers slipped inside her sweet opening, saw the contractions that wracked her slim form. This first time after so long a punishment was intense, mind blowing for the slave whose body had been tormented by unfulfilled physical pleasure. Adrianna gave a keening cry, the ecstasy that swelled within her almost too much to be born. Her body arched, her muscles so tight they almost cramped. Still it came, wave after wave, heat followed by more until it seemed almost pain. Her eyes closed tight, bright sparks of light forming behind her lids. “That’s it, my beauty,” she heard him say, his hands finally coming to rest upon her back, turning her again as she sought to catch her breath, echoes of the electric like shocks throbbing inside of her. He held her by her thighs, lowering her until his cock touched the pulsating opening of her cunt. With a groan, he pushed past the clenched opening, her muscles contracting around him. “Oh, Adrianna, you feel like a hot, wet fist around me.” His invading cock caused her body to climax again, not as hard this time but still intense. She moved over him, rising and falling. Her heart wildly racing, she felt passion coil through her again, desire for him and him alone was all she could feel. His hands upon her skin, his mouth on her breast, his eyes on her body; it was all she wanted. She was wicked fire over him, moving fast and hard, her breath coming in gasping pants of desperation. Her hands pushed at his chest, using him for balance, concentrating upon the hard cock that pounded mercilessly between her thighs. His hands kneaded her breasts, played with their hard tips, pulling on them while she begged for more. **** Kaden felt it coming, knew he wouldn’t last much longer. He pushed his hand between her thighs, his finger and thumb surrounding her clit and pinching gently.

Adrianna’s shriek could be heard far down the stairs of her tower. Her pleasure bubbled hard inside of her, her pussy clamping around his cock. It pushed him over, and he thrust hard into her, hot spurts of his come finding a home deep inside of her womb. When it was done, she collapsed over him, exhausted beyond thought. Her head found its place on his chest, his rapidly beating heart sounding in her ears. His arms came around her, holding her tightly as he tried to catch his breath. She felt so incredibly good against him; better than he could ever remember any woman feeling. She snuggled into him, the sweat from their bodies drying in the coolness of the room. And when she slept, he still held her, content to remain her pillow for however long she needed him. **** He woke her moments before dawn broke the darkness. “Adrianna, you wanted to watch this.” She rubbed her eyes like a child, pushing her hair out of her face. “You have to go?” she asked, still half asleep. “Yes, little toy. If I don’t, the sun’s rays will torch my flesh, burning me alive.” Adrianna got out of the bed, not noticing her nudity or the effect its beauty had on him until he grabbed her wrists, dragging her into his embrace. His mouth swooped down upon hers, his hands finding the rounded curves of her ass and pulling her into the hard bulge that tented the front of his loosely tied breeches. She met him caress for caress, her tongue tangling with his, her hands roaming over his shoulders and back over the linen of his shirt. Kaden finally pushed her from him, his chest heaving. “You are too tempting by far. Now, stand back before I risk the burn and take you back to that bed.” Adrianna stared at him, feeling the fire he sparked so easily deep in her belly. He took one last look at her, his eyes roving over her beauty before he turned, waving his hand at the right hand top corner of the mirror. She watched as the mirrored surface became murky and almost looked like water. With a quick glance at her, he stepped into the waving mirror. It parted around his body like cold clear liquid, filling itself back in as he entered the prison room behind. Kaden turned before the mirror hardened back into an impenetrable shield, his eyes meeting Adrianna’s shocked expression with a small grin. He waved and then was gone. She sat down on the edge of the bed, staring at the surface of the mirror. The glow that seemed to come from it at night was now gone. She was still staring a few moments later when the first rays of the sun hit its reflective surface, blinding her as the sun shone over the tops of the distant trees. Her mind whirled. So much had happened to her in the past few days, since Damien grabbed her in her apartment in Queens. She’d been made a slave, tied to a bed, forced to feel passion unlike anything she’d felt before. She’d been stripped and played with, become a sexual object and deep inside, she enjoyed it. And now, she was in love with a man who was trapped in a mirror during the day, leaving her alone in a castle full of warriors with little to no protection. Damien’s whim and will, what he chose to give, was the limit of her safety. The sun’s rays were warm upon her skin and she realized she’d been lost in thought for a while. Instead of getting up and dressed, she curled up on the bed, pulling the blanket over her, her eyes never leaving the mirror until they finally closed and she slept again. **** “Adrianna?” The voice was insistent, as insistent as the hand that shook at her shoulder. Adrianna opened her eyes to the brightness of the room, wondering how long she had slept; it hadn’t felt long enough. “Please, Adrianna, wake up.” Her eyes turned to the thin girl standing next to the bed, bent over with her hand on Adrianna’s shoulder. “Jetta? What are you doing here?”

“I needed to talk to you, it’s important and I didn’t want to chance someone over hearing us.” Jetta plopped down on the bed as Adrianna sat up, holding the blanket to her breasts. “What is it? You look awful. Jetta, are you okay?” Adrianna reached out and took Jetta’s trembling hand in her own. “No, no I’m not all right. He gave me back! Castor gave me back to Damien.” Her heart seemed ready to break, her eyes puffy and red from her tears. “Oh no, I’m so sorry, Jetta.” “I’m leaving, Adrianna. I won’t stay here and see him everyday. I won’t watch him with other women. I want to go to your world with you.” Adrianna shook her head, uncertain she’d heard what Jetta had said correctly. “Let me get this straight. You want to go home with me? How are we going to get there?” “If we leave right now, no one will realize we are gone until Kaden returns tonight. We should be able to get far enough away that they won’t be able to find us easily. I can take you to the portals, help you find your way through the right one to go home. All you have to do is take me with you.” Jetta’s voice was hard, her words firm. The naivety and shyness that Adrianna had seen in her previously was gone. This was her chance, maybe her only chance, to go home. To get away from this world with its backward attitude and male-dominated outlook, but it also meant leaving Kaden. “What say you, Adrianna?” She clamped her eyes shut tight, refusing to even look at the mirror across the way. If she were to leave Kaden, she would be leaving her heart her also. With a sigh, Adrianna made her decision. “Okay.” Jetta bounced up, spinning quickly and heading towards the door. “I’ve prepared two packs with food and what we will need for the journey. Get dressed and wear these shoes.” She dropped a pair of buttery soft leather half boots into her lap. Beautifully made, they were low-heeled with long laces to hold them on and beading around the tops. Adrianna got dressed slowly, already regretting her decision. But it was too late, she’d made up her mind. She would go through with it. She couldn’t live in this world. One thing she knew for certain: not even for Kaden could she make herself into a slave. When she was dressed, the shoes on her feet, a warm blanket wrapped around her shoulders, she stopped in front of the mirror. “I’m sorry, Kaden. I love you, but I cannot live the way you wish me to. I can’t be at the mercy of any man who says he is my master. Please, I hope you can understand.” She let her fingers trail across the surface of the mirror. Without another look, she turned and shouldered the pack Jetta handed her and followed her out of the room.

Chapter Ten The stars were brilliant overhead, though Adrianna wasn’t looking at them. Her thoughts were turned inward, and as gloomy as the day before had been with its spitting rain and gray skies. It had finally cleared up, but still, they’d both become soaked. Adrianna huddled next to the small fire they’d managed to start despite the wet wood, trying to get warm. Her skin was covered in goose flesh. Small shivers coursed through her body. Her hair was wet and sticking to her. Jetta was no better off, shuddering as she tried to get closer to the flames without burning herself. They’d been gone for two days, spending the first night in a small cave that Jetta had found. They were lost, though Jetta hadn’t wanted to admit it until the rains had started earlier in the day. Now she had tears in her eyes and an apology on her lips. “I’m really sorry, Adrianna. I thought I could find the way. I thought it would be easy. I saw Damien’s maps…” “Wait a minute,” Adrianna turned, her eyebrow rising as she stared at Jetta in consternation. “Let me get this straight. You’ve never actually been to these ‘portals’ before?” “No,” Jetta lowered her face into her hands, peeking at her companion between her fingers. “But the maps made it look as if it would be easy. Just go straight south and then we’d see the caves within a day’s travel.” “South? Jetta, we haven’t been going south, we’ve been heading west for the past two days.” Adrianna felt an almost overpowering urge to get up and pace, but her body was too cold to leave the fire. “No, we can’t go west. The clans of the west are untamed and dangerous.” Jetta shuddered, moving closer to Adrianna. “They claim what woman they want, whether she wears colors or not. They kill with no thought or care. They rape and maim, Adrianna. They’d hurt us badly and then discard us when they were tired of us.” Her hand reached out and latched on to Adrianna’s sleeve. Adrianna closed her eyes, teeth chattering despite the small fire. She knew she should be afraid but she was too miserable to feel fear. “Maybe we should just go to sleep. Tomorrow, we can start heading back to the east.” She reached over to see if her blanket was any dryer than it had been when she’d hung it up on the bush close to the fire. She’d worn it over her head during the day, trying to stay warm. Now the clouds had cleared and the stars were out, but it was still wet. A loud crashing sounded from the underbrush across the small clearing; a growl and a shriek in its wake. The shriek was cut off midway, followed by wet crunching noises. The revolting noise was interspersed with snuffling and small grunts. Adrianna reached for the large branch she’d found earlier to use as a walking stick, bringing it to her chest as she stared at the area where the sounds were coming from. “What is that?” Jetta asked, scooting closer to Adrianna. “How should I know? This is your planet, Jetta. You tell me,” her voice was a little harsher than she’d intended. She was scared, tired and in a place she did not know. And now she seemed to be in charge. “I don’t know, either. I was never allowed in the woods before. My father kept me close to our home in fear that I would be captured by raiders.” Adrianna sighed, closing her eyes in frustrated misery. Was she any better off lost in the woods than being a slave for a man who she actually had feelings for? She shouldn’t have left him. “Why did you want to leave, Jetta?” “Castor gave me back to Damien. He didn’t want me anymore. I thought I could change his mind if he but took me to his bed once. I was wrong.” Jetta wiped tears from her cheeks as she spoke.

“He could have changed his mind. I saw him watching you in the great hall, Jetta. You never know what could have happened if you stayed, if you tried to talk to him.” “You know nothing of his past, of the planet of his birth. Castor wouldn’t take a slave to his bed, not even if she were willing.” Adrianna smiled slowly. “Jetta, I’ve never seen a man turn down a willing woman.” “Castor has and does.” “Is he gay?” Adrianna asked, forgetting the difference in worlds. “Gay? Since his rescue, I’ve rarely seen him smile with anyone but his brother. What has being gay to do with this?” Adrianna laughed at her own mistake. “No, Jetta. Not gay as in happy. Gay as in would your Castor be more interested in men than he would women, sexually?” Jetta’s face grew pale, her eyes widened. “You mean Castor would bed a male? How would that be possible?” She was still both innocent and naïve, Adrianna thought with another sigh. “Never mind. It’s not important. Tell me how Castor was raised.” She threw another piece of wood on the fire, listening to it smolder and pop as the heat dried it out sufficiently enough for it to start burning. “They were raised on a planet where women ruled. Men were thought of as slaves with little use but for what they could accomplish with their muscles and cocks.” Adrianna smirked, barely restraining a ‘good for them’ comment. “Damien raised Castor from infancy and they were sold to a breeder to be used for their seed. Their mother sold them.” Jetta sighed and shifted, putting her head in Adrianna’s lap and staring into the fire as she spoke. “They spent their time impregnating women, any woman that had the price. They were given no say in who used them. If their cocks would not harden properly, they were beaten. If they refused something a woman wanted from them, they were beaten. They were both tortured and given a potion that would make their cocks hard for hours no matter how many times they spilled their seed.” Adrianna curled her fingers through the thick black locks that spilled across her lap, stroking Jetta’s hair as she spoke. “Sounds like heavy duty Viagra,” she mused with a smile, unable to feel much sympathy for either man after what she’d been put through. “What is this Viagra you speak of?” Jetta looked up at Adrianna, her big blue eyes full of curiosity. “Nothing, never mind. Go ahead with your story.” Adrianna leaned a little more against the tree at her back, finding comfort in listening to Jetta’s voice in the dark. “They planned to escape after one such session. Damien had been tied spread eagle to a table, five warrior-women using his body to their own pleasure, forcing him to give them his seed, to spawn their children. Children he would never be allowed to see.” The horror of such an event had Jetta speaking faster, her voice rising somewhat. “They tried to run but both were caught. They were publicly whipped, their bodies put on display by the mistress of the breeding market they belonged to. And afterwards, after they had healed sufficiently to be put back into service, they became popular with a kind of woman who enjoyed degrading them.” “How were they degraded?” Adrianna asked, wondering why knowing that Damien had been beaten and publicly humiliated didn’t make her feel better. Instead, she felt disgust for the woman who forced such upon their men. “The potion was forced upon them so much so that it almost killed Castor. He became weak, his heart couldn’t take the pressures put upon it. They were used by any who wished, even those beyond the years of safe breeding. They were beaten, abused verbally and emotionally, kept chained when they weren’t being used. Their mistress was miserly, feeding them the worst of what was available. And then, she brought a new boy into the stables, bringing him to Damien. She stood in front of him, her hand upon the boy’s black hair, stroking his head like you would a treasured pet.” “His son, that was his son, wasn’t it?” Adrianna couldn’t help but feel sorry for the man who’d kidnapped her. Despite everything she’d been put through, he’d been through much worse. “Yes, it was Jordan. He wasn’t much older than ten at the time, though he is unaware of the exact date of his birth. Damien was told that Jordan was his son, and then told what they had planned for him.

The details were horrible, so horrible neither Jordan nor Damien has ever spoken of them. Castor had been given the potion, he was barely coherent. Damien had been untied and Jordan had been left with him.” “That bitch left Jordan there so that Damien could bond with his son, didn’t she?” Adrianna wasn’t sure how much more of this she wanted to hear, but Jetta didn’t seem able to stop. She stared into the flames of the fire, her mind a million miles away on a strange planet filled with warrior women. “Somehow, Damien managed to get free of his cage. He went to where Castor was waiting for the women who would be using him that night. There was always four or five of them. He was tied to a wide beamed X-shaped structure, his legs forced apart, his arms tied above his head. His cock was rock hard, standing straight up. Damien freed him and carried him out of the stables. They ran, managing to get out of the city, Jordan following them.” “Is that how they all ended up here?” “No, Damien escaped, taking Jordan with him. But Castor was too weak to run. He was injured in a skirmish between the men and a few female guards that they ran into. He was too far along into the potion to ably defend himself, his body had only one primitive urge and that was to breed. Damien had no choice but to leave him, knowing that he would be taken back to the stables. He got to the portal, though he knew not what it was at the time. And he ended up here.” Jetta turned her head to look up at Adrianna, taking the hand that had been sifting through the dark locks of Jetta’s hair. “Castor was whipped, over and over. He was abused worse than anything Damien ever had to overcome. His back was striped so many times that his skin lost capacity for feeling. It took a long time for Damien to be able to free him, though he wasn’t the one that did such. Kaden did.” “So that’s why Damien feels so much gratitude for Kaden.” Jetta twined her fingers with Adrianna’s, staring at their joined hands in the flickering light of the fire. “Yes, Kaden was caught and given the potion. There was an uprising amongst the breeders, though some of them hadn’t done much more than lift their cocks for a woman’s pleasure and knew naught of fighting or weaponry. Castor was freed and Kaden managed to take a hostage, the woman who was left on your planet. She was the breeding mistress, Marissa, the one who was responsible for the torture of so many men. She was the one who’d taken Castor in, who’d vowed to teach him a lesson and have him on his knees at her feet before she was through.” Adrianna remembered the glimpse she had of the tawny-haired woman who’d been thrown on the couch next to her. She’d been filthy, her skin bruised and bloody. There had been hatred in her eyes in the short time Adrianna looked at her. Jetta sat up, touching Adrianna’s cheek, wiping away a small smudge of blood from a branch that had swung back and caught her on the face. “The two men went through the worst that could be given to them during those days of captivity. This is why Castor refuses to bed his slaves; he doesn’t even want to have slaves. He only gave in to Damien’s urging as a way to assuage his guilt.” “You know a lot about the two men, Jetta. How’d you learn all of this?” “Slaves know everything, Adrianna. The gossip makes the daily chores pass more quickly. This is a well-known story amongst those that live in the castle itself. When I was given to Castor, Tia sought me out and told me of his past and the degradation he faced. She wished for me to understand, for she sensed how I felt even then.” “And what of Kaden? Does he own many slaves?” Adrianna couldn’t stop the words from coming out of her mouth. “No, his mother owned the slaves in his castle. When she was killed, he freed most of them. They stayed on to continue their work, never having known any other type of life. They run his castle still, under the watchful eye of his second in command.” Jetta scooted a little closer to Adrianna, hearing the night noises of the forest change, the tiny scurrying of feet gone. A predator hunted close, kept at bay only by the light of the flames. Glowing amber eyes could be seen from the edge of the clearing, eyes that shone with unholy light.

Jetta let loose a small scream, cringing back against Adrianna. The eyes grew slightly bigger and then a howling scream rent the air in the clearing. Adrianna stood, shaking off Jetta’s clinging hands, brandishing the branch she’d kept to hand. “Go away!” she yelled at the yet unseen beast, swinging the branch in front of her threateningly. “Go away or I’ll bash your damn brains in!” It screamed again, this time moving into the edges of the firelight. Adrianna felt a scream of her own threaten as she stared at the huge beast and caught its scent for the first time. It smelled of rot, of decomposing flesh, like a carrion eater would. The amber yellow of the eyes looked strange in the face, a face shaped like a huge dogs, with a muzzle that opened to show yellowed teeth, saliva dripping from their wickedly sharp points. Rough gray and brown hair grew in tufts over muscled flesh. It walked on four feet, rising to two when it let loose with one of those ear piercing screams. On two feet it stood much taller than Adrianna. On all four feet, it reached her shoulder, with sharp claws upon each huge paw. “What the fuck is that?” Adrianna hissed, backing away until she stumbled against the tree where she’d been resting. Jetta had picked up a branch and stood at Adrianna’s side, despite the tears rolling down her face. Little screaming whimpers came from her throat. The noises seemed to excite the beast, invoking low growls in its throat and displays of its fangs. It paced the confines of the clearing, staying just at the edge of the light, never stepping closer to the fire. “Get out of here!” Adrianna shrieked at the thing, crouching to pick up a rock that lay at her feet. She threw it as hard as she could, striking the beast in the side, making it jump back a few feet. It snuffled at the rock then threw its head in the air and screamed again. Its muscles bunched as it turned its attention to the woman who’d thrown the rock at it. “Oh, shit,” she said, seeing her fate in the eyes that stared at her. It was setting up to pounce. For a moment time seemed to slow down. Adrianna could see every muscle of the beast as it tensed and quivered, see its claws digging into the grass and dirt of the clearing as it sought the traction it needed for its jump. It seemed to grin at her, a kind of lurid leer, drops of saliva dripping from its open mouth. And then it moved, almost too fast to be seen. Adrianna pushed Jetta to the side and jumped the other way, hoping to duck under the flaying claws of the beast. Jetta stumbled, almost falling before regaining her feet, turning to strike at the beast as it flew towards her new friend. Adrianna almost made it. If she’d had another few seconds, she’d have been under its leap and unhurt, the beast behind her. But the fickle hand of fate was against her, and she felt the claws dig into her shoulder, ripping open flesh and muscle. Her arm burned with bright pain, a scream coming to her lips. Her hand grew instantly numb and she lost hold of the branch that was her only weapon. The blow spun her, so that when the beast landed on all fours, it was in front of her once more. It turned with uncanny speed to return to its prey, ready to feed upon her succulent flesh. But Jetta was almost as fast and came in like a tiny tornado, her blows backed by every ounce of muscle gained through her years of servitude. The beast twitched and spun, lashing out with its paws at the tiny human who was attempting to come between it and its food. Its claws slashed through material, barely missing the body underneath. Jetta felt the wind from the blow, heard the material of her skirt rip under the razor sharp claws. She jumped back but then came back in, using the branch like a club. Adrianna saw Jetta fighting the beast and reached down for her club, having to pick it up in her left hand. Her right hand wouldn’t work, the claws having nearly severed the arm from her shoulder. She felt strange, light-headed, and realized she was losing a lot of blood. She had to help Jetta kill the beast before she passed out, or they were both dead. Raising the branch over her head, she let loose a battle scream of her own, putting all of the frustration and pain of the past few days into it. She joined the fray, her blows weaker than Jetta’s. The beast smelled her blood, and turned, knocking her backwards again, this time unable to get up. “Adrianna!” Jetta yelled as the beast ignored her now, its thoughts centered upon the warm scent of fresh blood.

Adrianna saw it coming towards her, smelled the rotten scent of its fur fill her nostrils. It stood above her, towering over her, making her seem so small in comparison. With a growl, it opened its mouth, baring sharp yellow fangs in jaws meant to snap through bone. It came towards her throat. Adrianna tried to move, she tried to scream. But she couldn’t. She couldn’t do anything but watch as the beast set up to feed. **** “Damn her stubbornness,” Kaden said as he stared at the ground at his feet, searching for tracks to point out the way of the two runaway slaves. “Does she not know the punishment of running?” “I don’t think either of them cared.” Castor bent, gently pushing aside a few leaves and branches from the small print he’d found in the rain-softened ground. “It’s my own fault for not speaking to Jetta of what I had planned before asking Damien to take her back. I should have been clearer on my feelings.” He stood and pointed his way into the brush. “They went this way.” “Jetta must know the dangers of the western men. Why, by all that is holy, would she go towards them?” The two men stepped through the small clearing, the stars their only light as they tracked the two slaves. “Little Jetta knows, but she doesn’t always seem aware, if that makes sense.” He pointed out a broken branch and a small scrap of deep purple material that hung from another, the two of them breaking into a trot when they saw the path the took was clearly marked by the passage of the women. “I thought Adrianna was accepting her fate, she seemed much more pliable after I told her of my curse. I never thought she would run.” Kaden thought of the night before when he’d finally been able to leave his cursed mirror, knowing that his Adrianna had fled. He’d raced to the great hall, seeing the men sitting there, eating their meal, nothing amiss. No one had realized the two women had flown. It was thought that both were off licking their wounds, Adrianna probably reeling from the punishment of the day before. They’d instantly set out to find the path taken by the two, Kaden burdened by the curse of the sun’s rays. They searched until dawn’s light was barely hinted at in the night sky. Then Damien would come, a shower of glittered light coalescing into the great lord. He took Kaden back to his mirrored prison, returning him to the search as night set once more. The danger the two women were in grew with every moment they traveled into the west. The men who ruled there were uncivilized, ungovernable. There ways were abominable to the lords of this planet. But they had their purposes, mainly as a barrier against the warlords even further west, who wished to find more fertile and valuable lands to make their own. Because of this, Damien never bothered with them. He let them know where their borders were and what would happen if any strayed on to his kingdom. That was all. An uneasy peace existed. It was a very delicate peace that sometimes stretched thin as men on either side of the border were wont to raid, to better their lots in life by taking the work of others. When it got too out of hand, Damien and his men would ride off to the west and set the borders once more, settling dispute with bloodshed if necessary. Kaden couldn’t even imagine his delicate Adrianna in the hands of one of those cruel barbarians. She would never survive an attack. That thought in mind, he increased his pace. Castor easily kept abreast. They traveled ever onward, stopping only when the path was lost, an easy thing to happen in the dark of night. Within moments though, one or the other would find the tracks and then the race was on once more. “We are close,” Castor said, his hands pushing aside a few brambles that had caught a familiar red material in their thorny grasp. He pulled it free, clutching the piece in his hand, his eyes dark with worry and anger. How could Jetta put herself in danger this way? How could she have run from the castle? How could she have run from him? His thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of one of the many night predators, followed swiftly by a scream, loud and full of fear. He lifted his head, picking the location of the scream with his mind.

“That is Adrianna,” Kaden breathed, his eyes searching the darkness. “That way,” he said, pointing to their left. The two men took off, their feet flying, branches reaching out to slap against them, tangle in their clothing and hair as if trying to impede their progress. They ignored them, too intent upon finding their women to care about themselves. **** The beast’s hot breath blew into her face and for a surreal moment all Adrianna could think of was wishing she had a mint to give to it. It growled and lifted its head, snarling as it once more bent over, going for her throat. She screamed, feeling the fangs against her throat, her hands weakly pushing against its heavy body. Twin thunks sounded in the air and the beast shuddered, its open mouth falling away from Adrianna’s throat as it slowly sank down next to her, its eyes open and glazing over, two feathered arrows sticking out from its side. Adrianna, her heart racing, couldn’t take her eyes off the now dead beast. Only when Jetta rushed to her side did she look away. “Oh, Adrianna, I couldn’t get it away from you.” The girl was sobbing, her breath coming in gasping pants as she fought not to completely break down. Adrianna pushed the heavy leg of the beast off her chest and tried to rise. Her arm was fiery numbness, still bleeding uncontrollably. She had to get the bleeding stopped if she wanted to live. “Help me, Jetta. I have to bind this somehow.” **** Jetta was struggling to rip away a part of her skirt when a hand came down upon her shoulder. She looked up and a whimper came from her lips. Staring down at her were four huge men, unkempt and ugly, one with a bow in his hand. “Two runaways,” the one with his hand on Jetta said. “She’s a pretty one.” “The other one was slashed,” the one with the bow said. He knelt next to Adrianna, ripping the sleeve of her blouse off with a single tug and using it to fashion a crude bandage. It would stop the bleeding and keep out the dirt, but would have to be replaced soon. Jetta’s captor grabbed her arm, dragging her up and away from Adrianna and the beast that the other two men were now butchering. He pulled her over to the fire, lifting her face in his hands and staring down at her. “I thought you were a boy when we first saw you two, but with that hair, you couldn’t be anything but a girl.” He smiled, his lips pulling back over yellowed teeth. A scar wound its way from just above his eyes, through his left eyebrow and down his cheek, stopping at the corner of his mouth. It was twisted and raised, rigid where the edges of the wound hadn’t quite been lined up to heal. The scar lent the man a dangerous air, enhanced by the slightly deranged look in his eyes. “Take off your clothes, little runaway. I wish to see what we have found here.” Jetta stared at the man in consternation and fear. The part of her that was used to doing exactly as she was told wanted to start taking off her clothing, to strip herself bare for this barbarian. The other part, the part that had been brave enough to run away with Adrianna, wanted her to scream, to hit the huge man and then try to run. But Adrianna was hurt and trapped between three other men, who were lifting her to her feet. “I said,” the man yelled, “take off your garments and do it now.” Jetta lifted her hands to her blouse, pulling on the ties that held her blouse together. Soon it was parted down the middle, the two sections barely held together by her hand. Huge tears filled her eyes as she dropped her fingers to the tie of her skirt. She knew if she wanted to live, she had no choice. She heard Adrianna’s scream as she let the skirt drop down her slender legs, not daring to look at her friend for fear she might collapse. The men were laughing, Jetta could hear them saying things about Adrianna’s body. A hand dragged her blouse down her body, ripping the sleeve in the process. It was thrown towards the fire, catching on a burning log to flare up in flames. Jetta wanted to cry out. It was her only one, as she had wanted to keep the packs from becoming too heavy.

“You won’t need that anyway, wench. We like to keep our women naked. It makes it much handier when we feel the need to rut.” Jetta turned to stare up at the man, noticing he was rubbing the front of his breeches, his fingers already pulling on the laces that held the flaps closed. She could smell him now. His scent reminded her of the beast that they had just killed, rotted flesh and rancid meat. She gagged lightly, hoping he didn’t see it, as she held her head down enough that her hair covered most of her body. She would have used her hands, but she knew the man would just force her to put them down anyway. He reached for her, pushing the thick length of her hair off her shoulders, turning her so that he could see her more readily in the light of the fire. “Not much in the tit area, are you?” He let his fingers rest on the smooth slight curve, rubbing softly until her nipples hardened, embarrassing Jetta. “Please,” she whimpered, “don’t do this to us. We just want to go home. Please?” His fingers pulled on her nipple, amazed at its length as he pulled it as far as it would go. Twisting the taut bud, he watched her wince in pain, smiling as she moaned in fear and despair. Jetta tried to divorce herself from what he was doing to her breasts and the way it felt, her nipples tightening in the cool air, hardening even more as he mauled them. She looked at Adrianna, seeing her being passed from man to man, the three of them stripping her of her clothing as she was pushed back and forth, until she was as naked in the firelight as Jetta. One of them reached between her legs, pushing them wide as he pulled open her thick nether lips, exposing the pink flesh of her cunt for all to see. “She’ll make good children, look at her hips, and that pussy.” He thrust a finger into her slit, feeling the dry flesh shrink away from his invasion. Pushing hard, he managed to finagle it inside of her, feeling the tightness of her cunt, the spongy walls that clung to his finger. Adrianna cringed from the man holding her, the pain of his hand obviously as he thrust his finger in and out of her, hurting her dry flesh. He took his fingers away, spitting on them lewdly, letting her see the ball of saliva at the end before pushing it back into her, lubricating her with it. “No,” she moaned weakly, her head spinning from lack of blood, her body fighting the violation. “Don’t, please stop.” Jetta felt the hand on her breast move, coming to lie on her shoulder, pushing her to her knees in front of the huge brute that held her captive. Her mouth was level with the front of his breeches, her nose filled with the disgusting scent of his unwashed body. He finished with the ties that held his cock imprisoned in his breeches and the monster flopped out, slapping Jetta across her cheek with a wet smacking noise. Jetta closed her eyes tight, not wanting to see what she could clearly feel as he rubbed it against her face. His words were crude and coarse; his threats immediate and imposing. “Place your mouth around my cock, wench. Do it and do not think to bite down.” Jetta felt something cool and sharp rub against her ear and knew what it was. She didn’t even have to look to know that he was holding a knife to her throat. With a horrified whimper, she forced her mouth open and held it that way until she felt the heaviness of her captor’s cock upon it. His taste was as awful as his smell. And when he grabbed her head, forcing her mouth to move down the length of his cock, she couldn’t help but gag and struggle violently against his hold. “Do you want to die, wench?” She couldn’t answer around the thick piece of flesh jabbing at the back of her throat, but she quit struggling, her hand going to the base of his cock to keep him from thrusting it too far into her mouth. “Open your eyes and look up at me,” he ordered. Jetta did as she was told, wondering how obscene a picture she made, her eyes red with tears, saliva dripping from her mouth, her nose running and that foul cock stuffing her mouth full, making her lips stretch to encompass it. At that moment, she did think dying would be preferable, remembering this same act with her Castor. She’d loved it then, his clean scent, his musky taste so arousing, even the mixed tastes of their spendings had been sweet upon her tongue. This was degrading and horrible. He forced her mouth down further upon him, loving the way her throat felt as she gagged and tried to rid him from her mouth. **** Adrianna was fairing far worse than her friend. Three men had taken a fancy to her, three had striped her and were mauling and tormenting her body with lusty pinches and grasping hands. Her

stomach threatened to revolt at the smell, making her want to vomit its contents, but she forced it back. She didn’t know what these men would do if she threw up on one of them. She was forced to the ground, her clothing in tatters, strewn around the clearing. The grass was cold and wet under her body and for a moment, she reveled in the feeling before once more she was made the center of their attention. Her breasts were pawed and her nipples tortured with pinches and pulls. Her legs were spread, held apart while one man pushed himself between, his mouth finding its way to her center, his tongue stabbing at the dryness of her entrance. Another man untied his laces, pushing his hard cock against her soft lips, trying to force her to open her mouth. Reaching over, he slammed his hand on her injured shoulder and she screamed. It was cut off abruptly as he pushed his nasty tasting flesh into her mouth, forcing her to gag. His hands grabbed her head, angling it the way he wanted. He began to thrust into her mouth. “Oh, yes, wench, now suck on it. Do it or you’ll be finding your arm torn off your body next.” Tears streamed down the side of her face. To think she was going to die, only to be rescued from a horrid beast, to be raped by these men? Her mouth hurt, her jaw stretched impossibly wide. The man at her groin was now forcing two fingers inside of her cunt, stretching the delicate flesh and hurting her in the process. She knew she was whimpering, but what she really wanted to do was scream. A growl came from the underbrush, followed by a shout and Adrianna was free. She looked up to see booted feet jump over her and rolled out of the way, her body resting close to the fire. Suddenly Jetta was there also, her naked body already showing signs of bruises from the rough treatment. Jetta took Adrianna in her arms, holding her, her naked body pressed comfortingly against Jetta’s. “It is Castor and Kaden. They found us,” Jetta whispered, her voice hoarse from the barbarian’s cock. Swords flashed in the firelight as each of their men took on two of the barbarians. The two women scrambled to stay out of the way as the battle raged through the clearing. Kaden’s sword was first to find blood, striking deep in the chest of the man who’d been between Adrianna’s thighs. He uttered a gurgled moan and fell from the blade, landing at Adrianna’s feet. **** Castor felt a slice across his arm and then blood dripping as one of the barbarians found flesh. He jumped back and uttered an enraged growl, his mind full of the sight of his woman being forced to her knees, her mouth stretched around one of these brute’s engorged cock. His vision turned red and he ignored the cut, fighting with the ferocity of a madman. A slash of a blade and a barbarian lost an arm. He screamed but did not fall, instead, grabbing the bleeding stump with his other hand and racing from the clearing. And then it was two on two. **** Kaden ended his battle with a flurry of sword play, his blade flashing like lightning in the dim light. Red blood dripped from the end of his blade as it once more tasted of barbarian flesh. The dead man fell to the ground, the amazed look in his eyes slowly replaced with the glaze of death. Kaden stood where he was, as Castor quickly dispatched his last with a shouted curse and a quick slash of his sword. The danger had passed. The rampaging men had been defeated. He sighed, feeling the adrenaline in his system surging. He turned and looked at his Adrianna, noting the bloody bandage and her naked body. With a curse of his own, he knelt beside her, taking her from Jetta’s arms. “Castor was injured, go and bind his wound.” **** Adrianna shivered at the coldness of his tone and the black look in his eyes. Fear, worse than when she’d thought she’d be raped repeatedly, coiled in her belly. His arms around her were hard, without the warmth and love that she’d grown to expect from Kaden. He lowered her, his touch gentle though impersonal, and removed the makeshift bandage, noting the four deep scratch marks, cutting into the muscle of her shoulder. The bleeding had slowed but was still trickling. He reached over and grabbed her skirt, tugging a good size strip from the bottom and carefully

bound the wound again. It would need cleaning and then stitching. But that would have to wait until they returned to Daring Castle. “Slave, you did yourself a disservice by running away. You forced my hand.” His voice was icy as he expressed his displeasure of her. Adrianna shivered, feeling Kaden’s coldness more than that in the air around her. Even the blanket that he wrapped her in couldn’t stop her chills and she wondered if she would ever be warm. “Kaden…” “No, do not speak now. If you do, I am not sure if I shall be accountable for my actions against you. You will wait until …” A loud thrashing in the brush surrounding the clearing stopped his words and he jumped up, his sword in his hand in an instant. “Please,” a female voice said from the woods. “Please could you help me?” They watched in stunned amazement as a girl entered the clearing. She was as naked as Jetta and Adrianna, her hair loose and flowing in tawny gold waves around her body. “Please,” she said again, holding out her hands which were bound tightly at the wrists with a leather rope. Kaden’s blade cut through them quickly and she was free. “Thank you, those … those men have held me for three days now. They…” she stopped as a sob built in her chest, a knot forming in her throat as she thought of the horrible things they had done to her or forced her to do to them. “Who are you?” Kaden asked her gently, seeing the look of shock in her eyes. He took off his cloak, wrapping the heavy material around the girl’s naked body before quickly letting her go. Adrianna saw the gesture, noted the gentleness of it and couldn’t help the flare of jealousy that burned in her gut. “My name is Ravenelle,” she said slowly, her voice heavily accented. “I come from the far west, past the lands of those men who held me captive.” She looked down and saw Adrianna’s wounds, the blood seeping through the purple fabric of her skirt. “I am a healer. If you will but consent to let me touch you, I can help your wounds.” She dropped to her knees before Adrianna, slowly pulling the blanket away and unwrapping the wound. With a smile for the injured woman, she closed her eyes, breathing deeply for a moment. Then she placed her hands upon Adrianna’s skin, one on her arm just below the wound, the other on her forehead. “Don’t move,” she said quietly. “You’ll feel my hands get very warm.” With a sigh, she began to chant in a singsong voice. The words were foreign, without meaning to any that listened. Her body rocked slowly, her eyes staying closed. Adrianna closed her own eyes and felt the hands on her body grow warm. It was a pleasant feeling, and she let her body be lulled by it. A tiny itch seemed to appear, but not in her arm as she thought it would when some deep wound heals. No this itch started at the base of her spine and moved downward until it throbbed with heated desire between her thighs. She clenched her thighs closed, trying to rub her legs together to assuage the throbbing. A picture formed in her mind, the golden haired woman, her eyes shining, laying next to her, her hands slowly roaming over Adrianna’s body. She cupped Adrianna’s breasts, making them feel full and swollen, the ache in her nipples from the rough treatment of the men disappearing to be replaced by joyous pulsing. It almost felt as if someone were gently suckling her. Ravenelle murmured her chant, her breathing growing unsteady. A tiny trickle of perspiration trailed down the side of her face to fall upon the cape covering her body. She opened her eyes, staring down at the injured woman who was now smiling, her body moving as if in the throes of a sexual act. As Ravenelle watched, Adrianna bit her lip. Adrianna was climaxing, a sweet orgasm that moved through her gently. It flowed up her body to her shoulder and into the hands of the woman who claimed she was a healer. Adrianna knew that Ravenelle felt the same intense pleasure she did; she could hear it in her groan and feel it in the way her hands shook. Then suddenly she was free.

