Chapter 12
I wonder how long it will take for me to learn my way around this castle. I imagine I will need to earn their trust before they let me roam around on my own free will. But if this is to be my fate, I must also make a choice whether to remain their pet or their queen.
Once I’ve lost my will to escape, I can truly be free.
The longer I’m here, the more I start to imagine what life here will be like.
They are as brutal as they are beautiful.
But they are mine as much as I am theirs.
With each depraved act, my longing for them grows.
The ache between my thighs deepens. And something else.
A whisper that taunts me, urging me to know things I’m not supposed to.
I crawl across the floor, surrounded by all four of them now.
They lead me into a large, cavernous room.
I look up through the glass ceiling to see a thousand stars flickering around a silvery moon.
It lights up the entire space, casting a glow on the steaming pools of water that lie between the black rocks.
“These waters are sacred—hot springs filled with minerals that heal and soothe.” Death dips his fingers into the nearest one.
Steam rises from the various pools of water that are scattered around the cavern. The sweat that beads between my crevices only heightens my arousal.
“And there”—War points to the far east side of the room— “are the ice baths.” He tugs on my leash, forcing me to stand up. “Have you ever heard of sensory rituals, little doe?”
I swallow hard and shake my head. “No, but it doesn’t sound enjoyable.”
Famine slips his hand under my hair and caresses the back of my neck. “Oh, but it is. Hot, then cold, then hot again. The stimulation is… gratifying.”
I hate how my body responds to their games. My mind screams at me to run, but every cell in my body wants to stay and surrender.
Conquest removes the rope from my neck before tugging me forward.
He pulls me to the center of the first pool.
The water hits just above my belly button.
I flinch at first but then my body starts to adjust to the heat.
The combination of the steam and the cold air that seeps in from the skylight sends goose bumps across my skin.
I take a deep breath as the four of them circle me in the water, naked. Death nestles up behind me and pins my arms behind my back. “We’re going to take your innocence before the night is over. Then you will truly belong to us.”
“If anyone so much as looks at you sideways after tonight, they will meet a bloody end,” War growls as he clasps my throat.
I tremble between them, unsure of why their words stoke arousal in me. This possessiveness they have, this need to claim me, to own me… it’s intoxicating. It is not the same way a girl is owned by a husband. This is carnal. It promises pleasure while threatening ruin at the same time.
Conquest dips a rag into the water and wrings it out over my chest. The warm water tickles my flesh, hardening my nipples into two stiff peaks. I cannot lie that the feel of their wet bodies so close to me is driving me mad. Gods help me, but I want more…
He inches the rag down the length of my body, stopping only when he reaches my mound. I shudder as he rubs it against my pussy. A soft whimper flutters out of me as he takes his time, gently stroking my folds before moving to my thighs.
“I love a clean slate,” Famine whispers in my ear. “A blank canvas for us to paint our essence on.”
Death’s cock springs to life, pulsing against my lower back. “I have never wanted anyone more.”
They take turns washing me with the rag, rubbing it over every inch of me from my shoulders to my ankles.
My eyelids are heavy, my body aching with need.
But a tiny trickle of fear creeps into my belly.
They are being too calm, too subdued. I have felt their wrath already, and I do not trust this gentleness.
That also excites me even as it fills me with shame.
It’s getting harder to see through the steam, but I can still make out the smirks on each of their faces. And it tells me I’m right to be afraid.
Death skates his teeth over my shoulder. “You know what makes me so hard, Imogen? Hmm?” He nips at my flesh. “Your fear.”
Without warning, he pushes me down headfirst into the water.
Oh no. I jerk and flail as I fight to come back up, but he’s too strong.
A sharp pain shoots through my chest. I should give up and let the gods take me.
Because I can’t hold my breath for much longer.
The darkness, a reminder, a warning, as it starts to dull my vision.
I could just let go and let it all be over.
As I start to drift, I’m yanked back up with brutal force. I gasp for air the second my head’s dragged out of the water.
Conquest rests his palm on my chest. “Easy, little doe. Take a deep breath for me. Nice and slow. Yeah just like that.”
I cough and convulse as the fresh air fills my lungs. “Kill me already! I cannot take this torture.”
Famine laughs. “But this is your baptism. This is how we fulfill the ritual and make you ours.”
War yanks me away from Death like a rag doll. “You must break before you can be reborn.”
Conquest nods. “Virgin then whore and finally… queen.”
I’m shivering despite the hot steam that rises around us like an inferno. “Hopefully not a braindead queen,” I mutter.
Famine laughs harder. “There she is.” He nods at War. “Again.”
This time, I sense the act. The second his hands touch the top of my head, I gulp in a deep breath. But it doesn’t make me feel any safer when I’m plunged back into the water.
I have to relax. The more I fight, the faster I run out of air. They’re not going to kill me. They are just taunting me.
I unclench my limbs and open my eyes. Through the water, I spot War’s erect cock mere inches from my face. The thought of it inside me makes me dizzy. Or is it the lack of air? My stomach knots. It’s been too long. I claw my way through the water, but he keeps an iron grip on my head.
Panic sets in, and I start to flail again. What if they don’t pull me back up in time? Oh, dear gods, I need to breathe.
I grab his cock and squeeze it between my palms as hard as I can.
