Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Joy
The steaming tub looked so inviting, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to strip naked and be at my most vulnerable. The thought of that made my stomach twist.
What if someone burst in?
What if this was some kind of trap?
Brynn, standing silently by the edge of the tub, glanced up as if sensing my hesitation. Her expression was calm, carefully blank, but there was something softer in her pale eyes. “Milady,” she said gently, her voice low and even. “There is no danger here. You’ll feel better once you bathe.”
I folded my arms across my chest, suddenly feeling like a stubborn teenager. “Easy for you to say. You’re not the one stripping down in a strange place.”
A ghost of a smile touched her crimson lips. “I assure you, there’s nothing you have that I haven’t seen before. I will guard the door while you bathe.” Her tone was quiet, but there was a subtle strength beneath it, like a promise she fully intended to keep.
Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling of unease creeping up my spine, especially since I couldn’t use my shadows right now.
Being naked and defenseless in a tub while servants moved around me—it felt too exposed, too vulnerable.
“Maybe if you could get me some new clothes first,” I said, hoping to buy myself time.
Brynn dipped her head in a graceful nod. “As you wish.”
For the briefest second, her fingers tightened around the hem of her apron before she turned toward the door.
“I will return shortly. Do not open the door for anyone but me.”
Dread pooled in my gut. Someone would try to come in here when I was in the tub. I didn’t trust Brynn—didn’t trust anyone in this twisted realm. They all served the queen, and the queen wanted me as her pet.
I snagged a towel and put it near the tub.
My pulse quickened. Brynn might act kind, but she served the queen. Everyone here did. I couldn’t trust anyone here. If I bathed quickly enough, I’d be done before she came back. Safer that way.
But god, I was filthy. Days of smoke, ash, blood, and sweat clung to my skin. The promise of being clean—even for a few minutes—overrode every other concern. I’d be fast. In and out.
I peeled off my torn red sundress—the fabric practically disintegrating in my hands after everything it had endured. My underwear followed, just as ruined and filthy.
I tested the water with one tentative toe. The temperature was perfect—hot enough to ease the ache in my muscles but not scalding. I stepped one foot, then the other into the oversized tub and slowly sank down into the fragrant water.
The relief was immediate and overwhelming.
Days of grime, sweat, and fear began to dissolve away.
I wanted to close my eyes, to sink deeper and let the warmth take me, but I kept my gaze on the door.
Quick. I had to be quick. After a few deep breaths, I let myself pretend I was back at Crescent Manor in Enzo’s oversized bathtub, safe in his arms.
But then I heard a noise outside the door and jumped, my heart thundering.
Oh, shit. I tensed, remembering Brynn’s warning.
Don’t let anyone in but me.
I was too far away from the door to lock it. But my shadows... I reached for them instinctively, feeling them stir in response. Dark tendrils rose from the water around me, coiling protectively. If someone came through that door, they'd regret it.
The door burst open and I relaxed, sinking back into the tub. Brynn stepped inside carrying some clothes and shoes, and she smiled. “I’m glad you decided to indulge in this simple pleasure.” There was an edge to her voice I couldn’t quite place, but I relaxed, sinking back into the tub.
“This should fit you. It’s simple, but it matches your eyes and hair.” She held up a brown taffeta gown embroidered with delicate white flowers and tiny glass beads that caught the light. The pump shoes were the same shade of brown and had glass beads in the shape of a rose.
If that was simple, I wondered what elaborate looked like. I’d never owned anything so beautiful. I was more of a T-shirt and jeans kind of girl.
“It’s gorgeous. Are you sure I should wear something so nice?” What I really wanted to ask was whether I could run in it—in case I got a chance to escape.
“Absolutely.” She placed the undergarments on the counter and hung the gown on the shower rod. Then she knelt down beside the tub. “Now let’s do something with that hair of yours.”
I leaned forward protectively. “I can wash it myself.”
“Nonsense, dear. Let me take care of you.” She picked up a clear bottle filled with glowing liquid on a glass shelf then poured some into her palm. It smelled like the ocean—clean and salty, with a hint of something sharper beneath it that I couldn’t quite place.