“How does your arm feel?” Ravenelle asked, slowly lowering her hands and sitting back on her heels. Adrianna shifted her arm. The open wounds had healed until there were just four white lines to show where the slash marks had been. She felt a little woozy and the skin around her wounds felt stretched, but all in all, she felt pretty good. “How did you do that?” Kaden knelt at her side, inspecting her shoulder, moving her arm delicately. She had full range of motion though she tightened up a little when he put her arm above her head. “So it is true, I had heard the rumors but thought they were just tales told by travelers. Healers do exist in the west.” “Yes. I was on a journey to my new home, a trek that took me dangerously close to the border of the land of the barbarians. These four took me. They didn’t know what I was. If they had known, they might have killed me when they were through raping me.” “Kaden,” Castor suddenly spoke up. “We need to return to Daring Castle. Time grows short.” “Yes,” Kaden said, staring at the lightening sky. He stood and put his hand on a pendant that he wore at his throat. Seconds passed, then a faint glimmer shone in the middle of the clearing, growing brighter until little silvery sparkles seemed to form a pattern. It coalesced, solidifying into a man. Damien stood in the middle of the clearing. Adrianna stared at him, her mind whirling. “You’ve got to be kidding,” she said and then her head fell back limply against the ground.

Chapter Eleven “They’ve been found.” The voice was a whispered hiss coming from the shadows behind him. Trevor spun on his heel. The stooped form, covered in a long cloak, was barely discernable in the dark. “Dammit, woman, don’t startle me like that. I might have skewered you with my sword.” He stepped back, letting the shadows cover him as well. Magda cackled, her teeth clicking loosely in her mouth as she laughed. “I have dealt with worse than your tiny sword, little boy. I have no fear of you.” Trevor doubled up his fists, his muscles tight. If he didn’t need the ugly crone, he might have been tempted to kill her. “I thought you said you would make it so that they couldn’t be found?” he asked the old woman instead. “The men I sent were too late to rid us of the slave girls.” Her voice was angry. “The fools, they thought that no one could best them. They are all dead now.” **** She didn’t tell Trevor she had killed the last one herself, finding him upon the trail, his body weak from loss of blood. She’d slit his throat, feeling a surge of the ancient magicks flow back into her from the blood that soaked into the dirt. She stood, her feet bare in the reddened soil, slowly chanting: “On this day and in this hour, Through your ancient sacred power. Take this gift I give to thee. Give back the youth he took from me. Beauty and strength are my one last plea, As I will this, so shall it be.” And for a moment, her body had shimmered, changing back to the golden beauty that had been hers just months earlier. The power of the ancients, and the strength of her family’s bloodline flowed through her before receding and leaving her as the crone once more. Those momentary glimpses of the power that had once been hers had been as an aphrodisiac, making her crave those feelings even more. Now she had a plan, a scheme that called for a hero, a dark hero. Trevor would be that hero; he just had to see what she really was. “It does not matter now. They failed and we shall have to find another way. Tonight, you must come to the forked trail in the woods before the midnight hour. Meet me there, for I have something to show you.” She started to step back into the shadows, only to feel his strong fingers digging into her wrinkled and leathery skin. “If you think to lure me to my death, crone, you shall find yourself on the tip of my sword. I trust you not. I know of your past and the troubles that you’ve caused many.” Magda laughed, wheezing when she lost her breath. “Such a strong fighter, a noble guard for his great Lord Damien, to be afraid of a timid and frail old woman. What could one such as I do to harm a man such as you?” “I mean it, witch. No tricks or I shall introduce you to Death, with pleasure,” Trevor said, his voice as cold as his eyes. “You wish power, and you wish to own the slave, Adrianna. Those things are well known amongst the castle slaves. You also wish to become one of these lords that look down upon you because you

weren’t born into a family of high blood. I cannot change your blood, sir, but I can change your status. I can give you what you want the most, if you will but help me.” She pulled from his grasp, using a strength he hadn’t expected. And then she stepped back into the shadows and disappeared. Trevor looked for her for a moment, wanting to know what she meant by her words, but she was gone. **** The rich smell of broth permeated the air. Adrianna woke up, her mouth salivating at the scent. Her stomach rumbled with hunger. She opened her eyes, seeing the wavy leaded glass windows of her tower prison. In the center of the room was Kaden’s mirror, the sun’s rays bouncing off its reflective surface. Adrianna knew he was in there. He had to be. She barely remembered the trip home. A shimmer that had her eyes closing quickly, then the feeling of someone reaching deep inside of her and pulling at her stomach, leaving a strange tickling behind. When she’d opened her eyes again, she’d been back on her bed, Kaden at her side. He’d stared at her with inscrutable amber eyes, shuttered and hiding his emotions. His face was blank as he ordered her to lie down. He attached the bracelet and chain to her ankle, its heavy weight weighing down her foot as the thought of what she had done to Kaden weighed down her heart. Adrianna had wanted to explain, but he’d walked to the mirror, waving his hand at the corner and walking through the liquid surface. Without a look back, he’d left her. Sitting up, she didn’t even worry about her nudity, despite knowing that Kaden was probably watching her. She went to the corner where a tiny screen had been set up to hide the bucket she used for her personal needs. When she was done, she walked to the dresser, opening the drawers. With a sigh, she noted that her clothing had been removed, not that she was surprised. If she wasn’t dressed, would she dare try to leave? “I’m chained, Kaden. What do you think I’m going to do, bite off my ankle?” The tray of food was on the top of the dresser, a rich broth with large pieces of meat and chunks of vegetables, none of which were familiar to her. A loaf of coarse bread and a small jar of some kind of jelly sat next to it. A big mug of thin milk was also there. With her stomach growling, Adrianna had no desire to try to prove anything by not eating. After her meal, she was stuck with the same problem she’d had before she’d been sent to the great hall to work. Boredom. She wandered the room, going from window to window and staring out through the wavy glass. She could see the women in the fields, two youthful pages climbing into the trees to gather the ripe fruit. Life in Daring Castle was going on as normal, no matter the fact that she was once more a prisoner. She walked to the other side of the room, kicking out at the chain that tangled around her ankles. It tripped her up if she wasn’t careful. Letting her forehead fall against the window, she sighed heavily, hating the fact that she had failed. She was no closer to getting home now than two days earlier. Harsh laughter wafted up from the courtyard below. Adrianna stared down, trying to see what was the cause of the amusement of the men. What she saw made her heart sink and her stomach turn. Jetta walked across the courtyard, her body nude, her ankles shackled together so she was incapable of taking full steps. Her hands were chained to a collar around her neck, making it impossible for her to cover herself against the eyes of the men who ogled her slight charms. There was a leash attached to the collar, held in the hands of a male slave. Adrianna couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Jetta’s hair had been braided and pinned to the top of her head, leaving her without even that slight cloak to cover her nakedness. She was pulled behind the man, forced to walk the perimeter of the courtyard to the glee of the men watching. Adrianna doubled up her fists, beating upon the thick glass of her windows. She wanted to rail at those men for what they were doing to the shy, sweet girl. Their words were obscene, and Adrianna could only hope that Jetta had no idea what the words meant. “She’s actually getting less punishment than Damien could have given her.”

Adrianna shrieked in surprise and turned around to see Tia standing in the doorway. “You call that less punishment?” she asked, her hand at her breast trying to calm her heart. “He could have had her publicly beaten. He could have ordered the skin flayed from her bones, let her bleed until she couldn’t stand and then left her to the elements.” Tia’s voice was calm but the nervous twitching of her fingers against her skirt proved her true mood. She was as upset as Adrianna about the poor girl’s debasement. “I need to speak to Damien. This is my fault, I’m the one that came up with the idea and talked Jetta into going along with it.” She reached out to the blonde woman, seizing her arm with grasping hands. Tia shook her head sadly, though her eyes showed gratitude that the stranger from a different planet would care enough to try to take the blame. “Jetta confessed, which is why you aren’t down there with her. She told Damien that she talked you into going along with her pitiful plan. She said that she led you into the lands of the west.” Tia let one hand rest upon one of Adrianna’s, squeezing it lightly. “No, please, Tia. You can talk to Damien; you can make him see that I was the one who talked Jetta into it. You can get her out of there. Please, Tia. Help her. This public exposure could scar her for life.” “There is nothing I can do, Adrianna. Don’t you think I tried?” Tired tears streamed down Tia’s cheeks. “I talked and talked to Damien until I thought he would banish me to the lands of the west. He was adamant.” “Did you talk to Castor?” Adrianna wrapped her arms around her friend’s shoulders, pulling the upset woman closer. “Couldn’t he do something?” “Castor has barricaded himself in his chambers. He won’t even let Celia in to change his beddings or do her morning chores. He never heard Damien’s decree.” Tia’s eyes suddenly lit up. “He never heard Damien’s decree at all,” she softly repeated as if hearing what she had said for the first time. “Anna, you are wonderful.” Tia pulled her close, fitting her lips over Adrianna’s for one swift moment. “I’ll be right back,” she said, pulling away and almost running to the door. Adrianna went back to the window, feeling a surge of hope for the first time since she’d seen Jetta’s fate. She’d come to really like the slender girl during their time in the woods, even overlooking some of her more annoying naiveté. It seemed hours later, but couldn’t have been more than minutes, when Castor strode with impatient haste into the courtyard. He stopped the male slave who was holding the leash to Jetta’s collar, ripping it from his hands. The slave fell back, landing upon his ass on the hard ground of the yard. Adrianna couldn’t hear the words being said, she was too far up. But she saw every second. When Castor swept Jetta into his arms, passing his older brother carrying the young woman, tears came to her eyes. Maybe Jetta would have her happily ever after, even if Adrianna wouldn’t. She was ready to turn from the mirror when she saw Tia step from the doorway, walking past Damien without a glance in his direction. With her was the woman whose hands had healed Adrianna’s wounds in such a pleasurable way. Adrianna stared down at the woman, her eyes full of curiosity. The tall blonde wore Damien’s dark blue, but instead of a skirt and plain linen blouse, her clothing was a blue-striped gown. It clung to the lush curves of her body with the finesse of a lover’s hand. On her feet were dark blue sandals with rich satiny ties that wrapped her legs, disappearing under the thin fabric of her gown. Her hair was pulled back, curls falling from the crown of her head to bounce. She looked like the ladies of the castle, coiffed and cared for, sleekly lovely. Tia stared at her as if she were some kind of Goddess, brought to lay blessings upon the people of Daring Castle. Adrianna couldn’t help but feel cut off from the others of the castle. The slaves that she was beginning to know, the cook who was easy to anger but tempered that with a huge heart. The pages, a somber bunch when the lords and ladies were in the hall, but full of pranks between meals. They had taken to teasing her, winking at her over the shoulders of the Lords they served. She missed the talk, the gossip and laughter. With a glare, she went back to the bed, turning her back on the mirror and curling up under the blankets to wait for nightfall. ****

Jetta’s heart was racing. At first, from the embarrassment and fear since Damien had ordered her bound, her clothes taken from her. Made to walk in the courtyard for all to see in her disgrace. Now, it was due to her sudden rescue from the shame of the punishment. Castor’s arms supported her, his body against her naked breast as he carried her into his chambers, growling at Celia to keep any and all from his door. She stood in front of him, her cheeks rosy as his eyes traveled over her naked form. She’d been standing here for some minutes now, waiting for his order or for some hint of what he had planned. Nerves forced her to speak as the silence grew to the point of being painful for her. “Lord Cast…” “Hush, slave, I do not wish to hear your voice at this moment. Stand there and let me see you.” The pout upon her face grew into mutinous anger, a feeling she’d never had before. Jetta had always been the type to allow her master anything as part of his due. But he was no longer her master; he’d given her up. “I am no longer yours, Lord Castor. You have given my servitude back to your bro…” “Did you not understand my word, slave? I wish not to hear your voice. When you decided to run, I was returned your servitude. Lord Damien is no longer your master.” He watched as her eyes grew wide. “My brother didn’t want another useless slave, whose selfishness causes her master such pain.” Jetta felt his words like a physical blow. She’d known that running was wrong and dangerous, but she couldn’t stand to see Castor everyday, pining for his touch the way she had since he’d turned his back on her. Didn’t he realize the reason she’d had to run? **** Castor was too lost in his own thoughts to wonder at the workings of her rebellious little mind. He watched as her eyes grew distant, as she tried to divorce herself from this punishment. He felt his cock rise. The position of her arms, raised above her head with her hands bound to the back of her collar, lifted her slight breasts until they almost disappeared. All except those huge nipples, puffy and hard. They seemed to call for the feel of his lips and tongue. He could feel the hunger to taste her flesh, to know the sweetness of her responses once more. There was a war going on inside of him, a war of morality, slowly tearing him apart. He wanted Jetta with a desperation bordering upon madness. Sleepless nights, tossing and turning, had become his norm. Only to dream of her when he finally fell into exhausted slumber. He saw her in his bed each night, almost as if she were actually there. Her pale skin satiny against the dark coverlet, her arms raised to urge him to her. When he’d heard she’d run, taking Kaden’s new slave with her, he’d been frantic, envisioning all sorts of disasters. What they had found upon reaching that small clearing had clamped a fist of pain around his heart and sent rage to burn in his belly. That some other man would think to touch her, to use her mouth the way he had. That rage had burned to boil, bubbling into the madness that had taken one man’s life and maimed another in Castor’s attempt to free her. “I cannot do this any longer, Jetta,” he said, his words heavy and slow. **** Her heart dropped. Confused anger and pride had kept her head up, her distant eyes an illusion. But she could hear the finality in his voice. Begging, she knew, wouldn’t do any good. He would do as he thought fit. The words he spoke next surprised the slender slave. “I cannot see you and not take you. I cannot be around you without wanting you in my arms. I hear your voice and my heart grows heavy knowing that you do not speak to me. Your scent sends me mooning like a boy feeling the first hints of love. I know not what to do about these feelings.” Jetta’s heart rose with hope, though she tried hard to not show her feelings. Her eyes lit up, shining blue so truly and beautifully it forced Castor to gasp in wonder. He stood and came toward her, slowly unclipping the leash that he’d been holding since dropping her feet when he’d brought her into his chambers. With a quiet curse, he threw it into the fireplace, the dancing flames licking at the leather. He walked behind her, his fingers trailing from the edge of the

collar, tickling down the long valley of her spine, stroking across the slender crack between her rounded buttocks. Jetta jumped, feeling that finger rub gently against the puckered rose of her rear end. It was a weird feeling, one that set her pulse to racing and made her legs quiver. Castor felt her twitch and knew what she felt. Women weren’t the only ones of his home world to whom he’d been given. During some of the worst of the punishments, his body had been given to some of the other male breeders. They were a horrid lot, willing to wreck humiliation upon others of their own kind with glee and enthusiasm. Hoping perhaps, in some terrible way, to relieve the nightmares of what they’d been forced to endure. Jetta shivered. Castor’s hand was now rubbing one firmly muscled globe of her ass, squeezing it as if weighing its ripeness. The other cheek received the same treatment before he allowed one finger to slip between her parted thighs. Before he could push inside, she felt a gush of warmth from her cunt, a moisture that dampened the swelling lips. When he pushed his finger against her slit, she knew he felt it too and wondered at his thoughts. He was able to affect her so easily. She remained silent, though the effort cost her. She refused to allow even the timid moan that swelled inside to escape her now parted lips. Her heart beat hard against her breast, loud in her ears. She wondered if he could hear it. Castor circled her, feeling like a predator after a timid mouse. Her head was raised, her eyes insolent. But her chin trembled and the wetness he’d felt between her thighs hadn’t been due to defiance. Her lips were soft, parted, her breasts quivering with every breath she took. Those beautiful nipples that had drawn his lips and his eyes the first time he’d been with her were hard, swollen buds begging to be suckled. He caught her gaze with his own, lifting the hand that had been between those lovely long thighs to his nose. Breathing in her scent, the arousal a strong spicy musk upon his fingers caused his cock to harden more, his eyes to dilate in need, his nostrils to flare. “Have you felt like this, smelt like this for every man who has taken you since you gave your maidenhead to me?” Jetta stared at his chin, refusing to meet his gaze, even when he reached out and lifted her chin with his hand. She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing she’d hidden every night when the men went looking for a woman. Damien hadn’t given her his colors and wearing Castor’s had been a falsehood known by all and sundry who paid court to Damien in his great hall. She’d been under no colors, had no protection from the guards or those bored with their own docile slaves. “Answer me, wench. How many have been between those thighs? How many have tasted of your sweetness? How many have gone where I went first and fucked that tight cunt of yours?” “None!” she shrieked, pulling her face from his hand. “No one has taken me. I couldn’t have born the thought. It is why I left, that and knowing that you didn’t want me, that you were happy to be rid of me.” Tears of rage, frustration and pain streaked down her face and she tried to turn from him. But he wouldn’t allow her to pull back, lifting her face to peer into the blue of her eyes to see the truth of her words. “‘Tis true?” he asked. “Yes!” she shrieked, sobs causing her shoulders to shake. Castor took his hands from her, letting her sink to the floor in front of the hearth. He stared at her for a moment as the tears wracked her slender form. When he moved it was with tenderness and delicacy. Carefully unstrapping her wrists from the collar, then removing it also. He threw the entire rig into the flames, and knelt before her, unchaining the heavy shackles at her feet. He dropped them to the hearth before sweeping her off the floor and into his arms. Jetta wrapped her arms around her waist. The pain of the circulation coming back to her arms was intense. Her tears increased. She felt him lift and place her on the bed, wrapping a throw from the end around her shaking shoulders. He left her then, to move across the room. When he returned, he held a golden chalice, which he brought to her lips. She sipped when he ordered it. The burning strength of the liquid pouring into her throat caused her to gag.

“Easy, little one.” He tipped her face up, his fingers gently wiping away the tears she shed. “I don’t want you choking before I can make amends.” “I don’t want amends,” Jetta said, her voice punctuated by coughing. “If that is what you have to offer me, then let me go back to the courtyard.” Castor cocked his head to the side, enjoying the fire of her response even if it was slightly ruined by the hoarseness of her voice. “Really, is that what you wish? You wish for me to seek out another collar and leash, bind you back so that your arms grow numb and heavy, painful as the day goes by, then take you back to the courtyard where all Damien’s men, no matter their rank, may ogle your slender beauty?” He shook his head sadly, touching the last few tears that squeezed from her eyes with the tips of his fingers. “No, that isn’t what I wish. But I don’t want to hear your platitudes if forgiveness is all you desire of me. I know what I wish, what is my one heart’s desire and it isn’t to see you upon your knees in front of me.” Jetta heard the words spewing from her mouth and almost wished she could draw them back. But they were between the two of them now, almost a physical barrier, a dare to see what he would do with them. “Such fire and such impertinence from a slave, Jetta my love. Is this what a few days with Kaden’s rebellious witch does to you?” His eyes roamed over her, unable to stop looking at the beauty so innocently exposed to him now. She didn’t seem to realize that her legs were splayed open as she sat upon the side of the bed, the pink flesh of her cunt visible between the plump lips sparsely covered with black hair. “No, it is from knowing that no matter what I do or say, my one true love will never reach out. Never take what I am offering to him with my heart, his for the taking. I wish to be yours in all ways, Castor. I do not wish to hear your apologies that a deed of my own doing almost ended with my rape and death.” Jetta sat up taller, knowing that this might be her last chance. “Jetta, I cannot use a slave the way that my brother does. I know not how he can, after what we had forced upon us. Perhaps he believes that the difference between forced servitude for the masses of women we were made to cover and his giving of pleasure is a big enough difference to make plausible his keeping of bed slaves. I can not do that to any human in my care.” Her heart sinking, she listened to his words, staring into his face and seeing once more the pain of his memories. “But Castor, you would not be forc…” “Quiet, wench,” he ordered with amused sternness. “Can you not hold your tongue for more than a minute?” Jetta shut her mouth with a snap. She watched him as he lifted her hand between his own bigger ones, playing with the slim calloused tips of her fingers, as if he needed to concentrate upon them to get his thoughts together. “I said that I cannot use a slave in the ways of my brother, nor do I wish to bed another wench since getting a taste of your sweetness. But I cannot in good conscious keep you as my slave if I wish to be true to my own ideals, Jetta. So I have two choices.” He dropped his hand so that it covered her thigh, her hand between his skin and her leg. She waited, barely breathing. He seemed to take forever to speak once more. “I can send you away, Jetta. I can send you back to your village, away from Daring Castle where you may find a life that is fulfilling and happy, without my being part of it.” His hand and face tightened as he thought of losing her completely. “It is not my wish to do such, but I could understand if you want it, after everything that I’ve put you through.” “What’s my second choice, Castor?” she asked softly, pulling her hand out from under his so that his palm fell upon the smooth line of her thigh, his thumb but scant inches from the luscious lips of her pussy. His hand moved as if with a mind of its own, until his thumb touched those lightly furred lips. His breathing grew harsh, his eyes glued to the beauty of her flesh. “Your second choice would be to put me from my misery, my love. You could marry me.”

A leap of hope speared through Jetta, almost like the heat of an orgasm but stronger and sweeter. “I cannot be your lady wife, Castor. I am no lady, merely a slave who is in love with her master.” Her hand rose to his face, touching the dearly loved features with gentle fingers. “I know nothing of the life of a lady, nor how to become one if I did.” Castor pressed a kiss to her palm, his fingers still upon her thigh. “‘Tis beyond simple, my love, for a lord I am not, not by birth anyway. I gained the status because of my brother’s rank and ownership of this land, not by right of passage. Who is to say whom I should make my mate?” “But what would your brother say, Castor? And the men of the castle when they hear who you want to take to wife?” “They matter naught, Jetta, for this matter deals with only us. We are the ones to live this life, and to know how we would deal together. I, for one, wish to find out, in fact, if the bastard son of a lowly female trooper and a slave of Damien’s Daring Castle could find a way to be happy together in matrimony. What say you?” Jetta’s breath caught in her lungs. The only thing she needed to hear from him was one simple phrase, a phrase that seemed hard for some to say. If he said those words, she would be willing to follow him through razor sharp rocks if he so desired. “Why?” she asked him simply. “You cannot figure that out, after all those days and weeks of caring for me, of watching me watch you? You do not know what is in my heart?” “Perhaps I wish to hear you say it, my lord.” He smiled, as though seeing the willfulness in her eyes. “I love you, little one. Is that said simply enough for you?” Jetta couldn’t hold back. She flung the throw from her shoulders and jumped into Castor’s arms, her lips plying kisses of delight upon his face. His hands went to her waist, his fingers meeting neatly across the skin of her back. Holding her to him, his mouth found hers, fusing their lips in a merger of mutual wonder and love. He let her slight weight push him backwards on the bed, her body lying atop his chest as their mouths mated with an urgency born of love and desire. Jetta worked upon his laces, her fingers trembling with need. She laved wet kisses upon every inch of his hard skin that she exposed. Castor stroked her back, feeling her arch like a cat against his calloused palms, enjoying the softness of her skin, the heat of her flesh. Enjoying even more the fact that soon she would be his and his alone, no matter what he had to do to make it so. His clothing fell from his body as if by magic, her fingers making quick work of fastenings and strings. The flickering light of the fire upon their entwined bodies created intricate shadows. Forms that cried out for the touch of lingering fingers, soft lips and tongues that explored and played with loving care. Castor pushed her under him, his mouth sending shivers through her as it explored the long line of her throat. He nibbled upon the sharp ridge of her collarbone, slipping over the smooth skin of her chest to the slight rise of her breasts. Taking his time, he teased her with flickering licks from his tongue and tiny nips with his teeth. She arched beneath him, her hands coming to his head to try to force him to do as she wished. “Please Castor,” Jetta moaned with barely restrained passion. “Please take me in your mouth.” **** Her words made him ache and he took one long bud into his mouth, pulling upon it with his lips, suckling until she cried out. Her hips pushed against his body with a need she could no longer control. He loosed one sweet morsel, his mouth and hands caressing her as he shifted between her thighs, bringing her legs over his shoulders. He held her still when she tried to move away from this startling position. “Don’t move, love. I wish to taste of your flesh.” He breathed in her scent even as she wriggled under him. He trapped her body under his hands, holding her hips until she stilled. When his tongue invaded the lips of her cunt, tasting of her as he said he wanted to, Jetta couldn’t hold back. A shivering cry erupted from deep within as her body convulsed, sending a rush of moisture to greet his tongue. She shook in climax before he had a chance to stimulate her, arousing him further with the taste and feel of her orgasm against his tongue.

He held her while he investigated the folds of her flesh, becoming intimately acquainted with the scent of her quivering cunt, finding the hard knot of her clit with his tongue. She cried out when he lapped against it, her fingers turning to claws that dug into the skin of his shoulders. He gave her no mercy, working that tiny bud to shuddering fulfillment until she was bowed taut and pleading under his mouth. He slid above her, the sword-like hardness of his cock pushing at the wet flesh he’d just pleasured with such devastating ease. She split around his shaft, her delicate flesh stretching to take him all. Her ankles locked around his legs, her body undulating beneath him, anxious and eager to feel it again. “I love you,” he whispered as he started to move, shivers of desire tightening his body. Jetta held him, her hands grasping at his back. Her hips matched the rhythm he set as they raced towards completion together. And when that end came, when his hips jerked with stuttered pleasure, spewing his potent seed into her in long pearly ropes, she was with him, shuddering in her own joyous orgasm, his name upon her lips. **** Ravenelle stared in awe at the huge stone building that loomed above her like a waiting vulture. It was the grandest castle she’d ever had the pleasure to see. From the moment the healing gift was discovered, her life had been sheltered. She’d been taken at the age of three by the Chee of her village. Chee had started her training, taking her into the powers of the ancients, showing her chants and ceremonies, giving her the exercises needed to make her power grow. It had grown until her services were well sought. She’d finally decided to leave the small village of her birth and travel to another, wishing to learn from other Chees, the elders whom were responsible for finding the healers amongst the newborn children. Unfortunately, she’d never made it to the larger village. She’d been caught by those barbarians, her body abused and beaten. Her gifts helped her heal as long as her energy was sufficient, but after the abuse she’d suffered and expending the amount of energy to heal the wounded girl, she was exhausted. “It is beautiful, is it not?” Tia asked the strange woman. “Yes, it is. Is this the tower the slave that was caught is housed in?” “Adrianna, yes. You will see her tonight probably, after her master rises.” “Tia, you are showing our guest around?” Damien’s voice was loud in the now quiet courtyard. “My lord,” Tia said, bowing to show her respect as she knew her master expected. “Lady Raven is enamored of your castle.” “Lady Raven?” he asked, stressing the shortened name. “A nickname given by my father before my gift was revealed. It is just a little thing that I kept to remind me of them, my parents.” She sidled a little closer to Tia, uncomfortable around the man; not because of who he was, but because of his gender. Tia apparently felt her fear, reaching out and finding the Lady’s hand to give comfort. “My lord, if you please, I wish to show the Lady the rest of the castle and the gardens. She loves greenery and blooming things.” She bowed again, waiting for his answer. “Of course. Lady Raven, I do hope you shall feel up to dining with us tonight. I know Adrianna will want to express her gratitude for your deeds. Her master, Lord Kaden, also will want to give you his thanks. He cares greatly for his slave.” The idea of being in that huge room and surrounded by large, noisy men was almost close to being more than Raven could handle. Tia, standing next to the exotic lady, felt her shaking. She squeezed her hand, using a touch of her own gift to help. She gently directed the visitor in the direction of the gardens, hoping to ease her nerves. “Of c-course, Lord Damien. We shall see,” Ravenelle replied. She followed quickly behind Tia, not looking back, escape her only thought at the moment. Damien’s eyes followed her, a strange look in their brown depths. ****

A noise woke Adrianna from a restless sleep, her eyes opening to see that the sun had set. She moved her leg, noting abstractly that her ankle was free. The heavy cuff was gone, replaced by the silver anklet. A sharp smack upon her bottom brought her upright. “Up, wench,” Kaden’s voice was harsh, his manner brusque. Adrianna hurried out of the bed, standing naked, her hand rubbing the reddening welt that was heating her bottom. She glared up at Kaden like a child being reprimanded, wishing she had the nerve to stick her tongue out at him. He stared down at her with a haughty expression on his face. Curiously, she wasn’t afraid. He’d had his chances before to punish her, to cause her pain and humiliation. Mostly, he’d been the one to take her from those times, repeatedly rescuing her from Damien. “What have you to say for yourself, woman?” Kaden stood in front of her, arms crossed in front of his wide chest. Adrianna stood quietly. A vision came to mind of her father and how he would stand in her room almost the same way. “Am I being grounded, Dad?” She winced as she realized what she’d said, slapping a hand over her mouth as if she could stop the words. “I know not what you mean by grounded, wench. I should have you stripped and beaten in the great hall.” But he wouldn’t, and they both knew it. The knowledge made her bold. She walked toward him, trailing her hand across his chest. “I had to leave, Kaden. This isn’t my world, it isn’t my way of life. I worked fifty hour weeks, sometimes longer, in an insurance company where I was making something for myself. You’ve told me all I can be is your slave. Do you think I could be happy with that?” “Is that why you ran, to go back to insurance company?” Adrianna sighed, wishing she had a sledge hammer to pound some sense into his head. “No, Kaden. It isn’t my job.” She let her head rest against his arm, feeling his arms twitch as if he wished he could wrap them around her. “I am not a slave, Kaden. That is my problem with your male-dominated world. I can’t live like this. I’m sorry.” “But you will live here, you will not try to escape again. And you will do as I tell you.” Adrianna stepped back from him, hurt in her eyes. All in all, she’d rather he’d taken her out and had her whipped. The pain from the lack of understanding he showed was worse. She lowered her eyes, bowing as Tia had taught her. “Yes, my lord.” “Good,” he said, though his tone said it was anything but. “Now, dress yourself and we shall go to the hall. You will apologize to Great Lord Damien and thank the Lady Ravenelle.” “Yes, my lord,” Adrianna said again. But in her mind she heard the words, in a pig’s eye.

Chapter Twelve Adrianna put on the clothes as Kaden handed them to her, noting with relief that they were nothing more than her normal clothing, the dark purple skirt and linen blouse. Though these were both obviously new, the material creased from being folded, unlike the ones that were torn from her by those men. “Kaden?” she said hesitantly, knowing that he was still very upset with her but needing to get this said. “What, wench? Do you have some other tired plea to wear out my ears with?” Kaden deliberately said, trying to provoke Adrianna from the docile little slave that she’d become suddenly. When her eyes narrowed and shot fire at him, he knew he had succeeded. But instead of the angry words he’d been expecting, she simply bowed her head once more, the shirt he’d just handed her hanging out of her fingers. “I wished to thank you, Lord Kaden, for saving me from those men in the woods.” The words were formal, the tone of her voice polite to the point of being insulting. Kaden sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. “I shouldn’t have had to do such, wench. If you follow the rules governing slaves then there wouldn’t be any problems and you wouldn’t have to be punished.” **** Adrianna’s body tightened as she heard the word “punished”. She cringed as she wondered what he had in mind for her next. More strange men, more nudity? What was his idea of the perfect punishment? Before she could rail at him for what he’d said, she slid her arms into the white blouse, tying it snugly so that the curves of her breast were barely visible. She wrapped the skirt around her waist, then reached for the gold pins and the brush on her small dresser. Using his mirror, she quickly brushed her long curls then braided them and pulled the braid up and pinned it so it would stay out of her way. When she was presentable, she went and stood in front of Kaden, her eyes lowered. If he’d been able to see them, he’d have been amused by the dislike that shone so brightly. “‘Tis about time, wench. I am ready to fill my stomach and you are playing with your hair.” He reached and pulled the pins out, watching as her braid slowly unwound itself down her back. He heard her gasp and waited to see if she would do anything. When she just stood there, he sighed in disgust, grabbing her arm and pulling her with him down the long curved flight of stairs. The stones were cold upon her bare feet, the stairs dim with little light showing the way. The door at the bottom of the steps stood wide, and Adrianna took a deep breath of the cool evening air, smelling the scent of the strange flowers that bloomed just outside. Kaden pulled her through the small door, dropping her arm to allow her to go to the slave’s area. “Fix my meal, wench, and then come and feed it to me.” Adrianna wondered if she’d be able to keep from shoving a knife in his gullet if she tried to feed him. Maybe he’d choke, she thought, a grin lighting her face for an instant as she hurried across the rough rushes on the floor to the fireplace. A silver platter heaped with thick slices of roasted meat stood off to the side. Adrianna snuck a small piece into her mouth and chewed slowly, savoring the taste. Grabbing a plate from one of the tables, she piled it high with meats and vegetables, adding bread and a gob of the white pasty stuff that looked like mashed potatoes, but tasted more like Elmer’s Glue. Filling a silver chalice with sweet golden wine, she hurried over to Kaden’s side, plopping the plate down hard enough that the food upon it jumped. His chalice was next, or would have been had he not grabbed her arm, taking the wine before it could be spilled.

Adrianna tugged on her arm, feeling his fingers tighten. She tugged again when he wouldn’t release her, wishing she had the nerve to bash him over the head with a plate or a tankard, or maybe one of the great metal axes hanging from the wall by the outside doors. That was a satisfying thought. Enough so that she stood still and quit fighting with him. “Now that you have stopped your wriggling, cut the meat on my plate, and make the pieces small, for I don’t wish to choke.” Damien, who sat in his Lord’s Chair, laughed. “Yes, but by the look in your slave’s eyes, I believe she would like you to.” He picked up his chalice, taking a small sip of the sweet wine. “What say you, wench. Would you like to see your lord and master choke upon a piece of that fine meat? Would you like for his eyes to bulge and his skin to turn blue? Writhing upon the floor, clawing at his throat until it bled beneath his grasping fingers? Would you like to watch as he struggled to find breath that would be forever denied him?” Adrianna just stared at Damien. It was ridiculous and childish but she had the nearly irrepressible urge to stick her tongue out at him. She didn’t, wondering what the punishment would be for that kind of disrespect. “Did you steal the wench’s tongue, Damien? Though I couldn’t blame you if you did, for she is quick to use it to the detriment of all she befriends. Did you see little Jetta’s punishment, Adrianna?” Damien couldn’t stop baiting her. He wanted her to show him disrespect; he wanted to see what Kaden would do. Adrianna wasn’t biting, though it cost her dear to control her tongue. She didn’t even gasp when Kaden pulled her into his lap at the table, though she did look up and see the Lady Ravenelle staring at her with those mysterious eyes. She couldn’t help but wonder what was in her mind. **** Raven had seated herself, despite Damien’s objections, at the table with the other ladies of the court. She sat with her back to the wall, her eyes scanning over the men around her and at the other tables with trepidation. She’d been hard pressed to leave her chambers, finally forcing herself, at Tia’s urging, to change her dress and find her way to the hall. She could find no fault with the meal despite the fact that she barely touched it, pushing around the food upon her plate with faked interest. Her mind was on the loud and boisterous men, occasionally smacking a slave girl’s buttocks with their big hands. And on the accompanying shriek of the female being so abused. She knew the words for what had happened when she was in the hands of those marauding barbarians. She’d been raped; forced to abide their hands and their mouths upon her skin, made to do things that she didn’t want to even think about. She’d been a virgin, her position within her village keeping the boys and men away. No healer was forced to find a mate. Instead, every effort was made to provide for them. They were held in high esteem. No, if she’d stayed in her village, she might never have found out the pain that was caused when a man used that piece of flesh between his legs, plunging and pillaging with animalistic grunts and groans. Their kisses had been nothing like the romantic sweet kisses that she’d dreamed about while growing up. No, they’d been horrible; tongues wetly stabbing into her forced-open mouth. Her mouth had swollen and bled from being gnawed. But that hadn’t been the worst of it. No, the first man, the one who had won the fight they’d gotten into while trying to decide who would take her first, he’d been rough. He hadn’t cared for her feelings or worried about hurting her. He’d pushed her down, putting one hand on her breast and forced his cock inside of her, breaking her hymen with little thought but to his own need. Raven had screamed and screamed. Her voice grew hoarse as the fiery pain of his thrusts became the only thing she thought of or felt. He’d been quick, flooding her with his foul seed and pulling away. But before she’d had a chance to even breath a sigh of relief that it was over, another had taken his place, pulling her legs up until she was almost bent in two. And then the next and the next, all that night. She’d been used by the four of them until they had their fill. Only then was she allowed to rest. Only then did they tie her to the tree, leaving her naked, the

ropes bound tightly below her breasts, her arms trapped. They’d eyed the way she looked, with her breasts pressed forward peeking through the thick strands of the ropes. She’d been left alone the next morning, made to walk with her arms tied behind her. Their foul, nasty seed had dripped from her, slipping down her thighs to remind her of the abuse she’d suffered. It was worse when the insects found her, feasting upon her unprotected skin, leaving tiny, itching rashes on her body. When they left the trail, taking to the forest to set up camp, she’d been attacked again. After they were done, she had been forced to cook for them, to feed them while her body screamed with pain from their assault. The next day, they’d become excited, checking some kind of map that the leader pulled from a fold in his shirt. Now she knew they’d been searching for the runaways, Jetta and Adrianna. She’d never tried to heal herself completely, leaving bruises and scrapes from their attacks. If they’d known who they held, she’d have been in more danger. Some of the tribes of the West had been trying to get their hands on a healer for over a millennia. That had been why she traveled on her own. If she traveled with heavy guard, the men would be more interested in her. She hadn’t thought they’d be interested in her sexually, never having been thought of as a sexual being by her village. And now that she knew what the sex act was about, she wasn’t anxious to try it again. Feeling eyes upon her, she glanced up from her still full plate. Lord Damien was watching her, his gaze disturbing. He was so direct, so forward in his words. She felt threatened by him and strangely, attracted to him. That strange attraction was the only reason she’d forced herself to dress in the new gown he’d sent to her, instead of wearing the clothing she’d had on earlier. It was also what had allowed Tia to convince her to dare the danger of the great hall. “I think he fancies you.” Raven started, her eyes turning to the beautiful blonde as she made her way around the tables, helping to serve the meal. “Fancies me? No. I am just an oddity in his court, Tia.” Tia could sense her fright. “He doesn’t bite, Lady Raven. And he can be quite gentle when it is his want.” Raven turned on the cushioned bench seat so she could see the girl more clearly. “Aren’t you his bed slave, Tia? Shouldn’t you be afraid of any woman that your Lord finds interesting?” Tia chuckled, letting her fingers rest for an instant on the shoulder left bare by Raven’s gown, stroking the silky tanned flesh that made her look so exotic with her blonde hair and pewter-gray eyes. “‘Tis not my wish to be usurped from his passions. However, I do wish for my Lord to be happy and to find himself a wife, so that he may have more children. It is one of his secret desires, to have children, a huge family to love.” “So, your lord wishes for a brood mare?” Tia’s laugher rang out, calling more eyes to fall upon the beautiful women so engrossed in their conversation. “No, oh no. My Lord would be a very loving and devoted husband to the right woman. A woman who could tame his wildness and mend his heart, which was cracked by what abuse was done to him. His scars don’t show as deeply on the outside as they can be felt on the inside, my Lady. He needs a kind hand, a tender hand, to show him the way of love.” “And this you cannot do?” Raven asked, amazed. She’d never expected to have this conversation, especially not with a Lord’s bed slave. They were usually very jealous of their position in the court, or so she had heard, guarding their masters with every wile at their command. Some even managed to twine their master’s wills until their Ladies were left with whatever crusts the bed slave would allow them. “It is not my wish to be his wife, Lady. I am not made to be bound in tight gowns, to worry about children and such. I wish to spend my nights in passions and my days doing my duties to the castle. But not as ‘brood mare’ or to try and tame the man. I prefer him a little wild.” Tia chuckled, her fingers moving to slip over the upper most curve of Raven’s breast, gently enjoying the feel of her silky skin and the firm globe. She wondered at the color and shape of the fair lady’s nipples. And she sensed Raven’s enjoyment of her caresses, she considered how to find the time to bed her before Damien did. It was an interesting thought, one that sent a wave of heat through her loins.

