Chapter Fourteen
………………………….
Henri
VICTOR MARCHED AROUND WITH HIS hands in the pockets of his black slacks, looking like a furious headmaster. The ballroom echoed with his terse sentences while he scolded us. Every Master had been summoned to partake in breakfast and be witness to the winner of Emerald Bruises.
I swallowed another mouthful of bitter coffee.
The beans had been roasted to perfection. The frothed milk silky and creamy, yet it tasted like dirt thanks to her.
My nightmare.
Il—
Nope.
Still couldn’t say it.
Memories of last night refused to leave me alone.
I couldn’t decide which had broken me the worst.
Her name.
My nickname.
Her tears.
Her initiating sex.
Her asking me to play along with her…
The way she kissed—
Fuck.
My throat closed up.
She’d destroyed me.
Utterly and spectacularly destroyed me.
You know what broke you the most.
I strangled my coffee cup.
Don’t, Ri.
Don’t—
The memory of her touch.
The heat of her closeness.
The exquisite sensation of hugging her—
Too late.
My cock reacted. My heart thundered. The urge to hug her again poured hotly down my weary, achy arms.
Adrenaline and anxiety, greed and gratitude all soaked my system, and my knees trembled beneath the table.
That hug.
That damn fucking hug.
My first.
My only.
And goddammit, I hadn’t been aware how much I’d been starving.
Past starving.
Fucking emaciated for something I didn’t even know I needed.
The strength it took not to wrap her in another hug this morning when she woke in bruise-shot agony. The sheer willpower I’d had to enlist not to scoop her into my arms as she limped out of the bathroom, her chest painted in a kaleidoscope of earthy, brutal pigments. The mark of my teeth on her throat almost pushed me over the edge.
Jesus Christ.
“I have to say, I’m severely disappointed in you, gentlemen.” Victor’s pompous speech cut through my thoughts, giving me a reprieve.
A few Masters grumbled over their fruit pastries.
“You were told the winner could do whatever he wanted. The key word in that sentence, my friends, was winner. Yet I hear from lovely Dr Belford that she currently has seven jewels all in various states of disrepair thanks to some of you anointing yourself as the winner without my consent.”
Another grumble of dissent.
Victor stopped marching and glowered at all of us. “Seven jewels are out of service for the foreseeable future. Three of those seven are missing pieces. And another might not make it.”
Ily stiffened by my feet, no doubt wondering if Peter was the one who might not make it.
He’d looked pretty messed up.
I didn’t know how much a human body could endure before breaking down, but…he’d been close. Carrying him up the hill, I swore he’d stopped breathing a few times. I’d clutched him close, hiding his lack of living from the three jewels climbing exhausted behind me. I’d deliberated digging him a grave or running as fast as I could for someone to resuscitate him.
But each time I thought he’d died, he sucked in another shallow breath and survived.
Ily moaned quietly as she shifted yet again on the hard oak floor.
I hated her kneeling on bruised legs.
I despised that the clothing Victor had deemed appropriate to order for her was a scantily short sundress that barely skimmed her ass. He’d provided G-strings, not knickers, and no bras, so her full chest stretched the bodice, turning a baby pink dress into something sinful, especially with the pricks of her hard nipples.
She was cold. Same as me.
My jeans and black t-shirt didn’t fend off the draft pinching from the corners of the ballroom. The erotic statues and tapestries looked morbid and morose—the new day overcast and threatening rain as if grieving for the atrocities committed yesterday.
Flashes of stabbing Kyle.
Glimpses of strangling Charles.
A highlight reel of Ily waking at three a.m. and finding me reading. The way her golden eyes glowed like hunter moons in the dark, shimmering with lust. She’d never looked at me that way before. Never rode me, ruled me—
“I have a good mind to discipline all of you!” Victor suddenly lost control of his infamous temper. “I allowed you to play to let off some steam, and instead, you took advantage of my leniency. I’m aware each of you have your own needs, but I thought we’d cultivated a society here. A utopia where rules were welcomed. But…” He ran a hand over his mouth. “I see now I live with idiots and ingrates, and I’m done putting up with such flagrant disregard for my fucking property!”
A few Masters flinched.
Ferdinand had the bravery to ask, “Where’s Kyle and Gary? I haven’t seen them.”
“Dead,” Victor spat. “See, gentlemen? Balance. It always finds a way.”
“They’re dead?” A few Masters leapt to their feet. “Who the fuck killed them?”
A few eyes turned in my direction.
I stiffened as Victor met my gaze.
