Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Kris
Kris stared at the glass, certain that at any moment, she would wake up back in her bed. She must have been asleep the whole time, and the crazy interactions with Kronos only a dream. She struggled to fathom any other explanation for the things she was seeing.
“Drink.”
He nodded in the direction of the goblet that had somehow just filled itself with water and floated over to her place at the table. She blinked at that thought, considering whether even processing the idea meant she’d already gone crazy.
Gripping the stem of the glass tighter, she drew it to her lips, examining its shape and structure. The thing was real, made from crystal by the looks of things, and was, presumably, expensive.
So, how the hell had she just seen it float across the table to her?
As though Kronos intended to answer her, his focus shifted to the jug, which had appeared on the table without explanation. He stared at the pitcher, and she watched in disbelief as the object lifted once again, pouring its contents into another crystal goblet.
He lifted his hand as the jug resumed its original place, and without so much as a word, the filled vessel glided through the air into his waiting fingers.
“This can’t be happening.” Her hand rose to her head again, although there was no pain that time, only clouded confusion.
There was nothing except for her rollercoaster of bewilderment and the low-lying fog of arousal that never seemed to clear when Kronos was around.
“Drink,” he repeated, bringing the goblet to his mouth and taking a long sip himself.
Heaving in a breath, she mirrored his action.
Tucking the black cover under her armpits, she supped, appreciating the chilled water as soon as she swallowed it.
The fact that he was drinking from the same jug reassured her that there was nothing sinister about the fluid, and frankly, after so long, she needed the hydration.
“Usually, I have time to help my guests settle in before they witness so much.” He gestured to the table. “But you, dear Kristina, are someone special.”
She gulped back another mouthful of water, trying to buy herself some time before he expected her to reply.
In the haze of her pleasure and her trip to the bathroom, she’d nearly forgotten that, somehow, in the labyrinth of white rooms, there was another trapped woman.
His reference to more than one ‘guest’, though, had reminded her.
Had she been brought to the same places as Kristina and forced to comply?
Was she okay?
“Master, you mentioned another woman being here.” Her fingers stiffened on the glass as the full weight of his stare landed on her.
“Yes.” He nodded, placing down his goblet. “Shelley.”
“Is she…” Kris glanced along the length of the preposterously long table, as though she half-expected Shelley to appear in one of the other seats. In light of the things that were manifesting and vanishing in front of her eyes, she would no longer have been surprised. “Is she all right, Master?”
“Shelley is fine.” His knitting brows suggested that was one question he hadn’t been expecting. “She has been where you are now.”
“In this seat?” Kris tried to envision another scared woman sitting in the same place. She wondered whether Shelley had been as keen to ride her captor as soon as she’d woken up.
A wave of shame washed over her at the query. Surely, only she was silly enough to not only consent to sex with him, but to have so obviously relished it.
“Yes, in that seat.” He seemed amused by her question. “She has had to learn to obey, and she has done well. Soon, she’ll be ready to advance.”
“To advance, Master?”
What did that mean? Was it a fancy way of saying he was going to end her?
“You shall learn about The Advancement,” he told her. “It is too soon for us to talk of such things.”
“But…” She paused, not wanting to anger him again.
She sensed she’d only just gotten away with asking to go to the window, but before she’d had time to halt the word, the ‘but’ was out of her lips.
Her focus flew to the huge panes of glass instinctively, every fiber of her yearning for the chance to get beyond the window and find her way home, but she forced her attention back to his face.
She had to concentrate on the fate of poor Shelley and appeal to him while she had the chance.
“Little one.” Exasperation echoed in his reply. “Enough questions now. We must eat.”
Eat? Had she missed a magical plate of food appearing while she’d been gazing out at the sunlight? She gazed down at her place out of curiosity, finding only her empty white placemat.
No food, then. She pulled in a breath. So, his request that they eat had only been a deflection.
“Master, please don’t hurt Shelley.” She made the plea quietly, unable to meet his eyes as she spoke.
Kris had no idea who Shelley was, but if he was telling the truth, and there was genuinely another woman confined there somewhere, Kris wouldn’t be able to live with herself unless she tried to help her.
She still planned to escape and to try to take Shelley with her, but Kronos’ tone made it sound as though she’d be leaving soon. Perhaps Shelley’s time had run out.
“Hurt Shelley?” Kronos cocked one of those tempting brows at her, as though he didn’t understand her appeal.
“Harm her,” she clarified.
Kill her.
The final explanation pinballed in her mind, but she couldn’t force the words out. He was in a reasonably buoyant mood since he’d poured the water, and she was loath to say anything that might rock the boat.
The balance between them was so precarious, and she was well aware that she was the weaker of the two. Kronos hadn’t yet made her feel unsafe, and aside from taking and spanking her, he hadn’t done anything she’d opposed, but she had to face facts.
