Chapter 3
Chapter Three
KYELLA
I’d been hungry before. In fact, I was hungry almost constantly, a permanent ache that made me feel lightheaded, even on the best days.
Malakai’s failure to feed me properly was no doubt an effort to make sure I was perpetually in need.
A need he directly controlled. He could easily demand that I be given no meals, and everyone would listen.
He never let me forget who controlled my life.
I hadn’t felt the true satisfaction of an entire meal since arriving at the castle, and that mixed with the horrible stomach pain I had when Malakai made me drink his blood usually left my gut churning for days.
I knew I was far thinner than I should be—thinner than I’d been when I arrived here—and in some ways, I was glad for it.
I hoped it made me somewhat unappealing to the vampyres around here, despite it being a horrible reflection on my health.
But now… Now I was truly starving. Acid boiled in my empty stomach, nothing to absorb it. The pieces of bread and few chunks of cheese my personal guard—whom I’d found out was named Tristan—had given me hadn’t been enough. It felt like it had been a week since they’d crossed my lips.
It had only been two days.
I suppose one positive of this situation was that Tristan wasn’t a total ass like the rest of the vampyres. It was the first time I hadn’t felt alone since finding out the truth about Malakai, though I wasn’t happy that Tristan was a prisoner as well.
I still didn’t know what to think of the man, but I appreciated the small kindness he afforded me by threatening the other guards with the reminder of who I was.
Between his reminders and my own, they had yet to touch me.
It left me with a smug satisfaction that I kept hidden, knowing they would look for any excuse to get to me.
So I had kept in the back of my cell, tucked into the shadows, trying not to incite their anger.
Half of the things they said made me want to roll my eyes and scoff, which was why I was being particularly careful right now. I wasn’t sure that in my agitated, starving state I’d be able to keep myself from saying exactly what I thought about their lewd and chauvinistic comments.
The sound of the opening dungeon door had me looking up from where I was pressed into the corner of the wall, crouched down with my knees pulled up against my chest. It was so cold and damp down here that my toes had gone numb long ago.
My fingers protested in pain when I tried to move them, and one of my only nice skirts was ruined, having soaked in whatever was on the floor of this cell. Nothing good, from what I could tell.
“Is she up?”
Tristan’s voice had me sitting up straighter, hoping I’d finally get out of here.
“No fucking idea. Haven’t heard a word from her today,” one of them grunted, sounding annoyed.
Tristan appeared in front of the cell, his eyes widening as he took in my current state. “I’ve been ordered to bring you up to your private chambers to get ready.”
I nodded, standing up. Black spots filled my vision, and my muscles felt achy, advertising that I was weaker than I had been in quite some time.
I stumbled forward and crossed my arms, holding myself around the ribs to maintain some level of center as I reached the door.
Tristan motioned me out of the cell, and I thought I saw a hint of sadness in his gaze.
I had to be imagining it—vampyres didn’t care about humans, and they certainly didn’t feel bad for them.
While Tristan hadn’t mentioned why he couldn’t bring me food in the past two days, it was clear there had been a ruling by the Emperor that I wouldn’t be given any meals, and like a good guard, he had followed the order.
I couldn’t really blame him, though. Not when his family was on the line.
The other two dungeon guards were quiet as I was led out of the space, my lips tweaking up into a smile at their discomfort around Tristan.
Good. I had been subjected to two days of their disgusting conversations on everything from women to murder—sometimes in tandem with each other—and it had cemented in my head that it was in vampyres’ nature to be this… ruthless, in all aspects.
I was so out of it that I didn’t even realize the door to the dungeon had closed behind us until Tristan spoke, reminding me of the soundproof barrier now in place.
“You look like shit.”
I snorted and shook my head. “Thanks so much. Here I thought I looked like a queen, especially after being treated to the royal suite for so long.”
I swear I heard the faintest of chuckles from him.
After a long moment, we began walking up the steps, Tristan speaking so quietly I struggled to hear him. “The Emperor is still furious with you. I’ll do my best to find you some food, but just know this isn’t over for him. Far from it.”
I believed that. Malakai was so damn vindictive.
As we finally made it out of the dungeon, Tristan’s hand clasped around my arm, guiding me to a set of stairs out of the public eye.
I knew Malakai would’ve loved for me to walk through his castle looking like shit so he could prove how much control he had over my well-being, but he must not have explicitly ordered public humiliation because Tristan was attempting to be discreet.
I was fairly sure that between the warning to the dungeon guards regarding Malakai’s anger and now this, it was his attempt at a small sliver of kindness. It was as much as he could afford to give me, with what he had on the line. Perhaps even more than he could afford.
Maybe it wasn’t in vampyre nature to be completely depraved, but it was more likely that Tristan was an outlier. Who knows, though… Maybe it was this castle and Malakai that made its inhabitants so vile. I wouldn’t have been surprised by that—the man was a performer, and this castle was his stage.
“What am I getting ready for?” I finally asked as we traveled up a flight of stairs that led to my private chambers.
“The party our Emperor is hosting for Lords and their Thralls,” Tristan explained, the memory of Malakai’s threat ringing in my ears.
Shit. Had he truly been serious?
My breath caught as I tried to steady myself, knowing that working myself into a panicked state wasn’t the best move.