“Tia!” Damien’s voice called her back to the present, and she glanced up at him and smiled a catlike smile. Dropping her hand from silky skin, she bobbed a quick curtsy and hurried to his side. **** Damien was astounded at the rage that had flowed through him when he noticed Tia with her hand on the Lady Raven. Jealousy was not a natural sentiment for him. In his world, men were not thought of as human enough to bestow upon them the myriad of emotions that women felt. Occasionally one would catch the eye of a female and she might treat him with kindness and care. But it was the care felt for a possession and not the love that she felt for her female offspring or for a female lover. So what he felt was strange, and decidedly uncomfortable. Tia reached his side, bobbing another small curtsey before reaching out to fill his chalice with the gold ewer she carried. She brushed the side of his neck with her arm as she pulled back and smiled to herself at the cacophony of emotions that roiled inside of the implacable Lord. “May I do anything more for you, my master?” “No, go get yourself some food,” he ordered hurriedly. He couldn’t help but glance over to where Lady Raven sat, feeling disappointment when he saw she was looking down at her plate, shoving food from one side to the other. She’d barely touched her dinner. Kaden took his eyes from his friend, amazed at how he was acting. But he had his own slave worries. Using both hands around her slender waist, he sat her up straighter. “Don’t you have something you need to say?” he whispered in her ear. Adrianna stared back at him for a moment, then turned toward Damien, who was now staring into his own plate. “Lord Damien?” He looked up at her as if having forgotten where he was, lost in thought. “Yes, what?” he answered, his voice harsh. “My master wishes that I thank you for helping me to find my way back to Daring Castle and also to apologize for my audacity at running away in the first place.” She bowed her head, hearing Kaden’s low growl, and waited to hear Damien’s response. “That little speech was so prettily said, slave.” Damien chuckled at her impudence. “I believe that you said exactly what your master wished you to without actually saying anything at all.” “Yes, Lord Damien, if that is what you wish to think, than that is so.” “I told you Kaden, she has too much boldness for her own good.” Damien spoke to Kaden over her head, ignoring her response. “I don’t know what you plan to do about it, but I hope you do something soon before she finds herself in a situation where such ill placed courage will bring her much woe.” “Well, he could marry her,” Castor said, interrupting as he and Jetta stood behind Damien. “Marriage to a slave? It’s not done, brother, you know that. By the laws of this world, the slaves live as a different social class, completely separated from that of the lords and ladies. Marriage is thought of as a way to gain properties and riches, not as a way to tame a wild slave. Besides, slaves are, for all purposes, already married in a way. To their masters, when they are bought or given.” He turned in his chair as he spoke, noting the expression upon his brother’s young face. He looked happy but behind the joy Damien could see in his eyes, there was the light of battle. Jetta was behind Castor, both her small hands wrapped around one of his larger ones, fear in her eyes. “It will be done, brother, if you agree to officiate. Jetta and I wish to marry.” Castor’s chin rose as he finished his last sentence, as if prepared to face down an argument. Damien was silent for a moment, his eyes going from one to the other. He heard Adrianna’s happy gasp for Jetta and ignored it as he carefully sought the words to use in reply. “Do you think this best, brother? She is a slave and you are a lord of Daring Castle.” “I am lord by your word, not by birth. I was born from a slave and a lowly soldier. We know not who our father was, only that he was the breeder owned by a friend of our mother’s. And that lady, well, we both know who she was and what she did. Jetta loves me and I love her. Brother, I wish for your blessing, but if we can’t have it, then we will leave the castle and find our own way.” Damien stood suddenly, causing every eye in the hall to turn his way. Those that were close were already listening to the conversation with interest. Now everyone in the hall was curious. ****

Castor stepped back as Damien stood. He felt Jetta shrink in fear and wished he could tell her not to be afraid. He would care for the two of them, no matter what. He was right, Jetta was scared. She’d gone from punished runaway to a lady in the span of a few hours time. To marry her Castor was a dream beyond her dearest wish. But to be a lady meant to stand at her Lord’s side, not to cower like a scared child. She took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders and stepped up to stand beside Castor, earning her a look of pride from the man she had once called master. “Is this how you feel also, Jetta? Do you believe you deserve to be my brother’s wife, his lady? Do you think you can fulfill the responsibilities such a title entails?” Damien spoke softly. “My one wish is to be with Castor, Lord Damien. To do such, I would bear or be anything.” **** Adrianna couldn’t help glancing up at Kaden while Damien spoke. What would she do if he were to offer her the same thing, his name, the safety of being his lady wife and not a slave? Would she jump at the chance or would she still wish to go home? **** Damien placed his hand upon his brother’s cheek, staring into the eyes that were so much like his own. He could see the love he had for his little Jetta. He knew how unhappy he’d been when he’d thought he had no other choice but to return her. He’d witnessed how Castor had torn the castle apart upon hearing that she was missing, looking for some clue to her destination. “If this is what you wish, if this is truly what you both wish, then I grant my blessing.” There was a cheer through out the hall and Castor turned to Jetta, picking her up in his strong arms and twirling her around. Then he turned and clasped his brother into his arms, lifting the big man off the ground as he squeezed. “Thank you, brother, thank you so much.” Castor turned back to his bride to be and lifted her off her feet once more, his mouth covering hers. A celebration ensued. Toasts were made and sweet wine consumed with much abandon. Only Damien noticed when Lady Raven quietly made her way from the great hall. His mind whirling, he formed his own plan of how to win the day. **** Jetta was hugged and kissed, passed from lord to lord to be buzzed lustily upon her cheek or mouth. All treated her person with the utmost in respect, hands never rising above or falling below her waist. She was twirled over the floor to the sound of drums and strings, her feet barely touching the rushes. By the time she was returned to Castor, she was pink cheeked and out of breath, a huge smile upon her pretty face. Adrianna managed to sneak away from Kaden, going to the slave area to find her own dinner. She was handed a piece of bread, roasted meat piled on top and then a ewer of sweet wine and told to fill chalices while she ate. She did, managing to stay away from the lord’s table, though it meant putting up with the roaming hands of those at the lower tables. **** She might have been out of reach, but Kaden kept an eye on her. He could still feel his anger at the apology she gave Damien. Hah! That wasn’t an apology. It was a recitation of his command. It was just one more little defiance. They were adding up to a whole. With a start he felt a slap upon his back, catching him off guard and almost knocking him over. “So, now that I’ve opened the way, are you going to do the same with your slave?” Castor stood next to him, a fresh ewer of wine in his hand, which he immediately used to fill up Kaden’s chalice. “Me? Marry my slave?” Kaden asked, incredulous. “Yes, why not?” Castor asked, clinking the ewer against Kaden’s chalice as if in toast and lifting the three quarter full vessel to his lips. “Just because you’ve gained some kind of mind disease, do not expect the same from me. I have no wish to marry now. And when I do, it will be for the betterment of my people and my properties, not for that rancid emotion of love.” Kaden took another large drink from his chalice, looking around the room once more for his slave.

“Yes, believe what you may Kaden, for when that rancid emotion takes you, you might as well forget all your ideals and your thoughts of betterment. You’ll be a slave to your own desires, bewitched by the heart as I am.” Castor’s words sounded almost prophetic and Kaden felt a chill to his spine that he tried hard to ignore. He had other worries to deal with, concerns that included finding a way out of his mirror so that he may return to his home. He’d been away far too long. **** “Take this to the Lady Raven.” Damien spoke softly, trying not to be noticed as he pressed the bowl of freshly sliced, sweetened fruit into the slave’s hands. “Don’t tell her who sent it, for I wish her not to know it was me.” The slave bowed, taking the bowl and hurrying out of the hall towards the guest chambers, the biggest of which being where Lady Raven was staying. **** The lady in question had retreated to her room, fear chasing her through the halls of the great castle. She’d closed the door to her chamber with a sigh of relief, hurrying to light candles until a bright glow filled the corners. Only then did she allow herself to relax and her shoulders to drop from the tension that had held them stiffly all evening. Without the help of a slave, she reached behind her, managing to untie the bindings that held the dress closed. Letting it drop down her shoulders, she went to the wardrobe in the corner of the room, gathering a white robe of light weight material with a long sash that tied it closed at her waist. She slid her arms into the cool material before pushing the skirt of her gown down around her legs and off her feet. She tied the sash on the robe before bending over to pick up the gown and return it to the hook in the wardrobe. Raven stoked up the fire, adding pieces of wood until it flamed brightly, the heat and sight of the fire comforting to her. Sitting on the small chaise that was placed before the fire, she relaxed, staring into the flames as she let her mind empty. The knock upon the door was startling, causing Raven to sit straight up on the small couch, her hand grasping the soft material of the robe, holding it closed at her throat. “Who is it?” The female slave answered loudly. “I’ve brought you some fruit, for you didn’t eat much at dinner and I feared you to be hungry before morning.” Her words were exactly what her lord had told her to say. Raven pushed open the doors slowly, peeking through to see the slave’s face before taking the bowl from her. “Thank you, I wasn’t hungry then. I’ll save it until later.” The slave bowed and then turned back to the hall, stopping when Raven called out to her. “If you aren’t too busy, could you arrange for a bath to be brought to me?” The slave bowed again and hurried away. Raven, carrying the bowl, went back to the fire, not noticing the man who stood in the furthest shadows, concealed from her sight by a spell. He watched as she sat the bowl on a small table and settled into the chaise once more. With a sigh, she stared into the flames before lifting the bowl and holding it before her. Raven dipped her finger into the sauce that covered the cut fruit, bringing it to her mouth. Sweet and slightly spicy, the taste caused her stomach to grumble, reminding her of how little she’d eaten that day. She licked her finger clean, not knowing what the sight of her small tongue was doing to the man in the shadows. With a sigh, she picked up the spoon and lifted it to her mouth, only to drop it back into the bowl when there was another knock upon the door. “Enter,” she called, getting up to greet the men who carried in the tub followed by a procession of slaves carting buckets of hot steamy water. The last slave set his buckets next to the fire to stay warm to use for rinsing. As soon as he left the room, Raven closed the door behind them, returning to pick up the fruit and put the bowl near the tub. She stood, gathering her long tresses in her hands to pin them to the crown of her head once more, not noticing when one or two thick locks slipped from the golden pins to

hang down her back. She trailed her fingers through the water, checking the temperature. With a sigh, she reached over onto the small shelf set into the wall and picked up a thin vial. Pulling the cork, she turned and added a few drops to the steamy water, the scent of wild flowers and spice filling the air instantly. After replacing the vial, she folded her hands together, closed her eyes and breathed deeply of the tantalizing fragrance. A cleansing ritual, one of the many that the Chee had taught her during her training, came to her lips. The chant was one that would clarify her emotions as well as cleanse the aura around her, so necessary for her healings. She couldn’t forget the horrors that she carried, because every memory was a teaching of some kind. But neither could she allow her gift to be tainted by the emotional terror she felt. “Memories like water, Fluid at best Heated by fire Pure for the test Heed my need My decree and my call Cleanse my aura Of this brackish pall Spirits who guide me Hear my plea As I will this So shall it be.” Opening her eyes, she let the robe fall open, slipping from her arms to pool like white satin upon the floor. She thought she heard a noise in the far corner of her room and she turned for a moment, staring into the shadows. But there was nothing. With a tiny laugh at her paranoia, she climbed over the edge of the deep tub, sinking to her chin in the hot fragrant water. She reached for the bowl of fruit, lifting the spoon to her mouth and enjoying the succulent treat. **** Damien thought his heart would stop when she’d let her robe drop. He knew she was beautiful. He’d seen her naked body once before, in the forest clearing when he’d been called by Kaden. But then she’d been filthy; covered in mud, insect bitten and abused. Now she was golden perfection, her body lush and curved. Her breasts full, with tips that rode high, hard in the cool of the room. Her waist was a deep indentation above full hips. Her woman’s mound was covered with golden curls that tempted a man’s hand to explore between to find the wonderful fruit of her womanhood. He couldn’t help the gasp that came from his mouth when her beauty had first been exposed to his eyes. She was more than he had expected, more than he had hoped. Now he only hoped he could tap into the untamed heat he felt buried so deeply beneath her need to heal with her gift. He waited in the shadows, watching as she finished the treat he had sent. The fruit that was topped with a special sauce of his own design, one that would help her to loose her fears, to feel the desires more fully. His cock jumped beneath the suddenly too tight breeches he wore as he watched her lick the last of the sauce from the spoon. Her tongue was so pink, he couldn’t wait to feel it caress his body. **** Raven sat the bowl on the tiny table, before settling back into the heated water. Her body felt so heavy, so relaxed. As if she could just drift away from thoughts, ignore the fears that held her ever since the first of those awful men had touched her. Her eyes seemed too heavy to stay open and she forced herself to rise from the tub, turning with the water streaming from her body to the rug upon the floor to finish the cleansing ritual. “Powers most sacred Spirits that bless

Thanks should be given For deeds put to rest Troubles are water Floating gently away Cleansed is my aura And faith for this day Know these words My thanks to thee As I will this So shall it be.” With a heavy sigh, she turned to the bed that took up a large area of the room. She climbed the three steps and then into the soft sheets, barely pulling one over her still wet body before closing her eyes to sleep. **** When he heard her breathing deepen, Damien stepped from the shadows, going to the many candles left lit in the room to blow them out one by one until only the fire illuminated the room, its flickering light shining upon the bed. Then he went to the door, turning the key in the lock and pocketing it. He approached the bed slowly, not wanting to frighten Raven unduly. But she slept on, her face gentle and peaceful, her dreams ones that caused no fear or horror. Sitting upon the side, he stared down at her in the flickering dim light. She was beautiful, with her thick golden hair and elegant features, lush lips and thickly fanning eyelashes that lay gently against her cheeks. He could see the rapid movement of her eyes behind her thin lids, the slight smile that graced her barely parted lips as she dreamed and wished he could see into them, share them with her, the happy things she was seeing with her mind. The sheet draped partially across her body, leaving one rounded breast and part of her firm stomach bare. One thigh, lax against the mattress, lay outside the cover also, the limb firmly muscled and femininely curved. His body responded to the sensual picture she made, his cock growing even harder as he let his eyes roam over her form. He so desperately wanted to capture her as his own. The feelings she drew from him were more frightening than even the most deadly of enemies, for enemies he could defeat. These feelings could grow stronger until she became a part of him that he would be unable to live without. He knew his emotions, he knew his desire; she suffused both essences of him. Gently, with a touch as light as that of a spider crawling upon its web, he slid his hand across the smoothness of her shoulder, her warmth a tantalizing pulse that he longed to explore with more intimacy. She was beauty to him, elegance and light. A being as wonderful as no other had ever been. “Raven,” he whispered, seeing her smile in her sleep at the sound of his voice. The potion was working. It was time to go to the next step. He tried to shrug away the deep feeling of guilt that suddenly flooded him as he tried to think of the exact wording of the spell he wished to weave. “I wish you no harm Only sweet joy and pleasure Respond to my touch Feel full sensual measure Fear me no more Run from me naught Know my true heart Forget things that you fought Look in my eyes Believe what you see As I will this

So shall it be.” **** Raven’s dream, a childhood dream of running through the fields of her people, grasses grown to feed the stock animals waving around her in the soft cool breezes of early evening, slowly disappeared. The fields faded to a room, dark with only the light of the fire to illuminate the man who sat along side the bed. Her heart pounded in her chest as she stared up at him, his masculine beauty surprising her, creating a whirlpool of emotional chaos in her center. “Why are you here?” she asked, curiously unafraid, though her body was sending signals of other unfamiliar feelings. “To be with you,” he answered simply, his hand reaching out to pluck the pins from her hair. “To show you that men don’t have to take and take. They can give, too.” Raven felt his hands in her hair, his fingers gently loosing hit until he could run them through the long strands. She felt the extremely erotic pressure of his fingers as they massaged her scalp and heard the sigh that escaped from deep inside of her. “I…I don’t know, Lord Damien. I don’t know if we should do this.” Damien smiled tenderly, his hand distracting in her hair as he stealthily pulled the sheet from her body, baring her loveliness to his eyes. “Yes, Raven, we should definitely do this,” he said, leaning forward to find her lips with his own. She couldn’t help but respond to his kiss. It was softly coercing, not forceful and demeaning as the other men had done to her. When his tongue lapped at her lips, she opened them willingly, letting him tangle his tongue with her own until she found her hands rising to touch his face. Soft fingers caressed his cheek and slipped back and over his ear, sending a shiver down his spine, tickling his nerve endings with sensual electricity. Her lips clung to his, her mouth open and mating with his in ways he’d never experienced before, not even with his wanton Tia. A groan escaped him as desire heightened the pleasure, creating needs and desires he had never known. For an instant, he wondered if his spell had gone awry. Her hands went to his shirt, pulling upon the fabric. “I want to feel your skin,” she groaned against his lips, pulling harder and ripping the material. **** Damien pulled the shirt over his head quickly before returning to her lips, losing himself in the feel of her mouth, the taste of passion he found there. Her hands roamed over his chest, exploring him with untrained hands that were slowly driving him crazy. He wanted to be gentle, to show her how love could be between a man and a woman when there is mutual desire. Instead, she was teaching him about the heat of passion unlike any he’d experienced before, pulling moan after moan from his throat. Her hands pulled him down on top of her and he felt the soft give of her breasts against the hardness of his chest. When her hand found its way inside the band of his breeches, he seized it, holding both of her hands in one of his above her head, unable to handle much more. She strained against his hold, her body arching and pressing against his chest, begging wordlessly for his touch and for the right to touch him. His lips found her throat, his teeth nipping at the delicate line, tracing with his tongue over her collar bone and down along the smooth line of her chest. Her nipples, brown in color, so unlike what he had thought to find, drew his mouth. He felt its pebbled smoothness between his lips, tasted the exotic flavor of her skin, a mixture of the oil she’d used in her bath and the sweetness that was her. **** When his hot lips touched her nipple, Raven thought she would implode. He tugged at the hard bud with his mouth, flicked it with his tongue, nibbled on it with his teeth. The resulting pleasure had her thighs rubbing together in desperate plea, a deep ache pulsing deep inside her pussy to the rhythm of his lips. She could feel the hardness of his cock, the way it pressed against her hip and knew that it would assuage that ache in ways too wonderful to believe.

His mouth fell from her nipple, his tongue swirling around the firm flesh of her breast. He tasted the warm crease where the weight of that beautiful globe pressed against her body, his hand squeezing and lifting, enjoying the give of lush satiny skin. “You are so beautiful, Raven,” he groaned. Her eyes were closed, letting the sensation of his lips against her skin flow into her, spear through her. He nibbled on her ribs, his touch almost ticklish, causing her to squirm even more. Her hands moved under the restraining hold of his, wanting badly to touch him the way he was touching her. To kiss him and caress his skin, to make him feel the impossible wonder of what he was doing to her. Damien pressed open her thighs, feeling them part after a moment of hesitation. He slid between them, her body arching to rub against the hardness of his, showing a need that had him wanting to plunge into her. Instead, he held her down, loosing her hands from his grip so the he could gently probe between her thighs, feeling the heat of her moist cunt, the soft hair that crinkled against his palm. She was wet, her flesh throbbing under his hand. “Mmm, Raven, I think you want me.” He groaned as she thrust her hips against him, her thighs trembling. He looked into her face, seeing the concentration, the near grimace as he brought her closer to the pinnacle of pleasure she unknowingly sought. He held her there, not allowing her to fall over its edge until she moaned in frustration, opening her eyes to stare down at him. “Not all things that happen between a man and woman are rape, lovely Raven. Some are wondrous; passion can be a miracle if you allow yourself to feel it.” “This is a dream,” she whispered. “You aren’t here, this is only a dream.” “I am no dream, beauty. I am as real as you, flesh and blood and raging desire. I wish for you to experience the joys and forget what those men did to you. Allow me to bring you that ecstasy, Raven, and you will never regret it.” He pushed his finger inside her throbbing pussy as he spoke, letting her taste a tiny hint of the pleasure he was capable of giving her, stroking the walls of her cunt with delicate precision, stretching her flesh until she was stretched upon an exquisite peak of desire. Raven closed her eyes against the sight of his handsome face, feeling the passion he described circling and coiling in her belly, begging to be assuaged. She nodded her head, not able to look, fear swirling into the mix of her emotions. “Don’t hurt me,” she begged, a tear trickling down her cheek. “I would never hurt you, beauty. Or if I did, it would be in only the most delicious of ways. Degradation and pain have no place here between us. What those men did to you should be wiped from your memory, replaced by love and desire, tender touches and caring hands.” He leaned up, catching her tear with the tip of his tongue before kissing her to share the saltiness of it. Raven moved under his hand only to give a sudden cry when he rolled from her body, lying upon his back next to her. He took her hand in his, placing it on his bare chest, pulling until she rolled to her side to look down at him. “I have no wish to scare you, love. So here is what we shall do. You use my body the way that you wish, even if it be only for a pillow to rest your head upon. I will not touch you unless you ask.” Raven’s gray eyes stared down at him in distrust. “You will not touch me?” she asked suspiciously. “No, you have my word upon it.” He placed both his hands behind his head, lacing his fingers tightly. “And if I wish to stop this now, if I wish only to lie with my head upon your chest for the rest of the night, you will abide upon that wish?” “Yes, though it might unman me. If that is your wish, to use me as pillow, I’ll be the best pillow I can be.” He tried to smile through the need that pulsed in his loins. She smiled as she looked down at, her tongue peeping out to moisten her lips, leaving a slick trail of dew to tempt him. “I would be considered a fiend most foul if I were to abuse a man such as you, my lord.” “Fiend would not be the word I would use, my Lady Raven. I fear if you were to tease me such as you are with your soft tongue and tender lips, my label for you would be a word unworthy of being said in mixed company.” “Oh, such words are beyond my comprehension, my lord. Perhaps I should instead, use my lips and tongue to better advantage than teasing a man of your magnitude.” She leaned down, her gray eyes

almost black with desire, her lips parted, finding his mouth easily. She guided the kiss as he kept his vow, allowing her to take their play to whatever conclusion she desired. Her tongue lapped at his teeth, running over the smooth hard surfaces with sensual curiosity, dipping between to taste of him, a flavor she found most intoxicating. He tasted of the wine he’d partaken of at dinner, of the meat he’d savored, and more. He tasted of darkness, desire and passion that set her head to spinning. She pushed up until she was upon his chest, her breasts pressing against his skin, her hard nipples feeling swollen and needy from the heat of his mouth. Her hands found purchase, one twining through the thick strands of his hair, enjoying the satiny coolness of it. The other explored his chest, finding his flat nipple, flicking at it with the tip of her finger until it hardened. Raven ended their kiss, curious to explore the hard body laid trustingly before her. During her rapes, she’d been savaged, her mouth abused, her body tortured and tormented. Pain had been constant, the horror of the bites, the ripping and tearing of their hard cocks inside her delicate cunt as they thrust inside of her without care, using her blood as a lubricant. She had closed her eyes and endured, screaming when the pain grew too much to be borne. When they were finished, she curled into a ball of pain, less human than before the rapes. Trying to heal her flesh, though her soul was left shattered. Now, she was being given a chance to see if the male body could bring her pleasure. She’d found some already, but not to the degree she’d been privy to hear about amongst the peoples of both her village and the court. And she wanted to know. She kissed his chest, her tongue slipping across his hard skin, eager to experience his taste. It was salty, with the flavor of his sweat. Her mouth slid lower, finding the nipple that had hardened beneath her finger, kissing it and hearing his moan. Giving him pleasure was increasing her own. She liked the noises he made, the strangled sounds torn from him as he tried to be still, to not scare her. Coming to her knees beside him, she found herself enthralled with looking at him, the solid line of his body, hard and muscled magnificently, tanned brown under the rays of the sun. He was handsome of face, with intelligent eyes that showed a strange gentleness even now when they were hard with desire. His lips were parted, his breath coming in panting gasps that he was trying so very hard to control. He had no wish to frighten her with the power of his passion. “May I undress you completely, Lord Damien? I am feeling at a disadvantage here.” The thought of her fingers against his skin, pulling off his breeches, displaying his rock hard cock to her stare was both infinitely arousing and frightening. Would she pull away with one look at his shaft? Would it bring back the memories of the attacks or would the potion and spell he had used be enough to make her relax and allow him to show her that not all men were animals? “Lady,” he answered finally, “I am at your command. Do with me as you will.” **** Raven turned her back on Damien, crawling down toward the foot of the bed, giving him the perfect view of her backside and pussy from between her thighs. He could see the shimmer of her sweet fluids, evidence of her need. It made his cock twitch in his pants. He groaned at the sight, his heart thundering in his chest as he fought to stay still. His boots were pulled from his feet, her hands gentle upon the length of them. He felt her fingers rubbing into the arch of his foot, her thumbs digging into the heel. “Oh,” he groaned, “Raven, that is so good.” The boots hit the ground with a thud, followed moments later by his pants as she pulled them off his legs. The sight of his cock, standing lustily upright, gave her pause. She sighed, then carefully reached her hand out, wrapping it around his shaft. Damien, his muscles rigid from holding back, lay under her stroking fingers. He could feel the edge of passion creeping ever closer and closed his eyes. The sight of her, her face so close as she examined his cock, watching her own hand as it made love to him, was almost more arousing than her actions. Though her cool little hand was wrapped awkwardly around his hard shaft, it was more arousing than some of the practiced moves performed upon him by different ladies of the castle. “It is beautiful,” Raven whispered. “The skin is satiny soft but under it is the hardness of a sword. It weeps such heated liquid,” she said, raising her hand to her lips to taste the fluid that had dripped onto

her. “It is different, not quite salty, not exactly bitter. I don’t know how to compare the taste. Is this sperm?” She looked up towards Damien’s face, her head cocked in question. “Not quite, Lady, but if you keep up those movements with your hand, you will get to see it.” His breath was heaving out of his chest, his body stiff from holding still when he wanted to thrust against her hand or grab her and throw her on the bed, show her how sweet ravishment felt. If it weren’t for his vow, he would. “Does it taste the same?” she asked him, amazed when he moaned as if in pain. “What is it, Lord Damien? Have I wounded you?” Her hand dropped his aching cock as if it was fire and she was scorched. “Your words are arousing to a man, my lady.” His body was almost begging him for relief, for the sweetness of her palm once more caressing his cock. “You are everything a man could want in a woman, kindness and gentle natured, beautiful and lush, with intelligence and a soft soul. To add to that is a body that would tempt a dead man’s cock to rise. You cannot fault me for wanting you, my lady, with every breath of my body.” “If my words were arousing, Lord Damien, yours take away my breath.” “May I touch you, Lady? May I make love to your body? I would give my soul to teach you the pleasure to be found between a man and a woman.” He held his breath as he waited for her reply. “I am afraid, Damien. What those men did to me, what th…they made me do, it was…” she buried her face in her hands. Damien sat up, his hands falling to his side. He could not touch her, not without her say, but he wanted to. Just to take her in his arms, to hold her while she cried out her fear, a thing he knew was necessary from his own days of captivity. “Lady, please, will you listen to me? I wish to tell you how I came into this life.” Her eyes, red rimmed, peered up at him from between her fingers. Tears were caught in the tawny lashes. “Yes,” she said, sniffing quietly. “Please, tell me the tale.” His words were halting as first, telling of the brief years he remembered living with the woman who called herself their mother but whom, truth to tell, was nothing more than a different kind of slave owner. He saw the look of shock in her eyes when he told how he along with Castor, was sold to the breeding market. He saw the disgust in her eyes when he told of the debasement he was made to feel, the torture and pain that the women performed upon him. It hadn’t been all bad; a few of the women who came into the market were kind. They actually shared in the pleasure of his body instead of taking his seed and leaving him, empty and feeling violated. “But sex doesn’t have to be what those men did to you, nor what those women did to me. I’d like to show you, I’d like to touch you and make love to you. But it must be by your words, Lady Raven.” He waited with breath held, for her answer. “I…I would like that also, Damien. I hate this fear, I have never felt fear like this in my life. Make the nightmares go away.” Damien’s arms wrapped around her in an instant and he pulled her close, moaning as he felt her breasts pressed against his chest. His mouth found hers, his tongue pushing inside, driving her wild with his abandon. He tried to be gentle, but his body was too far gone. He feared he’d scare her more until he felt her nails against his shoulders, grabbing hold, not fighting to be free. She straddled his legs, feeling the warmth of his cock against the splayed lips of her slick cunt. A shiver ran through her; desire, fear or maybe a combination of both. His hands caressed her ass, pulling her closer, moving her against his hard shaft. With a groan, he pulled her back, all her teasing making him almost delirious to take her. Slowly, he let her sink down until he filled her completely, the wetness of her encasing him like a sleek glove, tight and hot. He waited, hearing her sharp cry, hoping that he hadn’t hurt her. When her grip loosened and she started to move against him, he knew she was as lost in what was happening between them as he was. Her movements grew frantic until he held her close, her legs wrapped around his waist as she sat in his lap, her breasts pressed against his chest. Groaning, he rolled over, fitting himself with ease between her thighs, feeling the wet heat of her gripping him tightly.

Damien moved against her slowly, long thrusts with sweet friction that had his come boiling. His body tightened with the need to drive himself into her, spill himself into her depths. Holding himself away from Raven with his weight on his arms, he looked down, watching her face as he continued the excruciating slow movements. Her face was tight, her expression one of long denied desire and need, of want so desperate that she was biting her lower lip, gnawing upon it. Her hands trailed down his chest, roaming over his back, leaving a path of sweet fire. Lowering himself, he felt her arms wrap around him, her legs coming up on either side of his hips. “‘Tis time, Lady,” he said, his voice harsh, “time for you to find the pleasure in our mating.” He concentrated upon the woman beneath him, using his body and the gifts he’d been given, praying to the spirits that it would be enough to combat the fear she felt and to push her past that one last barrier. Raven couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t see. Her whole body focused on the feeling that concentrated in her lower belly. She felt him moving deep inside of her, every thrust sending more sensation to that area until she was panting and moaning, clawing at his arms and chest, desperate for what she knew was just beyond her. “Harder,” she begged him instinctively, wanting more. Damien complied, adding that final little push of magic. He felt her climax, her cunt pulsing around his cock, the hot nectar of her passion flowing over him. With a shout of his own, he went with her, jerking as his cock spewed hot spurts of come deep within her. When it was done, he sank down into her arms, hearing her sigh of satisfaction. He closed his eyes, sliding off her to lie with his head pillowed upon her breast, her heart beating in his ear. **** Adrianna went to sleep with tears in her eyes. Tears of frustration and pain, surprising her after Kaden made love to her with an intensity she hadn’t expected from him. The tears had surprised Kaden also. And when he’d asked their cause, she’d been unable to answer, unsure of the reason herself. All she did know was she felt as if her heart had been broken and couldn’t help the sobs that shook her shoulders until he turned away, sleeping with his back to her for the first time since he first made love to her.

Chapter Thirteen Weeks passed with little change. Kaden released Adrianna from her chain every evening, still unable to trust her despite her eerily submissive behavior. He’d bring her to the hall, watching her every move while she worked, serving meals and filling chalices, cleaning up afterwards while he waited for her. Then he would take her out to the gardens, leaning against one of the thick walls, his arms across his chest as he watched her walk among the flowers and trees. Sometimes they would talk, but never with the familiarity that they had that one night. Instead it was with the formality of strangers. Adrianna was cool toward him, guarding her emotions and her tongue with studied care. She acted the perfect slave to the point that he wanted to shake her, to scream at her, to find some way to break down the wall that she had built so intricately. The only place he managed to get through to her was in bed, making love to her and feeling the intensity of her orgasm in the way she clung to him, the way she moved beneath him, or over him. She was cool to begin with, accepting his caress without moving, allowing his kiss but refusing to kiss him back. He’d wear her down until she’d cry out, her arms coming around him, her body rising and falling beneath his in perfect synch until her body would burst with pleasure. Then they would sleep, her back to him as tears trailed down her cheeks and silent sobs shook her shoulders. Whenever he asked, she would tell him she was fine. Or ask his forgiveness for the audacity she was showing at crying in his presence. Kaden didn’t know how much more he could handle. **** Adrianna missed Tia and Jetta, seeing the former only when they would serve the dinner together, the later when she served her dinner. She missed the laughter and the talk of the two women, their companionship. She was chained to the bed during the day, her meals brought to her by the crone. Magda seemed happy to see her fate, cackling and placing the food tray just beyond the reach of the chain, teasing her. Outside, she portrayed a calm mien, the obedient slave who had been tamed by man, her superior. Inside she was anything but tame, seething at the treatment she received, crying out because the man she loved beyond all others treated her as if she were a possession. For now, she had no choice but to be his slave. Yet the day would come when his guard would be down. Then she would find a way to leave him once more. Jetta and Castor’s wedding day arrived, the sky shining a beautiful blue, the sun hanging like a ball of red-gold flame in the sky. Adrianna was glad for the clear day and warm temperature, for the sun shone on a happy bride, or so the old wives’ tale her grandmother used to tell her went. She’d often wondered if the sun would shine on her special day; now she wondered if she’d ever have that special day. And she had another worry; though in an odd way, this worry was a blessing. Her menstrual time had come and gone, leaving her to wonder if Kaden’s seed was as potent as the man thought. She’d been on birth control pills when Damien had kidnapped her, and the effects should still be with her, but she wasn’t sure. So now she sat upon her bed, the tray of food beside her, sipping the cool milk. Her hand slipped down to her flat belly, wondering. What would it be like to give birth to Kaden’s baby? Would he or she be considered a slave, too, born from a slave no matter the paternity? She wouldn’t allow her child to be born into servitude, she couldn’t. And how would Kaden feel upon hearing that she was carrying his child? ****

Down below, in the great hall, the decorations were being put up. Bright red flowers, taken from almost every tree and bush in the surrounding countryside, filled the hall with their scent. Huge displays banked the walls, garlands woven through with greenery swaying from every archway. A long white carpet runner was rolled near the main door, to be unrolled as Jetta walked towards Castor. He would meet her halfway, taking her arm to guide her as a sign of the melding of their paths and their willingness to walk them together from then on. Everyone was in an uproar. Children laughed and giggled, getting underfoot of the preparations. Everyone was busy and there was no one to shoo them outside to rid themselves of some of their energy. The cook was shouting orders at her kitchen serfs and woe be to any who didn’t move fast enough for the huge woman. Others were sent to sweep out the old rushes, and to bring in new, adding the scent of sweet grass to the already fragrant room. Tia was given the duty of preparing the bride to be. Not an easy task as the poor girl was a fumbling basket of nerves, which even days of lessons on the duties of a lady hadn’t been able to erase. “Smile, little Jetta. You are realizing your dream today,” she said, her hands tirelessly brushing through Jetta’s heavy mane of hair, drying it until it shone with blue black fire. “But what if I make a mistake? What if I embarrass him in front of everyone that will be present tonight? What if…” “What if Castor takes one look at you, trips over the carpet and falls on his ass? Come, Jetta. Stop with worrying and fretting. It will give you lines upon your face and ruin all my work this day.” She parted the now dry hair down the center, sectioning the top into tiny parts and weaving it into a crown, pinned with tiny gems of red that sparkled against the jet black tresses. Brushing the rest back, she took a metal rod carefully from the fire, testing its temperature before using it to curl the rest of the heavy mass. “I cannot help it, Tia,” she moaned, her hands twisting a small handkerchief. “I never thought to see this day. And now that it is here…” “And now that it is here,” Tia interrupted, “you should just enjoy the attention and the love that will be given to you. This is your day, Jetta.” She dropped the quickly cooling rod into its holder and smoothed the last of the curls into place, stepping back to survey her work. The jeweled crown of tresses made Jetta look regal, the curls giving her beauty a touch of whimsy. Taking up the small bouquet of red flowers she’d been given, she created a tiny sprinkling of the blooms to waterfall through the thick curls and she was done. “I just worry that I will make him regret the deed after it is done.” Jetta looked up at her friend, reaching out to clasp Tia’s hand. “I love him with all my heart and soul, Tia. If he were to turn from me, I wouldn’t be able to bear it.” “Do you believe in my gift?” Tia suddenly asked the young bride, knowing only one way to soothe her shattered nerves. “Yes, you are most talented, Tia. I have seen what you are able to do, the prophecies that you have made, and the people you’ve helped. Your empathic skills have never been doubted by me or anyone else.” “Then listen to me now, for I know what I feel, and what I sense when Castor is near you. You have a love between you that is strong and lasting. You are both young and passionate, and both willing to do what is necessary for the other to be happy. Castor sees you not as Jetta the slave girl, but as Jetta the woman. A woman who is beautiful and proud and not afraid to fight for what is hers or what she wants. He sees you as a desirable woman, Jetta, one that he cannot live without.” She knelt down in front of Jetta, looking up into her beautiful blue eyes. For a moment Tia was silent, her own eyes growing hazy as if seeing something in the distance that others could not. She didn’t blink or move, just stared up at Jetta for what seemed like the longest of times. When she finally did move, her heart was heavy. For she did see a dark cloud hovering, bleak and threatening. Not over the happy couple, but over the entire castle and its occupants. A menace was growing in the air, an enemy not seen but felt; and death was to follow. She felt it with everything she was.

