Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 148397 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 742(@200wpm)___ 594(@250wpm)___ 495(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 148397 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 742(@200wpm)___ 594(@250wpm)___ 495(@300wpm)
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.
Chapter Fifteen
………………………….
Ily
MY HEART ACHED AS HENRI stormed away.
What had I done wrong?
I thought we’d reached an understanding.
The way he’d hugged me after I’d whispered for him to play along with me. The way his entire body enveloped me in such protection, such hope.
I thought that’d been his answer.
In my GHB high state, I thought it’d been a yes.
Yes, to playing along.
Yes, to the act of using me, abusing me, making me kneel and scream—proving to everyone in this damn place that he was the worst. I would play along and be the best-trained jewel in here. I’d do whatever it took to convince everyone that Henri was one of them and I was his, and then…maybe, just maybe, Victor would let him leave. He’d trust him with the location of this island, and Henri could tell his brother, and reinforcements could arrive and—
I slouched.
It wasn’t a yes.
Dread-filled butterflies churned in my stomach as Henri vanished into the stronghold in the distance. He’d never left me alone before. Never run away as if he couldn’t stand being in my presence.
My bruises and ribs still hurt.
My bones ached with matching pockmarks from nasty bullets, but those wounds were nothing compared to the pain of confusion. The scrambling of the bond I thought we’d formed.
Whatever I’d felt that night—all those stupid, stupid feelings…they were nothing more than a ridiculous fantasy.
Enough.
Climbing to my feet, I groaned as my body protested.
I had far more important things to worry about.
Peter.
Rachel.
The jewels.
I was finally free to visit them.
Brushing a few blades of grass off my black workout shorts and aqua sports bra, I followed Henri’s footsteps through the manicured grass.
A shiver ran down my back as I climbed the deck and cut around all the empty tables.
This fortress was hell on earth when monsters were in residence, but empty—apart from inconspicuous staff and black-suited guards—it was eerie.
No sounds of pain around shadowy corners. No sick laughter as a Master whipped a jewel. No awful beatings in the gardens.
I hadn’t noticed how much every scream and whimper curdled my stomach. The calcification around my heart at the sounds of abuse chipped away a little, thanks to birdsong and silence.
A sharp-eyed guard watched me as I padded barefoot through the dining room. He didn’t stop me, and another guard took up his glower as I cut across the foyer and down the stone corridor leading toward Dr Belford’s surgery on the ground floor.
I added each guard to the ongoing tally in my head.
So far, I’d counted twelve on the ground floor and five scattered in the gardens.
I had no idea how many patrolled the upper levels or the battlements.
For the past few days, I’d started keeping a record of guards and staff, adding their positions to the schematics in my head.
As much as I hoped Henri would snap out of his strange silence and reveal he was still good, deep, deep inside, it wasn’t in my nature to sit around and wait.
We had three weeks before the Masters returned. Who knew when Victor would fly home and if we stood a chance at getting out…this was our best opportunity.
My feet—healed from their shallow cuts from running in caves and forests—slowed outside the carved door of the surgery.
I shuddered with memories of that first day. Of Peter flirting with the doctor and nurse. Of his false happiness doing its best to hide just how afraid and hurt he was.
God.
My heart ached as I knocked.
Guilt pressed heavily.
A week since I last saw him. It wasn’t good enough.
The door swung open. Melanie Belford stared coldly. “Oh, it’s you.”
I flinched at her warm welcome. “C-Can I come in?”
Looking past me, she scanned the empty corridor. “Your Master isn’t with you, I hope. I’m not exactly a fan.”
“No.”
She frowned. “That’s a first. Letting you wander around on your own.”
I shrugged. “I suppose he feels I’m safe enough without other Masters staying.”