Before I could question him further, we arrived at a familiar dark door that was worn around the edges, looking like a hard wind could blow it off its hinges.
I tensed, meeting the gazes of two women standing near the end of the bed, both offering Tristan a nod of greeting but completely looking past me. As if I didn’t exist.
“I’ll be back,” Tristan said, pushing me into the room and quickly closing the door before I could try to bolt.
I scowled. I knew he was going to find food for me, but had the shove been necessary?
Taking in the two maids before me, I noticed one was older than the other. Her outfit was marginally nicer in fabric quality, symbolizing that she was in charge.
She motioned me forward, her severe high bun making her face look hard as stone. When I looked over at the younger woman, I found her staring at the floor.
Wonderful.
“Bathe yourself. The water has been drawn. We don’t have much time,” the older woman ordered as she pointed to the small attached washroom. I nodded and followed her commands, my rebellious fire momentarily staunched at the idea of taking a bath.
It sounded divine after two days in the dungeon.
My spark wasn’t gone, though, and I knew the minute that I had eaten something, drank some water, and warmed up, I would be back, looking for a way to get out of here.
I considered the possibility of trying again tonight—What did I have to lose?
I would face punishment after punishment if it meant proving to myself that I would never again be owned by another.
I eased off my damp, dirty clothing, leaving it on the floor before going to the tub and sinking into it. It was a small metal contraption that usually was filled with cold water, and only enough to get me clean. But right now it was filled high, warm enough that my frozen limbs seared.
Knowing I didn’t have much time, especially not to enjoy a bath, I took the scrub brush and soap, lathering it to wash each of my limbs.
Bruises dotted my body from being handled so roughly in the dungeon, and while I hadn’t seen my face yet, I knew that it probably looked pretty bad since I hadn’t been able to sleep, far too hungry to fall into any form of slumber.
Scrubbing my hair, wanting to remove the damp mildew smell of the dungeon, I made sure to work through any heavy knots and matted sections before rinsing it out.
After ten minutes of cleaning myself, my body having moderately warmed, I forced myself to stand.
I shakily grabbed a threadbare towel and dried myself off before wrapping it around me like a dress, holding it in place underneath my arms.
“Come. Quickly,” the older woman instructed the minute I stepped into the room.
I sat on the edge of the bed as the younger maid came behind me and began to yank and pull at my hair.
The first maid held a mirror up in front so they could focus on how it framed my face, or whatever it was that they were doing.
I closed my eyes, letting them do their job as I retreated to a place inside of me, warmed by the fire.
I could remember a time, when my aunt and father were still alive, when I’d felt life and passion every day. Now my passion was focused on securing my freedom, but back then, it had burned brightly as I ran through the fields of our family farm, basking in the sunshine.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d spent more than ten minutes in the sun. I missed the warmth that infused my body, as if I was directly soaking up its energy, making me radiate from the inside.
“Stay still,” the older woman demanded as she began to apply something to my lips and face. Was she putting makeup on me? Shit, Malakai really wanted to make a point tonight if he was having me dolled up.
He’d threatened that I would be on the menu for the Lords to sample tonight. Would he follow through on that?
“Why are you getting me ready?” I asked.
I trusted Tristan to have told me the truth, but I was curious if they would give anything more away.
Their silence told me everything. Malakai wanted me to be kept in the dark, to see my authentic fear when I was brought downstairs.
I wouldn’t give it to him.
After a few more minutes, they were done.
I nearly groaned as I caught my face in the mirror, because somehow they had used the products to make me look like I hadn’t just been freed from a dungeon.
My hollowed out cheeks from being malnourished now looked like they were just high and beautiful with the make up, matching the sharp angle of my jaw bone.
Maybe that was the point, though. Maybe Malakai thought others wouldn’t want a bite if I was in such a horrible state…
The maids had me stand, instructing me to get dressed in basic undergarments and a black dress that was tight around the center.
It squeezed my ribs but draped to an almost see-through silk against my legs.
It was quite inappropriate, the way it clung to my hips and bottom, but I tried to ignore that.
I had never worn something like this, and I was far more focused on the anxiety of what this could mean.
He wanted me to look appealing.
When Tristan knocked on the door, he didn’t exchange any words with the maids, instead motioning for me. I walked next to him as we entered the hall, and he turned so that we took another discreet hallway before he came to a stop.
“Here, hurry.” Tristan handed me a sandwich, and my mouth instantly watered.
I didn’t think about the fact that I looked like a feral animal as I grabbed it, stuffing it in my mouth and consuming the food in less than a minute.
It felt like a rock when it hit my stomach, but it was better than nothing.
When he handed me a small pouch of water, I drank as much as possible, tears nearly spilling from my eyes in relief.
“Thank you,” I whispered, knowing that this had been a huge risk for him to take. The repercussions for his kindness were far too high, and yet he still did it.
“Don’t thank me,” he gritted out, shaking his head as his lips thinned. “I’m about to deliver you into a far worse situation.”
I nodded because I was well aware, but it didn’t take away from the kindness he had shown. As he led me downstairs, I began to feel a bit of energy returning. My senses became sharper, the dull fog from lack of sustenance and sleep fading away.
Lifting my chin and pulling my shoulders back, I prepared myself for the inevitable.
An event for Lords and their Thralls… This was going to be bad for me.