“What is it? Tia?” Jetta’s hands gripped the blonde’s tighter as she felt her sway. “Are you okay? “Fine, fine, it’s nothing.” She forced herself to smile up at Jetta, stiffening her body to control the shiver that wanted to shimmy down her spine. “I see bright sunshine and happy faces for this day. So come, we must dress you and send you out to meet your groom.” Jetta hugged her tight before rising and stepping towards the gown that hung in the wardrobe. It was beautiful, far finer than anything she’d ever worn before. It was blood red, fitting tight at the waist with tiny straps that held the bodice up. The skirt flared slightly but stayed true to Jetta’s shape and reached the floor. A cloak, held to the bodice of the dress by brooches at the shoulders, was white and long, trailing behind her as she walked. The brooches were twin red stones in a silver filigree setting; each stone was the size of a man’s thumb from the first knuckle. They caught the light and glittered with fire in their depths, a present to Jetta from Damien, welcoming her into his family. She stepped into the gown, letting Tia lace up the back, holding her breath as it was pulled tight. The rounded neckline showed the slight curves of her breasts, the light boning in the bodice pushing those tiny curves together to make them seem larger. Jetta put her hand across her chest, feeling almost naked compared to the white linen slave blouses she’d worn since arriving in the castle. “So much skin,” she murmured to herself, her cheeks growing red. “All the more to entice your bridegroom into an early bedding,” Tia said, laughing as she pulled the laces just a little tighter. “Now hold still so I may finish my work. Then we can get you wed.” All too soon, Jetta was dressed and perfumed, primped and pinned, her cape regally floating back behind her. She stood at the doorway to the chamber she’d been given to dress in, her nerves fluttering wildly in her stomach like tiny birds eager to find a way out. Tia hugged her carefully, pushing an errant curl back off Jetta’s pale cheeks. “Smile, little bride, for the sun shine’s on happy marriages,” she whispered softly, feeling a tear come to her eyes. “He will make you happy and give you many children to care for and raise. You will bring him joy and peace and lusty tumbles in the bedchamber. Your children will grow tall and strong. Two daughters and three sons are what I see. With Castor at your side, you will be able to face any adversity.” Jetta stared at the woman who’d been one of her truest friends since the moment she’d first stepped into Daring Castle, helping to protect her from the louts who tried to lure her into dark passageways, giving her advice and guiding her way. She hugged her close, feeling an excitement that mixed with the bird’s wings in her stomach. “I thank you, Tia, for all you have done. If I’d been allowed a sister, I’d wish her to be like you.” Tia hugged her back, tightly, closing her eyes as she recited the spell she’d prepared earlier. “Spirits protect her As she goes on her way Grant her much joy And love on this day Bless her in this The couple to wed Give of your powers In their lives ahead.” With a sigh, she leaned back and placed a kiss on Jetta’s forehead, opening the door to let her walk out in front of her. And before she left the room, she added to her spell, a prayer of sorts to protect her from the darkness that Tia saw as a shadow covering the sun, though she was allowed to see nothing more. “Darkness surrounds us This joyous day Allow no harm

To either I say Take of my powers If this will appease Protect and keep them I’ll beg on my knees I ask of you this Spirits, hear my plea As I will this So shall it be.” **** A heaviness entered Tia’s heart, a foreboding of some black and evil deed about to be done. But she couldn’t see it; she couldn’t see beyond the curtain of darkness that surrounded the joy and love that she felt. It was frustrating and terrible, to know of problems ahead and not be able to give exact details to that which was so dangerous. All she knew was she felt death, but had no idea from whence it would come. **** Castor paced and fretted in the chambers he would be sharing with his new bride come this night. He pulled on the heavy leather gloves that went with the doublet of red leather he wore, only to pull them off again and slap them against his thigh. Damien sat in a chair, popping tiny bits of candied fruit into his mouth while he watched his little brother with amusement. “We shall have to dig you out of that floor if you don’t quit pacing the stones loose, brother.” Castor glared at him for a moment before turning to pace once more. “Something will happen, she will change her mind.” He turned toward his brother. “Can you do something if she changes her mind? Can you make her change it again?” “Castor, Jetta has loved you since before you knew she existed. She will not change her mind.” He chuckled, enjoying his brother’s nerves. “Calm down. Everything is fine. Tia is with Jetta, helping to get her ready.” Castor sighed, feeling some relief knowing that Tia was caring for his bride to be. He managed to settle himself enough to sit in a chair across from Damien. “What plans have you made for your little Katiara now that you no longer want her for bed slave?” Damien would have preferred his nervous brother to keep worrying about his own relationship than to bring up the problems of women in his own. It had been at least a week since he’d taken Tia to bed, instead spending his nights with the Lady Raven, exploring her newfound sexuality in ways too pleasurable to forget. He was bewitched by the tawny haired beauty with her enigmatic pewter gray eyes and saucy disposition. “I don’t know that I have to make any plans for Tia,” he said slowly. “She is happy and has her lovers just as she always has.” “But she is losing the status of being your bed slave, Damien, as you continue your relationship with the beautiful Lady healer. That can affect her standings here in the castle amongst the other slaves and hurt her. Are you telling me that you are blind to the lives of the people just under your nose?” “What mean you by that? I care for my people and my castle with all of my powers, this you know well.” Damien fumed, wishing to change the subject but knowing his brother. He was like a dog with a meaty bone when it came to a subject he wished to pursue. “Just what I say, brother,” Castor said, leaning forward and getting into the conversation, one he’d been wanting to have with his brother since he’d been rescued. “You care for them, this is true. But have you ever looked to see what they want? Have you asked them if they want to be slaves? We were little more than male whores, brother, given to any woman who had the bedding price. We never saw any of that price, forced to submit without recourse. It was a degrading and demeaning experience, Damien, one we fought and ran from, facing all punishments to find our freedom.” “This is true, but none of the people in my care are treated as such, Castor. You tell me one person who is chained and held beyond their will to service here in the castle.”

“Kaden’s slave, Adrianna. Brother, she is chained to a bed. She is forced to stay here when she longs to go home,” Castor responded quickly, a note of triumph in his voice. “Kaden’s slave is none of my concern, Castor. Nor is she yours. I cannot dictate to Kaden on how he cares for the girl, only how she behaves in the company of others. You know this, Castor. I wish that I knew how to make that situation a happy one. I see the bleakness in her eyes and know she longs for her own people. But she is not mine to do such with.” Damien raised his hand as he saw Castor’s mouth open, ready to argue. “Brother, do not mistake the love I have for you as protection against me sending you to your bride with bruises for your impertinence. Now I have said what I can about Adrianna, though I do admit to wishing I hadn’t given in to the urge to retrieve her for Kaden.” “But…” Damien held up his hand again, silencing his brother. He sighed heavily, wishing that the unhappiness of the two didn’t lie so heavily upon his shoulders. It put a pall upon the happiness he felt, the joy he was experiencing with his Lady. It caused him sorrow to see his friend hurting because of the difficulties of his relationship. “No more. I love Kaden as another brother. I know his pain. I see it in his eyes when he sits and drinks, watching her with eyes that seem bleak beyond what I can bear. She looks at him the same, though neither will admit the caring they have for the other. But today is not the day to dwell upon things such as this. ‘Tis a happy day and we should be thinking of only those things that make us happy.” “Then will you be making the Lady Raven your own?” Castor grinned, watching his older brother, the man who’d always been so in control, squirm under his gaze. “You do wish to go to your bride covered in bruises the size of my fist. It hasn’t come up in conversation and I haven’t given it much thought as of yet, Castor. But when I do, the Lady in question will be the first to know. Not my noisy brother, whose big mouth is so very close to getting him beaten.” Damien got up and went to the door, stepping outside to see the readiness of the hall and to help himself to two chalices of wine. He handed one to Castor when he returned, toasting his brother on this special day. “Vows will be made Between man and wife This is the way You’ll go through your life Happiness worked for Is often most sweet This is my wish to you In life’s time so fleet Children a plenty To bounce on your knee Laughter and love This is my plea The Spirits blessings Is my wish for thee As I will this So shall it be.” Castor bowed his head, feeling his brother’s hand upon his shoulder. When he looked up, Damien was lifting his chalice. With love and happiness, he lifted his, drinking to his brother’s wish for him. **** Tia watched from her coveted perch close to the altar that was contrived from the Lord’s table covered in a heavy white cloth and a few candles. The book of census sat in the center. Jetta made her way up the long white carpeting, Castor stepping from amidst the crowd to take her hand. A tear

threatened to fall as she saw the love between them, the joy in their eyes as they looked at each other. A match such as this was rare, given only to happening for those with the Spirits’ blessings. Damien stood waiting for the couple to reach him. His eyes snuck past them to where Lady Raven stood, beautiful in her gown of blue. His color and one that he was proud to see her wearing. She met his eyes, smiling as she lifted folded hands to her face, her fingers pressing against her lips. He wondered if she wished to be married. Was this her dream? Did she want to walk towards someone she could love, to tie her life to his for all time? Did she want to be responsible for babies and households, to care for one man for the rest of her life? The doors of the great hall were open, letting in the sunshine and the breezes. It also brought in the sound of the birds singing sweetly in the trees. As if they greeted the young lovers, happy in their day of love and joy. The sounds made Damien smile, as did the look in his brother’s eyes when he stared down at his Lady on his arm. Jetta glowed; there was no other word for it. Her hair floated around her shoulders and down her back in a waterfall of gleaming blue black curls studded with the brilliant red of the flowers. The white of her cape was a perfect foil for the pale flawlessness of her skin and the red of the gown that clung to her slight curves. She had her hand on Castor’s muscled arm, creamy white against the darkness of his skin. His handsome face was turned to look down at her, the love in his eyes an almost tangible thing. When they stopped in front of Damien, he cleared his throat loudly to get their attention from each other, causing laughter to flow through the crowd gathered for the blessed event. “My brother has chosen a woman to spend his life with,” Damien said, his voice carrying throughout the hall. “And she has accepted his troth, graciously agreeing to become a Lady of Daring Castle.” Damien reached down, lifting the old chalice; its gem encrusted surface sparkled with reflective light. The chalice was left him by the ancient owner of the castle, an elderly knight that was in the midst of being besieged by his neighbor to the north the first time Damien had met the fine fellow. Damien had ridden in with the few men he’d managed to acquire upon his wanderings and had saved the day, rescuing the castle from the ravaging of the evil war lord. The lord of the castle had been so grateful that he’d made Damien his heir, as he had no living offspring. Not only giving him the Castle upon his death, but also the gift of his powers, his magic and all his vassals. Damien had become rich within a matter of days; not only in the way of possessions but in ancient magicks. The old knight had died but a few months later, enjoying the last months of his life with Damien keeping the castle safe. Upon his deathbed, he’d blessed Damien as the son of his heart. “This is the ancient chalice of the Lords of Daring,” Damien said, holding it up to the light that shone in from the open doors. “This chalice is given to each new lord to drink from, to pledge his fealty to the castle and to its way of life.” He handed the chalice to Castor, smiling slowly. “Give this wine to your bride and let her know that when her lips touch the rim, she belongs not only to you, but to the castle proper. Her essence will infuse this castle with life and love as she loves and lives with you.” Castor held the chalice gingerly praying that he wouldn’t spill it down Jetta’s front. He turned towards her, seeing the joy in her eyes, the love in her sweet smile. “Drink from this chalice Jetta, and become a true Lady of Daring Castle.” He held it carefully to her lips, feeling her hands come up to touch the back of his gently, helping him tip the chalice so that she might take a sip. A cheer sounded through out the hall as he pulled the chalice back. He turned, handing it back to Damien then leaned down and gently kissed Jetta, which prompted another cheer from the assembled congregation. Damien waited until the crowd quieted. He turned to Jetta, handing her the chalice. “Give this wine to your groom and let him know that when his lips touch the rim, you give of your life in the same manner, his to care for and protect, to cherish and keep until his last breath leaves his lungs. Let him know that you also will care for him, bear his children and keep his household, share his bed and his love until your last breath.” Jetta took the chalice, her hands shaking slightly, enough to cause some of the women in the gathering to sniffle and bring their handkerchiefs to their noses. “Drink from the chalice, Castor, and

know that I live my life for you. I will bear your children and be a vessel for your love. I am yours to protect and to cherish and care for until my last breath.” She raised the chalice to his lips, feeling his hands come up to cup over hers and help her tip the wine to his lips. Jetta smiled into his eyes when he let go of her hands, before turning to hand the chalice back to Damien. He raised the cup to his own lips. “With this wine I agree to this marriage and give my blessing for this couple. I accept the fealty of Lord Castor and his wife, Lady Jetta. I avow to their commitment to each other and to this land and give my promise to give them succor and support throughout the years.” He sipped of the specially prepared wine, a bottle blessed and sanctified before being opened. He set the chalice down, carefully placing it inside the box designed to keep it safe. It would be drained and cleaned before once more being placed in the vaults. Turning to Castor, he placed his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “A gift should be given and one received. What do you bring to your lady?” A young page hurried to the raised dais, handing Castor a small basket. Inside were three gold rings, two large enough to go around Jetta’s slim arms, the other small and meant for her finger. He pulled them out of the basket, holding them up to Damien for his blessings. “The Spirit’s blessing On these gifts this day In love they are given As is our way By all that is holy Sanction this plea As I will this So shall it be.” The words rang from Damien’s lips, his hand held over the beautiful jewelry. An aura glowed, a brightness that outshone the sun’s rays for an instant, touching the gifts and the hands that gave them so selflessly. The crowd gasped as the omen of the Spirit’s blessing appeared, clapping their hands as it slowly dispersed. Castor smiled and took the arm bands, pulling them apart at the intricately wrought hinge and clasping them on Jetta’s bare arms where they sparkled with splendor. Then he took the ring, and kissing her hand, pushed it on her finger. “And the bride’s gift to her groom?” Damien asked, smiling widely. Jetta turned towards the page bringing her a large basket. Reaching in the top she brought out a red tunic, intricately stitched, the material woven and dyed by her own hands. Then reaching in once more, she brought out a pair of boots, stitched and beaded by her, the red beads forming the head of a dragon upon each boot. She held the gifts up to Damien and waited as he repeated the ritual, feeling the heat of the aura that glowed around her hand as the Spirit blessed the gifts and thus the joining of the two of them. She then handed them to Castor, feeling her shoulders straighten even more as he admired the beading and the expert tailoring of his new tunic. “The gifts have been accepted by both the Spirits and the couple. Now all we need is for Castor to give his wife her first married kiss.” Damien stood back as Castor dropped the gifts back into the basket left at the foot of the dais and took his lady in his arms. **** Jetta’s lips parted in anticipation as she felt his strong arms pull her close, lifting her until she stood on the tips of her toes. His lips met hers, his mouth fusing seamlessly with her own in a kiss that sent heat streaking through her to pool in her belly. His tongue slipped into her mouth, tangled with her own, making them both anxious for the time they could leave the gathering and be on their own. They were interrupted by the people of the castle coming to congratulate them, hands slapping Castor on the back, kisses for Jetta as she was whirled away from her groom. It was a game, to keep the happy couple as separated as possible, the women hiding her from Castor in the midst of their swirling

gowns. It wasn’t easy as Castor’s colors stood out amongst the others of the court, the red brilliant amidst the other colors. Jetta’s smile lit up his heart and in one of the few times that they were able to speak, Castor told her so. “You make me happy this day, my lady wife.” “You make me happy this day, my husband,” she answered back smiling, but though she tried hard to hide it, there was a hint of sadness in her. “What is it, Jetta? You name it and if it is within my power, it will be yours.” Castor took her chin gently in his fingers, holding her face to his. “It is nothing, really, Castor.” She sighed, denying her words with the sorrowful sound. “I but wish that Adrianna could be here to celebrate this day with us. I know she wished to be, and truth to tell, I miss her.” Castor’s strong fingers caressed her cheek as he stared down into her lovely blue eyes. “Shall I see if Damien can get Kaden’s permission for his slave to come and attend?” “Would you?” Jetta asked, excitedly. She missed Adrianna, having become close with her on their aborted escape attempt. “I would not say it if it were not so. Give me a few moments with my brother and try not to let those women steal you away again. I would us break bread and then let the others celebrate without us.” He wiggled his brows at her, making her laugh. It was a sound he could never hear often enough. **** Adrianna started when the door to her tower room was thrown open in the middle of the afternoon, staring in disbelief as Tia stood there, her arms full of clothing. “What are you doing here?” Tia rolled her eyes. “You’d think she’d be happy to see me.” She hurried forward, dropping the clothing upon the bed and grabbing Adrianna in a quick hug. “You have permission to come to the feast. Jetta asked for you and Damien got Kaden to agree. As long as you stay within Damien’s sight at all times you can celebrate our little one getting wed to her lord.” Adrianna hugged her back, excitement shooting through her system. She was being given a reprieve, a chance to get out of the tower without the watchdog form of Kaden following her every move. She could spend time with her friends, instead of watching the sun slowly sink toward the horizon like she did everyday. “What are we waiting for; get me out of these chains.” Tia did and then helped her dress, not the normal servants garb but one more formal with a bright purple vest that hung to her waist over the top of her white blouse. Her lightweight anklet was attached. With astonished eyes, Adrianna watched as Tia added to the anklet, ringing her ankle with a link made up of dozens of tiny bells. It was different than the one that Tia wore, the bells tinier and higher pitched, jingling every time she stepped. “What are these?” she asked as she shook her leg to hear the happy sound. “They are a gift for you from your lord, as is this day. So let’s not question good things, but go and enjoy ourselves before all the wine has been drunk and the good pranks have been pulled.” Tia hurried her out the door before she could even glance at Kaden’s mirror, grabbing her hand and dragging her out the doorway. The sound of the bells led the way as they hurried down the circular stair, both laughing as Tia told of what pranks were the norm and how the bride was hidden from her groom, forcing him to go through all the women to get to her. They were almost to the bottom when Adrianna heard a noise and turned her head, a flash of pain and then darkness overcoming her. Her body slumped, falling down the rest of the stairs to land in a lump at the door. Before the darkness took her completely, she thought she heard Tia scream.

Chapter Fourteen Pain seared like fire through her head. Adrianna moaned, shaking away the blackness that pulled like mire trying to take her down once more. Something was wrong, she could feel it, but she couldn’t remember what it was. Opening her eyes was the hardest thing she’d ever done. Keeping them open was the second. Bright light shone in from the open doorway next to her, blinding her even as the pain in her head throbbed and made her feel nauseous. What had happened? Where was Kaden? “Tia!” She sat up suddenly, and the room spun around her like a top, twisting and wobbling until she managed to take a couple of deep breaths. She put her hand to her head, feeling the large lump under the skin, hissing as her fingers caused it to throb even harder, beating to the tune of her heart. Tia had come for her, helping her dress. She could remember that, but what happened after was dark. It was almost as if someone had put up a wall between the time she’d been in the tower room and the time she woke at the bottom of the stairs. Had she fallen or been pushed? Oh, God! She couldn’t remember. But Tia should be here, that she knew. She’d been in the tower room with her. Adrianna could remember that part. Sliding her hand against the wall, she forced herself to stand, only then seeing the blood that coated the front of her vest and the white blouse under it, making it stick to her skin. For a moment she could only gape in horror, and then she was running her hands over her chest and stomach, searching for the wound. The only pain she felt was in her head, no wound could be found on her body. Where did the blood come from? **** “Are you enjoying the day, Lady Raven?” Damien asked, coming up behind the lovely healer as she stood watching the festivities. “Lord Damien,” Raven squeaked. “You startled me.” She let her hand come to rest against his wide chest, feeling the solid beat of his heart under the fine cloth. He’d become important to her in the past few weeks, healing her fears as she healed the bodies of those of the castle who came to her. She wasn’t always successful, for some illnesses were brought by the fates and must come to their own conclusion, whatever that may be. Some things, such as sight lost, were done by the Spirits and for a reason not in Raven’s comprehension. But it hurt the healer to send those away that she could not help. She doubted her own gifts on those days. “You seem far away today, Raven. Is something amiss?” His hand covered hers on his chest, her fingers looking so incredibly delicate under his own battle-hardened palm. “What could be amiss on such a lovely day and with such a wonderful celebration? Jetta looks so beautiful and seems so happy with her choice.” She smiled up into his handsome face, enjoying the way her hand felt in his. “It does make me realize that time is fleeting though, and I should be returning to my own land soon. But such a thought should be for other days and not one such as this.” Damien felt his stomach drop. “Why would you wish to leave? I thought you to stay and become healer of Daring Castle, my lady. None wish you to leave us.” Raven turned her hand in his, grasping his fingers. “This is not my home, Damien. These are not my people. I belong to the lands of the west where there is much illness and poverty, not to these wellfed happy people who bring to me boils to be lanced and fevers to cure.” She stepped closer, wishing to feel the heat of his body, to enjoy the touch of his thigh against her own as they spoke. “Your people

need a healer of less gifted means. Even one skilled in the ways of herbs could suffice. My people have fought many battles and have garnered much woe. It is there that my gift will be put to better purpose.” Damien’s eyes grew inscrutable, his thoughts dim as he pictured what his life would be like when this slender lady left his castle. She’d brought such light into his life, such joy with her happy ways and soft-spoken mien. She amused him, finding a different approach to any tale told and finding even the most cynical had merit. Her laughter eased his thoughts, her presence brought him joy. She couldn’t leave. He would have to find a way to keep her. “But as I said, that is a thought for days not of celebration.” She tugged on his hand, bringing his head down towards hers and she stood upon tiptoe to reach his lips, sharing with him a kiss of such sweetness both were loath to bring it to an end. His hand rose to her cheek, brushing a loose tawny tress from her skin. “It is a thought for days other than this, but promise me not for one in the near future. I have no wish to lose you, my lady. You bring me much pleasure, in bed and out.” Raven parted her lips to answer, but her words were lost in the shrill scream that echoed throughout the suddenly silent hall. Damien turned, his hand going to his sheathed sword. His eyes grew wide with astonishment as Adrianna teetered into the hall, her clothes covered in blood, her eyes confused and darkened with pain. He reached her first, Raven following on his heels, arriving just as the slave girl wavered and fell to her hands and knees, her hair down around her face as her head hung between her shoulders. “Adrianna!” Damien called, as he grabbed her, rolling her in his arms to her back. “Adrianna, answer me, where are you hurt?” Blood from her blouse stained the blue of his tunic and the leather of his doublet. She looked up at him, confused and in pain. He tore off the vest in his hast to find her injury, his hands going to the shoulders of her blouse to tear it too before Raven stopped him. “Just lay her down and let me see,” she said, holding her hands above Adrianna’s prone form. Heat seeped into her palms as she let them rest on the girl’s shoulders, slowly guiding them over her body. With her eyes closed, she used her gift to find any injuries, doing a slow and thorough check. **** Finally Raven’s hands came to rest upon Adrianna’s brow, feeling the thudding pain as if it were her own. She concentrated, letting the pain slip through her hands and into her arms, traveling until she felt it in her own head as a painful hammer blow of agony. It grew in intensity until almost unbearable then slowly disappeared as she completed the healing. Adrianna sat up, staring at Raven as she had the first time, the release of the pain she was in as orgasmic as any sexual encounter. “Are you all right?” the healer asked quietly, having felt everything that Adrianna had. “Y…yes I think so. But Tia was with me, and she is missing. I don’t know where she is.” Adrianna tried to stand up, taking the hand that Damien held out to her. “Where did you see her last?” Damien’s voice was rough with worry. “I don’t remember, she was with me in the tower, after that… I just don’t remember.” Her hand tangled in Damien’s tunic. “Find her, please,” she begged. **** Leaving the still shaky girl in the capable hands of the healer, Damien called to his lords, sending them out to search for Tia before running up the castle tower stairs himself. At the top, he found something that chilling his blood in his chest. Tia’s vest, slashed and covered in blood lay against the top of the stairs, as if dropped by negligent hands. Just under the wooden door at the other end of the room, Damien caught a glimpse of blonde hair. He rushed into the room, his heart in his throat. “Tia?” he called, suddenly terrified to open the door, knowing what he was going to find on the other side. Slowly he pushed open the door, his hand shaking. He saw her on the floor, her body covered in blood, her eyes open and staring up at him. There was horror in her expression, and surprise, as if someone had turned on her that she hadn’t expected. Damien dropped slowly to his knees next to her, his

hand reaching out to smooth her hair back from her face, pulling a strand free from her cheek, where it stuck in a spot of blood. “Tia?” he tried again, even though he’d seen enough death in his life to realize that she was gone. “No! Tia?” He shook her as if he could wake her. A hand fell on his shoulder and he shrugged it off without looking to see who it was. Instead he gathered his Tia in his arms, holding her to his chest. Her head fell against his forearm limply. A heaving sob caught in his throat, a sob that he held back as he rocked her slowly. Her body was growing cold and her skin was pale as the clearest moonbeam. Damien’s pain overwhelmed him as he held her, horror and confusion at her death making him oblivious to all around him. “Damien?” The hand came down on his shoulder again. “Brother, please. Let us take her from here. We need to find out what has happened.” Castor knelt beside his brother, a sheet in his arms. He took the limp form from his brother’s arms, wrapping her securely in the white material. What little blood hadn’t already drained from Tia’s body stained the sheet a bright red. He lifted her in his arms, standing and holding his bundle as if it were the most precious of packages. Damien could hear the crying and sobbing in the back ground now. He looked up, seeing Jetta, her face buried in her hands as tears shook her shoulders. She came towards him, putting her hands on his shoulders as he knelt on the floor. He answered her invitation by wrapping his arms around her waist and burying his face in her stomach, feeling the pain of Tia’s loss as a physical wound. For an instant, he held tight, needing the contact with another human before pushing away and standing up. Damien looked down at Jetta, wiping away the trail of tears on her cheek with his hand. “Thank you,” he said, his voice husky with his own unshed tears. Then he turned and followed Castor. **** Adrianna looked up as Castor entered the hall, the cup she held in her hands clattering to the rush covered floor as she saw the burden he carried in his arms. “NO!” she cried out in anguish, rushing forward. Raven took her arms, holding her back with impressive strength. One of the slaves came forward, pushing aside half full plates and chalices to make room for the body. Castor gently laid Tia down, smoothing out the sheet that covered her body. He had tears sparkling in his brown eyes, but behind them was rage for the person who had so callously taken a young life. Especially Tia’s, whose love and laughter had been felt and valued in the castle for years. Raven held Adrianna in her arms, smoothing her hand through her hair to try and calm the girl down. She was sobbing, uncontrollably, incoherent when Damien finally reached the hall. He went to the body, pulling down the sheet that covered her face until all could see her. His eyes hard, Damien stared at the crowd gathered around him, noting each face, searching to see who was missing. For an instant he thought Magda gone but then caught a glimpse of her skulking along the outer ring of the crowd, cackling almost insanely at the turn of events. Damien barely controlled the urge to go and slam her against the wall, to use his fist upon the crone until the pain in his body became numb. Then his eyes fell on Adrianna. “Who did this?” he asked her, walking toward her. Adrianna stared up at him, her eyes wide, her cheeks streaked with tears. “I don’t know,” she whispered. “I found her in your tower room; you are the only one in that room during the day. She came up there to get you. And you tell me you know nothing of how she ended up dead?” Damien’s voice rose until he was almost shouting. Adrianna stood up to him, refusing to back down. “I can’t tell you what I don’t know. She came up, she unchained me and then helped me dress for the party. That’s the last thing I remember.” She stared up at Damien, her eyes filled with the pain of her own sorrow. ****

Raven walked to the body, her own sorrow held in check. She checked Tia for any last glimmer of life, any hope of being able to bring her back, using her thoughts and a softly spoken spell. “Life’s not over If thought remains The soul still lingers Despite the pain Search this body Bring me near Spirits guide me Help me hear If the spark life brings Within death still burns Channel my powers To that which yearns Help me find That which I seek As I will this So shall it be.” She waited, holding her breath, fighting the emotions so close to the surface that hindered her concentration. Within moments she had her answer, no glow emanated from Tia, no spiritual guidance to lead to the source of that spark of life. If there had been, she might have been able to fan the spark and coax it back, healing the grievous wounds that crisscrossed across Tia’s skin. With a sigh, she bowed her head and let her hand rest upon Tia’s eyes, closing them gently, and then bent down to kiss her forehead before turning away. **** Damien, his hope shattered, stared at the people surrounding him, searching their eyes for a clue to whom had done this foul deed, had taken this beautiful, gentle woman from their midst. Stunned grief and disbelief was what he saw. Death had come to this castle in many forms but never as insidious and evil as this. Murder was a deed that took little courage and to murder a woman was by far the most cowardly of deeds. “Here!” Damien’s head lifted and he saw Trevor coming from behind the others crowded around him. “Move back, let him through,” he growled loudly. Trevor carried in his hands a folded up square of white material. He held it out to Damien when he finally reached him. “I found this on the stairs. She must have dropped it after she killed Tia.” He eyed Adrianna with a jaundiced eye, before flipping open the material. A dagger, covered in blood and gore, was between the folds, the handle partially clean, the gems encrusted in its silver surface gleaming dully. Damien took the material, holding the dagger up to see it better. “It is Tia’s. I know, for I gave it to her myself.” Jetta stepped closer. “She wore it in a small sheath on her belt. It was one of her most prized possessions,” she said, her voice hoarse from the tears she’d shed. Castor’s arm was round her waist, his hand upon Damien’s shoulder. Castor couldn’t forget the words he’d spoken to Damien earlier, about Tia and what he’d planned for her now that he no longer wanted her in his bed. And now, Tia was dead and it seemed that Adrianna was the most likely suspect. “What can we do, brother?” Trevor turned, staring with unconcealed hatred at Adrianna. “She must be punished. Tia showed the wench nothing but kindness and is repaid in this way. She killed her and now she must be punished!”

There was a murmur through the hall, a rumble of unease and fear that seemed to grow as Damien remained silent. He stared at the small dagger he held in his hand, finally glaring up at Trevor with a look that spoke of his distrust. “You are fast to judge what you did not see, Trevor. We know not for fact that Adrianna did this foul deed. And until we do, I will not be forced to hand out any punishments that could come back and haunt me. Katiara,” he swallowed heavily, fighting his grief and his guilt, “is dead. And today’s day of celebration has been interrupted. Rituals must be performed and the hall blessed to help send her soul on to its finally resting place.” “But Damien,” Lukah, another guardsman, one who’d been against Adrianna’s punishment before, spoke up. “She is covered with Tia’s blood. She was in the room with her and the last one to see her. What more evidence do you need that she did the deed?” “Kaden was also in that room, or did you all forget that?” Another mutter went through the hall, this one of agreement. “He will have seen what happened. He will be able to tell us who committed this crime.” Damien turned and gently placed the dagger upon Tia’s chest, laying it so that the blade pointed down to create a cross. He touched Raven’s hand, his eyes thanking her for what she had tried to do, then straightened Tia’s hands, crossing them across her chest before once more pulling the sheet over her. Turning, he faced the assembled castle folk. “Until the time that Kaden can tell us what he saw, Adrianna will be put into the dungeon. She is not to be harmed in any way.” He pointed to two of his men and they went to the girl, taking her arms and half carrying her to the back of the castle, to a stairwell dug deep into the ground. “The rest of you,” he said, regaining their attention, “will clean up this celebration. Tia’s needs must be met; her funeral pyre must be prepared. She will be remembered with the honors deserving of a lady of this castle.” With one last look at the body, he turned and left the hall. **** What had been a happy day suddenly turned bleak with the discovery of Tia’s body. The cook set aside her broths and stews, setting up a pot large enough to create the mixture that would be used to coat the body, causing it to burn quickly and cleanly. The older woman sniffed and rubbed her cheeks free of tears as she mixed her herbs, bringing in new buckets to be filled with the aromatic mix when it was done. Jetta took charge of the body, carefully washing her friend, cleaning the blood from her skin and hair with loving hands that shook with sobs. She used a mixture of herbs that Raven brought to her to hold the skin of the wounds together before dressing Tia in her finest outfit in Damien’s color of blue. With gentle hands, she took the flowers that Tia had woven into Jetta’s own hair and carefully ringed them across Tia’s forehead before kissing both of her cheeks. Tia would be placed within a glass box and sat upon the Lord’s table for two days before her funeral would be completed. Being given all the honors of a lady of the castle meant that she would be honored for those two days, stories told and events recounted. Her life would be lauded even as those who knew her grieved for the loss of her presence among them. Special candles would be lit next to her body, for she was not to be left in darkness. Now that the Spirits would come and take her soul to be with them, she need never be in darkness again. The candles were kept lit to help the Spirits find her and take her home. The garlands used to decorate the hall for Jetta’s wedding had been removed, the flowers used in pots of water set around the room. Other flowers were laid inside the glass box on a silken cloth before Tia would be finally placed in it and the top set in place. Before the top could be put in place though, Damien would need to speak the spells that would protect all from the mischievous souls attracted to Tia’s new essence. Souls not of use to the Spirits were left to roam the lands. They sought the brightness of new souls, seeking to use their energy to trick the Spirits into taking them instead. These souls were tainted from the years of living where they could not be seen, of being where they were not wanted. They could be pranksters or demons. The spells were necessary protection and only the Great Lord of Daring Castle could perform the ritual. But Damien was in no shape to think of rituals or spells. He lifted his cup, draining it and hoisting the bottle to replenish the empty vessel. After the third such maneuver, he dropped the cup to the floor, not caring if the fine silver was scratched in the rushes, and drank straight from the bottle.

He stared moodily into the fire, the drink going straight to his head, since his belly was empty. He’d lost its contents like a faint wench soon after returning to his chambers, blocking out all who would try to speak to him. All he could see was that look of horror on Tia’s face, the look of pain in her eyes. He heard his brother’s words ringing in his ears. “Are you telling me that you are blinded to the lives of the people just under your nose?” This was his fault, her murder. He was to blame, no matter who held the dagger be it Adrianna or any man or woman of the court. If he hadn’t been so wrapped up in the power he had, the glory of being Lord Damien of Daring Castle, maybe he could have seen the problems growing right in his own face. There was a knock on his door, which he ignored. It became a pounding that shook the frame, sending a scattering of dust from the beams up above. He gazed with bleary eyes at the door before going to take another drink from the bottle, only to realize it was empty. Getting up took concentration and more effort than he’d thought it would. But he finally managed, going to the cupboard where he kept his favorite bottles of drink. The cupboard stood open and empty; bottles lay on the ground around his chair like warriors fallen on a field of battle. His fire had burned low as he was lost in thought and the haze created by the wine. He turned, and his feet tangled in his loosened boots, sending him sprawling across the hard floor, cracking his jaw against the stone of the hearth. It jarred his head, making it throb almost unbearably and set his tongue to bleeding, as it was caught between his teeth. The coppery taste of blood filled his mouth and he spat it out, rolling to his back on the rushes and putting his hands over his eyes. A keening wail wanted to squeeze past the control he’d put on his pain and he fought it, hearing a whimper that snuck through despite his effort. He saw her when he closed his eyes, her hair wild around her as she sat up in his bed, her body naked and rosy from his loving. He saw her as she teased him from across the great hall, tossing her hair and sending out all the signals he’d grown to love. She was eager for his hand, loving to his touch. She sent his blood pumping heatedly through his veins with one look and never asked for anything from him but the pleasure he was willing to give with his body. He’d taken her maidenhead, but he wasn’t her only lover. He’d been her most important though; this he knew. And he’d turned from her the instant another woman caught his eye. He’d left her to this, to being carved up with her own dagger, murdered under his nose. If he’d only listened to Castor, if he’d only been willing to give up some of that power he’d thought so damned important… “What have you done to yourself?” Her voice came from the doorway, now opened. Behind her stood Castor, rubbing the shoulder he must have used on the door. “Get out, I want no one with me now.” With a groan, he rolled to his side, turning his back to them, his head almost in the fire. “What you want matters not when you choose to act the child,” Raven said, coming across the floor to kneel by his side. “What do you care? You plan to leave anyways, to go back to those peoples that need you so much.” He threw out his arm, rolling to his back and almost knocking her to the ground. **** She didn’t need to touch him to know his pain. It emanated from him in waves, calling to the healer in her. But the look in his eyes, the guilt and the disgust that he felt called to the woman in Raven. That look called to the woman who had fallen helplessly in love with the man who now doubted not only himself, but his own powers as both man and ruler. “Damien, don’t.” He rolled back over to his side, wrapping his arms around himself and staring into the fire, so close to his face the heat stung his skin. “I don’t wish you here.” “And I don’t care what you wish,” she answered simply, waving Castor out as he moved to pick his brother up. She waited until Castor had closed the door behind him and then bent over Damien. “I am here and I am not leaving you alone.” “I can make you leave.”