As she poured it into the water, the steam seemed to thicken, wrapping around me like a heavy blanket. My muscles loosened almost instantly, and a strange warmth spread through my limbs.
Probably just the heat, I told myself. Or exhaustion finally catching up to me.
Dear?
That word scraped against my nerves. Brynn hadn’t called me that earlier—her tone had been formal, distant. My unease coiled tighter, but I forced a smile, telling myself I was imagining things.
She rubbed the shampoo between her palms, then placed her hands on my head, scrubbing my hair with her fingertips.
It was like a massage, and I tilted my head back, allowing her full access.
Tingles moved through me, and I found myself melting into the warm water.
My breathing slowed, and my eyelids grew heavy. Tension rolled off my muscles.
She took a nozzle and rinsed off the suds. “Feel better?”
“Much.”
She massaged my shoulders and her fingers kneaded the last bit of stiffness from my muscles. “Oh, Brynn, that feels so good.”
“Tell me, my dear. The servants in the court were whispering about a vampire enforcer you were trying to protect.”
I stiffened immediately. There it was again—dear. Brynn hadn’t struck me as the type to listen to castle gossip, but I didn’t really know her, did I? Maybe I was making assumptions… or maybe exhaustion was making me paranoid. “Why?”
“He must be very special for you to risk so much protecting him.”
I took a deep breath and leaned back. “Yes, he is.” I wished he could see me now—safe for the moment, clean, preparing to wear something beautiful. I wished he could tell me this would all work out. That we’d find each other again.
Her fingers dug deeper, turning me into jelly again. “This enforcer—is he dangerous?”
“Not to me.” The words came out too quickly, too defensively. I swallowed hard, forcing myself to sound calm. “But he’d go after anyone who threatened the Santi family.” I bit back the words or hurt me, pressing my lips together before they slipped free. I wasn’t ready to share all my secrets.
“The Santi family—who leads them?”
My tongue felt thick, my thoughts sluggish, like I was floating somewhere far away. “Angelo. He’s...” I blinked slowly. “He’s everything to Enzo. Boss. Brother.”
Something about her tone made me break out in gooseflesh. Too casual, too…interested. I blinked, shaking off the unease. “Why all the questions?”
“I was just curious because we were supposed to have the queen’s brother, Killian, rule. But now we have Queen Alanna instead. Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like under Killian’s leadership.” Her fingers paused in their massage. “What about your Enzo?”
Wait. Did I say Enzo’s name? I tried to go back through our conversations, but I was so tired, I wasn’t sure.
Brynn returned to massaging me. “Is he loyal to Angelo personally, or would he be open to serving someone else if the circumstances were right?”
Would Enzo leave Angelo? I tried to think through the fog in my mind.
They were brothers in every way that mattered.
But Enzo had been furious when Angelo threatened me because I accidentally hurt his mate, Serenity.
That anger had been real, raw. Would it be enough to break their bond? I didn’t know.
“I don’t know,” I finally said. “He was furious when Angelo threatened me because I accidentally hurt his mate, Serenity.”
“I see.” The sweetness drained from her tone, replaced by something deeper, colder…wrong. My heart twisted as the sound warped, becoming unmistakably masculine. “So the way to get the Santi family in line is through their mates.”
Shitshitshitshit
My stomach did a belly flop. That voice—I knew that voice. My heart banged against my ribs as terror shot through me.
I jerked forward in the tub, water sloshing violently over the edges as I whipped around to face whoever was behind me.
The figure beside me shimmered, features blurring as if seen through rippling water. Skin shifted, bones popped and cracked as the illusion peeled away.
Her delicate face melted like wax, pale eyes bleeding from soft gray to piercing blue. Black hair drained to icy blond. Her slight frame stretched, shoulders broadening until the towering form of Ari knelt where Brynn had been seconds before.
His blue eyes gleamed with cruel satisfaction as he watched the horror dawn on my face. “Thank you for that information, Joy. Most enlightening indeed.”
I scrambled backward in the tub, pressing myself against the far edge, suddenly acutely aware of my nakedness. Water splashed everywhere as I tried to put distance between us, but there was nowhere to go.
