Page 68 of Taken By Touch and Torment

My men would fight for me. They were flies tangled in my web, deluded into thinking it had been their choice to sacrifice themselves at my altar.

Kole and Brennan were quick to convince Durian to loosen his grip and allow me back at court, by means I didn’t know nor care to learn.

I only cared that they’d been effective.

Unfortunately, this occurred after I’d been sufficiently tortured by Aunt Carol and forced to recite demented prayers for hours on end.

I paid for every minute I spent outside of my gilded cage. Each time I entertained Kole, Durian brutalized me harsher than ever. I didn’t know what it was inside of me that had this capacity to endure. Maybe it was a product of childhood trauma—losing my neglectful parents so young and then being abused by my sister. Maybe it was the darkness inside my soul, the kiss of the Dark Goddess.

I’d never been more grateful for that darkness I’d detested for so long. It was the only thing keeping me alive. It was what would lead me to my freedom, bring me up from this deep, oppressive pit one fistful of dirt after the next.

Tonight, we were in the dungeons, though the attendees were fewer than usual. More esteemed, too. It was like one of Odessa’s private parties for the turned in the restricted sections.

“They don’t care,” I overheard Brennan whisper harshly to Durian. “They see us as squabbling children, unworthy of even the mental energy, let alone resources, to deal with. We’re on our own.”

Durian shot him a pointed glare as Kole entered the dimly lit room. I sensed that the energy between Durian and Brennan was more heated and volatile than ever, and other lords were taking notice.

From the context clues provided, I was getting the picture that Durian arrogantly believed the kingdom was already in the Valentin borns’ back pocket. And Brennan disagreed, pointing to the fact that Rune had faced zero consequences for his breeching of the kingdom’s meeting terms.

Aunt Carol shoved me toward Kole, forcing me to my knees.

Kole quickly shook his head in disapproval, pulling me to my feet and dismissing Aunt Carol.

“Good boy,” I whispered in Kole’s ear. “You’re the only one who truly sees me in this place.”

Durian watched me so intensely that his gaze scorched my skin. He hated how attached to me Kole had become, and I knew he was starting to worry about the prospect of Kole asking to take me back to Ravenia with him.

And I truly didn’t know how Durian would react to such a request. He’d be pissed off, that much was certain. But he wanted world domination more than anything else, including me. If he thought I could win him more favor in the kingdom, I found it hard to believe he wouldn’t pawn me off without hesitation.

It was also clear that Durian hated Kole’s reversal of my role as a submissive and a slave. Though he would never admit that to the dignitary out loud. His archaic religious bullshit was supremely misogynistic and oppressive toward human women. He also despised what the perceived sense of power might do to my puny little human brain, potentially unraveling his tight chains of control. He frequently reminded me that I was serving Kole only at his direction, that I still harbored no power and was merely following orders. That I was just his pretty doll to loan out at will.

I pulled Kole away, my tight black dress shifting high on my thighs. Brennan and Durian watched me leave with Kole, with thinly veiled irritation.

I giggled, delighting Kole even more.

“It’s a crime they’ve caged such a vibrant creature,” Kole whispered. “You would make for the most exquisite courtesan back in King Earle’s castle. It makes this place look like servants’ quarters.”

I pretended to hang on his every word, gently stroking his arm.

“You’d be free, you know. Courtesans have clients, not masters. They are taken care of. You’d be spoiled like no other courtesan has before.”

I looked around, showing him genuine fear at the prospect of being overheard.

Kole’s features hardened with masculine bravado. “We’ll go somewhere private, Mistress.”

I rewarded him with a grin.

Inside his living room, I lounged back on his couch as Kole knelt on the floor below, holding my fizzy mocktail and a plate of grapes like a vampire corner table.

It was kind of awesome.

“As you were saying,” I said, taking a sip of my drink. “These courtesans… they’re not treated as slaves?”

Kole’s brows scrunched. “Not at all. Engaging in that nasty slave business is low-class behavior. There’s an etiquette at our court, for all things, including proper behavior of lords and ladies, council members and officials. This includes how courtesans are treated. What fun are games of seduction if they’re guaranteed?”

I popped a grape in my mouth and nodded. “My thoughts exactly.” I bit my lip, my mind churning. I didn’t trust a word he said. “I guess I just assumed that the born here and the born in Ravenia were…”

“The same?” Kole made a face of distaste. “We call it island madness, you know. The sorry state of vampires here in Valentin. I pity them, truly.” He leveled a look of amusement. “I know you’re not a dress-up doll, dear. I know that based on everything you’ve heard and seen living with both vampire clans of Valentin, you’ve put together your own judgments. You think that because I’m here with the born, that means I condone all of their actions and buy into Durian’s legitimacy myths and religious movement. But you’re only seeing the surface level of my actions. I’m a courtier, darling. I know how to play the game. Just as you do, I’m starting to understand.”

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