“You could, but you won’t.” Raven removed the light cloak that covered the gown she’d worn to Jetta and Castor’s celebration. It held small stains from Tia’s blood on the cuffs, but she hadn’t had a chance to change, trying to see all the people who came to her, speaking their fears. She’d worried for Damien, having seen nothing of him since he’d left the hall shortly after Tia’s body had been discovered. When Castor had come, telling her of the locked door and Damien’s guilt, she’d hurried to him. Damien shrugged off the hand she laid upon his shoulder, her presence bringing the grief too close to the surface. “I want to be left alone, Raven. Damn all that is holy! I don’t wish to see anyone.” Raven replaced her hand on Damien’s shoulder, this time holding on when he tried to shrug her off. She knew that he was physically stronger, but she also knew he wouldn’t hurt her. With stubborn tenacity, she pushed down on his shoulder until he was once more on his back, looking up at her. “If you want to be left alone, I’ll leave as soon as you let me look at your chin. You’re bleeding, Damien.” “‘Tis nothing. I fell.” He tried to wave her off but she was adamant, taking his hand and pulling him until he rose from the floor and stood, swaying from the alcohol in his system. “Damn me, woman, you are enough to drive a man to drink.” Raven smiled wryly as she guided him to his chair, stepping carefully over the many bottles lying on the floor. “It looks as if you’ve had more than your share already, Damien. Now sit and quit glowering at me.” “Do I not scare you?” He sat in a thump, his breath huffing out quickly as his chin hit his chest, causing it to ache with sudden pain. “I’m terrified,” she said, grabbing a handful of his hair and holding it to pull his face up into the little bit of light that came from the fireplace. “You’ve done a wonderful job of this. Let me see your tongue.” “I am not showing you my tongue, woman.” Damien’s head lolled on his shoulders as she let loose of his hair. Raven took his chin in her hand, squeezing just hard enough so that his mouth pursed open. With her other hand, she put her fingers over his teeth, pushing down so that she could look inside. It was done before Damien could even think of moving or arguing. “Well, you haven’t taken off any of it but it is cut.” She sighed as he pulled from her hands. “Just sit there while I get some water to clean you up and then I’ll heal you.” “Why?” He turned his head to watch her walk to the pitcher on the small dresser. Her hands were competent as she poured water into the basin and took one of the small cloths to bring with her back to him. “Why what?” she asked, kneeling between his legs and putting the basin in his lap. When it started to slosh, she grabbed his hands and forced him to hold it. “Why should you sit there? Or why should I clean you up and heal you?” Her hands were gentle as she carefully washed away the blood from the cut on his chin. If left to heal on its own, it would scar. Although a scar was not something to worry a man like Damien, Raven was glad to be able to heal it. He would have no sign he’d been injured when she was done. “Why should you wish to even touch someone like me?” He grunted when her hands grew a little rougher. “Hmm, let us see. You’ve rescued these people from an evil warlord who wished to rule them the way he dominated his own people, leaving them bent and broken, scarred and crippled. You’ve given them a home and a life they can be proud of. They have purpose and praise for a job well done.” “But they are slaves with no rights. Some I have taken from their own lands and brought here to serve me.” “Some like who? Like Jetta, maybe?” She looked up from what she was doing, staring into his bleary eyes. “Like the little girl who found love, acceptance and a life she wouldn’t have had if you’d left her where she was at?” She put the bowl on the floor, dropping the rag into it with a splash as exasperation got the better of her. “We all loved Tia. Even me, and I knew who she was to you and what you felt about her. She was a loving and wonderful woman who didn’t deserve this end. But it wasn’t your fault. Tia was happy here. She was loved and respected. Do you know that she came to me a few

days after you were with me the first time and told me she was happy for you?” She shook her head, wanting to shake him. “If Adrianna did the deed, then this is my fault, for I brought her here. I went to her world and carried her back to Kaden. I’ve allowed his treatment of her. I could have intervened…” “And done what? Adrianna was his, you had no right to interfere. Damien, I don’t know if you can see what they feel but it is very apparent that Kaden is in love with Adrianna.” “What has that to do with aught?” His head was beginning to ache and he felt a need for his bed. A need to close his eyes against the dizziness that was beginning. “Stubborn, stubborn man. I should leave you now, let that heal raw and ugly. You are too far into the drink to even know what is said.” She sighed, running her hand over his forehead and into his hair, letting it sift through her fingers like warm satin. “But I won’t. Now close your eyes, Damien and let your head fall back against the chair.” Raven sighed and closed her own eyes, lifting her hands and feeling them grow warm as she concentrated. Her lips moved as the ancient words of her people shifted through her, starting in her core and spiraling with more strength and power until they seemed to burst out of her lips, though no sound was made. She opened eyes that now glowed with an eerie golden light, her hands glowing with an aura of their own. Gently she placed one hand upon his forehead, the other on his heart. The pain that struck her almost sent her reeling. In some ways it was even more intense than Adrianna’s head wound. But this pain wasn’t made by a physical wound. This pain was more insidious and damaging than a simple scratch. It was emotional and deep and raw. Raven blinked her eyes, feeling the tears start, one trailing down her cheek as she opened herself to his pain, drawing it as a leech draws blood, pulling it into herself. A silent scream echoed in her head, a wailing cry that tore through her body and ripped into her soul. Her eyes closed again as she concentrated on keeping the link, ignoring the pain that weakened her, desperate to give him some ease. She felt his guilt, a gnawing wound that grew with rot. She felt his sorrow and his grief. And finally, she felt the pain in his chin and mouth, and in his head from the drink. **** When Damien opened his eyes, the pain in his chin was gone and his headache was lessened. Though his heart still ached for the loss of someone he considered friend, his head was clearer. His guilt still ate at him but he felt lighter than he had before. Raven opened her eyes, again the same dark pewter gray that he’d thought beautiful upon first sight. She had slight lines of fatigue around her mouth and her eyes were heavy. Her face was pale under the normally tawny skin. “Do you feel better, my lord?” she asked with a smile that was tired and drawn. “What did you do, Lady?” He reached out, taking her arms in his hand and helped her from her knees, standing to sweep her in his arms. “I released a little of your pain, my lord, and healed some of your wounds. Some were beyond my capabilities and require time and care. But I did my best.” She snuggled into his arms, enjoying the feeling of his body against her, the warmth of him around her. The glow of healing was still in her core, the heat of her gift that always left that faint itch of desire in her, growing in his presence despite the exhaustion that pulled at her. When he laid her on the bed, pulling the coverlet out from under her, she sat up, presenting her back to him. “Will you? I don’t wish to wrinkle this beautiful gown.” Damien reached out, feeing the tiny laces beneath his big hands. “Perhaps I should call Celia or one of the other…” “No, you can do it, Damien. Please?” She looked over her shoulder, giving him a tiny encouraging smile and moving her shoulders under his hand. He sighed, reaching out once more, pulling the laces and revealing more and more of her silky skin to his gaze. When he’d finished, she turned, holding out her arms for him to pull on the tight sleeves. The gown fell to her waist, baring her breasts to his gaze. His eyes roamed over the full curves that still beguiled his senses no matter how many times he touched them, saw them, tasted of them. They moved now as she squirmed, trying to get the gown off her hips without leaving the mattress.

With a moan, he felt his body respond to the temptation she presented with her unconsciously seductive movements, twisting as she finally pushed the gown off of her hips, getting onto her knees to lay it over the bottom of the bed and giving him a wondrous view of her ass and thighs. With a sigh of her own, she kicked her feet free of the slippers that went with the gown and turned, completely nude to his eyes. She crawled over to him, coming up on her knees next to him, her hands going to the laces of his shirt, pulling them free before he could protest. Then she reached for the hem and yanked on the material, pulling up until it grew tangled as he stopped her. “What are you doing?” he asked, a strange look on his face. “Well, you brought me to the bed. I thought you wanted to…” “That isn’t why I brought you here,” he said quickly, before she could finish her sentence. His body was very willing to do what she thought he wanted, but he’d brought her here to rest. “Then why did you?” She stretched, her arms above her head, her back arching, her breasts rising, nipples hard and pointed. “You seemed tired, Raven, I thought the day had worn you out and you would sleep.” He couldn’t take his eyes off of her slim body as she sighed, her breasts jiggling. She lay down against the dark sheets, her body moving against the material restlessly. It seemed as if she were trying to entice him, a soft moan coming from between her lips. “Are you sure you wouldn’t like to rest with me, Damien? This bed feels so good right now.” An unwilling smile came to his hard face as he stared at the hand she held out to him. “You are deliberately trying to provoke me, aren’t you wench?” The innocent expression she tried to adopt fell short and she couldn’t help the completely feminine smile that came to her lips. “Would it be terrible if I did?” “No, Raven, it wouldn’t be terrible. Right now it would be a most wonderful gift.” He sighed and felt her hand come to rest against his thigh, rubbing up and down the long thick muscle with sensual strokes. “But it would be at the wrong time. I have duties to fulfill that will protect my castle and my people.” His voice grew deeper as she rolled to her side, giving her more room to reach him, her hand sliding up and across the heavy bulge that grew thicker and longer with her touch. “I think the castle and your people can wait a few more moments while you take some time for you, my lord.” Her inquisitive fingers found the ties that held his breeches closed and pulled them, his cock springing out and into her hand as if drawn there. “See,” she said, licking her lips as she gazed at the long smooth shaft she held in her hands. “He knows what you want.” Her hand stroked with new found ease over him, her heart beating so loudly she imagined he could hear it. “Please, Damien. I need you.” She looked up into his face, her eyes pleading from behind thick lashes. The look in her eyes did him in, not to mention that she was stroking his cock into submission. He pulled his shirt off, but not before seeing the catlike smile she didn’t quite hide. “Witch,” he accused, laughing. “I need you, Damien,” he said, his voice rising in mock falsetto. “You want to see if you have plied your wiles and have me at your will.” “Anything wrong with that, my lord?” she asked, bending to help him off with his boots. She shrieked as his palm landed with sharp precision upon her upraised rear end. “Nothing at all, wench. Now hurry with that other boot, for I have duties beside those that I must perform with you. He lay back against the pillow and put his arms behind his head, staring down at her in amusement. “Let me serve you, my lord.” She wiggled over his legs with an exaggeration that kept his eyes fixed on her hips and thighs as she bent and waggled her bottom in the air. With a grunt, she pulled on his boot, squirming more for his entertainment than necessity, as she pretended to have problems pulling it free. Damien finally pushed on her bottom with his other foot, chuckling when he heard her swear as she fell over, the boot now in her hands. “Come, wench, I grow bored here.”

Raven looked at him, chest wide and bare, his pants gaping open, his cock hard and waving in the air. “Hmm, if my face bores you, lord, maybe I could find some other wench with a face not quite so plain and freckled as mine.” Damien reached out his hand, pulling her to him so she landed hard against his chest, his eyes growing serious as he stared at her. “Thank you, Raven,” he said quietly. “Thank you for showing me that life didn’t end with my grief, and that not all is under my control. Thank you for being the kind and generous woman that gives so much of herself. Thank you for being here with me now.” Her heart grew warm with his words, her spirit lifting. Though she put up a good front, she felt partially responsible for what had happened and for her failure at not bringing Tia back. She pushed herself up, feeling the hardness of his cock between the slippery lips of her cunt and pushing just inside, stretching her deliciously. Kissing him softly, she pushed backwards until her body took every long inch of him inside of her. Damien felt engulfed by her, taken by the sweet softness of her in his arms, the tenderness of her kiss, the quiet way she took him inside her wet pussy. She moved over him with delicate care, rousing him slowly and carefully. When he came, it was with her, their flesh pulsing together as he filled her with his cum, pushing into her with such joy of life and love that he felt tears spring to his eyes. She cried out into his mouth as he kissed her, her body convulsing, her muscles contracting with almost painful intensity. He pulled her to him, letting her collapse against his chest, her body relaxing against his with sweet trust. Her eyes closed and he felt and heard her sigh as sleep claimed her. Damien let himself hold her for just a few minutes more before gently sliding out, pulling the coverlet up to cover her and stroking the hair from her face. Then he dressed, his eyes sad but clear as he left his chambers to see to Tia.

Chapter Fifteen The small cell was cold and dark. The only light came from the jailor’s torch flickering dimly in through the tiny window in the heavy wooden door. It did nothing to keep the shadows at bay. Shadows that held unseen presences, known only by their skittering feet and snuffling noises; shadows that seemed to pulse with a life of their own. Adrianna huddled in the beam of that flickering light, her knees drawn up as close as she could get them, trying to warm herself despite the chilled dampness that permeated the place. The smell of her blouse made her gag, for it was covered in blood. But it was the only one she had and the leering eyes of her jailor guaranteed she was not going to remove it. She’d put up with the smell. It seemed hours since she’d been dragged from the great hall and taken down those long stairs into the darkness of the dungeons. With no windows, she had no comprehension of time’s passage and could do nothing but sit and wait, praying nightfall would come before she went mad from the noises in the dark. But when Kaden appeared, what would he say? What had he seen? Had she killed her friend? Rocking on the hard stone floor, she wrapped her arms around herself as she thought of Tia. She’d been so much more than a friend; lover, teacher, confidante. She’d even mothered Adrianna when the reality of her situation had grown too much to handle. Now Tia was dead. And Adrianna was accused of her murder, by Trevor no less. He’d be out for blood after what had happened last time. With Kaden’s cold anger and her own recent aloofness, would Kaden use this as a way out? Would he use this as a way to get rid of her forever? She moaned and rocked until suddenly the small beam of light she sat in was blocked. Adrianna looked up, her heart catching as she saw the figure of a man’s head silhouetted in the small window of her door. “You’re a pretty piece,” a rough voice said. The face moved back a bit, letting in more light and Adrianna caught a glimpse of the face of her jailor. He was an ugly man, twisted and bent, with teeth that were blackened by rot. Scruffy gray tufts of hair covered his yellowed scalp and one of his eyes was almost covered by a thin blue film. Adrianna didn’t know how he could fulfill the duties of jailor, but she’d been told he was good with a whip and a master at making men spill whatever secrets they kept. “I could make life much easier if you’d be nice to me,” he whispered, giving her a leer that made Adrianna shiver from something other than the chill. “Let me have a quick grab and a little feel, maybe a poke once or twice and I might be tempted to bring you a blanket. It can get awfully cold in here once night falls.” Adrianna closed her eyes and turned her face from him. She heard his shuffling step as he moved away, his last words echoing in the corridor behind him. “Won’t be long before the critters come sniffing round. I’ve got a candle you can have if you want to be nice.” She could only hope that Kaden would be here before then. **** Damien stood over Tia’s body, staring down at her still face with sorrow. Jetta had done a wonderful job of preparing her for her entombment in the glass casket, brushing her honey colored hair until it gleamed and lay softly against the white pillow, washing away the blood from her skin and dressing her in the gown he’d given her on her last birthday. She seemed asleep. With a sigh, he reached into the casket, lightly touching her cold lips with the tips of his fingers, a last parting touch. “I loved you, Tia, as much as it was possible for me to love at the time.”

He remembered his first sight of her, as a gangly young teen whose body had yet to mature. She’d followed the lords of the castle, watching with wide eyes as they sparred in the training courtyard or on the practice field. He’d seen her peeping from her hiding place, her hair tousled and mussed, her dress ripped and stained. Her mother, Galena, had been his first bed slave and had despaired of ever teaching Tia to be a young lady. He remembered when she’d come to his bed the first time, naked and shaking with fear and desire, begging him to take her. She’d been shy and adorable, treating every new experience with him as something wondrous and perfect. He’d taught her everything, how to please him, how to use every orifice of her body as a sensual device. She’d learned the art of massage, using her empathic gift to know exactly where to push and prod, when to touch and caress. As her gift had grown, she’d learned to divine prophecies, foretelling events and helping him conquer a foe before they would know what was upon them. Tia had grown from a willful brat into a bright and exquisite woman who found pleasure in the world around her. She gave from her heart to all she found worthy, from the most miserly of men to the youngest and brattiest child of the castle. And she’d always been there when he’d needed her. “I wasn’t there for you, Tia, not when you needed me the most. This I will regret until the Spirits come for my essence.” He moved around the table, standing where his chair normally sat at mealtimes. Four things lay upon the table in front of him. A candle, long and thick, blue in color. When it was lit, it would give out a strong herbal smell. It was an aroma that was used to protect the castle from evil and to guide the spirits to Tia. The candle would stay lit until Tia’s body was moved to the funeral pyre. Then it would be tossed into the base of the pyre and used to start the flames. A sacrificial dagger sat next to the candle. He would use the dagger to sprinkle a bit of his own blood into the candle wax. It gave some of his strength to the protection the candle wielded. The same chalice that he’d handled with such love and joy earlier, handing it to Jetta and Castor before drinking of it himself, sat next to the dagger. It was full to the brim of a special wine only used for the Spirits and the Great Lord of the castle to drink. It would be left next to the casket until Tia’s body was carried to the pyre. Then, whatever the Spirits hadn’t taken would be poured into Tia’s mouth. The final object was personal and not normally found during a ceremony. It was something of himself that he would give to Tia to take with her into the Spirits’ world. He’d cut a long lock of his hair, tying a simple blue ribbon around it. Damien would slip it into Tia’s hand before putting the glass lid of the casket into place. In this world, giving a piece of yourself to the dead was considered dangerous to both the essence of the person moving on and to the person themselves. But Damien didn’t care. Tia wouldn’t hurt him, and he knew she would appreciate the gesture and take it for what it was, a sign of the love he’d felt for her. With a sigh, he turned to light a taper from a nearby flame, holding it to the wick of the ceremonial candle. It sputtered, then started to burn. He shook out the taper, setting it back in its holder. Holding the candle, he turned in the four directions of the compass. Bowing low once more before the table, he sat the candle down and picked up the dagger with his right hand. “Blood gives strength And brings life Feed of mine To protect from strife Four bright drops Form east to west North to south In mortal’s contest Use the blood I give to thee As I will this So shall it be.”

Damien slid the tip of the dagger into his finger, not wincing at the pain. With careful precision, he let four bright red drops fall onto the slight wax pool that was starting around the wick of the candle, in the directions his spell had dictated. East to west, north to south, they dripped into the wax and were drawn to the wick. When they had fallen, he wrapped his finger in a small piece of cloth to keep more of his blood from befouling the rest of the ceremony. Picking up the chalice, he lifted it, holding it high in the air and facing the four directions of the compass once again. “Spirits come Please hear my call Drink of this Protect this hall Holy wine My gift to share In times of sorrow With this prayer Guide this essence Shine with care On this young life A death unfair Guard these people Keep safe from harm Give to them Your sacred charm Evil gone From here must flee As I will this So shall it be.” Damien took a tiny sip of the wine, grimacing at the bitter taste. Then he set the cup down and lifted the hair he’d taken from his own head, carefully slipping it into Tia’s hands, which were folded once more across her chest. A single tear slipped down his cheek and landed on the back of her hand as he straightened, turning to pick up the heavy glass lid and slipping it into place. On the top of the lid he placed the candle. Its wax allowed to drip down its side and gather on the smooth glass surface. The chalice went beside it. The dagger was wiped down and then put into a sheath, then laid next to the chalice. It was done. **** Adrianna had goose bumps on top of goose bumps. Her arms and legs shook continuously as her body shivered. She couldn’t get warm. The light was cut off once more and the guard looked at her with contempt. “Stubborn wench. What matters to you who takes your pink cunt? It shall be of no use to you when Lord Damien comes to his senses and decides to have you stoned to death. But for now, letting me have a poke or two can only make your life easier. I have blankets and candles a plenty out here if you decide you want to play.” He turned and walked away, unmoved by the tears that glittered on her cheeks in the dim light. Adrianna wanted to scream, wanted to beat at the door and tear it down with her own hands. But she did none of those things, only shifted until her side was against the cold rough wall and leaned her head against it. Trying to ignore the noises around her, she closed her eyes and pictured herself at her mom and dad’s home, eating mom’s cooking while dad picked on her and laughter rang through the kitchen.

It seemed like ages until the light was again blocked out. There was the sound of metal squeaking as the lock was pulled free and the door swung open. Adrianna looked up, fear in her eyes as a huge shadow fell across her. Then Kaden was pulling her into his arms. She closed her eyes, inhaling his scent, reveling in the warmth of him and the strength. Tears started in her eyes again, tears she’d thought exhausted after the day she’d had. “Are you all right?” he asked her, feeling her fingers clasping his back like claws as she hung on to him. “I…yes, I think I am. Are you here to let me free?” She looked up into his shadowed face and saw his worry before he could hide it. “You’re not, are you? They think I did this. Did I do this Kaden? Did I kill Tia?” Her voice rose on a hysterical note. “I don’t know, Adrianna. I wish I did. Whatever happened to Tia happened outside the sight of my mirror. I didn’t even know anything had happened until I left the tower and saw Tia in her casket. Damien told me what they think happened.” He hugged her close, pulling the leather doublet from off his shoulders and wrapping it securely around her. “You are like ice. Didn’t that pig give you a blanket? What about a candle? He left you in here without a candle? Nor food and water?” Adrianna smirked, curling her lip. “He told me that I could earn them if I wanted them. I’d rather be cold and left in the dark then let him ‘poke me’.” Kaden turned on his heel, heading back towards the open door to the cell Adrianna had been trapped in all afternoon. She barely caught him before he walked out. “Where are you going?” “He’s been warned, many times, about abusing the prisoners, especially any woman that has been sent down here. ‘Tis time he was taught a lesson.” “No!” Adrianna grabbed his arm, holding on tightly to stop him from moving. He barely felt her, reaching down and disentangling her from his arm before continuing on into the corridor outside. The jailer had been sitting there but moments before. Now he was no where to be seen. Kaden, his anger still building but with no way to relieve it, turned and smashed his fist into the wall. His skin broke and left a streak of blood on the rocks. With a grunt at the sudden pain, he reached down and picked up a stack of blankets and three candles, lighting one from the torch set in the wall and carrying it back into the cold, stark cell. He handed her the candle and then spread one of the blankets on the hard floor, seating himself on it and holding out his arms to her. Adrianna didn’t hesitate. It was as if all those weeks of anger and betrayed feelings had suddenly been wiped away. She threw herself into his arms, burying her tired, frigid body against the heat and strength of his. “I’ve been so scared, Kaden. I thought they were going to kill me, and then I wished they had when they brought me down here.” His hand stroked down her back, holding her tightly to him as he spread another blanket around them both. “It will be all right, Adrianna. I will make it so.” “Will you let me return to my home, Kaden? At least there I know what to expect and can prepare myself. I wouldn’t have been thrown in this cell there, nor had that ugly ass in charge of making my life miserable.” She looked into his face. The expression he wore was a mass of contradictions. His eyes were gentle as they stared down at her but his face was hard, as if he were trying to make a terrible decision. His lips, when he leaned down to kiss her forehead, were soft but they seemed firm and uncompromising when he lifted his head. His brow furled as if in pain, but he smiled at her. “I don’t know if I can let you go, Adrianna.” “You might not have a choice, Kaden.” “There are always choices, little toy. My choice tonight is to stay with you until I am forced to return to my own prison.” He pulled her closer and then stopped to sniff the air. “What is that smell? Is that blood?” He pulled her back, blanching in the dim light as he saw the stained shirt, the blood now dried to a dark brown. “Are you hurt?” “No,” she said, comforted by the urgency in his eyes as he started to try and strip her from the blouse. “It isn’t my blood. It’s Tia’s. I don’t know how I got covered with it. But I didn’t kill her, Kaden. I couldn’t have killed her. I loved her as much as anyone did.”

“I believe you,” he said, reaching out and pulling the shirt from her body to throw across the room and into the shadows. There was a scurry of movement and the sound of ripping and shredding cloth. Then silence returned, as if those that lived in the dark were watching the two of them and waiting for their chance. “Kaden!” she gasped loudly. “I have no other clothing. I don’t want to have to face that guard, or anyone else, half dressed. Especially if they are going to accuse me of murder tomorrow.” “You shall have clothing, but you’ll be much more comfortable tonight without that on.” He settled her back into his lap, her now bare breasts covered by his doublet. She wore that, as well as the blanket he’d draped back up and around them. “And the rodents will bother you naught as long as they can’t scent blood on you. It drives them mad; the aroma reminds them of the food they crave.” “They are welcome to it.” Adrianna was warmer and she felt safe for the first time since waking on the stairs. His arms were comforting, the sound of his heart beating against her ear was familiar and loved, as was his scent. If she closed her eyes and tried hard enough, she could pretend that the day hadn’t happened. She could pretend that they were sitting under the stars, wrapped together for love instead of warmth. She felt his lips against her hair and her heart almost broke at that simple touch. He was being so gentle with her, so loving and kind. Raising her face, she found him looking down at her, a strange expression in his eyes. “What are you thinking?” she asked softly, reaching to touch the whiskered chin of his cheek. “About you,” he said without hesitation, pushing a strand of her hair from her face. His hand returned, stroking her cheek and across her ear with his calloused fingers, eliciting little shivers of pleasure. When he said no more, only continued touching her with such intimate care, she couldn’t help but ask him more. “What about me?” His smile lit up his dark face, almost bringing a gasp to her lips at the full realization of how beautiful he truly was. It was like a slap in the face, that realization. And the knowledge that he wanted her enough to show up here in this cramped room was nearly overwhelming to her. “I was thinking, little one, that despite all the trouble you cause continuously, you are well worth keeping. You are such a pleasurable little armful.” Kaden laughed as she rolled her eyes at him, tugging on a strand of her hair to pull her face up to his and touch her lips with his mouth. What was to be a kiss of affection quickly heated, changing to one of pure sweet desire. Kaden felt her mouth give under his, the softness of her lips and the dark honeyed taste of her that was so easily becoming an obsession. This was the first time in weeks that she’d willingly kissed him or settled into his arms, clinging to him. Adrianna’s eyes closed as she felt his lips part, his tongue slipping into her mouth. His taste was a heady wonder, dark and full of sin. His mouth, firm and delicious, teased hers, brushing and tasting before finally coming to feast, sharing the spicy wonder of his passion. She held him to her, arms wrapped tightly around his neck, rising to kneel over him, changing the angle of their kiss. When he finally broke away, his breath was a ragged hiss, his body throbbing with the need to touch her, to take the body that she gave to him willingly. Rising to his knees beside her, he turned her in his arms so that her back was to him. His mouth found her throat, his teeth nipping at her soft skin and hearing the small whimper she gave as he drew the leather doublet from her, baring her upper body to his lips and eyes. She reached for his hands without hesitation, drawing them up her body and over her breasts, squeezing them with hers. When his hands took over, molding her soft flesh and playing with her hard nipples, she dropped her hands to his thighs, rubbing up and down the hard-muscled flesh under the soft fabric of his breeches. He pulled her hard against him, her ass tucked intimately against the long hard bulge of his cock, his teeth nipping at her shoulder as she moved against him. Kaden groaned as she pushed her hips back, caressing his shaft with soft globes of flesh covered only by a skirt. His hand slid from her breast, pushing into the soft skin of her stomach to slip under the

band of material at her waist, feeling the tiny strip of hair she left above her pussy crinkle against his fingers. He delved lower, his fingers sliding into the hot, moist flesh of her slit. Adrianna moaned, her hips moving with a will of their own against his fingers. When he pushed deep, his long middle finger sliding easily into her wetness, she’d thought she’d go mad. She reached down, pulling loose her skirt to ease his way, drawing it off so that the thin leather of his breeches were all that stood between them. Fingers moved over her distended clit, pinching the swollen flesh gently until she cried out with the painful pleasure of it. “Please, Kaden,” she whimpered, “please, I need you.” Adrianna felt his hand between their bodies and the hot length of his cock at her back. He lifted her easily, his hands spanning her waist, settling her so that he slid between her thighs, feeling the heat of her, the moistness, like a warm spring rain. Her body settled around his cock, opening for the invasion of his shaft, drawing him into her heat as she whimpered her pleasure. His arm slid around her bare waist, hand cupping her breast as he moved under her, slowly thrusting into welcoming depths. She moved over him and around him, exciting him, pleasuring him until his breath came harshly from his chest. The sight of her, was as sensual as the way she felt wrapped so tightly around him. Her head was thrown back against his shoulder, eyes closed in concentration as she sought the ecstasy that hovered so close. He was drowning in her, the softness of her skin, the scent of her arousal; the weight of her breast in his palm, the wet spongy walls that surrounded his cock. “Oh God, Kaden,” she panted, turning her head to stare up at him with heavily lidded green eyes. “Love me,” she whimpered, bringing his hand between her thighs. “I do,” he whispered into her hair. His finger found the hard button of her clit and circled it, sending her over, her body convulsing around his cock. He fought the urge to follow her, gritting his teeth as those warm walls contracted with such tempting tightness. When she was finally still, her head once more leaning back against his shoulder, he bent his head down. “Hold on to me,” he whispered huskily into her ear. She stared up at him, her body tingling and reeling from the climax he’d just given her. Suddenly, she felt his body start to move, his cock thrusting into her, hard this time. She was still sensitive from the first orgasm, still reeling from the unbelievable pleasure that had just speared through her. It didn’t take long until she was gasping and pleading again, her fingers digging into his hands as he held her tight. **** He was on the edge, the sweet friction of her body around his cock driving him. It was so close, he could feel his cock jerking, the pleasure of his sperm-filled balls tight against his body wanting to empty their contents into her warmth. He held on by his fingernails, wanting her to feel that same incredible bliss that he knew waited for him. His heart raced with need, his muscles warming to his work, grinding into her, changing the angles of his thrusts, the speed and depth until she was once more quivering and mewling as her body tightened. Kaden felt her body convulse again, her wet pussy milking his cock as she screamed out her pleasure. He felt the wet warmth of her spendings caressing his cock and let go of his control. Two hard pumping thrusts and he was there, coming into her with long pearly ropes of heated cum that burst from his body. It seemed to take forever and only minutes, his body jerking into hers, shuddering above his, both of them clinging to the other with shaking hands. When it was over, when he could breathe again, he sank to the hard floor, using the blankets to cushion his body. He pulled her down on top of him, her body cushioned by his. He covered the two of them with the remaining blankets and sighed heavily. **** She lay against his chest, listening as his heart slowed to its normal beat. His hands stroked her back; long, smooth caresses that made her feel treasured and loved. “I will be leaving in a few minutes, Adrianna,” he said quietly as he finally made the only decision to be made. “I need to know what Damien plans to do.”

“What’s going to happen to me, Kaden? If they decide that I killed Tia, what will they do to me? The jailer said something about stoning.” She lifted her head, looking at him in the flickering light of the torch. “You don’t need to worry about that.” He caressed her cheek, leaning to press a reassuring kiss upon her soft lips. “If needs be, I will take you from here.” “Take me where, Kaden?” she asked anxiously. “Will you take me to your home in the east? Won’t Damien be able to find us there?” “Find us? Yes, but not do anything about it. I told you, Adrianna, my lands rival these. My castle is just as magnificent, just as inaccessible as this if I need for it to be. I will protect you, my love.” Adrianna felt a rush of relief. Maybe she was a coward, but she couldn’t take the idea of being stoned, or hanged. However they acted out the death penalty in this world. But she wondered why he was willing to do all of this for her. After all, she was just a slave, and not a very good one at that. “Why would you do all this for me, Kaden?” she asked nervously. “Damien is your friend. You are willing to make him an enemy for me?” Kaden’s eyes closed, his held falling back onto the blanket. A long sigh escaped his lips before he smiled. “I think you are the only one who doesn’t know the answer to that question, Adrianna. Can you not see it in my eyes? Can’t you tell when I touch you, or when I kiss you?” “I see lust when you look at me. Well, lust and annoyance,” she said, a small smile tipping her lips up at the corners as he laughed. “When you touch me or kiss me, all I can see is heat and need.” She felt her cheeks flush as she spoke, embarrassed by the admission. “Look now, wench,” he said, smiling and enjoying her discomfort. “What do you see now?” Adrianna looked into his beloved amber eyes. “I see gentleness and caring. What am I supposed to see?” “Love,” Kaden said softly. “You are supposed to see that I love you, little one.” Adrianna’s breath caught in her chest, her eyes growing wide. She stared up at him, seeing the truth of his words in his eyes and the expression of love on his face. “You do love me,” she whispered in wonder. “You really do.” Without saying more, she pushed herself off of his body, evading his hands nimbly. Wrapping one of the blankets around her naked body, she tucked it in over her breasts, leaving her shoulders bare as she paced the confines of the cell. Kaden rose up on one elbow, his knee bent as he watched her walking back and forth. This wasn’t the reaction he’d hoped for when he finally told her he loved her. A kiss or a hug, or even the more mundane I love you, too, might have been nice. But this pacing and agitated look on her face was the last thing he’d thought to see. “Adrianna?” She waved a hand at him and continued pacing. “Little one, I was hoping for a declaration of your own feelings when I told you mine. Would you like to tell me what this is about?” He sat up, his black hair flowing over darkly tanned wide shoulders, his muscled forearm upon his raised knee. She sighed heavily, turning to stare at him. Her heart stuttered at the sight of him, his hair mussed from her hands, a sleepy, contented look in his eyes. Sitting there, naked to the waist, his breeches open and loose, he looked the part of a satisfied warrior; untamed, passionate, fierce and utterly desirable. And she loved him with every fiber of her being. But if she went with him to his castle, would Damien cause a war? Would Kaden be forced to face Damien on a field of battle? All for her? She couldn’t allow that to happen. She heard him rise and dress before coming to her and taking her arms in his hands. “Adrianna, I must go and find out what news there is. If it is necessary, I will take you from here without delay. The journey to my castle is a long one and we wouldn’t be able to leave tonight, but I would find a place to hide you until the morrow, when I will take my mirror and we will leave this place for good.” He pulled her close. “But before I go, little one, I’d like to hear what I can see so easily upon your face.”

She closed her eyes, making her decision. It was selfish but she needed to say this to him, if only this one night. “Kaden,” she said slowly, opening her eyes and looking up at him, “I love you, too.” **** Damien paced the long area of the hall from the dais to the large main doors and back, his eyes skipping over the clear glass casket where Tia rested. He was tired but couldn’t sleep; it was his duty as lord to stay and guard the hall from the evil spirits that the ritual hadn’t chased away. He felt Raven’s eyes upon him. Turning, he went and sat next to her, taking her slender hand in his and squeezing it gently. “My lord, your cares and burdens are wearing heavily. Is there aught I can do to help with the load?” Raven took his hand in both of hers. “You do me wonders, Lady, with just your presence. Though you must be tired as your day was almost as long as mine has been.” “I had a wonderful rest this afternoon, my lord. Of course, I can think of ways it could have been better.” She smiled at him gently, relaxing a little as she took note that his eyes weren’t as dark and guilt ridden as they had been earlier. “And how might it have been better?” he asked, raising her hand to his lips. “I might have woken to you in the bed also, my lord.” He chuckled softly, mindful of the grief-stricken hall. Tia, though, if she’d have had her way, would have the hall full of the sounds of laughter and love. She’d have wanted wine and flowers, children screaming and running, chaos abounding. She seemed so much more alive during those times when merriment reigned. “Damien?” He looked up to Kaden’s worried face. “Have you seen your slave?” “She is no longer my slave, Damien,” Kaden said slowly, his eyes leaving the pair and slowly roaming over to the casket. “Tia looks beautiful,” he said softly. “What mean you, she is no longer you slave, Kaden?” Damien rose, coming to stand next to the man. “You’ve set her free to face this trial alone?” Amazement and disbelief colored his words. “No, I’ve set her free to become my wife.” He turned and faced Lord Damien. “You know full well she had nothing to do with Tia’s death, no matter what the evidence points to. Adrianna wouldn’t hurt her, she loved her. This deed was done to cause strife in the castle and between you and me, Damien. You must realize this.” “It matters not what I think. You saw nothing; the only one that was with Tia was Adrianna. She was covered with Tia’s blood. How do you explain any of that?” “I can’t. All I can tell you is what I know in my heart, the same thing that I know you also realize.” He put his hand on Damien’s shoulder. “Someone wants there to be trouble here. Someone wants to hurt you, Damien. As your friend, I want to stand at your side and watch your back. As Adrianna’s husband, I need to protect her. I can do both if you but allow her out of the dungeon and give us time to find out who did this evil deed.” Damien squeezed Kaden’s arm with his hand before turning to pace the length of the hall again. He made two circuits of the room before he turned back to the other man. “I wish to see you happy, Kaden. I know that you could be with Adrianna. But the needs of my people must come before my own wishes. Come morning, the people of Daring Castle are going to expect an answer from me. I have no other but that Adrianna did the deed. No one else can be found with blood on their hands.” He walked up to Kaden, sighing and bowing his head sadly. “I am sorry my friend. Adrianna must be made to pay for the crime.” “I’d hoped you wouldn’t say that, Damien.” “I’ll grant you this night with her, Kaden, ‘tis the best that I can do for now.” **** Kaden brought the supplies he’d gathered with him to the dungeon, placing them just inside the door of the tiny cell. Adrianna stood where he’d left her, staring at him with huge worried green eyes that held questions he had no wish to answer.

“Damien gave me this night with you.” Her legs collapsed out from under her. She folded ungracefully to the stone floor, her arms wrapping around her stomach. “I’m guilty before I even have a chance to defend myself? Aren’t there any courts here? Did they check for fingerprints on the dagger? What am I saying, they probably don’t even have lawyers here.” She rocked back and forth, hugging herself to try to calm her nerves and the tears that wanted to flow down her face. Kaden ignored her words, more so because he understood them naught, and went to her, lifting her easily and standing her so he could slip his arms around her. “It will be all right, little one. We will leave this place, I will take you to a small hut that is used sometimes by travelers. You will be safe there tonight and tomorrow until I can come back for you at dusk. Then, when we get to my castle, we will be married. Damien dare not accuse a lady of such a crime.” A thrill shot through her as she thought of being married to Kaden. Being in his bed every night and given the respect due a lady of his court. She would bear his children, raise them with stories of her own world. A sadness took her as she thought of her parents; they’d wanted a big family but she’d been their only child. Her mother had always talked about grandchildren, though she was quick to add that she didn’t want to rush Adrianna. Her parents would never meet their grandchildren if she stayed here. If she went home, they’d have a chance to meet the one she carried. But then she’d never see Kaden again. “Come, little one. I wish to see a smile upon your lovely face. You must not worry, I will make this better.” He pulled her close, hugging her quickly before setting her back on her feet. “Now you must hurry, make ready. I have brought you clothes, breeches and a tunic. It will make the journey easier on you than your skirts.” He hurried her through dressing, pulling out a cap and stuffing her hair up under it. If she slouched, concealing the full curve of her breasts somewhat, she could pass as a boy at a distance. A distance was as close he was prepared to let anyone come to her. “Let us go, Adrianna. The door you and Jetta used may be guarded. We might have to use a different one. Come.” He took her hand, hefting the pack upon his left shoulder to leave his right side free in case he had to fight and hurried her up the long flight of stairs. **** In the shadows behind the stables another couple was busy plotting and planning. “She will be accused, you made positive that the dagger was covered in Tia’s blood?” the crone asked, her hand possessively cupping a small pottery jar. “I made sure that there could be no doubt the wench stuck Tia with that dagger. She is to be accused in the morning.” Trevor glanced around the courtyard and into the shadows of the stables behind them. He felt strange, as if they were being watched, yet he saw no one. “This is full?” The crone shook the jar, hearing the slosh of thick liquid inside. “It could have been more if you’d let me slit the bitch’s throat or wrist before I stabbed her. It was difficult to bleed her from the stab wounds. Why do you want her blood?” “‘Tis none of your concern, just know that when I regain my former powers and beauty, you shall be aptly rewarded.” Magda was in a hurry now, knowing that the blood had been in the jar long enough to lose some of its power. She needed to use it quickly if she wished to use it at all. “Adrianna will be accused in the morning and then her punishment will begin. She will be dead before the midday meal breaks.” A rusty cackle came from her throat, her teeth clicking in her mouth. “Such will be Kaden’s destruction, for he loves the wench. He will blame Damien and their friendship will be done.” “Why are you so eager for their friendship to be destroyed? It makes no sense to me.” Trevor shook his head, not really caring about her plot as long as he had his vengeance upon the high and mighty Lord Damien and that little slut Adrianna. “Without Kaden’s alliance, Damien’s hold upon the land will be precarious. With my return to power, I can dethrone the fraud and take my rightful place on the throne of Daring Castle.” She held the jar up, once more shaking it to hear the thick liquid inside.