He yanks me back up. War’s hands wrap around my throat. “You want to test my patience, little doe?”
I claw at his hands as I cough, my chest burning from the lack of oxygen. “Please…” I beg.
“Again,” Death growls.
I shake my head. “No. I can’t. Please.”
Conquest takes me into his arms. “Shhh, this is the best part.” He slides his finger down my slit.
A gurgled cry escapes my throat. Gods, that feels good. I hate them for this. They are breaking me in ways that I didn’t know one could break.
“There we go. Now she’s relaxing.”
He pinches my clit before sliding his fingers deep inside me. I lean forward, crumbling, shattering under his touch.
Death pulls and pushes my hips, but I don’t need much coaxing. I’m grinding on Conquest’s hand like an obsessed nymph.
Practically purring, I’ve become so lost in these exquisite sensations that I don’t see Death coming.
Before I can take a deep enough breath, he pulls me backward and holds my head under again. I open my eyes to see him smirking down at me through the water. I thrash my arms against him, but he doesn’t budge.
A deep spasm in my pussy draws my attention back to Conquest. I am livid, wild, furious, but also ravenous and starved for my own release. All I want to do is drown with this man’s fingers inside me.
He thrusts violently, flicking against my most sensitive spot.
The place deep inside that’s like a magical button, unleashing an onslaught of emotions once pressed.
I buck, my hips jerking up to meet my desperate need.
And for the first time in my life, I think I want to cum more than I want to breathe.
Holy hell… I’m going to burst.
I gasp as Death lifts my head out of the water once again. I pant, my cries turning into strangled sobs as I grind hard against Conquest’s hand. My head spins. The rush of oxygen flows into my lungs while my essence drips down my thighs. I’m caught between panic and euphoria. Anger and ecstasy.
War takes one of my nipples into his mouth, flicking his tongue in circles around the sensitive tissue. He grunts like an animal as he suckles it.
Famine grabs my throat and strokes it gently. “You look so beautiful when you were drowning. So much fight left in that fragile body.”
His words should horrify me, and yet they do nothing of the sort. Am I as twisted as them? “My body is stronger than it looks,” I declare.
Death rubs the metal rungs of his cock against my hip. “We’ll find out soon enough, won’t we?”
War lifts me out of the warm pool and carries me to the other side of the cavern. “This time I’ll give you a warning… Take a deep breath, little doe.”
They are trying to disorient me. Torture me. “No. Wait—”
I’m free-falling through the air for a split second, my life flashing before my eyes, before I hit the water with a loud smack.
The impact jolts me like a slap in the face.
I unleash a wild scream when the water envelops me.
It’s like ice, no, colder than ice if that’s even possible.
So cold that it burns my skin like frostbite.
I right myself and try to make a run for it, but they are already at my side, surrounding me.
“I-I can’t do this. It’s freezing,” I stutter, my teeth chattering. Their voices are muffled, distant, even though I can feel their bodies closing in.
“She’s going into shock,” one of them says faintly.
A pair of strong arms wraps around me from behind. The heat from his body prickles my skin. It’s sharp and tingly like a thousand tiny cuts. “Am I dying?” Even my own voice sounds strange to me, like it’s in a vacuum.
Another warm, hard body presses against my chest. “In a sense… yes. But you will survive as you’ve always done.”
Cold fingers dance across my belly, sending shivers between my thighs. I moan softly as they enter my pussy.
I blink a few times as the heat in my body rises, confusing my senses as the icy water laps around us. I gasp as one of them presses his lips to mine. His warm tongue slips inside my mouth, exploring like a hungry wolf.
He tastes like smoke and honey and sin. I feel like I’m drowning in their depravity, broken and whole at the same time.
Another moan unfurls from my throat when a finger plunges inside my anus.
I jerk at the tightness, the roughness of his touch as he explores a part of me that no one ever has.
I haven’t even touched myself back there.
My whimpers turn to whines as their hands roam my entire body. They take turns kissing me, thrusting their tongues in and out. They’re insatiable. Ravenous. And so am I. More.
“Please,” I beg. “This is torture.”
Famine presses his forehead to mine. “When the mind decays and the soul surrenders, the body will have its untethered release.”
I unclench my muscles and let out a deep breath. “May the gods have mercy on me,” I murmur.
Death scoops me into his arms and lifts me out of the water. “Shhh, little doe. The time has come for us to possess you.”
I shiver against him as he carries me up the stairs with the others in tow.
Conquest hums softly while War growls, and Famine laughs in the deranged way that I’ve already become accustomed to.
I am sick with need and lust for their depravity.
The fear in my bones only invokes more of my arousal, dizzying my head with visions of sinful carnage.
We move down a dark corridor and up another set of spiral stairs. The higher we climb, the more breathless I become. My mouth is dry, my teeth still chattering as the cold draft sweeps across my bare back.
Torches light the giant room at the end of the hall.
Near a stone hearth, a blazing fire inside it, Death lies me down.
A gurgled cry escapes my throat when I’m enveloped in the softness of furs.
I’m grateful to no longer be in the water.
My belly flutters as he wraps me in a cocoon.
But will I emerge a butterfly, or might I die of hypothermia?
“There’s that pretty pink blush returning to your cheeks,” Conquest coaxes.
“Good,” War huffs out. “Now we can complete the ritual.”