If he suspected me, I didn’t think I’d be currently sitting unmolested and sipping my coffee. Not unless he had another trick up his sleeve. Another television demonstration or soap drama of five guards holding guns to my head.
Then again, in the mood he was in…he might not care I’d dispatched a few men who didn’t follow his sacred rules.
The bump on my temple throbbed, amplifying my constant headache all while my stitches itched. It took a lot of discipline to sit still and act innocent.
Giving me an exasperated smile as if I were the only one Victor believed to be worthy, he sighed heavily. “Kyle has yet to be found, but Charles and Gary were recovered at dawn. Their cadavers were caught in my fishermen’s nets and showed evidence of being bounced around in the cave system. I warned you!” Victor pointed at each of us. “I warned you about the dangers of my island. Yet you all ignored me, just like you ignored me on how far you were permitted to go.” His navy eyes filled with rage again. “I told you to hunt and shoot. To allow democracy and good sportsmanship to crown a winner. But no! Most of you didn’t even bother to fire! You just grabbed a jewel and did whatever the fuck you wanted!”
Waving at me, Victor added, “The only one who followed the rules was my newest member! And he shot not one but three! Without even counting how many bruises he caused, it’s obvious he is the clear winner because the rest of you are fucking illiterate and arrogant, and I’m quickly running out of motherfucking patience.” He paced again, growing more and more irate. “Henri earned the right to keep his ownership over Ilyana and, thanks to no one else playing the goddamn game, he also claimed my Rachel and Roland’s Mollie. And you know what? I’m going to honour that claim because someone has to be rewarded for good behaviour, and it certainly isn’t you lot!”
Ah, shit.
My pulse picked up as Ily’s shoulders tensed.
What did that mean?
I’d shot Rachel and Mollie to keep them safe.
Nothing more.
I didn’t want them.
I didn’t want to think what Victor would make me do to them and how the fuck I could refuse…
Ignoring most of Victor’s speech, Ferdinand wrinkled his nose. “You’re saying Charles and Gary drowned?” He crossed his arms. “I want an autopsy. If there’s no water in their lungs, then—”
“An autopsy?” Victor snickered. “Yeah, sure, I’ll call the morgue director straight away.” His humour vanished. “A fucking autopsy? Where do you think you are? Snivelling society where murder is investigated? This is my world. My island. I gave you rules. I warned you of the dangers. Some of you didn’t listen and are now dead. Good fucking riddance.” He sucked in a breath. “An autopsy!” Rolling his eyes, he added, “Oh, and while I have your attention, because no one asked me what I want, I want a fucking apology from those who are responsible for the five jewels I lost yesterday! But we don’t always get what we want, do we?”
Wait…five?
I froze.
Ily swallowed a moan.
We both glanced around the ballroom.
No other jewels waited by their Master’s feet.
No other slave but her.
If seven were receiving medical care and five were now dead…that left eighteen.
Even as the number blazed in my mind and Ily caught my stare, I sensed where this was going.
What Victor would do.
How he’d react to losing his precious toys, even if he had given them the option to jump and turned their collars off for the day. How many jumped, and how many were murdered?
He’ll replace them.
At the soonest opportunity.
Victor stopped pacing and clasped his hands together. He stood on the podium where that Kirk fellow and some girl called Suri had put on a porno.
Were they still alive?
Who were dead?
And how many more would die before I managed to get out of here?
Huh.
Strange.
Was that a Freudian slip? I didn’t want out. I’d accepted this was my permanent home now. I knew the moment I stepped off this island Q would slaughter me.
“Play along with me, Hen.”
Ily’s whispers strangled my heart.
How could she ask me that?
How could she expect me to go back to that heart-sick, nausea-riddled idiot from before?
I couldn’t play along with her because I couldn’t get her out of here.
If I freed her, she’d leave.
I’d be alone again.
And after that hug?
That miraculous, marvellous hug?
That profound embrace where I’d felt such a softening, a quickening, a ruining…
Merde…
No.
Just…no.
“Here is how today will go.” Victor spoke calmly, collectedly. “I’ve decided I need a break from you lot before I do something ill-advised. I’m going to join my team who are currently hunting on my behalf. My initial order of gems will have to be doubled, tripled, to ensure my stocks are back to an acceptable number to entertain you degenerates.”
“Jeez, tell us what you really think.” A dark-skinned Master sniffed.
“I am.” Victor smiled tightly. “Some of you committed treason against me when you murdered my precious gems. I tried to do something nice for you. I trusted you to respect me.” He crossed his arms. “You didn’t. You proved you’re selfish and childish, and if this is the only way I can get through to you, then so be it.” His lips pulled back. “You are all to vacate my home immediately and think upon the mess you have caused. My Joyero is mine, not yours. You are here by my grace and invitation, and your invitation has been revoked.”