“You think all of this will be made easy with merely the killing of one replaceable slave girl? If Damien is such a man that he allows all of that, he does not deserve to rule.” “I agree, and I will happily step in. Now go! I have spells to cast and plans to make before dawn’s first light.” They parted company, both content in what had been accomplished in the day. Neither saw the tow headed lad who popped up from behind an empty barrel used to collect rain water. He’d been sleeping, hiding from his father’s threats to wail on him for neglecting his chores. Now with a sparkle in his eyes, he thought of how his father would feel when he heard this news. **** The door shut behind them quietly and Kaden took Adrianna’s arm, pulling her close to the massive walls of the castle, staying within its shadow until they were further from the guards who patrolled the top. Then they raced the two hundred yards to the tree line, listening for a shout of discovery or the twang of a bow string, as an arrow would be loosed in warning. They made it with but seconds to spare, both slightly out of breath, leaning against a tree as they waited and listened. When it remained silent, Kaden once more took Adrianna’s arm, pulling her along a small barely discernable trail that led deep into the woods to the north. About twenty minutes later, they came upon a tiny hut, not much larger than the cell Adrianna had just left. And not in much better condition. Damien pulled open the door, staring around the tiny dustcovered room with satisfaction. “It needs cleaning but you shall be safe here for the day. Come nightfall, I will return with my mirror and we shall leave for Faith Castle.” He set down the pack he’d brought, pulling out the two blankets he’d stuffed in the top and laying them in a corner for her to sleep on. “Faith Castle?” she asked, curious.. “My father’s mother named it that. She said it was a testament of the faith my grandfather had in himself and his abilities that the castle stood at all. My grandfather liked it and so the name stood.” He bent and kissed her softly. “There is bread and wine in the bag for you to eat. Do not wander around outside. I don’t wish you to be seen. Understand?” Adrianna nodded, suddenly afraid. He was getting ready to leave her, he had to be back in the castle and in his mirror before dawn broke. She knew time was running short, but she was loath to have him go. “I love you, little one. We will make this work, do you believe me?” “I do, Kaden. I love you.” He pulled her cap off, kissed her briefly and disappeared into the trees. **** The sun was about to break as he pulled closed the tower room doors and hurriedly went into the mirror. He hadn’t had time to go by the great hall. He had no idea that Trevor and Magda’s plot had been found out, or that Adrianna was free. Just as his foot pulled from the cold surface of the mirror, the sun’s rays hit it and he was trapped once more until day turned to night and he could go back to his Adrianna.

Chapter Sixteen Adrianna had found it hard to sleep after Kaden left. The sounds of the forest, right outside the door of the shoddily-built hut, reminded her of her last night of running. When she heard the scream of a beast close by, her heart jumped and she cringed back on the blankets. She sat curled around herself and wishing he’d left her with a weapon. But finally, the long night took its toll and she closed her eyes, her body slipping into the deep sleep of exhaustion. When she woke, confused and barely refreshed, she wasn’t sure where she was. Noises assaulted her senses. Men’s voices, loud and argumentative, horses calling to each other, the sound of squeaking leather and jingling metals, it was all so close and unexpected. Huddling deeper into her blanket, she yanked on the cap Kaden had given her and stared at the door to the small hut, wondering with fear who would be the one to walk through it. She didn’t have long to wait. The door burst open and a man walked in, blocking out the sunlight with his massive body. He wore armor unlike anything Adrianna had seen before, black as night and dull in sheen, though it shot sparks from the surface as he moved. His head was covered with a helmet of the same black, leaving his face clear except for a piece of metal that came down to a point on his forehead and covered the bridge of his nose. **** Lord Bryant strode into the hut, yelling for his second in command and his map keeper to hurry. At first, he did not notice the small figure huddled in the corner. His eyes fell with contempt upon the bare furnishings, noting the small table and one chair that seemed hardly capable of supporting their own meager weight, not to mention his. Dust covered every surface. Ashes and crumbled rock from the flue were in the cold and dark fireplace; an empty cupboard hung upon the wall, its door hanging from one stubborn hinge. And in the corner, hiding under a blanket, was a person. He stared at the figure for a moment, wondering if what he was seeing was a figment of his tired imagination. They’d been traveling for days, riding late and breaking camp early. He was exhausted, though he refused to show it to his men. This was a chance for vengeance, a chance to recoup what was lost that day so many years before, when his father had tried to unseat the last Lord of Daring Castle. He finally had an edge over Damien, the bastard who had so easily wiped out his father’s men. And he was going to use it. “Who are you?” Bryant asked, his voice ringing through the tiny hut. **** Adrianna cringed down further, glad that she’d replaced the cap that Kaden had taken from her earlier. She was terrified, wishing she had done as she’d planned before she fell asleep and run south towards those portals that Jetta had described to her. Now it was too late and she was trapped. Bryant stood over the tiny figure, the impressive armor adding to the sense of threat from his size and presence. Crossing his arms across his chest with a clang of metal, he stared down at the boy in the corner. “Come boy, open your mouth and tell me, who are you and what did you hear?” Boy? Adrianna’s head picked up slightly, though she still kept it downcast. He thought she was a boy. Maybe she could play to that and get out of here with what little virtue she still had left intact. “I am waiting for my father,” she finally said, deepening her voice a little and trying to inflect a little of Kaden’s accent in her New York City twang. “My lord,” she added respectfully. “Who is your father, lad, that he would leave you here for the day?” Bryant tried to see the boy better, but the dim light and the hat he wore blocked most of his face.

“He is no one, my lord. A simple farmer who left me here while he went to check the crops.” Adrianna was improvising, her heart was thudding so loudly she could barely hear her own words. She only hoped the man would leave or dismiss her without asking too many more questions. “If he went to see to his crops then why didn’t you go with him? You are old enough to weed and hoe, are you not, boy?” Bryant tired of trying to see the boy. He leaned down, grabbing the slender arm and pulling him to his feet. Adrianna barely bit back the screech that came to her lips when he hauled her up, her feet leaving the ground before settling back with a loud thump. She was so startled she almost forgot to slouch her shoulders to conceal the rounded curves of her breasts from showing in the thin tunic Kaden had brought her. “Well?” Bryant stood over here, still seeming amazingly massive. “Why did you not go, too, boy?” “I got sick,” Adrianna said quickly, and then dropped her voice down an octave to add, “my lord.” She watched him walk around her, checking her from all angles. She could only hope that her figure was concealed enough by the oversized clothing. Even the boots on her feet were big, slopping a little as she walked or ran: it was the best Kaden could do on such short notice. “What have you found, my lord?” Adrianna jumped, turning to stare at a pair of eyes so blue they seemed false, as if dye or contacts had been used to provide the color. “A varmint left in a hut,” Bryant said, laughing. “And a skinny one at that, Geoffrey.” Geoffrey came closer, his eyes upon Adrianna’s face as she stared, fascinated by his. He was almost too pretty to be a man, with hair as blonde and fair as his eyes were blue and features that would give the Gods reason to envy. A wide forehead was slashed through by two brows that were mockingly curved over the eyes that mesmerized her. His nose was straight and thin above full, lush lips. The lips tipped easily into a smile, a strong jaw and high cheekbones completing the package. Geoffrey’s was a face unlikely to be forgotten. “He’s a pretty boy,” Geoffrey said, his finger coming out to touch Adrianna’s chin. “Very pretty,” he commented, drawing out the syllables as he studied her intently. Adrianna ducked her head back down, realizing her mistake too late. She tried to control the shiver that ran through her system at Geoffrey’s touch, his skin hot against her flesh. It wasn’t quite successful and she heard the men laugh. “I think he likes you, Geoffrey. Perhaps you should keep him. You know, like a pet.” Bryant laughed at his own joke, already tired of the small lad they’d discovered. “If not, perhaps one of the men would like him. It has been a while since any has had a new body for entertainment. Either way, he must leave here. We must make plans now that we are closer to the castle proper.” “I’ll keep him, my lord, if you don’t mind. I could use a new page. Harold has been hard to replace.” He reached out, pulling Adrianna close. She stumbled and bumped against him hard. Looking up, she saw the truth in his eyes and knew he’d felt the soft give of her breasts, the feminine features of her face. He was not fooled by her disguise. “Let me take him from here, Lord, and leave him with the others while we study the maps…though he might be of use if his farm is near by.” “True, he could be of some use at that. You may have him later, Geoffrey, but for now, let him sit upon his blanket.” Bryant looked up as another man entered, this one not as large as the other two and carrying an armload of rolled scrolls. He went to the table, blowing at the dust and coughing as it billowed into the air before setting the scrolls down upon its rough surface. He began unrolling them as Lord Bryant watched, leaving Adrianna alone with her new captor. “I know not why you are disguised, girl, but I think you wish for me to keep your secret.” He waited until she nodded slowly, fear in her eyes. “Bryant has called for a rest period for the men. We have been on the trail for a long time. You shall sit there,” he nodded to her blankets in the corner, “until we are through. Then you and I shall have a long talk, and I will get a better look at my new ‘prize’.” She couldn’t prevent the shudder that went through her as he pushed her down to the blanket. With a last whispered command to keep her hat on, he turned and went to the other two men.

Adrianna listened as they discussed strategies, her ears picking up when she heard Daring Castle mentioned. They discussed the best way to enter the castle, how many guards were upon the walls and when such guards were changed. They pointed to what must be a map many times. She couldn’t see the scroll from the floor, but they were talking about trails through the forest and entrances in the castle wall. The main entry was bolted shut every night, passage through a tiny door built inside those huge gates. It was bolted shut in turn, and entry was only allowed if the person was recognized and could state his business. These men seemed to know a lot about the running of Daring Castle. Too much, it seemed, for it to be from outside reconnaissance. They had a spy amongst the folks living inside. “Remember, Damien is mine. I will make him pay for what he did to my father, the blow he struck that left him less than a man. No one is to touch him but me.” Bryant walked away from the table, kicking at the chair and sending it crashing with a loud bang into the wall near where Adrianna sat. She cringed away from his temper, her fear very real after the rough handling of the men from the west. It made Bryant laugh, the way the young boy skittered back, away from his anger. “I think I frighten your new toy, Geoffrey.” “He’s not my toy, lord, just a page. A very pretty page, ‘tis true, but just a page.” Geoffrey smiled and stood, coming between Lord Bryant and the girl dressed as a boy. “When shall we move upon the castle, my Lord?” “Let’s give the men some time to rest up, but keep them close to camp. I want none of them wandering too close to the castle to try and find some fresh entertainment. They could be spotted. We will give them until just past nightfall to gather their strength and to rest the horses. Then we will go.” Nightfall! Adrianna heard the word and felt her heart constrict. Kaden would be back at the last ray of light and not expect to be greeted by such a large party of men. He could be caught or hurt. Worse yet, killed. She had to warn him. But how could she do that? “Come, page,” Geoffrey said, standing above her with his hand out. She had no choice but to rise, gathering the blankets in her hand and reaching out for the pack of bread and wine that Kaden had left, food she hadn’t felt up to eating, despite the rumbling of her stomach. “What is in the pack, boy?” Bryant asked, no longer distracted by the maps. He snatched it from her hands to examine. “Food, my lord, left by my father,” she answered, forcing her voice deeper. “Ahh, that is right, your father. When will that noble man come to claim his errant son?” Bryant asked, his head lifting from where he’d been rummaging through the bag. He pulled out the bottle of wine, settling it into the curve of his arm as one would a beloved child. “Tomorrow, my lord, he told me he would be back for me tomorrow. Such was why he left the food.” Adrianna thought quickly, wondering if Kaden had put anything into the pack that would give her away or tell of his return. Bryant pulled out was the ragged doublet that Kaden had brought for her, tossing it at Adrianna so that it hit her in the chest. She managed to grab it, holding it and the blankets to her as if they were some kind of shield. “The poor man will be in for a surprise then, when you are not here. But Geoffrey will give you a good life. He doesn’t work his pages as hard as he should and I believe he spoils them much. You will enjoy his attentions, my pretty lad.” Bryant laughed cruelly, uncorked the bottle and put it to his lips to drink. He smacked them soundly when done. “Go, but have my page bring my dinner here and quickly. I hunger. And if you can find her, have Cherish brought to me. I think it’s time for her next taming lesson.” He laughed again, drinking more as Geoffrey hurried Adrianna out of the hut. The tiny area around the hut had changed drastically since the men appeared. Horses were corralled in a makeshift enclosure, small tents set up around the hut. Cooking fires were burning and the smell of roasting meat wafted to Adrianna’s nose, making her stomach grumble. Small boys scurried throughout the camp, doing everything from cleaning out horse hooves to stirring the pots over the fire. Adrianna heard a shriek and her eyes grew wide as she saw a heavy set woman, with bright red hair and breasts larger than any Adrianna had ever seen, naked next to one of the tents. She had her hands on those huge breasts, fondling and squeezing and a man behind her, pumping between her spread legs.

As she watched, another man came forward, squeezing her breasts together and rubbing his hard cock between them. Adrianna was amazed to see the entire thing disappear between her massive mounds of flesh. By the woman’s squeals and shrieks, Adrianna realized she was enjoying herself. “Her name is Mona. She is one of the camp whores. A favorite. I bet you can see why.” Geoffrey bent close to her to speak softly. “Now keep your head down, I don’t wish for any other to see what you are before you and I have a chance to talk.” He took her arm again, stopping her quickly as he talked to a boy, nodding his head back towards the hut as he gave him orders. “Bring Cherish from the supply wagon. Gag her before you carry her down here, she is bound to scream and we don’t wish for Damien or his men to know of our whereabouts. Do that before you get him his food, it’ll give him something to keep his hands busy with while you finish fixing it.” Then he was walking again, holding Adrianna tight and almost dragging her when she stumbled over the too large boots. “Where are you taking me?” she hissed at him, wanting to yank her arm from his grasp but not daring to draw more notice to herself then she was already getting. “My tent,” he hissed back, a smile on his too handsome face. “I think we need to discuss who you are and what you were truly doing in that hut. It would be best done in private, don’t you think?” “Who is Cherish?” Adrianna asked instead of answering him, managing to turn her head and catch sight of the boy he’d talked to carrying, with some difficulty, a naked girl over his shoulder, her chestnutcolored hair hanging to the ground. She struggled and fought, kicking her feet and throwing herself around until he finally disappeared inside of the hut. When he reemerged, he was rubbing his back and had a bloody nose. “That is Cherish. She’s a slave girl that Lord Bryant picked up along our travels and is having fun taming.” He leaned over and pulled aside a tent flap at one of the last tents, on the outskirts of the camp. He pushed her inside first then looked around quickly before stooping to go inside himself. The tent was small, meant for sleeping and not much else. Adrianna could stand with her head slightly bent, but a man of Geoffrey’s size could only kneel or sit. He pulled her down on the blankets next to him and ripped off the cap that held her hair. The russet tresses spilled down her shoulders, curling and slightly matted from being under the hat for such a long time. Adrianna wanted to reach up, scratch her head and shake out her hair but she dared not. There was a look in his eyes, a look she’d seen before in men’s eyes here in this world. That look was lust. “I knew you to be pretty, little page, but I didn’t know to what extent. You are quite lovely.” Geoffrey lifted his hand and touched a lock of her hair, running the satiny tress through his fingers, admiring the color in the dim light of the tent. Then he took the blankets and the doublet she still held in a white knuckled grip, pulling it from her to toss them in the corner of the tent with her hat. “What else do you hide under those too big clothes?” he asked gently, reaching out to pull on the laces that held the throat of the tunic closed. She struggled against him, quietly. Screaming might bring the rest of those men to this tent and she didn’t want to know what they would do to her, so she fought him, quiet grunts coming from her mouth that just made the smile on his beautiful face grow bigger. He had her tunic off, her breasts exposed to his eyes, in moments. Those eyes glittered, with lust and pleasure, enjoying her struggles as much as he enjoyed the sight of her body. He grabbed her foot as she tried to get away, pulling her back and yanking off her boot in the process. Her ankle gleamed and little bells jangled as she kicked her feet at him, catching his interest. “A slave bracelet on my new little page’s ankle and bells as well, I see.” He pressed a finger to his lush lips, holding her bare foot in his other. The large pant leg fell away from her ankle and he could see the anklet in the light that seeped into the tent. “Whose slave are you? I see no brands or marks upon your breasts to tell your owner.” “No one, I belong to no one,” she whispered, her hands coming up to cover her breasts, the foot still encased in a boot pushing against his hand. “Leave me alone. Please, I beg of you.”

“These stones are purple,” he mused quietly, not letting go but slapping her other leg away. “In this land, Lord Kaden’s colors are purple. Kaden does not collect many slaves, not since Magda entombed him in his mirrored cell. You must be new and very special to have gained his interest, little page.” “Kaden will pay you not to harm me,” Adrianna blurted out, feeling his hand run up and down her slender calf. “Why should he pay me? Come, come, page, such is not done. Slaves are slaves, we do with them what we will. They have no recourse nor do they want one. This you know well.” He pulled her closer, trapping her leg with his arm and ripping off that boot. He twisted her until she pressed against his loins, sitting comfortably between her spread legs. Adrianna pushed at him with her hands, tiny whimpers coming from between her parted lips. She hadn’t thought him to want this of her. She hadn’t known he would be this way, or she might have taken the risk and revealed herself to Lord Bryant instead. But then again, remembering the girl she’d seen carried into the hut, perhaps it made little difference. She could feel his hard cock pressing against her. The only protection she had was the layers of leather they both still wore. His big, warm hand settled possessively on her stomach, just above the waist of the breeches she wore. His fingers spread, touching her sides easily. She sucked in her stomach, trying to get away from his touch; but he just smiled, pleased that she still fought. With that grin in place, he let his hand slide upward, cupping her breast, weighing it with his palm before squeezing the malleable flesh. The scream that she wanted to let loose was held back by sheer will alone. She kicked at him with her free foot. The bells, which she hadn’t even had time to thank Kaden for, jingled furiously with her movements. Once more in this strange land, she was held down by a savage man, being mauled and there was nothing she could do to stop it. He leaned forward, trapping her body under his. He captured her flailing hands and held them above her head. His lips unerringly found the soft bud of her nipple, suckling it into his mouth with a gentle persuasion that denied the tenor of the rest of his actions. He moaned as he played with her nipple, sucking and biting, flicking the hardening tip with his tongue. He pulled on it with his lips until she squirmed, trying to get away from the mouth that was causing hated pleasure in her body. “Stop, please stop,” she cried out, unable to handle it a moment longer. “Quiet, little page. Unless you’d like the whole of the camp in here, finding out why my new page squeals like a girl in heat.” He laughed as he looked up at her, her eyes flashing with hatred, her face flushed from fighting. She had tears in her eyes. Tears of rage, no doubt, for she fought like a warrior, giving no quarter. “Lord Kaden plans on marrying me.” The words slipped from her mouth as he bent to once more suckle on her heaving breasts. As soon as they were out, she wished she could call them back. Geoffrey started laughing, letting more of his weight down upon her slim form as his laughter grew harder. “What man would marry his slave?” he said, between chuckles. His forehead came down, resting upon the smooth skin of her chest, his long hair tickling her. His merriment at her expense continued. “It’s the truth,” she said. “Oh yes,” he said, kissing the curve of her breast with fondness. “You shall make such a wonderful page, and keep me laughing as well. Little one, I don’t know upon what world your Lord Kaden found you. On this one, Lords do not marry slaves, no matter how much they care for them.” He nuzzled his face into her breast and she could feel his lips curved up in that damnable smile. “You smell like flowers,” he said, his tongue coming out to lick the under curve of her breast. “I like the smell.” “Then I’ll go out and roll in horse shit the first chance I have,” she hissed, straining as she tried to get her body away from his mouth. He held her with negligent ease, chuckling at her comment. “Then I shall just have to bathe you, maybe in the courtyard in Lord Bryant’s castle. Though in the northern realm the weather is much less sunny and warm then it is here. Your flesh would shiver and shake, making delightful entertainment for the men.” He used the flat of his tongue on her nipple, enjoying toying with her too much to let it end quickly. ****

He could make her desire him. It was part of the Spirits gift to him, given through his mother; a worthy lady who had Lords lining up for her attention from the time she’d reached maturity. He’d gotten his looks from her also, except for his eyes. Hers were the purest shade of violet, rivaling even the stones on this little one’s anklet. No, his eyes and the debt to Bryant’s family came through his father. He’d been a wastrel, too lazy to fight for lands of his own, content to play his harp and sing his songs for the court. Thus it was up to Geoffrey to seek his own fortune, to find a bride with lands a plenty and wealth to woo and wed. It wouldn’t be difficult. One spell and the lady would be his, her body and possessions to do with as he pleased. It was boring, mundane and completely predictable. He preferred fight and spark to the women who threw themselves at him, no matter their beauty. This one’s wriggles were delightful, her panting delicious. She pushed her naked breasts into his face even as she strained to get away. He reached between them with his free hand, finding the strings that tied her breeches closed. Despite her renewed struggle, it was but moments before the laces pulled apart and the breeches fell open, showing the soft skin of her lower stomach. It looked incredibly delectable next to the harsh leather material. Geoffrey was a connoisseur of textures, enjoying the differing sensations of a woman’s skin from his own. He loved the satiny feel of a sleek stomach, the velvet at the top of her thighs, the warm moistness beneath her breasts. Pressing his hand to these parts of her made his body ache, and left him with a need to possess her, to feel the softness of the pink flesh between her thighs. He could see the narrow strip of hair that covered the soft mound of her pussy. Looking down, his fingers touched the roughness of her pubic hair, enjoying the way the curls crinkled delicately under his exploring fingers. He pushed her legs further apart, rubbing that strip with just the tip of one finger, adding more as he got closer to the slit between her lush nether lips. Finally, as his breath grew raspy in his chest, he slid his palm between her thighs. His palm barely touched the lips of her pussy, but he could feel their softness and the heat that radiated from her core. Moving his hand back and forth, he touched the edges of those lips, ignoring the way she tried to shift away from him and the words that poured out of her mouth in desperate whispers. Finally, he allowed one finger between those lips, pushing past the swollen outer ones to the thin lips inside. **** Adrianna saw the smile that lit up his face as he pushed that finger inside of her, making her cringe with embarrassment. His movements had forced her to feel things she hadn’t wanted to feel, but he’d been gentle and persuasive, not coarse. And though she didn’t want him, her pussy had wept its dew, moistening beyond her control. “Sweet and tight, little one, and just made for my cock. But although it cries for relief and the heat of your tight channel, it is not safe for us to partake of the pleasures of the flesh now. Lord Bryant is demanding of his men. Even though Cherish is sure to be keeping his mind from what we are about, there is no time for me to play with you as ‘tis my want.” His eyes swept over her features and saw the relief in her eyes. He felt a slight annoyance that she hadn’t yet given in to his loving. Most women couldn’t stand this much without climaxing against his finger. Adrianna sighed with relief and waited for him to remove his hand and release her wrists. She wanted her clothing. Geoffrey was much too persuasive in his pursuit than was good for her peace of mind. She loved Kaden and wanted to be with and for only him. When Geoffrey remained still, she glanced askance at him. He was studying her face, a slight frown on his countenance. He smiled, noticing her observation. “But that does not mean that I can’t give you a taste of what I have in mind for later, when the battle is won.” Geoffrey pushed his palm against her mound, his finger delving deeply into the tightness of her pussy. He thrust in and out of her slowly, adding another finger as she began to grow wetter, stretching the delicate opening with stirring precision. Adrianna felt desire’s pulse and fought it. She refused to give in to this pompous ass. She was unable to know he used his gift, even as she fought his pull. She could hear the noise his fingers made as

they thrust into her, wet sounds that set her to cringing even as her body began to react beyond her control. “Stop. Please, I don’t want this. I love Kaden and only him.” Her body jerked as he suddenly pulled his fingers from her, his head up and listening. He released her completely and sat up, showing his back to her and blocking the view from the doorway to the tent with his body. “What is it?” “Lord Bryant wishes your presence, Lord Geoffrey.” “I’ll be right there.” He snapped the edges of the tent together and turned. He smiled as he saw she’d already pulled her tunic back on and was huddled in the corner of the tent. “You’re lovely when you’re mad, little page. I think I like you this way the best.” He straightened his own clothing, tugging his tunic down over the heavy bulge that tented the front of his breeches. “Now before I leave, I must ask you one question. What is your name, lovely one?” “Adrianna,” she hissed, blinking back the tears of rage and fear. “The Adrianna?” he asked in stunned delight, his brows rising. “Well, well, it would seem I captured a legend. The Lady Magda spoke of you and of your confinement. But I had thought you to be dead. Accused of killing Lord Damien’s bed slave, wasn’t it? Not a very bright idea. I didn’t think it would work when Lady Magda proposed the plan.” He watched as her eyes widened and then narrowed. He felt the hatred that flared inside of her. “Magda killed Tia?” she asked slowly. “Well, no. If my memory serves, it was a guard in the castle that Magda managed to turn despite the loss of her power and beauty. She talked him into the deed, though planning the details of how it would go. I see it didn’t work exactly as she planned, since you are out here and not in the dungeon or dead as she had desired.” He tapped his finger to his mouth in thought. “I shall have to consider whether to tell Bryant of your presence now, though he would doubtless take you for himself. But I should be aptly rewarded for the task.” He shook his head. “No matter now, I shall decide after I see what he wishes of me.” He turned and started for the tent opening, stopping just before he reached it. “I shall have pages standing watch, so don’t try to leave. I shall be back soon.” He disappeared out of the tent. **** Kaden found Damien waiting for him the moment he stepped from his mirror. “Where is she?” Damien said without preamble. “Where is who?” Kaden made to brush by his friend and was stopped by a hand against his chest. He stared down at the hand, his eyes narrowing and then looking up at Damien. “If you wish to keep that hand, I suggest you remove it.” “Listen to me, Kaden, before you go running off. The murderer has been found but his conspirator is still missing. Trevor was at fault for Tia’s death. He did the deed at Magda’s behest. But Magda is still missing and now so is Adrianna. If you’ve hidden her, we need to find her. Magda wants her dead. Whether by my hand or her own, she does not care.” “Magda and Trevor, I should have known. How did you find out?” “Dolton’s son was hiding from him in the stables and overheard the two talking. She carried a jug with some kind of magical potion inside that she planned to use. If she got to Adrianna first, we must move with haste. We don’t know the purpose of that potion.” “Adrianna is in the abandoned hut, in the woods to the north. I took her there and was coming for her tonight. We were leaving for my castle. I’m marrying her, Damien.” Kaden started towards the door, coming to a sudden stop again as Damien reached out for him. “Men were spotted around that hut, Kaden. Lord Bryant vowed revenge, since his father died from the wound I gave him so many years ago. The old man held on for all those years before giving in to old age and giving over rule to his son. I know he’s been planning something since Magda’s failed coup, I just haven’t known what. Two men spotted his banner on the tents camped beside that hut. If you left her there, we must assume her capture.” Kaden sank down on the bed, his heart in his throat. If anything happened to her, it was his fault for leaving her out there alone. “I must get to her, Damien. I must free her.”

“If I know Bryant, he’s planning on storming the castle, probably using the same bad idea that his father used.” Damien shook his head. “He will try the gate by the small stream that runs through the castle grounds. What he does not know is that I had the gate reinforced and it is now guarded.” “But what of Magda? Is she helping Bryant? Or is Bryant helping her?” Kaden rose from the bed and paced the width of the tower. “We need to go, Damien. Adrianna is out there on her own, I’ve left her there for those men to find. She could be hurt or…” he couldn’t finish the sentence as a huge fist squeezed around his heart. “We’ll find her, Kaden. This is as much my fault as it is anyone’s. We will find Magda, too. And this time, she will remember her punishment.” **** “Blood to blood, In this night. Powers to drain Actions to right. From this jar, My gift divine. Return to me, That which was mine. Beauty and power, Taken and spent. An enemy defeated, Her blood I send. Return to me , That which he stole. My life, my beauty, My power whole. All that I was, Is all that I’ll see. As I will this, So shall it be.” Magda finished the spell, slowly revolving in a circle. She poured Tia’s blood equally slowly from the jar and on to the ground around her, tiny drops splattering and landing on her bare feet. She was naked in the moonlight, her disfigured body chilled by the night air. But it would all be worth it if this spell worked. Concentration was the key, she kept reminding herself as the words repeated in her head. The last few drops of the blood she sprinkled above her head, letting them drip onto her stooped shoulders. She closed her eyes tight, held her breath and waited. At first there was nothing, not even the warmth she had felt before. Magda couldn’t help but wonder if she’d miswritten the spell or had spilled the blood in the wrong direction. But she gave herself a mental shake and forced the concentration, so necessary for the spell to work. A slight tremor of the ground at her feet opened her eyes and she stared. Tiny green shoots rose from the ground, thin vines with small leaves that grew as they moved along her bent legs, circling her thighs and growing thicker. A scream tried to work its way out of Magda’s mouth but she refused it release, instead letting the magic work. The vines rose over her hips, binding her legs together. Vines that had seemed so tender now had grown impossibly strong. They pulsed with life, going over her hands, knocking the jar out of them and onto the ground. Vines bound her hands to her body, swarming faster around her as they rose ever closer to her head. Soon the writhing vines covered her from shoulder to toe. One wrapped with pristine precision around her throat, and then around her jaw, leafing out and growing thicker as moved.

By the time they covered her eyes, the breath had been cut off from her body. She was unable to scream, unable to move. All she could do was stand in the place the vines forced and hope she would not die. They closed over the top of her head and flowers began to bloom. Huge, blood-red flowers that held dark black stamens deep within. They grew to the size of a man’s hand in the time it took to blink. Little whispery sighs could be heard from within the flowers as they were born, bloomed and died in one swift, terrible, beautiful moment. Then the blossoms withered and fell off the vine, landing at Magda’s feet. The vines grew brittle, as if every bit of nourishment had been sucked away from them. They broke off in tiny pieces, until the ground around her was littered with them. From within the circle, a beautiful girl with full, blonde curls and blue eyes that were frightening in their intensity, stepped out. She broke off the last few vines with the movement of her feet. Raising her arms, she caught the thick blonde hair and lifted it, so it fell like a waterfall around her, the moon catching and highlighting it as if it were made of the finest gold threads. She stretched, feeling the power returning to her body, moving like a silky cat, a dangerous predator in a sleek body. And like that cat, she killed for the joy of the hunt. Magda’s heart thudded with joy as she stared down at her gorgeous body in the moonlight. She admired her long slender legs, lush hips and thighs, the thick pelt that covered her woman’s mound in blonde curls. Her waist was so slender as to seem almost unnatural, her breasts generously curved with large tight nipples, sensitively made. Slim shoulders and arms moved gracefully. A long neck held up her proudly beautiful head. She was as lovely as ever and feeling the power of the Spirits. Her returned gifts flowed through her blood. Her arms rose to the low hanging moon above her, as if she were trying to reach for it and hold it within her grasp. Magda gave up her thanks to the Spirits. “Blessed Spirits, In thanks I pray. My mother’s line, Again holds sway. Gifts you’ve given, Powers that be. As I will this, So shall it be.” Then with a glad cry, she held her arms up in the air and swirled around the small clearing. The cool air on her skin felt wickedly delicious. It brought a flush of passion to her cheeks and a dampness she hadn’t felt in two years between her thighs. She had much to make Damien answer for and just as much to pay Kaden back. And the best way would be to get a hold of that whiny little bitch, Adrianna. Turning her might be just the way to break Kaden’s spirit and send him reeling into her power. Without Kaden, Damien could not resist her. With a musical chuckle that melted on the wind, she turned and grabbed the gown she’d prepared for herself, slipping the thin material over her head with a shiver. Smoothing the fabric over her body gave her more pleasure; the knowledge of her beauty was more powerfully arousing than the touch of a man. She spent a few moments looking into the mirror, admiring the youthful blue of her eyes, the wave and body of her hair. Letting the mirror drop into the grass, she turned. With a lithe stride, she headed towards the hut and Lord Bryant. **** Cherish screamed and scratched at the man who held her lightly in his grasp. Strange words came from her lips, invectives spoken in a language lost in the millennia. She cursed the man as he pawed her naked body, evading his hands when she could, which wasn’t often. Bryant laughed as he watched her body move in the dim light of the fire. He loved to watch this brown-haired witch as she jiggled and jumped, trying to get away from him. It was part of his pleasure,

part of his arousal. A part he couldn’t get with a cowed, wimpy slave or one of the well-used camp whores. His dark eyes spoke his glee, though she understood little of his words. His hair was long to the shoulders and needle straight, dark and matted now that his helmet was off. He’d taken off his armor too, wearing only the thick leather padded shirt used under it to protect his skin. She pounded on that padding, scratching at it and never hurt him at all. Her blood had been spilled upon this shirt since the first day their battle had begun. And it continued now, never ending; even though he’d taken her sweet cunt many times since that day he’d first spotted her. She’d been in the stream, cleaning a pot with sand and the swiftly running water. Her clothing was strange. She wore leather such as his breeches, but in the form of a short skirt, barely touching her upper thighs. Her breasts were covered by thick leather triangles, gathered with thin gold chains and held up by tiny leather straps. A sword had been at her waist, which he’d thought to quickly take from her. But when he’d tried, he’d been unpleasantly surprised. She was skilled with the sword, more so than any woman he’d ever seen. She’d met his thrusts and parries with her own, pushing him backwards before he’d recovered from his shock. The match had been even in skill, but he had size and sheer determination on his side. Soon her sword was thrown across the stream, his blade at her throat. Cherish had tipped up her chin, exposing her throat so that the victor could take the prize of her life. But instead, he’d sheathed his sword, lifting her quickly and unexpectedly into his arm and over his shoulder and carried her away. Her last view had been of a young boy running across the stream to retrieve her sword. He’d taken her the first time that night, in the light of a fire in a small, white tent. She’d been stripped and chained, a collar wrapped around her throat and tightened until it painfully cut off her breath. She’d fought it all. And she’d continued to fight everyday since. When he’d plunged into her, he’d found she wasn’t a virgin. But her body was still tight and squirmed under his in ways that he loved. She fought him every time since, forcing him to dominate her, to claim her over and over. It was the joy of the fight that he loved. But tonight he wanted to try something new with her, a new way to break her spirit. Something she would absolutely hate. He rubbed his hands in anticipation. Geoffrey knocked upon the hut’s door. When bade, he opened it to see Cherish’s beautiful form kneeling upon the floor in front of Lord Bryant. He held her there with a hand wrapped around the short leather leash she wore, attached to the collar at her throat. “You wished to see me, my Lord?” he asked calmly, as if he were used to seeing such a sight. “Yes, Geoffrey. I need you to use a bit of your magical gift on my toy. I think it’s time she learned how to please her master.” “You wish for me to put a spell on her, Lord Bryant?” “That is what I said. I want her to know what it feels like to want me, to want to give in to me because it’s what she needs to do.” Bryant chuckled, rubbing his knuckles against the bruised skin under Cherish’s cheek; a bruise he’d put there himself. Geoffrey walked towards the kneeling Cherish. “I’ll have to touch her, my lord.” At Bryant’s nod, he placed his hands on top of her head, feeling her jerk as if trying to pull away. Slowly, he started concentrating upon the girl’s slim shape, allowing himself to feel what she was feeling. Empathy was the beginning of his gift; to see the thing the woman liked the best was to know how to tame her. But what he saw in Cherish surprised him. She wasn’t like the others, the women of the courts that he had known. Inside she was wild, untamed and almost feral. The shock at what he saw made him pull away, staring down at her. “What is it, Geoffrey? I know your spells take longer than that to perform. I’ve seen you do them. What did you see?” “This one isn’t like the others, my Lord.” He took a step back, staring down at the girl who looked up at him, eyes shining with gold flecks. She was quite pretty, but in ways unusual and exotic. Her body

wasn’t soft; it was lean and firm, with long muscular legs. Her arms, while slender, were still defined; since Geoffrey had seen her wield a sword, he could understand why. “How, Geoffrey? Explain to me how she is so unlike the others?” Bryant asked, becoming annoyed with his man. Time was passing and he still wanted to have his fun with the girl before rounding up the men to begin their attack on Daring Castle. “I don’t know if my spells will work. Her ways are different than ours. She is a protector, a warrior of her own right. I can only push things my own way if there is pleasure to be felt, my lord. She finds you loathsome and abhorrent.” Geoffrey held up his hands as if in apology for his words. “With all your gifted power over women, you cannot give her a push and make her succumb?” Lord Bryant’s tone was scathing as he looked over his second in command. “What happened to all the stories that I’ve heard, of all those women that have fallen at your pretty feet?” “Those women found me somewhat attractive, even if they were unhappy at the beginning of our trysts. Cherish finds nothing about you attractive. She hates you, my lord.” Bryant smiled, his hand still gently caressing the kneeling woman’s face. “She does, does she? Perhaps that’s even more arousing than forcing her to enjoy what I do to her.” He released the leash he held so tightly, giving the woman a hard push that sent her flying backwards to land against the wall with a resounding thump. She scrabbled up, her hands going to her throat as air rushed more easily into her lungs. “And how is your little page? Have you set him to rights, taught him how to handle his chores yet?” “Actually, my lord, I need to discuss that matter with you.” Geoffrey stood relaxed before Lord Bryant, but he kept wary eyes on Cherish. What he had seen inside of the girl boded ill for all of them if she were ever to find her way to a weapon. Bryant picked up the plate of food that his page had brought him, carelessly throwing a hunk of bread in the corner where he’d tossed the girl. He watched as she pounced on it, turning her back to him to eat it as if she were starving. “She really is a little animal. But so pretty, don’t you think?” “Very, my lord. Now about my page…” “If you don’t want the boy, give him to one of the other men or tie him to a tree, just don’t let him go to warn Damien of our arrival.” He bit into a juicy piece of meat, tearing it in half and then tossing the other half to the girl. She grabbed it up in one hand, still hurriedly stuffing pieces of bread into her mouth. “Fascinating,” he laughed as she once more turned away from him, to devour the food he’d tossed to her as if she were some lowly pet. “It’s not that, Lord Bryant. The boy isn’t what you think he is.” Bryant sat down his plate, listening to his man with only half an ear. He walked toward his pretty captive, who turned and snarled at him, her lips curled, teeth bared. With a laugh of delight, he grabbed her hair, hauling her up. Cherish’s hands came above her head, grabbing his wrist, her nails digging in as she tried to lessen the pressure on her scalp. She knew that she gave this man pleasure and hated it. She didn’t know exactly what was being said, but she was learning their words, slowly. She could pick out one or two in their conversation, now. One of those words being the name the man had given to her. If he hadn’t caught her by surprise, she would have run, hiding until they had left and he would never have caught her. The men in this world didn’t act as they should; they didn’t speak to a woman as they should. “Lord Bryant,” Geoffrey tried again, watching as the man ran his free hand down the front of the woman, mauling her bare breasts, pinching and pulling on her already swollen nipples. She was bruised from her past dealings with him, and sore. But she didn’t cry out as most women would or beg and plead. Instead she shot hatred from her eyes and fought him as well as she could. “I…” The rest of his words were lost as a sudden outcry swept the encampment. Bryant’s page pounded on the door, rushing to his lord’s side without being bidden to open it. Something the young lad had never done before. “My lord,” he cried, his young chin quivering with excitement. “Someone approaches. He comes alone.”