“You—” My voice came out as a strangled whisper. Heat burned on my cheeks and ran down my throat. “How long have you been—? The whole time?”
His smile was predatory. “I sent poor Brynn on an errand to the kitchen. Quite convenient timing, wouldn’t you say?
” He tilted his head, studying me like I was his favorite dessert and he was trying to decide where to take his first bite.
“You have no idea how useful you’ve just been.
I can see exactly why Enzo is so taken with you, my dear.
So trusting, so exquisite, so…vulnerable. ”
Rage exploded through me, my blood turning molten in my veins. I was shaking with fury and humiliation as I panted hard. “Get out of here. Now.”
He tilted his head back and laughed, the sound echoing off the marble walls. “Oh, I don’t think so. We’re just getting started.”
I thrust my palm toward him, water droplets flying from my fingers.
Get him out
The shadows in every corner of the bathroom responded instantly, erupting like black flames.
They shot across the room and swarmed around him, coiling like serpents around his arms, his legs, his torso.
I sent them higher, wrapping around his throat and sealing over his mouth.
I never wanted to hear that slimy, manipulative voice again.
Ari's eyes went wide with shock, then blazed with fury as he struggled against my restraints.
He thrashed violently, tossing his head from side to side and writhing his body, but the shadows held firm.
He even slashed at the shadows with his fingernails, but his claws just swept through empty air.
For once, he couldn't talk his way out of something.
Good.
Tears of rage and humiliation burned my eyes. He’d violated me in the most intimate way possible—watched me bathe, touched my hair, made me trust him while he gathered intelligence to use against everyone I loved. I’d make him pay for this.
With a sharp gesture, I sent the shadows sliding across the marble floor, dragging Ari's bound form toward the door. He could rot in the hallway for all I cared.
I reached for the towel on the nearby rack, my other hand still commanding the shadows. I needed to get out of this tub—needed clothes, needed to be less vulnerable. My fingers closed around the soft fabric.
Brynn entered the bathroom carrying a silver tray laden with a delicate teapot, matching teacups, and small frosted cakes.
She froze.
Her pale gray eyes widened, the color draining from her face until she looked like a ghost. A sound tore from her throat—a raw, piercing scream that echoed off the marble walls.
The tray slipped from her trembling hands. China shattered on impact, shards skittering across the tiles like sharp snowflakes. Scalding tea splashed over the floor, mingling with the crumbled remains of the cakes.
Oh, shit. My heart stopped. The guards. They'll hear that and come running.
Heavy footsteps pounded down the hall, accompanied by the clash of weapons and shouted questions—the guards racing toward the chaos.
Brynn staggered back, pressing her hands over her mouth, her body shaking. For a fleeting moment, her gaze darted to me—wide, haunted, almost…knowing.
Crap, I was stark naked in this tub, holding a dangerous Dark Demon prisoner who was testing my ability to keep him that way. My arm shook as I battled to keep him tied up.
My body trembled as the shadows around Ari began to waver as my concentration split between maintaining control and panicking about my exposure.
“You’ll be punished for this,” Ari’s muffled voice managed to break free.
No, no, no. I tried desperately to reinforce the shadow bonds, but it was too late. The approaching guards, my nakedness, the humiliation of what he'd done—it all crashed over me at once.
My concentration shattered like glass.
The shadows screamed as they tore apart, dissolving into nothingness. Ari was free.
He moved with lightning speed, crossing the distance between us in a heartbeat. His hand cracked across my face with brutal force, the sharp smack echoing through the chamber like a sword striking steel. Stars exploded across my vision as I nearly pitched sideways out of the tub.
Before I could recover, his fingers twisted cruelly in my wet hair, yanking my head back. "Don't you ever," he snarled, his face inches from mine, "try that again, you little bitch."
Armed guards surrounded us, their weapons drawn. I sat in the tub shivering, the cooling water lapping over my breasts. Tears slid down my cheeks as I dragged the towel into the tub, trying desperately to cover myself.
All I wanted was for Enzo to appear behind the guards—to knock them aside, tear Ari apart with his bare hands, and carry me away from this nightmare. But he wasn’t coming. He didn’t even know where in this vast, twisted dimension I was trapped.