“What?” Every Master shot to his feet. “But—”
“Ah, ah, I’m not finished.” Victor held up his hand. “You will be allowed to return in one month’s time. This will enable my current jewels to heal and grow strong for your pleasure and for me to find some new gems to sparkle brightly upon your arrival. You will be flown home and will receive your new invitation on the encrypted message board like usual.” He smiled and ran a hand over his perfect hair. “However, a few of you will not be allowed to return. I’ll make those announcements privately. As for those who do get another invite, I suggest you use this time to reflect upon your actions because this is your one and only chance. We are predators, gentlemen, not unintelligent beasts. We have urges, yes. We are at the top of the food chain, of course. But there still must be order. There still must be rules. And unless you are willing to abide by those rules, you are no longer welcome.”
“What about him?” Ian, the Master who’d almost raped Ily on Victor’s command, pointed in my direction.
Yes, what about me?
All my scheming to stay so I didn’t die might be moot if Victor flew me back to Paris.
I guessed I’d survive an hour. Maybe two before Q came for me…
“Henri Mercer is my permanent guest. He’s tested me and frustrated me, but…he has stayed true to my laws and is exempt from leaving.”
Was it my imagination, or did Ily suck in a relieved breath?
I wanted to run my fingertips over her honeyed skin. To tip up her chin. To kiss—
“That’s fucking bullshit,” Roland snarled. “He’s a snitch, Vic. We all know it!”
“Yes, he is.” Victor nodded. “But he’s my snitch. He snitched on his brother, and I expect him to keep providing me with information about his family as and when I require it. But for now, he stays, you go, and that’s all I have to say on the matter.”
Clapping his hands, he smirked. “Now, enjoy your last breakfast in paradise, gentlemen. For those who live in Europe, you may join me on the first flight out of here. For those who live farther abroad, you will have to wait until my captain returns.” He bowed with a twist of his lips. “Farewell, my friends. I hope next time we play together, you will remember this moment and behave. Otherwise, I might suddenly find myself with a few more jewels by collaring you instead.”
He swept out of the room like a royal.
The Masters broke out into heated words.
And I tapped my little nightmare on the shoulder and got her out of there.
* * * * *
THE CURSE OF BLOOD I wanted her scratching my eyes out and telling me to stop.
I wanted to hunt her down. But I didn’t want her to play dead and let me; I wanted her to scream and try to kill me.
Fuck.
Sourness filled my mouth.
It seemed my morality after murdering four men had returned, suffocating me under the very real knowledge that if I touched her now, I would pay for the privilege.
She only asked me to play along to earn her freedom.
I dropped my head and pinched the bridge of my nose.
She’d kissed me, hugged me, not because she felt anything for me but because she was so fucking brave and figured out how to manipulate me.
All it would take was making me fall in love with her—
I sighed heavily and stood.
She sucked in a breath, wrenching my eyes to hers.
Books and manuscripts might give me a way to survive each day, but seeing her standing there, brilliant beneath the afternoon sun…my attempt at a novel paled compared to her.
No fictional character would ever live up to her.
Christ, how did people do this?
How did they find the strength to care for someone and accept equal care in return?
I couldn’t be in my chaotic thoughts anymore.
Snatching my laptop, I stepped away from the lounger.
Ily balled her hands as if ready to fight instead of obey.
That one act of defiance made me rock fucking hard and starving.
If she cursed me. If she showed me a fraction of defiance, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself. I’d grab her by the throat and pin her against the willow tree. I’d be inside her before she gave me any sort of permission.
But slowly, she remembered her promises from a week ago and dropped elegantly to her knees.
She winced from her bruises.
She bowed her head with perfect subservience. “You’re hard, Master H. Feel free to use me however you want.” Her voice teased with falsity, but her offer was genuine.
I could have her.
I could have her any way I damn well wanted.
An awful surge of horror filled me.
This wasn’t my Ily.
This obedient, docile jewel reminded me far too much of the broken ones. Their willpower shattered and strength torn to pieces. She became the very jewel I could never touch because I couldn’t feel her fire anymore. Couldn’t burn alive with her anymore.
I-I can’t do this.
“You’re free for the rest of the afternoon,” I snapped. “Do whatever you’d like. Visit whoever you want. Don’t come looking for me until dusk.”
She was safe without other Masters around.
I might be safe if I could outrun this blackness.
I stalked away before she could reply.