“Someone? You cannot get any more specific than that? Who would dare approach an encampment of armed men alone?” Lord Bryant stared down at Cherish for a moment before flinging her towards Geoffrey. “Take care of this and then meet me outside. We shall see what this someone wishes.” Geoffrey caught the captive easily under his arm, hauling her up as she tried to kick him. “But Lord Bryant,” he started, and then caught the look in the lord’s eye. “Yes, my lord,” he said instead, bowing. He carried the struggling woman out of the hut, stopping just outside to throw her across his shoulder, slapping a heavy hand upon her rounded ass when she continued to struggle. Cherish let out a frustrated scream but quit struggling, hating how exposed she felt in this position. Her hands hung down his back, her head banging against him as he walked. His fingers trespassed upon her more private areas, slipping inside her cunt as if an afterthought, thrusting in and out with ease as she moistened against her will. It made her want to scream, this ability he seemed to have to make her feel things she hated. He had a pretty face and upon her world would be most sought out for pleasure and breeding purposes. But here, with her at his mercy, she hated him. And she hated that her body found his pleasing. Geoffrey felt her swell against his fingers and gentled his touch, letting his thumb rub against the hard knot of her clit. He could hear her gasping breaths as she tried not to move against his hand or show her pleasure. Her stubbornness aroused him, more than her looks. Geoffrey had taken so many beautiful women. Beauty bored him now. He sought the different, the unusual in his matings. Beauty was only pleasing to the eye, but not his senses. This girl, with her warrior-like attitude and stubborn pride, aroused him more than the most beautiful lady in court possibly could. Next to his ear, he could hear the wet noises his fingers made as he pleasured her. He could smell her arousal, the musky tang setting his already swollen cock to aching. What he wouldn’t give for a few moments alone with the wench, to show her what a man such as himself could do that Lord Bryant couldn’t. Her wagon was before him, and he dropped her with deliberate abruptness to the hard wooden floor. She tried to scramble away, but he pulled her close, opening her legs until her pussy pressed against the leather of his pants, leaving a light gleam of her juices on the front. Looking down at her, he slowly, deliberately pushed open the lips of her pussy, using the same fingers that had just been inside of her. Cherish felt more exposed than ever with him standing there, staring down at her. She hated the smug look upon his handsome face, the desire she could see hiding in the sparkle of his beautiful eyes. He slowly licked his lips, deliberately, mockingly acknowledging that he knew she wanted him as she had never wanted Lord Bryant. Geoffrey felt the challenge that came from her, the hatred she felt at the way he made her feel. It was exhilarating. His heart raced in his chest, his breath hissing between suddenly clenched teeth. With a smile of his own, he pushed his hand between her thighs, thrusting two long fingers inside her wet cunt with an ease that proved his case. Concentrating upon what he could feel inside of her, her emotions, her arousal, he used his gift, sliding his thumb with practiced care over her clit. Two thrusts of his fingers and he felt her convulse, saw her body curl up as if to protect herself from the power of the pleasure he passed to her. Her legs clenched at him and her eyes closed tight as her hands came down to clutch at his wrist. He closed his own eyes for a moment, enjoying the pleasure that he could sense inside of her. Knowing, with a sense of triumph, that he had done what Lord Bryant had wanted to do himself. He had humiliated the warrior woman. **** Adrianna heard the outcry and shifted in the tent, going to the flap and looking outside. She had a good view of the encampment from here, but then, it also gave others a good view of her. No eyes were upon her though; all were turned to the far end, the end on the other side of the hut, where the newly risen moon was shining brightly. Something was happening there. Could it be Kaden? Had he returned to her, only to be caught in a trap? Adrianna cringed at the thought, her heart pounding loudly in fear for Kaden, whom she loved more than her own life. If he was

caught, she would share his fate, whatever it might be. To be left on this planet without him would be more than torture; it would be hell.

Chapter Seventeen Kaden stared at the white tents spread around the hut. His heart raced as he counted the men squatting in front of small fires or standing and talking in groups. There had to be at least two score or more. He heard a shrill scream, a woman’s cry of pain and anger, and stood from his crouch behind the brushes where they spied on the camp, ready to leap in the midst of the fray and rescue his lady. Damien grabbed his arm, holding him back. “If that was Adrianna, it just means she’s still alive and angry. You can’t go running into the midst of all those men. You might kill some of them, but you could never get them all, Kaden. Think, man,” he said as he saw the wildness in his man’s eyes. “Think, or you could get both of you killed.” Jordan, on the other side of his father, tapped Damien’s arm, gesturing back towards the hut. “I don’t think its Adrianna,” he said quietly, staring at the brown haired wench being carried out of the hut. “It looks as if Bryant brought along a little play thing of his own.” Kaden sank down again behind the brushes, anxious for Adrianna despite the relief that it wasn’t her screaming flooding through him. “If it wasn’t her, where is she?” “Something is going on there,” Castor said, nodding toward the encampment where everyone seemed to be milling close to the hut. “They are bringing someone in.” Damien stared at the slight figure that emerged from the crowd of men. She wore a long white gown that looked like gossamer in the silver light of the huge moon hanging overhead. His eyes widened as stunned recognition sent him reeling. “By all that is holy! Spirits blessings, that’s Magda.” All four men stared at the slender young figure. Her lithe movements were totally unlike the stiff and pained motions of the crone who skulked through the castle, weaving her evil plots and plans. Her hair was long and thick, shining like a halo in the dim light. Bryant walked out of the hut, tossing his hair back as he walked towards the witch. Damien gasped again as he pulled the witch into his arms, kissing her with fervent passion. His hands roamed over her body with a casual ease that bespoke of familiarity. “Bryant and Magda,” Kaden breathed, fighting the old pull of the curse she’d put on him. It seemed stronger, as if with the return of her beauty, her powers had grown. “This is why Bryant feels strong enough to attack Daring Castle. He’s had a spy inside the entire time. How could I have not seen this?” “None of us saw it, Kaden,” Jordan said, angry with himself because he’d known that Magda and Trevor had been up to something. Both he and his Uncle Castor had known. But neither had been able to see how serious their plots had become soon enough to stop Tia’s death. Now, Lady Raven sat with Tia, guarding the castle while they ventured out here. “Father, I think we should have brought more men.” Damien had rounded up twenty of his Lords, counting on their superior fighting skills to best whatever Bryant could throw at him. Especially with surprise on their side. “Who is that?” Castor said, squinting at a small shape trying to sneak out of the circle of tents, on the other side from where Magda was being so happily greeted. He pointed the small figure out to the men. **** Adrianna poked her head out of the tent, looked around carefully, and crawled out. With the doublet over her tunic, her breasts were less prominent. Putting her hair up under her cap, she seemed more the boy than ever. She just had to remember to keep her head down and her voice low. Her heart thudded thickly as she passed a page who was hurrying to see whatever was happening on the other side of the encampment. But he took no notice of her. After he’d gone, she pressed a hand to her breast before continuing on. If she could only make it to the last ten yards, she could dash into the tree line easily, gone before anyone noticed.

Lord Bryant’s voice rose, startling her. She glanced back, curious despite her better judgment. What could possibly be causing such a ruckus? She would circle around after disappearing into the forest. Maybe Damien could use the information she gained and would spare her life. Maybe he would let her leave with Kaden and they could go without the worry of this charge above her head. And maybe, telling him that Magda had been behind killing Tia would change things also. A short shriek left her throat as she was suddenly hauled backwards, a huge hand tangled in the fabric of her doublet. Her hat fell, so that her hair slid over her shoulders and into her eyes. She fought the man who’d caught her like a wildcat, kicking and scratching, elbowing him in the gut as hard as she could. It hurt her elbow, though it seemed to have no effect upon her captor. Finally getting her hair out of her eyes, she looked up into the face of a smug Lord Geoffrey. “I knew you would try it, wench. Any captured warrior worth their salt would try to sneak away when the camp was disturbed. In some ways you have the soul of a warrior, fighting to the best of your ability. I have to admire that, perhaps even respect it.” He hauled her back against him. Her back was pressed against his chest, his arm ringing her waist and almost cutting off her breath. Adrianna felt a strange but familiar tingle on the back of her neck. Even as she continued to battle with Geoffrey, she searched the trees. And then she saw a glimpse of him. Her Kaden was there, being held back by both Damien and Jordan, his eyes upon her. Hope surged through her, mixed with fear that he would be hurt in the battle she could foretell was ahead. “What are you going to do with me, Geoffrey?” she asked, succumbing to the more powerful man. “Well, there are many things I could do. I was hoping to have time to fuck you before having to turn you over to Bryant. But Magda fouled the day.” “What does that old crone have to do with this?” The rage in Adrianna’s voice was more than apparent, the hatred blatant in both tone and eyes. “She is here. And from the glimpse I had, no more a crone than you, lovely page.” He chuckled and she could feel the reverberations shimmer down her spine. “But come, I believe I would like to see this reunion.” He took a moment to spin her in his arms, his eyes traveling over her features as if to commit them to memory. Then his mouth clamped down over hers, possessing her lips, thrusting his tongue against her closed teeth. A growl of rage sounded in Adrianna’s ear. A growl so loud she was scared that Geoffrey would hear it and go explore, finding the three men. Or four men, as she knew Castor had to be somewhere in the mix. With a muffled oath, she stomped on his foot as hard as she could, digging the heavy heel of the boots into his arch. She knew Kaden would appreciate that use of his gift. Instead of pushing her away as she had hoped, he only released her mouth, glaring down at the sneer she adopted. Then he picked her up and threw her across his shoulder. The impact between shoulder and stomach was hard and painful for Adrianna, knocking the wind out of her. She hung limply for a moment as she coughed and gagged, trying to breath. Then she was tossed to the ground, black spots floating in front of her eyes. As they cleared and her breathing eased, she looked up. Geoffrey stood over her, a gentle smile upon his almost breathtakingly beautiful features. “What is this?” Lord Bryant’s voice turned Adrianna’s head quickly. He stood near her, a beautiful woman in his arms, cuddled against his chest. The blonde moved languidly from Bryant’s side, her hands tracing over Geoffrey’s face and down his chest. She stepped into his arms and kissed him passionately, almost lewdly to Adrianna’s stunned eyes. Their mouths pulled back and she could see their tongues still twined in lusty play, his hands slipping down her back to cup her ass, squeezing and pulling her against his groin. The woman pulled back, tapping Geoffrey playfully on the nose with one long finger. “Now, now, my dear Geoffrey, don’t think to use any of those wondrous gifts of yours on me.” “Magda, my love, how could you think I’d do so?” He let his hands slide off her body. “I know you belong to my Lord Bryant, dear sister. All though I was the one to take your maiden’s barrier, lest you

forget.” He smiled, glancing down and noting Adrianna’s shocked face. “I’ve brought you a present, Lord Bryant. An important one.” “I see,” Bryant wrapped his arms back around Magda’s slender waist, pulling her tightly against his big body once more. “Your page has turned into a toy after all. But why should this be of any concern to me?” Magda answered before Geoffrey could. “My sweet brother has brought you Lord Kaden’s bed slave. Although how the wench escaped the executioner, I do not know. She was set to be brought in front of Damien this morning.” She ran her hands over Bryant’s chest and around his neck, pressing her lips against his throat. “What has you most shocked, Adrianna? Is it that my sister cares so…deeply for me? Or is it that she is once more her beautiful, and oh so powerful, self?” Geoffrey knelt close, slipping his hand under Adrianna’s arm, bringing her up on her knees before the three. “My father was a wastrel, but he was held in great fondness by Lord Bryant’s father. Our mother had birthed Magda and needed someone with a connection to power to help raise her as a lady. Though truthfully, I can’t say they accomplished the deed.” Magda laughed at her brother’s play, used to his teasing and tormenting. “My conception was accidental, though I think I pleased mother greatly. She passed down to me her gift and some of the power of her ancient line. She also passed onto me care of Magda, for the wench is ever in some sort of trouble.” He laughed gently and tapped her upon the chin. Standing, he bowed before Lord Bryant. “My lord, Adrianna has garnered great favor with Lord Kaden himself. He even promised to wed the slave, if what she told me holds true.” “Oh, could this day be more promising?” Magda laughed, pushing away Bryant before he had a chance to speak. She twirled around the kneeling figure of Adrianna before standing over her, caressing her cheek with gentle fingers. “I had hoped your death would cause strife between Damien and Kaden and weaken the castle sufficiently to allow Lord Bryant’s men to easily capture it. But this is so much more to my liking. With you as our prisoner, Kaden will open the gates himself and invite us in.” “How can you be so sure of yourself, Magda?” Bryant asked, his fingers stroking his chin thoughtfully. “How can a wench, particularly a slave, be of such value even if did wish to bind himself to her?” “Adrianna was brought here by Lord Damien himself, as a reward for freeing his brother. He feels guilt over the spell my sister used, the one that bound Kaden inside the mirror. That guilt brought him low.” Geoffrey smiled at his sister and Adrianna blinked in amazement at the similarity of their smiles. Now that she saw Magda as she truly was, the resemblance between the brother and sister was uncanny. “So by holding the wench, Kaden will do as he is told?” Bryant paced around the small circle that his men formed around Adrianna’s kneeling figure. Adrianna could only hope that Damien could hear the plot being hatched before her. She didn’t want to be used as a key, or as a hostage. Her mind flew, trying to come up with a way out of this mess. Magda stopped Bryant’s pacing, placing herself in his path. Her arms came up around his neck, hands stroking with hypnotic charm. She kissed him lightly upon the mouth, her lips brushing the bemused man with feather-like strokes designed to bemuse and bewitch. She needed to control him, to keep him from doing that which she could see in his mind. He wanted to fight fairly, a weakness that would cost him dearly. And cost her in the process. She needed to sway him to her ways, and quickly. “My lord,” she whispered, lips still against his. “It has been so long since you have held me so. My body cries out in need for you.” “You seek to distract me, Magda. I know your game.” Bryant’s voice was just as soft, but his was strained. His cock ached for the beguiling witch. He hadn’t been faithful since her capture, just as he knew she’d slept with many as she did what he thought were his biddings. But she held a special place in his desire, a place that no other wench had been able usurp during her captivity by these men of Daring Castle. He wanted her with a need he could taste.

“No, my lord, that isn’t true. I but wish to prove to you how very much I missed you while we were parted. It has been so long, my lord.” She all but purred into his mouth, twisting to bring him even closer. Bryant felt her press against his straining cock; her breasts, beneath the thin cloth of her gown, seemed to call out for his hands. His mind swam with the images of their times together, of the way she could make him feel with her soft mouth and incredibly talented hands. “I swear,” He panted, breaking from her kiss, “you have your brother’s talents for seducing, Magda.” He took her hand in his own, starting to pull her from the group. “Wait,” Magda said, resisting his pull. “What? Don’t tell me you have changed your thinking? I’ll be tempted to take you anyways.” He pulled her against him, nuzzling the side of her throat. Magda whispered in his ear and Geoffrey watched a smile grow upon Bryant’s face, a smile so wicked he almost worried about its meaning. Especially when he turned that smile upon Geoffrey, beckoning him with a wide sweep of his hand. Including him in whatever Magda’s devious brain had devised. “Bring the wench, Geoffrey, and join us.” Adrianna cringed as she heard the command. She got quickly to her feet, trying to run. But men were all around her, men she hadn’t noticed, too caught up in the drama before her. She tried to get away, but hands pushed her back, hands that groped and squeezed in the process of stopping her. She squealed when she was finally caught, picked up around the waist and tossed once more over Geoffrey’s hard shoulder. When she kicked and fought, he slapped her on the ass, hard. “Be still, wench. I like this as little as you. But when my sister is in control, there is little anyone can do to stop her. Bryant knows not how powerful she actually is. She runs his life with ease. A kiss or a touch tends to turn his attention easily from something she doesn’t want.” He sighed. “I have an inkling that things are about to go bad.” **** Kaden watched Adrianna fight against Geoffrey until he tossed her to the ground at Bryant’s feet. His blood grew cold as he heard Geoffrey and Magda’s words. The only thing that held him to his place was the strong, confining hands of Damien and Jordan. “So that is Magda,” Castor said, not sounding too impressed. “How did she regain her powers, brother? I thought you had bound them from her when you turned her in to a crone.” “I had, but she must have come up with a way. Perhaps the potion Dolton’s son spoke of, the one she worried so about. Now we must figure out how to rescue Adrianna and send Bryant back north where he belongs.” “And kill Magda,” Kaden said, his voice strong and sure. Damien shook his head, his hand upon Kaden’s arm tightening. “No, Kaden, if we kill her, you will be trapped in that mirror forever.” “By whose words, Damien?” Kaden asked quietly. “By Magda’s? By your own? Who has decided that my internment in that blasted mirror depends upon Magda’s health? She found a way to break the curse you placed upon her. Perhaps her death will break her hold upon me.” “And what if it doesn’t? What if by killing her you are just ensuring the possibility that you will never see the sun upon this planet again?” Damien spoke quietly, but urgently. His friend was set upon this course, he could sense it in him. “Then that is a chance I must take, for I must free my woman and kill the witch. I will give her no chance to hurt others to gain advantage over me. This curse started with me, with my accursed cock lusting after a beautiful wench. It must end upon my blade.” Kaden put his hand on Damien’s shoulder, deep affection showing in the look he gave him. “You’ve sheltered me and helped me keep my lands while I was trapped by this curse. I appreciate it. But now it is time for the curse to end, one way or another.” “If anything happens…”Damien began. “If anything happens, send Adrianna back to her time. Erase her memory of me and this world and give her the chance to find happiness with someone else.” Saying it cost him, more than he wanted to

admit. The newly discovered love that he felt for his Adrianna was like a pure sweet song, wrapped around his heart, keeping him alive with joy and hope. The fear he felt for her now ripped into that hope, but he refused to let it hold him. A shriek spun him, reaching for his blade as he watched Adrianna being once more tossed on a shoulder. His eyes followed her beloved form as she was carried into the hut, followed by Magda and Bryant. **** Adrianna stood where she’d been set, watching the show Magda put on. With a sweep of her hand, she set the dusty interior to rights, replacing the rickety table with a mattress of feathers covered in satin and velvet. Then she took Bryant’s hand, leading him to the mattress, to knock him backwards with a teasing push. He lay sprawled, looking up at Magda with eyes that devoured her luscious form, holding up his arm to draw her to him. Magda twirled away, tempting him with the sway of her body as she danced around the room, her hair swirling around her in satiny waves and curls. “Come to me, brother,” she called, drawing Geoffrey closer with hands that wove graceful paths in the air. Geoffrey reached for her. The power she carried inside of her calling to his own. It was a curse of the blood, the siren’s desire he felt for this woman. He knew her more as a lover than she’d ever been sister. He pulled her to him, feeling the rising crush of the emotions she played with like toys, knowing he was nothing more to her than another conquest, another man to weave round her slender fingers. But he was as lost in his desire as Bryant. He kissed her, desire ruling, his cock aching and pulsing with a life of its own. Her tongue was wild in his mouth, her taste as exotic as it was familiar. He craved that taste, drinking deeply, forgetting all but the woman he held in his arms. Magda pulled away, looking over her shoulder. “Guards have been stationed, little one. You wouldn’t get far. And then, when they brought you back to me, I should have to punish you. Trust me, Adrianna,” Magda said, her voice now as ugly as her soul, “my punishments make Damien’s seem a pleasurable pastime.” Adrianna stopped, her hand extended to open the door. She closed her eyes, wanting to fall to the ground and cry, to curl in a ball and convince herself she was back in her bed in the tower room, bemoaning only her boredom. She turned and walked back to where she’d been placed, bowing her head. Magda pushed Geoffrey to the bed, watching him fall next to Bryant. Then she glided her way to where Adrianna stood, head down in the attitude of the defeated. Magda tipped Adrianna’s chin up, using one long finger against her jaw with a gentleness Adrianna hadn’t expected. Her surprise must have showed in her eyes, because Magda began to laugh. “Did you think me some beast to ravage and pillage without care? I am not like those men to the west. They fouled up their mission and paid their dues to me. But without them, I wouldn’t have known how to bring about this transformation back to my true form. You couldn’t have thought the great Magda was nothing but a crone?” She laughed again. “No, no, that was due to Damien’s interference and Kaden’s stubbornness. They will be made to pay. Kaden will be in agony when I tell him of how I turned you this day. He shall weep and beg at my feet when I tell him what you will now do for me, and do willingly.” “I’ll never do what you want, you bitch. I’d rather die first.” Adrianna spit into Magda’s beautiful face, her body tensing for the blow she expected to follow such blatant disrespect. She wasn’t prepared for more laughter. “Oh, such fire. I remember watching the first night you spent with Kaden. The way he parted your sweet thighs, his hand looking so dark against their creamy softness. You shivered and moaned in his arms, did you know that?” She leaned closer to Adrianna, rubbing the spittle on her face against Adrianna’s skin. “Your breasts jiggled so enticingly when he slammed his cock into your cunt. I wanted so badly to touch them that night.” Her voice was a sly whisper. It stole into Adrianna’s mind. She could see the picture that Magda wove with her words, almost feel Kaden again at her back, his hands holding her up as he pushed into her in front of that mirror. Her body shook with the excitement of that erotic moment, of his possessing her

for the very first time, those amber eyes of his staring at her in the mirror with such passion they almost seemed to blaze fire. “Can you feel his hands on your breasts, Adrianna? Can you feel the way they moved over your skin?” Magda pulled on the doublet the girl wore, slipping it off her shoulders and down her arms. Circling the captive, she dropped the jacket on the floor before wrapping her arms around her from behind, her hands crossing at Adrianna’s slim waist. “You could feel it better if you were nude, don’t you think? Why don’t you slip loose the laces of that tunic, love?” Adrianna’s hands rose of their own accord. Her fingers parted the laces she’d tied so tightly after Geoffrey had undone them. She faltered for a moment, the spell slipping as she stared at the two men sitting upon the bed, their eyes shining as they stared at the show Magda was giving them. “What?” she asked, startled as if waking from a long sleep. Magda recaptured Adrianna’s eyes, turning the young girl’s head and keeping her locked within her stare. Her hand slipped over the girl’s mussed hair, soothing and mesmerizing. “Kaden wants you to feel him, Adrianna,” she said softly, her voice a purr in the silence of the room. “Don’t you want to please Kaden?” “Yes,” Adrianna said dully, unsure of what she was saying. She reached up again, finishing the job she had started, pulling the laces apart with trembling hands. She knew this was wrong, but she couldn’t seem to stop. “Keep going,” Magda coaxed, enjoying her hold over the girl. “Kaden is anxious to feel you against him. He loves the feel of your skin, the smell of your arousal. Don’t disappoint him, Adrianna.” Adrianna’s hands rose to the hem of her tunic, pulling it slowly up and over her head, exposing her shivering flesh to the eyes of those that watched with avarice. Magda helped her when her hair became caught, tangled in the material. She didn’t want the pain of pulled hair breaking the fragile hold. She needed to take the girl deeper into the morass of pleasure she was weaving. Perhaps have her willingly fuck Bryant, letting her see whose cock she was riding only as she climaxed around him. It would humiliate Adrianna, debase her to know that she’d found pleasure, the same rich pleasure that Kaden had given her, at the hands of another man. The idea of that torment pleased Magda, arousing her desires to a more fervent pitch. Her victim stood, her head tipped, hair falling into her face, her breasts on display. Magda let her hands lightly touch Adrianna’s shoulders, slipping them down her arms as Kaden had done that first night, all those weeks before. “He touched you like this, with his hot and calloused hands. They slid down your arms and back up. And you were frightened, of him and the power he held over you.” She slowly repeated the movement before slipping her hands to Adrianna’s satiny smooth stomach, touching the taut flesh with her own hot hands. “I watched you cringe back against him when he touched your stomach, Adrianna. But you enjoyed it. I could see the desire in your eyes, despite the fear. You were yearning for him to take more with his hands and his lips. You were quivering, Adrianna, quivering with need for his cock.” Magda slid her hands over the smooth skin until they were just below the firm globes of Adrianna’s breasts. She watched the men lying on the bed, their eyes locked on Magda’s hands. She seduced them with her actions as surely as she was seducing Adrianna. With delicate precision, she cupped each mound of firm soft skin, carefully keeping her hand from touching either hard nipple. They seemed to harden more in reaction to being missed. Adrianna gasped, her hands rising of their own accord to cup under Magda’s. “Yes, that’s it, sweet one. Show me what he did to you and how he pleased you so well. Show me and I’ll let you have Kaden’s cock in your cunt. Can you see him, Adrianna? Kaden is lying on the bed over there. He is watching you, wanting you to entertain him. He wants to see you nude. Take off your clothes for your man, Adrianna,” Magda dropped her hands despite the whispered protest from the girl in her arms. She stepped back, keeping the connection with her mind. “Slowly, Adrianna, slip the laces of those breeches loose but don’t let them fall just yet.” She stood back, ready to go and sooth the nervous girl if her control slipped in the least. Adrianna was fighting, making it harder then if she’d been a regular slave, one that was used to following orders in blind

submission. It was a challenge. One that Magda was enjoying. “Now untie those boots. Slip them off your feet, Adrianna. Feel the soft air upon them, cool after being so restricted. It feels so good, you almost feel like dancing. You’d like that wouldn’t you? You’d like to dance for Kaden. He wants to see you dance, Adrianna, dance for him.” Adrianna heard music, soft and slow. Like the music that played in the hall after the evening meal was served. In her mind she saw Kaden stretched out, lying on his side, his long inky tresses slipping over his shoulder to the bed. His amber eyes glowed as they watched her, the half smile she loved upon his lips. It made her feel playful. She wanted to tease him with the movements of her body. She swayed gently, watching his eyes as she moved before him. Her breasts jiggled, her nipples hardening under the power of his gaze. She twirled slowly, letting her long hair swirl around her, bending her head to let it fall over her breasts, her nipples peeking between the strands. Magda smiled, watching her teasing movements, the way Adrianna was looking at the men on the bed and taunting them with her eyes and her body. The leather breeches slipped a little on her hips, held up only by a breath and a prayer. Magda felt herself grow damp as the girl wove her spell over those in the room. She thought she was dancing for one man, her man. She stepped closer, letting her body sway in time with Adrianna’s, her breasts brushing the girl’s nude back. “Kaden is enjoying your dance, Adrianna. Can you feel his eyes upon you?” Adrianna smiled, slow and catlike, staring at the bed and what she thought to be Kaden. “I love the way he watches me,” she said, her voice softly seductive. Magda touched her shoulder, turning her, keeping her body moving in the same seductively slow motion as Adrianna’s. Her breasts brushed against the naked tips of the smaller girl’s, sending a shiver of need through the witch. She leaned forward, placing her lips next to Adrianna’s small ear, whispering something that made Adrianna smile and nod. Then she turned the half naked girl towards the men once more, her hands slipping down to cover her breasts, squeezing her nipples. She felt Adrianna shudder with pleasure and twisted the sensitive buds. A moan came from between the lush parted lips of the girl, her eyes still on the bed and the man she thought was her Kaden. “Now,” Magda whispered. Adrianna wriggled her hips, the leather breeches clinging for a moment before starting to fall. **** “What could they be doing to her?” Kaden paced the small area the men had retreated to while they discussed what they should do. “They aren’t going to hurt her,” Jordan said, his hand on Kaden’s shoulder. “They will use her as a wedge. Kaden, this you know. I say attack now. They have no idea we are here and they are busy in the hut. Surprise will be a great weapon, though they outnumber us.” “I agree,” Castor said, his eyes sharp. “We take them now while they are unprepared. Adrianna is sharp, she will know to hide or to run. She’ll be all right.” “And if this were Jetta trapped with those three?” Kaden asked, his voice tight. “I would say the same, Kaden. Adrianna knows what she is about. And if they are hurting her, perhaps this will draw them out and stop the abuse.” Damien grasped Kaden’s shoulder. “We all worry about her. Kaden, the night grows late. Dawn will soon be upon us and then, if the curse is not broken…” “I know the pain I will face, I know the consequences. But I need to do this. I need to be here, to kill Magda, once and for all.” Kaden turned and faced the other three men, his eyes sweeping those he’d considered friend during the past two years. “If I fail, take care of Adrianna.” “You shall not fail. Now let’s rouse the men and get mounted. I will take my men to the east of the camp and create the diversion. The rest of you will come in from the west and surprise them. First one to the hut takes the prize.” Castor smiled darkly. He placed his hand on his brother’s shoulder, his eyes speaking things that men speak to those they care for before battle. Then he and Jordan walked away towards where the others were waiting.

“I’m not sure we’ll be done here before daybreak,” Damien said again, trying to dissuade Kaden. “I can send you back now. Once the battle begins, I may not be able to. Please, Kaden, let me do this for you.” “No, Damien. This is my battle and I will end it tonight, one way or another. Take care of Adrianna. If I can’t do it, tell her…tell her I loved her.” **** Adrianna stared into Kaden’s amber eyes, seeing them light up as the breeches slid down her hips. She could see the length of his cock, growing every longer as he stared at her body. It excited her, knowing she could arouse him so. The voice in her head, the one telling her what to do, whispered to her, telling her to turn around so that her back was to Kaden as the breeches slid to her thighs. She did, hips rotating slowly, the breeches catching at her knees as she moved. Bending, she let Kaden see her pussy, slipping her thighs open as far as the breeches around her knees would allow. She wanted him to see the moistness between, see it shimmer in the light of the fire. Standing, she smiled at him over her shoulder. “Turn her around,” Geoffrey said, lying on the bed staring at the slave girl who was performing for his sister. “I want to see the sweet curls that cover her mound.” Magda smiled, enjoying this almost as much as the men. Having Adrianna under her sexual control was extremely exciting. She leaned forward, whispering something against Adrianna’s ear, smiling when the slave turned her face up to her immediately. Magda watched as she parted her lips, as her tongue slipped out, moistening her lips before coming forward. Their lips met gently. Adrianna allowed the soft tongue that pushed at her mouth to enter, to coax her own into playing. Her eyes blinked and suddenly Tia was before her. “Kiss me, little Anna. I want to taste your passion.” Magda watched an expression of confusion cross Adrianna’s face, an expression of distrust and sudden awareness. Her eyes grew hard, her lips sneered and she reached down and picked up the breeches, pulling them back over her hips. “Tia’s dead, Magda. Even you couldn’t make me forget that.” The bubble of euphoria that had surrounded Adrianna popped, letting in harsh and unforgiving reality. Her face burned with the memory of what she’d been doing. Her heart pounded against her breast in fear. It might have been easier for her if she had stayed in the land that Magda had created in her mind, where Kaden lay on that bed, watching and waiting for her. But she would not perform like a trained dog for their amusement. “I could make your forget again, Adrianna. I could force you into wanting Bryant, into fucking both of them at once, if that was my wish. I could stand and listen to you scream out your pleasure while they did it.” She smiled, the evil of her soul showing in the lines of her face. “I could even have you fuck one of them while your dear Kaden watched. You would do it with pleasure.” Adrianna was shaking her head from the beginning of the speech. “Never, Magda. If you want that kind of spectacle, you’d better tie me up. I’ll fight you and them. I’d never willingly cheat on Kaden. I love him.” Geoffrey burst out laughing, rising from the bed and walking towards the two women. “Did you hear that sister, she loves him.” He circled around Adrianna, his fingers reaching out to touch her, slipping over her nipples. He concentrated, laughing harder when her nipples swelled and hardened against his fingers. “Do you really believe you can hold out against us, Adrianna? You have no idea of the power you would be going up against.” “Enough!” Bryant rose from his supine position. He walked over, taking Magda’s hand and bringing her to him. “You’ve had your fun with the little slave girl. Now I want you and then I want to go and take Damien’s castle from him. By dawn’s light, I want to see Death settle over that castle.” Magda rolled her eyes only slightly, but Adrianna saw it. “All right, my love. Shall we give Adrianna to my brother?” “Your brother can take whoever he pleases. I want to fuck you. Now!”

Geoffrey thought of the slave tied up in the wagon behind the hut and his eyes lit. “If I have your leave then, my lord, I shall take this one out of your way.” He waited until Bryant waved his hand at them in dismissal, already backing Magda towards the bed, his hands going to the neckline of her gown. Geoffrey reached for Adrianna, stopping her hand as she tried to reach for her clothing. Without a word, he lifted her once more, throwing her half naked body across his shoulder. He hauled open the door, slammed it closed behind them and then walked behind the hut. He saw the wagon, and her feet dangling from the edge as she curled up on her side. With a sigh of delight, he dumped Adrianna next to the brown-haired slave girl, who was tied securely to a post at the back of the wagon by a leash at her neck. “Now,” he said to Adrianna, “we are going to have a little talk.” He held his finger up as she started to speak, cautioning her. “I want Cherish. I’m going to have Cherish, right now. You are going to sit there and be quiet. If you speak or try to run, I will tie you to the same post and then fuck you when I’m done with her. If you do as you are told, I will be nice.” He leaned close, staring into her eyes. “Do you understand?” Adrianna nodded, staring at the body of the poor girl about to be raped. She was filthy and bruised, her body covered with welts and bite marks, although nothing deep enough to do serious damage. She looked half-starved and had slept through the entire conversation between her and Geoffrey. Geoffrey leaned over her, slapping her sharply on the ass. He covered her mouth with his hand before she could scream. He smiled as he saw Cherish’s eyes go wide and then narrow, her hands coming up as if to fight. He slapped them down before reaching to the front of his pants and untying the laces. His cock slipped through the opening, lying against the poor girl’s thigh. Adrianna stared in horror at what was happening. In some ways, she’d prefer to be the one being raped, rather then to have to sit in such close proximity to the crime. Watching this tied and beaten girl being forced again was heart-breaking. She closed her eyes, trying to divorce herself, but her heart wouldn’t let her. She heard the first shrill squeak cut off by Geoffrey’s hand as he pushed into the resisting body of the bound girl. She felt the movement of the wagon as he thrust against her, pushing her body across the rough wood. She could almost feel the girl’s pain as her body was punished by Geoffrey’s pounding cock. His words reached her ears and she thought she’d be sick. “I could have made this good for you, wench, but you had to fight me earlier. Now, how does it feel? How does it feel to have my cock in you?” A noise intruded, a strange sound that had Geoffrey’s head up and listening. It was the sound of bodies moving, the brush of greenery as something moved through it. From the noise, it was a lot of somethings. “What…” he began. A shrill scream interrupted him. A loud deep cry followed directly afterwards and chaos exploded in the camp. Horses raced through, mailed warriors atop slashing at the men that spilled out of the tents. Blood ran in rivulets as men died through out the camp. Broken bodies and moaning men were everywhere, dying even as Geoffrey refastened his breeches. He took one appraising look at Adrianna and the huddled body of Cherish. With a curse, he grabbed Adrianna’s arm, dragging her with him towards the sound of battle. He reached the hut as Bryant stepped through the door, his chest bare, breeches barely fastened. He held his sword and Magda at his back as he surveyed the carnage going on in his encampment. “DAMIEN!” he shouted, his voice rising to be heard throughout the camp. Magda reached out, grabbing Adrianna’s hand and dragging her away from Geoffrey. The two men ran to battle, and the women watched them disappear into the fray. Swords flashed and men died. The battle raged, spilling across the encampment. Magda stood in the doorway; Adrianna’s half nude form in front of her, a dagger at her throat. “If your Kaden finds you, he can watch you die,” she whispered into Adrianna’s ear. “He won’t be here,” Adrianna said, her voice sure, her eyes on the lightening sky. “He will be back at the castle, in his mirror, safe from you, bitch.”