He was still the man who’d snatched her and admitted to taking Shelley.
She didn’t know how far she could truly trust him.
“I’ve never harmed Shelley, Kristina.” He shifted on his chair to face her, his expression suddenly serious. Tension twisted in her tummy as she eyed his face. She hoped she hadn’t pissed him off again, but sometimes, he was damn near impossible to read. “I will never harm either of you.”
“Okay.” She considered stopping there and eating the meal he kept talking about, but she’d come that far and expressed her concerns.
She figured she might as well continue and try to get some clarity about Shelley’s situation.
“But you said that she was leaving, and I thought that meant you were going to…”
Her voice trailed away as the final part of the sentence eluded her.
“You thought I was going to what?” His voice was brusque, its timbre doing little to assuage her anxiety.
She pulled in a deep breath, trying to recall what she’d learned about calming her breathing in the meditation workshop she’d attended with Liz.
All the same, anxiety knotted in her stomach. The expression on his face was so damn ominous, as though he was daring her to say the words out loud, but she couldn’t look him in the eyes and accuse him of preparing to kill someone.
If she did that, if she pushed him too far, what would that mean for her? Would he be angry? Would he focus his wrath in her direction?
Fear contracted inside her, making it difficult to catch her breath. Why had she spoken out at all? She could have stayed quiet and played safe, but oh no, not Kristina! She had to speak, had to always do the right thing.
Risking a glance his way, she realized she had to say something, and given what she’d said so far, how could she not conclude her sentence?
“I thought you might be planning on killing her.” In the end, she pushed the explanation out in one long breath, as if she hoped he wouldn’t hear the words.
“Killing her?” His voice was blistering, roaring around her like thunder.
Recoiling as though the words had whipped her, she released the crystal goblet she’d clung to and pressed her shoulders against the wooden seat. “I’m sorry, Master.”
What else could she say? In a way, she was sorry. She’d chosen to be brave, but in the end, she wished she’d opted to stay safe.
“You think I would kill Shelley?” His gaze bored into her, but she couldn’t bring herself to meet it.
“I thought that was what you meant,” she whispered, shoving her hands on her lap. “I’m sorry.”
“Kristina.” He paused, and in those seconds, she imagined all the horrendous things he would do next.
Was he disappointed in her for thinking so little of him, and if so, how would he convey that negativity?
Or worse, was he furious that she’d cottoned on to his plan?
Her heart sped up at the terrifying prospect.
If he’d been intending to finish Shelley, maybe her inquiry would only accelerate both of their ends.
In the midst of her growing panic, she heard his chair scrape against the floor, and all at once, he was on his feet. Discarding his blanket to the seat, he closed the distance between them in a heartbeat.
“Look at me.” Falling to his haunches, he was still taller than she was sitting in the chair. Turning her head to obey, she was struck by the deep purple hue of his irises.
“I’m only going to say this once.” His voice was eerily calm, and despite her racing heart, Kris sensed that old surge of tranquility falling over her. It was as if just being closer to him was settling her nerves, even though he was the one who’d exacerbated them. “And I want you to hear me.”
She nodded, unsure what to say.
“I am not going to kill Shelley.” He leaned nearer, and somehow, she couldn’t look away from his mesmerizing amethyst eyes. “I discipline her when she needs it, the way I have disciplined you, but I have never and will never harm her.”
“Okay.” Had she said that aloud? In the intensity of the moment, she wasn’t certain.
“When she is ready for The Advancement, I will ensure she returns to her life as good as new.” He smiled, the first sign that he wasn’t enraged by her accusation.
As good as new.
His words rattled in her head, although she couldn’t make head nor tail of them. How could she be as good as new when he’d taken her from everything she’d known and compelled her to do God only knew what?
“I know you don’t understand yet.” His hand rose to her shoulder. “So, I need you to trust me.”
Trust him?
“Okay, Master.”
She was pretty sure she had spoken that time, but that was all she was clear about. Her world had once been full of certainties; the surety of her science and its endless supposition. Staring at Kronos, though, there were only questions with no answers.
He sounded sincere about not harboring malicious intent, but she couldn’t understand how or why he would release Shelley after what she assumed was a lengthy captivity. If he let her walk out of there, she’d go right to the authorities, and there would be repercussions for him.
Why would he allow that?
“I didn’t mean to offend you, Master.”
He didn’t seem upset, but Kris covered the base just in case. The last thing her stupefied thoughts required was another impromptu punishment of his design.
“You never fail to amaze me, little one.” He shook his head with a smile. “But it’s okay.” He squeezed her weary muscles gently. “You’re not in trouble. Let’s eat.”