Page 53 of Servitude to Serpents

Again, not a question, but I nod all the same.

“They blamed you.”

It’s a special kind of humiliation, having your worst moments recited back to you, but he doesn’t stop, content to let me sniffle and cry in his lap.

“They let her hurt you for years, and then when you needed them most, they handed you over to her without a second thought. Is that right, Pup?”

I struggle to quiet my crying, because right now, this feels…dangerous. Because this isn’t my master. It’s Basilisk. Or maybe I was always wrong, and they really are one and the same. This line of questioning makes it harder to breathe, like a snake squeezing the life out of his food before he swallows it whole.

He presses another kiss to my scars, and despite everything, my treacherous heart flutters.

“They sold the house, you know…” Another kiss. “Bought one just outside Cape Cod. It's quaint, with lovely aqua curtains.”

I jerk away, this time making it to my feet before he can stop me, my long, ring-plaited braid slapping me in the face as I spin to face him. “Please.” It’s a plea, a simple request, really, but I know the moment it leaves my mouth, it won’t be heard in any actual sense.

I sniffle, attempting to steel myself as he stands, rising to his full, towering height. The same rage I always see in his hazel eyes meets me, but it's not that… It’s the quietness of his movements, the calculation and grace, that makes me take a step back. “Master,please….”

“Tell me… Was it on purpose? A mercy killing? Or maybe you were jealous? Maybe you wanted all the attention.”

My face flushes, bile swirling in my gut. “Of course not. I loved her!” I take another step back, and he follows.

“Then why not settle the score, littlepet? Let your master right this wrong for you. It could look like an accident or on purpose. Hell, I’ve dedicated my life to settling a fucking score.” My lips part, his anger growing, stoking the ripe, pungent panic building in my gut. He was fine, everything was fine…

“When someone hurts you, you hurt them back, Pup. That’s how the world works!”

“That’s how your world works! Not mine.”

The laugh that leaves him makes a chill run up my spine as he takes another step closer, fully in my orbit, the one that revolves around him. I hadn’t realized how dangerous that was until right now. “If you hadn’t noticed, you are in my world now.”

God, he’s going to hurt them.

“Basilisk …”

Master stops. Whatever sick thrill he was getting out of this is wiped away by a single word, a singlename. His name, and I’ve spoken it out loud for the very first time. I’ve crossed a line etched into stone, but I can't back down now, so I dig my grave endlessly deeper. “Please don’t hurt them. It was my fault.” I whisper this time because…I’m scared. Master is scaring me, stalking me, but he’s…so still. My back hits the floor-to-ceiling windows, the moon a beacon lighting his handsome face, hell erupting in his eyes.

I scream as his fist collides with the window beside my face, making the reinforced glass strain. “That you think that isexactlywhy I should kill them. Perhaps I should let your fucking mother feel the desperation of not being able to savesomeone she loves. The guilt. I’ve heard what she tells her therapist in private. Even now, with her only surviving child missing, she can’t let go of that blame she placed on you.”

My lip wobbles, embarrassment and pain… So much hurt crawls up my throat. God help me, it's choking, with nowhere to go, so I let it out. “Yes, why not dump salt on every wound? Why not harm, abuse, and torment me? That’s what I’m here for, right?Master! I’m your fucking slave, not yourgirlfriend.Why do you even care?” I scream the hurt back at him, my heart slamming against my ribs.

I don’t have a chance to run as his hand jerks around the base of my braid, his leg sweeping mine out from underneath me. I scream as I fall, but he’s already dragging me. My ribs squeeze like a vice around my lungs as I thrash in his hold. My hands are panicked, trying to grab hold of anything to stop him, sending a priceless vase shattering to the floor. It takes too long to remember myself, to remember how much worse fighting makes it.

“I was going to wait to give you your gift, but now seems as appropriate a time as ever.”

His words are an omen as I force myself to calm down despite everything in me screamingto flee. He doesn’t stop me when my hands find his wrist, taking some of the pressure off my scalp as I’m pulled into the next room, the lounge meant for entertaining I’ve never actually been in. In fact, it was closed off for the past few weeks. I know I messed up, that I’m in a lot of trouble, but my chest feels so raw and ugly, I can’t seem to care.

They know I’m missing. It’s not like I hadn’t figured as much, but hearing it is…something else. Have they cried? Does Dad care?

If they know, that means there’s most certainly an investigation. My blurry, teary eyes roll toward the man towering above me. He’s safe, untouchable…right? For the first time, I realize there’s a chance, however small, I could be found, and that thought only adds to the maelstrom in my chest.

Do I want to be found?

No, I don’t think I do. That realization seems to hurt worse than any of them as I sob.

I don’t want to leave him.

My shoulder connects roughly as he drops me seconds before I’m jerked to my feet by my collar, the chain pressing painfully in on my throat. I barely feel it, my eyes glued to the grand piano. “Please,” I whisper, my hands flexing, the scrapes on my palms still raw and ugly.

His lips tickle my ear. “Be a good pet and play for your master.”

---