“Quiet,” Magda hissed, her hand shaking a little. The razor sharp dagger drew blood, a drop of which slipped down Adrianna’s throat and over her collarbone, leaving a scarlet trail on her pale skin. The fighting moved towards them, swords ringing and clashing, men moving as if choreographed, their bodies taking blows that would kill a woman. Adrianna scanned the faces of those fighting, searching for a familiar face, praying she didn’t see the one she knew she would. He wouldn’t leave this battle to others. He wouldn’t leave her care to anyone else. She was his, and Kaden would be here to claim her, despite her earlier brave words. “Let her go, witch!” Damien’s voice broke above the sound of the battle and she saw him striding near. “Watch out!” she screamed as Bryant swung from behind him, his sword missing Damien by a scant breath as he ducked at her warning. He met the next swing with his own sword, turning the blow away. Bryant pushed forward, both hands on the sword as he held no shield. His blows hit Damien’s sword with ear-splitting clangs, forcing the bigger man to step backward into the midst of the heavy fighting. Adrianna’s eyes filled with tears as she spotted Kaden. He came towards her, doffing the heavy helm he wore and throwing it to the ground. His hair spilled around his wide shoulders. His eyes lit upon her half naked form and a sneer of anger curled his lip. But when he looked into her eyes, she could see the love there. With his eyes, he asked if she was okay. She nodded as well as she could with the dagger at her throat, but her heart was heavy. If Damien didn’t get here soon, her love would die in flames of agony beneath the sun’s rays. “Magda, let her go. It is me that you have a problem with.” “Let her go? And then what will you do, Kaden, slay me with that sword of yours? You know what happens if I die. You will never leave your mirrored prison and see the face of the sun again.” Adrianna turned her head slightly, trying to see the witch’s face. There had been a discordant note in her voice, a strange sound as she spoke. Was it fear? “Then there isn’t much I can do to you, so let her go. It’s me you want, Magda. It’s my fault that you were made into a crone for those two long years. Two years kept away from your powers, forced to serve Damien. My fault and no other.” He stepped closer, letting his sword tip drop toward the ground. “Wouldn’t you rather point that dagger at me, Magda?” “Yes!” she sneered. “It should be you beneath this blade. I gave you a chance for untold pleasure, for bliss at my hands. If you had succumbed as you were supposed to then I would be Mistress of Daring Castle and you could have served me for those two years.” “So release her and let me serve you now.” Adrianna’s heart was racing. Over her beloved’s head she could see the clouds growing lighter, shots of red and orange streaking the sky. “Kaden, the sun is rising,” she whispered. He looked at her, then. And she knew what he had planned. “No, please Kaden, go back to the castle, go to the mirror. Be safe, please. Live.” Her heart was in her throat and tears were in her eyes as she felt as if she’d be sick. “Oh, listen to her pleas, Kaden. Isn’t she so sweet?” She grabbed Adrianna’s chin in her hand, twisting it until she could look into her eyes. “Perhaps I should just let you watch him fuck me, instead of the other way around. It would be much more pleasurable for me to watch him forget you.” “Reverse the curse, Magda. I tire of the mirror and the sameness of it all. I would serve you gladly. You have but to reverse the curse.” Magda pushed Adrianna to one side. She landed heavily, hitting her head hard on one of the poles that supported the roof of the hut, dazing her as she fell to the ground. Above her, she could feel heat and the first rays of the sun. Shaking her head, she turned to look at where Magda and Kaden stood, still shadowed by the trees. Magda raised her arms and Adrianna watched as Kaden knelt, as if every muscle in his body gave away at one time, leaving him limp. His sword held loosely in his hand, he tipped back his head, gazing at the woman who held her hands above his head. Then she dropped them, laughing as he stared up at her in disbelief.

“Why should I release the curse, Kaden? I hate you and the others of that castle with every fiber of my being. I wish to see you burn.” She stepped back as the first ray of sunlight shone down upon him. For an instant it seemed everything had stopped; the ringing of the swords, the hum of the early morning insects. All noise ceased, all movements halted. Kaden was spotlighted in the single ray of sunlight, motionless, his hair shining with blue black light, his armor gleaming. Then he was on the ground, his skin slowly blistering and blackening, smoke rising from his flesh as he writhed in agonizing pain. “NO!” Adrianna screamed, running to her mate and dropping to her knees beside him. Damien turned from his battle with Bryant, seeing the sun hit Kaden and send him to the ground in a writhing mass. “Kaden!” he shouted, turning back to Bryant and deflecting the blow that would have caused his head to part company with his body. With a swift move, he spun a full circle, his blade sinking deep into Bryant’s chest. Yanking it free, he didn’t pause to watch the man fall, instead running to his friend, a pain filled cry upon his lips. Magda screamed with laughter as she watched Kaden writhe in the dirt, his body smoking and burning. “To think you’d believe I’d want you,” she laughed. “Die!” Adrianna stared up at the witch, her eyes filled with pain and hate. With both hands, she strained to lift Kaden’s sword from where he’d dropped it. And then, with desperate strength, she plunged it into the witch’s chest. Magda screamed in pain and shock, her mouth growing unbelievably wide. She fell to the ground, the sword sticking obscenely out of her slender body. Adrianna turned back to Kaden who lay upon the ground, his body smoldering. She knelt beside him, afraid to touch him. His skin was covered with huge blisters. “I…I’m sorry,” he whispered through cracked lips. “I thought I could change the curse.” “No, Kaden,” Adrianna said gently. “Don’t be sorry, love. We’ll take you to Raven, she can cure you just like she did me.” “There’s no time.” He coughed and blood blossomed upon his lips, staining them red. “At least I saved you. I love you, Adrianna.” He closed his eyes, and though his chest rose and fell, he didn’t speak again. Her cry of pain and rage filled the encampment. Lord Bryant’s men, who had been easily rounded up with his death, now stood silently, taking in the fallen lord and his lady. Her sobs shook her body, her heart broke with every agonizing second she still breathed. She’d found love, held its fragile life in her hands and it was being snuffed out before ever given a chance to live. Damien stared down at the small woman next to his friend and felt his heart breaking, too. Kaden was dying. There was nothing that anyone on this planet could do to save him. Even Raven, with her impressive gift, would be unable to repair the damage done by the sun’s rays. With a heavy sigh, he made his decision, dropping to his knees beside them. With a quick wave of his hands, Kaden’s body shimmered and then disappeared. Adrianna stared at the spot where Kaden’s body had been then gazed into Damien’s sorrowful face. Tears flooded her eyes, but she held them back by a force of will she hadn’t known she possessed. “He is gone?” she asked quietly. Damien nodded.

Chapter Eighteen Adrianna sighed and shut the door to her apartment, slowly clicking every deadbolt before looking around. It was the same as it had been this morning, the same as it had been everyday since she’d returned. She touched the locket she wore around her throat, one of the few reminders she had of her time spent in another world. It would seem surreal except for two things. The first was the deep, almost unbearable, hole where her heart had been. It had been ripped out that day that Kaden disappeared before her eyes. Her life seemed so bleak and dark after that. And the pain didn’t seem to be easing. Adrianna wondered if she’d mourn him forever. The other reminder was as hard to ignore as the pain. But this reminder also brought joy. She laid her hands on the rounded protrusion of her belly. She was three months pregnant and already showing. Kaden had done his job, and done it well. She would bear his son and bear him proudly, no matter the stigma attached to single parents. And her son would know of his father, would know the greatness of his deeds and the wonder of what he had done that last day, trying to protect her. Pushing away from the door, she headed into the tiny kitchen, little more than a few cupboards thrown into the space of a closet. She had a small refrigerator and a tiny two-burner stove. An apartment sized microwave completed her kitchen. Opening the fridge, she grabbed a bottle of water and stared at the meager pickings for dinner. So unlike the feasts of the castle. And her mind took her back. It had been so hard to leave that spot, that small piece of ground where Kaden had disappeared. She wanted to believe that if she stayed there, he’d come back, reappearing as fast as he had vanished. But Damien had taken her arm, pulling her to her feet, covering her half naked body with a blanket he’d pulled from the hut. She’d huddled into the warmth of the blanket, watching as the men rounded up those whose will to fight deserted them as they saw their Lord lying on the ground, blood flowing from his mortal wound. The men had been given two choices. They could swear fealty to Damien and join his court. As lords if they were titled and propertied, or guards if they were not. They would be given the chance to earn title through deeds to Lord Damien and Daring Castle, just as any man would. Or, if they refused to give their oath, they would become slaves, forfeiting all lands and titles to toil in manual labor, toting and carrying, chopping and hauling. Most were happy to swear fealty to a new lord, one who would allow them to return to home and hearth as their hearts longed. They had tired of battle and bloodshed, following Bryant only because their vow had demanded it. The few who’d refused were chained, all sign of rank or title removed, as was the richness of their clothing. They were marched to the castle behind one of the men to start their servitude. Geoffrey was amongst those few, his beautiful clothing gone, standing in only a loin covering of rough cotton given to the slaves to cover their nakedness. Even chained and bloody, he was a heady sight, his body almost gleaming in the bright light of the sun. There would be a ceremony later, where those who acquiesced would vow their services to Lord Damien, and in turn to Castor and Jetta. Damien was giving them Bryant’s lands and Brindle Castle to hold in his name. It would become their home, theirs to care for and keep as their own. Adrianna had been the one to go to the bound woman in the wagon bed, unchaining her and wrapping another blanket around her. The girl shook, either in terror or in relief, Adrianna didn’t know. She couldn’t understand a word the woman spoke. She led her around the side of the hut. When Cherish had seen Bryant lying upon the ground, his eyes open and staring sightlessly at the blue of the cloudless sky, she’d rushed to his side. She stood over him, staring down at him as if in

disbelief. Then she’d lashed out, kicking his dead body, shrieking words in her strange language. Adrianna could only guess they were curses. Cherish collapsed, her body shaking weakly, the blanket falling to the ground, too exhausted to move. Jordan came upon her as Adrianna had moved forward. Waving her back, Jordan picked up the blanket and wrapped it gently around the bruised and beaten body of the girl. Then he’d lifted her carefully in his arms, holding her high against his chest and rocking her as he would a small child. The dead of the enemy were wrapped in tents and stacked upon the wagon that had once been Cherish’s prison. Injured were given succor and their wounds tended before being helped onto horses or chained behind Geoffrey. Magda and Bryant’s bodies were wrapped and placed on top of the pile of the dead. They would be given decent funerals, though without the ceremony that lords were normally granted. Their bodies would be laid in shallow trenches, covered in wood and oils and then set to flame. Instead of being gathered and blessed, their ashes would be left to the four winds, allowed to fly where they would, forced to find their place with the Dead. As the men rode into the courtyard, Raven had rushed from the castle with Jetta fast upon her heels. Relief had been great in her eyes when she’d spied Damien and she’d heard Jetta’s glad cry when Castor rode into sight. Raven’s eyes had sought each face as it came into view. When she spied Adrianna, seated in front of Damien with Kaden’s sword clasped tightly in both of her small hands, she’d felt her heart sink. They’d lost another one of their own before the first could be laid to rest. As she helped Adrianna off Damien’s horse, her hands had slid onto her bare skin. The pain had been almost paralyzing. Grief poured from the girl, dark and powerful, a pain unlike any other; one that would eat at the soul unless allowed to heal in it’s own time. Raven felt tears form in her eyes, tears of both the pain she felt emanating from Adrianna and her own at the loss of someone she considered a friend. But she felt something else. Closing her eyes and concentrating hard, she discovered a small spark of life deep inside of the girl. A spark that was healthy and living. “You’re with child,” she whispered in awe at the tiny new life that grew inside of Adriana. “A healthy child. He will grow big and strong, with a lust for life to rival that of his father’s.” She leaned forward, wiping the tears slipping down Adrianna’s face, kissing her cheeks softly and then drawing her into an embrace. “He will help to fill the void, Adrianna. You will love him and through him, remember his father so very clearly.” Adrianna felt her heart clench and relax, renewed tears flowing down her cheeks. “Thank you,” she whispered, hugging the woman back with one arm as the other held tight to Kaden’s sword. “There is a girl,” Adrianna said, finally pulling away. “She was abused badly and needs your skills. She is with Jordan.” Raven had gone to the blanketed and bundled figure, making Jordan carry her into the hall and settle her against one of the padded benches set aside for the ladies of the castle. While the men took care of the new slaves and found temporary quarters for those who would swear fealty, she took stock of the girl’s injuries and set about the long task of healing her. Adrianna, with a heavy heart and the pain of her loss a fresh deep wound to her chest, climbed the stairs to her tower room. Pain flashed through her as she opened the door to the circular room where she’d spent so many nights in the arms of her love, lost in passion. She could see him everywhere she looked. And then she saw the mirror. It was shattered. Shards of glass littered the floor, the ornate frame twisted and bent, broken into pieces. With a cry of horror and pain, she rushed over, dropping to her knees amidst the destruction. It was gone, all of it. With it went the last of her hope. The sword dropped to the floor. With a cry she crawled through the mess to the bed, dragging herself into it and curling into a ball, letting the sobs that she had fought for what seemed like forever finally erupt through her body. She cried until her body wouldn’t cry anymore and exhausted, she slept.

Adrianna woke after dark, sitting up slowly in the bed as she remembered the day. A dark shape caught her eye and she turned, desperate hope leaping; only to shatter again as Damien lit the candle he carried. “I must talk with you, Lady Adrianna.” “Then talk,” she said. If she’d noted the change of her status, she hadn’t acknowledged it. “Kaden and I talked about what to do in case something such as this happened. He gave me instructions. But I find myself in a quandary, my lady and seek your help.” “What can I do?” Adrianna curled her feet under her, pulling the blanket tighter around her still halfnaked body. The rest of her clothing had remained at the hut. She hadn’t wanted to go back in there for them. “Kaden’s wishes for you were specific. If he fell in battle, you were to be returned to your home, your memory erased so that you wouldn’t know the pain that you feel now. This I can do, if this is your wish. But I wondered, because you are with child, if you wouldn’t want Kaden’s child to be born in the land of his birth, to know his people and his way of life.” “I want to go home, Damien. I don’t want to stay here. But I don’t want my memory wiped. I want to remember Kaden, to be able to tell his son what a wonderful man he was. If you erase that, you’ve erased Kaden not only to me, but to his son as well.” “It is as I thought. We shall leave for the portals in two days time. I thought you’d wish to stay for Kaden’s ceremony, as well as Tia’s. We have kept food warm for you in the great hall. If you don’t wish to eat there, I can have it brought here. But you must eat, my lady. Your child needs the nourishment.” “Thank you, Lord Damien. Kaden once told me you were a good man and I hadn’t believed it, letting certain aspects of our relationship color my feelings. But I believe him now. If you could send up a tray…” Damien nodded, then bowed his head. He took two steps and bent, lifting Kaden’s sword from the floor where it had dropped. Gently and reverently, he placed it upon the foot of her bed and then left the room. She’d stayed there until the next morning, finally dressing and leaving the tower. Her heart was heavy, for today she would be saying goodbye to two people. Her friend Tia and her beloved Kaden, both murdered and for the same foul reason. Damien stood at the dais before the glass casket. He lifted the chalice that held the tiny bit of wine not taken by the Spirits. Opening the casket, he drained the cup into Tia’s mouth. The candle had burned down until there were only a few inches left. This he put inside the casket. The bearers slid heavy wooden bars through specially designed loops in the bottom, picking it up and carrying it just beyond the Daring Castle gates to the pyre. Damien followed, Raven upon his arm. Castor and Jetta were next and then Adrianna, followed by the rest of those who’d loved Tia. They gathered around the pyre in a half circle as Tia was placed upon the wooden stage of the burial platform and the oil that cook had made was brushed with loving care upon her clothing and skin. “We send to thee, One which we love. With faith and hope To thee above. Give her succor, Guide her way. Grant her peace, In this we pray. This step of life, For her is done. Her death’s behind her, Her path is won.

Guide her steps, We pray to thee. As I will this, So shall it be.” “And with this candle, Katiara of Daring Castle, we send you to the Great Spirits. To live upon their mighty wings and shower us with the beauty and power of the love we know you held within you. Be at peace, Katiara, for your death has been avenged, your murderers caught. See only the light before you and release the dark as it is unworthy of the path of your life. In the Spirits great blessings.” Damien cupped his hand to protect the flame of the candle and settled it inside the pyre. The flames caught quickly, the wood coated with the same oil that now coated Tia’s skin, giving it an eerie sheen. Tiny spirals of smoke turned dark as the wood burned hotter, until finally the body caught. It was over in a matter of minutes, the pyre collapsing into the shallow ditch it was built over. It would be guarded until the flames were gone, the embers cooled. Then the ashes would be gathered and placed inside an urn. Kaden’s ceremony was different. There was no body to be set aflame, no essence to free to send to glory with the Spirits. Instead, his shield, painted with the crest of his family, was brought forward and laid upon the lord’s table. Damien lifted a mug of sweet wine, drinking deeply of its potent, crisp coolness. His throat ached from unshed tears. He felt guilt at his deception, but knew not how to reverse what he had done. He could only hope that in the end, an end he probably wouldn’t see, everything would work out to the best. “My friend, Lord Kaden, was taken in battle.” He swallowed heavily, clearing his throat as he sought to continue. “He was a strong man, talented and honest, honorable beyond any I have known. His loyalty to me was legend. It was because of me that he was trapped inside of his mirrored prison. He will be missed sorely by all here.” He lifted his chalice. “We shall drink to him, honor him in this way with our thoughts and deeds, so that he will know he shall never be forgotten.” A cry rang out as chalices were raised. “To Lord Kaden,” could be heard throughout the hall. Adrianna sipped the cup of milk she’d been given, tears streaming down her pale cheeks. She did as she was supposed to, ate what was put before her, spoke when needed. But mostly she sat huddled into herself, the pain of her loss a gnawing ache that wouldn’t stop. She would be leaving in the morning. One more night in the bed she’d shared with the man she loved, one more morning waking up and knowing that come night fall, she wouldn’t see him. Damien approached, his face somber, his eyes downcast. “Lady Adrianna, may I have a moment?” Adrianna nodded. “I have a gift for you. It’s something of Kaden’s which I know he would want you to have. It belonged to his lady mother, who treasured it.” He held out a locket on a thin silver chain, watching as she picked up the small oval shaped pendant with shaking fingers. “He asked me to send for it, he was going to give it to you himself.” “Thank you, Lord Damien.” Adrianna turned the silver piece in her hands, watching the big stone in the center of the front of the locket as it winked with purple fire. It was beautiful and matched the anklet she still wore even though, technically, she was no longer a slave. She would wear both with pride when she returned home, in memory of the love she’d lost. “Raven and I are to wed,” Damien said softly, his hand reaching out to take hers. “She managed to wear down my pride and I managed to wear down her sense of duty. We wish you to be part of our ceremony.” Adrianna shook her head sadly. “I just want to return to my home, Lord Damien. I wish good things for both of you, but I need to go home.” Damien nodded, saddened at the idea of her leaving. “I understand and so does Raven.” He bowed, and then left her to her thoughts.

One big surprise had come from the raid. Cherish, who’s real name was Dalian, was familiar to Damien and Castor, a figure from their past come to haunt them. She was Marissa’s sister. Marissa, the breeding market owner, the one who’d made Castor’s life a misery almost too painful to be born. Marissa, who at that very moment was sitting in Adrianna’s apartment, thinking she was Adrianna. She’d come to the planet of men to find her sister, only to be captured by Bryant and held and abused. Her language, one that had seemed so strange to Adrianna, was the language of Damien’s people. He paled at every time he heard it. Raven had healed Dalian’s wounds and helped to heal the damage done to her spirit by the brutal beatings and rapes of Lord Bryant. But Damien, realizing who she was, wanted to throw her into the dungeons. Before Raven could argue with him, support for Dalian came from a strange source. Jordan stepped forward, his eyes upon the chestnut-haired beauty. “I would make her my Lady, father. Perhaps by mixing our bloodlines, and showing her the way of love on this planet, I could make a difference to those men left upon our home.” So it was set, Raven and Damien, and Dalian and Jordan would wed. But that would be after Adrianna returned home. Marissa would be brought back to live in servitude as punishment of her crimes. Adrianna would never know what was to happen to them, but she would be home. She took little with her. The locket around her neck, a tiny piece of Kaden’s mirror placed inside. His sword strapped to her back. She prepared to leave Daring Castle for the last time. Tears fell unheeded as she stared at the gathered assembly. Many were people that she’d come to love in her short stay on this world. Jetta with her shy manner and beautiful eyes, Raven who stood up to Damien, shouting in his face if necessary to get her point across. Castor, whose warmth and laughter could bring a smile to any face, and more. The slaves she’d gossiped with, the men she’d served, the people she’d grown to love. Saying goodbye was harder than she had thought it to be. With one last hug from Raven, Dalian and Jetta, she mounted the horse she’d been given to ride, settling into the unfamiliar saddle and turned her back on them all. Her first trip through the portals had been done on Damien’s back as he carried her unconscious body. This time she was awake and terrified. The land to the south was craggy, with little vegetation or water. Harsh winds blew and the sun shone hot and hard upon any foolish enough to wander there. Razor sharp rocks were strewn around as if waiting for a hasty step or a clumsy fall, to bite deep of the flesh of the unwary. It was a hard journey. But Adrianna pushed through it, wanting to leave the memories of this place far behind her. She wanted to go home. The cavern of the portals was a strange place. The cave’s opening was small. Damien had to bend almost in two to make it through. But once inside, it opened up to an awe-inspiringly wide cavern, its rock ceiling impossibly high and covered with glittering stalactites. Gems sparkled from the walls, capturing and reflecting the light from the torches the men carried. There was a path worn into the hard rock floor, a path made by many feet through many years. Damien walked the path carefully, grabbing her arm when she strayed. “Look,” he said, tossing a small rock onto the sandy ground. It struck and was sucked down quickly, almost before she could comprehend what she was seeing. “There are many evils in that sand. Stay to the path.” “No wonder the jewels in those walls are still there. Nobody can get to them.” “And they power the energy to the portals,” Damien added. “If they were removed, our path to other worlds would be lost. Now use this over your ears, for it’s about to become noisy.” He handed her a thick scarf, tying it tightly around her head, before repeating the process over his own ears with another scarf. Then, waving the others back, he and Castor flanked Adrianna and pushed on. A buzzing noise started, a humming that at first was merely annoying. It continued growing the further they walked, until Adrianna was holding her hands over the scarf, her head down as she forced herself to continue walking and not fall to the ground and scream.

Just as it reached the point of pain, unbearable and agonizing in her head, it stopped as if it had never been. The sudden silence was unnerving, eerie…as if to even cough would bring down the wrath of some being powerful enough to suck up sound. Damien unwrapped her ears and his own and they continued. On either side of them, the walls to the cavern seemed to split into rooms, each glittering with an untold wealth of jewels in the walls. In the center was a space that glowed and moved, as if alive. Adrianna looked closer, seeing in that space pictures of different worlds, almost like a movie that showed people and beings of other races going about their days, not knowing that they were being observed. “Amazing, isn’t it?” Castor whispered in her ear. “I couldn’t believe it myself the first time I walked through here.” Adrianna nodded, watching as a space battle raged in one glowing portal, a ship moving and then exploding in a blinding light before she was urged ahead. “It’s up here,” Damien whispered, “the portal to your world and your time.” They turned into one of the tiny rooms and Adrianna saw it, New York City, cars speeding by, people shouting and cussing. A woman walking a tiny poodle who’d been dyed an unbelievable shade of pink, talking into her cell phone as she balanced on incredibly high stiletto heels. Home. “I’m going to set this to see if I can take you back shortly after we took you. It will be easier on you and on Marissa, for we are going to have to bring her back with us.” “What will you do with her?” Adrianna asked. Castor smiled, a very evil smile. “I think a little of her own justice returned to her would be just the lesson she needs to show her the wrong she has done.” “We will go with you, Adrianna and say our farewells there.” Damien turned, giving her a strange look. “I hope you will be able to forgive me, Adrianna. Know that I only wished to do what was best for all.” He stepped into the picture, which now showed the inside of her apartment. She followed, feeling dizzy and almost nauseous before stepping out onto the worn carpet of her living room. A naked Marissa was just sitting up from the couch, her head held in her hands. She stared in stupefied amazement as the three people appeared in the middle of her living room. “Who are you? What do you want? Get out,” she shouted, her voice slightly nasal with a hint of Queens in her accent. Castor caught her easily as she tried to rush by them towards the phone on a table by the door. “Sit next to her,” Damien instructed. “You won’t erase my memory?” Adrianna asked, suddenly uncertain even as she followed his directions. “No, I wouldn’t do that to you or to Kaden.” He smiled wryly and Adrianna wondered for a moment what he was thinking. “Brother, if you could do this thing quickly? Marissa is…” Castor didn’t finish as a fist flew and plowed into his jaw. He stared down at the little wildcat he held in his arms and felt the hatred bubble inside of him. With a curse, he pushed her to the couch, corralling her hands in one of his. Closing his eyes, Damien laid his hands over each of their heads and Adrianna felt that jolt of heat, that almost sexual pleasure growing inside of her. Marissa grew silent beside her, as her memory of the events that had seemed her life were erased. When the deed was done, Adrianna sat next to the now silent and unconscious girl, her heart heavy, her head hurting. “We must go, Adrianna. You have truly made a difference among my people. I thank you for it.” Damien bowed, and then bent to thrown the naked Marissa over his shoulder. Not looking back, he stepped through the still open portal. Castor moved to follow, turning once to smile before disappearing. The portal closed behind them and it was over. **** Adrianna jolted, wondering how long she had been standing in front of her refrigerator, lost in thought. Her heart ached as she remembered those days. Even her training, which grew less demeaning in her mind as time passed. She remembered the people she’d grown to love; Castor and Jetta, Raven and

Dalian, Jordan and even Damien. Wondering how they were caused her pain; she took her bottle of water and a box of leftovers from the Thai restaurant down the street. She threw the food into the microwave, and set the timer before moving to the couch and sitting down, curling up and sipping her water. The timer on the microwave and the buzzer at her door went off at the same time, making her jump. She rose, automatically pulling down her skirt from where it had slid up her thighs and going to the door. Peeking out the tiny peephole, all she saw was a large bouquet of bright red roses. Flowers? Who’d be sending her flowers? She unlocked the door, opening it. “Yes?” she asked. And then she stumbled back into the room, her hands out in front of her, her eyes wide. The flowers had dropped and the man holding them had come into view. His black hair was cut shorter, reaching his collar in the back, but looking more business man and less barbarian warlord. Instead of leather, he wore a double breasted suit of incredibly fine wool in a dark gray. Instead of a sword, he carried the bouquet of roses. But his eyes were the same, glowing amber with passion and love as he looked down at her. “You can’t be here,” Adrianna breathed. “You’re dead. I watched you die.” She dropped to the couch. “No, my love. You saw Damien pull a bit of magical interference.” Kaden stepped into the small apartment, closing the door behind him. He set the flowers down on the small coffee table and then started to sit next to her, only stopping when she held up her hand. “What do you mean, magical interference? And Damien knew you weren’t dead but didn’t tell me? He let me go through all of …of… this without bothering to inform me you weren’t dead?” Her voice rose in anger and she resisted his attempts to touch her. Kaden sighed, unbuttoning his suit coat and slipping it off his powerful shoulders. He’d thought she would jump into his arms and he would whisk her away from this place. But she was proving difficult. He smiled. She wouldn’t be Adrianna unless she proved difficult. “He didn’t know if it would work or not, Adrianna. He had no way of knowing if the portal would heal my wounds when he sent me through it to your world. He could only hope, because nothing else would have done the trick. I was dying from those burns.” He rubbed at his thigh, the only place that hadn’t healed perfectly going through the portal. A patch of skin on his leg had been left burned and blistered. It still pulled when he moved too much, a reminder of his past transgressions. “It did work? You are healthy?” she asked, tears in her eyes. “I am healthy, my love. And I have missed you more than I thought possible. Don’t you have any affection for me left? Or was it left back on my world…” he couldn’t finish his thought as she threw herself in his arms, wrapping hers tightly around his neck. He felt her tears against his throat as he held her close and knew a moment of panic. “Adrianna, my love, don’t cry. All is well. We are together. While I’d thought to marry you and take you to my castle to live, I guess we can do it as well in your world.” She looked up from where she’d buried her face in his neck, her cheeks wet from tears, her eyes glowing with love. Her hands moved over him, touching his cheeks, his eyes, moving into his hair. “It’s so short now,” she whispered, feeling the silky strands against her fingers. “Warrior long is not the style for a New York business man, my love. Sacrifices had to be made.” He spoke as if it had been a big one, making her laugh. “New York businessman? How in the world did you manage to do that?” she asked, awed by the thought. “It’s easy when you buy the company, love. But that is for later. For now, I wish to bask in the knowledge that we are together.” He kissed her, his mouth moving slowly across hers, tasting her salty tears. She giggled and broke the kiss, leaning slightly back to look into his face. “Bask, my ass. You want to make love.” “You New Yorkers are so literal,” he sighed. “If needs be I can spell out exactly what I wish. Would you care to hear?” He leaned forward, whispering into her ear until her cheeks burned red.

But even embarrassed, she reached for his tie, pulling on the knot to slip it loose, yanking the expensive silk from his neck. She looped it around her own and started concentrating on the buttons of his shirt. **** He allowed her to undress him. Her hands slipped between the buttons of his designer shirt to play upon his chest. Her eyes devoured the sight of him, whole and unharmed and with her once more. When her lips followed her hands, his head tipped back, his body raging with a fire of desire for her and her alone. Kaden had bided his time before coming to her, waiting until he thought he was ready. Prepared with an apartment fit for his lady, enough revenue to keep them for life and beyond, and enough experience among these New Yorkers to be able to fit in. It hadn’t been easy, knowing she was a short cab ride away, but a few miles distant. But he had persevered until tonight. He’d watched her come home, tiredly staring up at the front of her building before entering. And he’d made up his mind. He wouldn’t wait another night to bring her back with him. Just walking up those stairs was too much to be expected of her. She deserved to be waited on, to be pampered. And he would see that the only orders she took and obeyed would be his. Her hands pulled on the top of his pants, her fingers brushing his stomach. He sucked in his breath at the heat she inspired with that tiny caress. Wrapping his hands in her beautiful hair, he pulled her head back to look up at him. “I love you, Adrianna. I need you to believe that above anything else you believe.” Adrianna smiled, her heart light for the first time since she’d watched him disappear. “Why don’t you shut up and show me.” He reached for her, pulling her onto his lap, his hands busy. Her blouse disappeared, then her bra, following a slight struggle with the unfamiliar hooks. Then his hands were full of her breasts, cupping them gently. His lips took hers once more as he explored the woman his body had ached for these many nights. She seemed more lush, her skin even softer than he remembered. His cock was full and hard, throbbing with need as she sat astride his lap, her skirt raised to the tops of her thighs, his hand between their slim softness. He played with the sweet moist flesh he found there, pushing aside the barrier of her panties to reach her core. With a growl, he lifted her, grabbing the lacy panties she wore and tearing them off of her. He dropped the ripped material to the ground, lifting her until her pussy was in front of his face. Kaden felt her hands come to rest upon his shoulders as he parted her flesh, burying his mouth into the succulent pink moistness. His tongue tasted, his lips suckled, driving her as mad as he drove himself. He found the budding knot of her clit, teasing it with the tip of his tongue before twisting it, flicking over it. Adrianna’s body tightened with pleasure. She couldn’t move, held tight in his strong hands, her body open for his enjoyment and her own. Small cries erupted from her mouth as tingles of ecstasy tickled up her spine until she was moaning and begging, her hands fisting in his hair, desperately trying to pull him closer. When she came, her whole body exploded in sensation, jerking against his mouth, her spendings being lapped up eagerly by his tongue, which continued to tease and provoke her sensitive clit. He lowered her, letting her rest against his chest as she recovered, her ear against his chest, listening to the heavy sound of his heart beating as his own passion pounded through him. “You owe me a pair of panties,” she said finally, lifting her head to stare into his eyes. “Don’t think I won’t collect,” she warned. “Then add this to what I owe you, too,” Kaden laughed, reaching down and grabbing the waist band of her skirt in both hands. The material ripped like paper beneath his strength and he could finally see all of her, as he had wanted to since he’d first walked through the door. “You are so beautiful, my love,” he breathed, his finger tips brushing down the front of her body as she leaned back to grant him access to her. “Will you still think so when I am fat with your child growing inside of me?” she asked softly, wondering how he couldn’t see it. Her clothing was already getting tight, even though she was having problems finding an appetite.

“I will think you beautiful when we are ancient and our grandchildren have to lead us around,” he said, letting his palm rest upon the slight bulge of her stomach. “But what about now, when the child you’re resting your hand on has me fat and waddling? Will you still love me?” she stared up at him, waiting for his reaction. It came, quickly and definitely not what she had expected. She was picked up and turned, laid gently upon the couch, his eyes full of fear. “I did not hurt you before, did I, Adrianna? You or the baby? You are both uninjured?” Adrianna had to laugh. He looked so adorable with the panic shining in his eyes, his hands shaking as he touched her with a delicacy he’d never shown before. He found the bruises on her thighs, slight blue marks made by his hands and cursed himself roundly. “I won’t touch you again, not until the baby is born, Adrianna, for if I were to hurt either of you with my roughness and crudeness I would want to die.” “I take it you’re happy about the baby, then,” she said, stretching beneath his light touch. “Adrianna,” he said, his voice rough. “I am very happy, but I have hurt you and I could hurt the baby.” “The only way you could hurt me is to not continue what we were doing, Kaden. The baby and I are both tough. We’ve been through a lot already.” She reached up and cupped his cheek in her hand, drawing him toward her. “And that also is my fault. When I think of what that witch Magda could have done to you…” “But she didn’t, my love. We are both fine and healthy, according to Raven. It’s a boy, by the way, and he will be big like his father.” She ran her hand over her belly, a familiar gesture to her. She’d used the contact with her son to help with the grief she’d felt when she’d thought Kaden was gone. “A boy?” his voice broke and he put his forehead against her shoulder, staring down her body to their hands, entwined above where his son now slept. “My love, I didn’t think my happiness could be greater than to hold you in my arms once more, but now…I have no words.” “I need none, Kaden. But there is one thing you could do for me.” She smiled and stretched again, feeling the familiar desire begin as she thought of what she wanted him to do. “Name it, my love, and I will give it to you.” “Wow, what power you’ve given me,” she laughed, bringing his hand up and placing it on her breast. “For now, though, all I want is you…and maybe that thing you whispered in my ear?” “But…” “No, buts, babe. Get your clothes off and your ass up here,” she laughed at the chagrined look on his face, which turned to a huge grin as she patted the place next to her on the small couch. Standing, he kicked off his expensive loafers, pulling off his socks. Then, with his eyes on hers, he unbuckled the thin belt and unhooked and unzipped his pants, letting them fall to the floor. Standing there, naked except for a thin pair of boxer briefs, he was a magnificent sight. His body was as hard and glorious as it had been the last time she’d seen it. Adrianna licked her lips, smiling as he twitched in reaction. “Drop em,” she said, motioning towards the briefs. She laughed as his head cocked, his eyes showing his amusement as she bossed him around, for once. Kaden hooked his thumbs in the waistband of his briefs, the sensation of the material still a little different to him. He pulled them down, stepping out and dropping them to the floor in front of the couch, slipping over Adrianna with a gentleness that had tears shining through her smile. “I missed you, so much, Kaden. I love you more than my own life.” His kiss was sweet, more love than passion; a celebration of their reunion. He smoothed her hair from her face, holding his weight above her body, careful even as he showed his love. Adrianna moved under him, spreading her thighs to allow him between, her hands roaming over his back and around to his chest. She pulled him to her, wrapping her legs around his waist, urging him to take her. She’d felt so empty for so long and now that he was here and with her, she couldn’t wait to feel him inside. With a groan, Kaden felt her legs slip around him, soft and sexily smooth. His cock slid into hot wet flesh, so incredibly tight around him. Desire surged, desire for her and for the love that they shared, as

hot as her skin. Her breasts pressed against his chest, hard nipples racking across his body as she arched into him. Lust wanted to rage and he felt the urgent need to pound into her, to take her hard and sate himself with her until he couldn’t move or speak again. But then the slight mound of her stomach touched him. He felt the bulge of her womb, the place that nestled his child inside of her. It seared into his soul; this woman, who’d gone through hell and stood by him, was carrying his child. Instead of the pounding race for completion that his body had demanded of him, his touch grew tender, his strokes filled with love and gentleness that stole her breath and restored her heart. The pain and grief were gone, and she was filled with the soft light of his unselfish love. She felt pleasure burst through her, incredible joy filling her being even as she heard his rough growl and felt him jerk against her. Warmth filled her as he came, and she couldn’t prevent the tears that slid down her cheeks, surprising him. “Adrianna, did I hurt you?” his voice was rough, passion husky, and full of love. She shook her head, her eyes wet. “I hadn’t thought to feel you inside me again.” She moaned softly as he pulled away, rolling her over to lay on top of him, leaving his hands free to caress as he wished. “But I am here. I am not leaving, Adrianna. This is my home now, you are my life. I couldn’t go back if I wanted to, for my sword is gone. What is a warrior without his sword?” He laughed as he said this but it sent a chill through Adrianna. “I have your sword, Kaden. I brought it with me.” He sighed as he heard the fear in her tone. “Adrianna, fear not. What must I do to convince you that I am willing to make my home here? I have a business and an apartment. I have learned how to use the things in your world, such as the microwave and a telephone. I want to learn to drive a car, maybe even fly an airplane. And I want you to marry me.” She felt his determination, but had to ask one more thing before she could be sure. “Will you be happy without magic, Kaden? There is no magic here.” He smiled. “My love, all the magic I will ever need is right here in my arms.”

About the Author A small town girl with a master's degree from the School of Hard Knocks, Wendy started writing as a way to combat boredom and keep from gaining dress sizes after an injury to her back kept her from working. No one was more surprised than she when people actually enjoyed what she wrote. Writing as Daniellekitten, Wendy has won many awards for her writing, including Most Influential Writer in 2005 at Literotica.com, as well as Most Literary—Genre Transcending. She's been nominated for many of the Reader's Choice awards, as well as the monthly awards at the same website. Wendy Stone resides in a small Michigan town, spending most of her time writing and enjoying time with her animals and the company of her family.