Page 25 of The Cruelty of Thorns

“And you’ve been here ever since?” She nodded. “Does she…feed off of you?”

Rosetta wrung her hands as she replied. “Sometimes. Mostly when her captives are recovering.”

“Captives? There are more than just me?”

She nodded. “There are three of you here right now, though one I fear is not long for this life.”

“Why is that?”

“He has displeased her one time too many. She punished him severely for it the last time and I think he has given up. He refuses to eat or bathe.”

Despite my situation, I couldn’t help a flare of jealousy at the mention of other lovers residing here in the house. Was that to be my fate if I didn’t please her? “How long was he here?”

She concentrated, as though trying to recall. “She captured him last summer. Like you, he came from a good family and fought her from the beginning. At first she was amused by his spirit, but then she grew weary of it. That’s when the torture began.”

“Torture?”

“You don’t want to know.” She stepped closer, imploring me with her eyes. “That’s why you must do whatever you can to please her. If you do, you can live a good life here.”

“A good life in captivity?”

She shrugged. “For some of us who came from nothing, it is better than what we left. She has one captive who has been here for years. She trusts him enough that he can come and go as he pleases.”

“He can leave? Why does he come back?”

“She found him on the street. This is better than what he had.”

Perhaps if you didn’t know better, living in this house could be considered a step up. But that was not the case with me. I’d had a good life, a life of privilege where I had every luxury and was allowed to come and go as I pleased. For me this was not a step up but a prison, regardless of the plush surroundings.

And yet, I was here now and there didn’t seem to be any way out of it. At least not yet. Maybe I too could convince the Contessa I was trustworthy so she would allow me to leave with the promise that I would return.

“How long was this captive here before she allowed him that freedom?”

“A few months. You met him the night you came here. Tomasso, the one who brought you to the Contessa. He would do anything for her, including finding her new captives. He always accompanies her when she goes into the city.”

The way she said it made me think she didn’t care for him much. I thought back to the boy who’d approached me on the street and how eager he’d been for me to follow him. “I take it he’s not popular here?”

“Only with the Contessa. The rest of the staff, well…” she lowered her voice and looked around as though someone might overhear her, “we are careful what we say around him, though it is wise to stay on his good side.”

“So is taking care of the captives your only job here?”

“I also help in the kitchen and see to the Contessa’s room. Now I must go.” She headed toward the door with the towels and urn. “She will no doubt send for you tonight. Remember what I told you about pleasing her.”

I watched her go, thinking the conversation had been most enlightening. Could I do it? Could I play along long enough to win the Contessa’s trust? Since there didn’t seem to be any other way out of it, I supposed I would have to try.

♦ ♦ ♦

As Rosetta had promised, she arrived just after sunset with instructions to escort me to the Contessa’s room. When we got there, she paused before knocking on her mistress’s door and reached back to squeeze my hand.

“Remember what I told you.”

I took a deep breath and nodded. I could do this. It’s not like the woman was hideous.

The door swung open and the Contessa was there, smiling at me, her dark eyes simmering with heat. “Come in, Julianus,” she purred as she grabbed my hand and pulled me into the room, closing the door behind me.

She was dressed in a shimmering gold dressing gown that clung to her curves, her dark hair slightly mussed, as though she had just awakened. I held my breath, waiting to see what new torments awaited me at her hands, but she seemed to be in good spirits, like she was the night I had arrived.

“I’m glad to see you’ve recovered,” she said, stalking around me as though sizing me up. I could feel the force of her behind me, her presence causing me to hold my breath as I waited for her next move. She trailed her fingers across my back and around to my chest, their touch leaving goosebumps in their wake. Try as I might to remain clear-headed, I found myself falling under her spell.

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