Page 9 of Claimed By Shadows

Nik pulls my chair out for me when we reach the dining room, but unlike this morning, he sits next to me, Andrei and Dima sitting across from us. As the door opens, the smell of freshly cooked steak fills the room, instantly making my mouth water, and the servant places a plate of the most delicious food before me.

I look at Nik with wide eyes as I notice the huge portion in front of me, which includes my favourite sweet potato fries. “Sergi has me on a very strict diet. I’m usually only allowed a salad at lunch, Nik,” I whisper once the servers leave, shutting the door behind them.

Nik’s jaw clenches, his nostrils flaring. “Eat your lunch,Moy Solntse.”

A shiver races across my skin, but unlike the times when Sergi has ordered me, I don’t mind when Nik does it. In fact, there’s a comfort in his command, a permission to let go and trust that in this one thing, he’s got me. A low moan falls from my lips at the first bite, and a deep chuckle from across me has my gaze finding Andrei.

“You keep making noises like that,Zaya, and Nikolai won’t be able to leave the table when we’re done.” He chuckles and my cheeks heat as I glance at Nik, his deep brown eyes full of a banked heat that leaves me breathless.

Tears make my eyes sting, and I have to blink furiously to stop them from falling as I swallow the delicious meat. Knowing that he still wants me in that way, after everything his father has done to me, it soothes some of the wounds that are festering inside my soul. His brows dip down in a frown, his own lunch untouched as he gazes at me.

“What’s wrong,Dorogaia?” he questions, his voiced pained like he hates seeing me sad.

“Y–you still want me? Even after…” I can’t bear to finish the sentence, the trauma too fresh, too horrific to speak aloud.

His hands clench into fists on the table, his body almost vibrating as he holds himself back. “I will never stop wanting you in every way.” His words are said through clenched teeth, but I know it’s not anger at me he’s feeling. It’s at his father, at this awful situation that we’re in. “Nothing will make me desire you any less, Iris.”

I lose my battle with my tears—I’m so fucking weepy since he came back—and one traces a burning path down my cheek. His hand unclenches, his fingers brushing the tear off my cheek as his eyes swirl with a mix of rage and agony. I want to take it away from him, but I’m drowning in my own, both of us barely able to tread water as we navigate this storm.

“Eat now,Dorogaia,” he commands, and I sniffle, turning my attention back to my meal. Things might be fucked right now, but just maybe, it won’t be like this forever. Perhaps there is light somewhere at the end of this dark and gloomy tunnel. We just have to hold out long enough to see it.

After lunch, Nik leads me upstairs to my room, his hand a comforting warmth on my lower back as we stop in front of my door.

“My room is just next door,” he tells me softly, Dima and Andrei shielding us from the view of any of Sergi’s men who are always hanging around, watching. “This is my wing.”

My eyes widen, my mind going straight to what happens nightly with Sergi’s visits. At least he’s stopped bringing in some of his men to hold me down since I stopped fighting him, just laying there and trying to escape what my body is going through. It’s comforting yet horrifying knowing that Nik will be on the other side of the wall, unable to stop it but helping me through it in a way.

His fingers brush mine as my thoughts race, and I look into his eyes, seeing the pain in their depths that matches what I feel.

“There are servant doors that connect all the rooms. I’ll come and visit you later, okay?” His voice is raspy, like the words hurt leaving his throat. We both know that he means after his father has taken what he does every night.

“Okay, Nik,” I murmur back, wishing I could just lean into him, let him wrap his arms around me, and take away the nightmare to come.

But wishes are the dreams of innocents, of children who have never seen the monster that hides under the bed and never met the devils that plague our world. They have no place in my life right now, so I heave a sigh and turn around, opening my door and allowing him to lock it behind me. This is my life now, in my opulent cage.

I may be allowed to spread my wings a few times a day, but the freedom is taunting and false, for I always end up back here, in a place that will haunt me for the rest of my life. I press my back against the wooden door, sliding down it until I’m sitting on the thick carpet, my arms wrapped around my knees as I allow the tears to freely fall and sob for all the things that have been taken from me.

CHAPTER SIX

“NOT ABOUT ANGELS” BY BIRDY

IRIS

Istay curled in on myself for hours, watching as the light changes in the room, the brightness of day morphing into the dark of night. No one comes to bring me dinner, which isn’t unusual, as Sergi often skips my meals as if he wants me to lose weight or just forgets about me. What a neglectful owner he is.

By the time I get up and head to my bathroom, I’m numb, going through my evening routine on autopilot and then returning to my window seat to look out at the darkness while I await my nightmare.

The small clock near my bed reads almost eleven when the lock on my door clicks, a Russian curse sounding as the handle turns clumsily, the door being thrown open and hitting the wall with a crash.

“Kukolka,” he rasps, his words slightly slurred as he staggers into the room, slamming the door behind him. My heartbeat pounds hard as he weaves his way towards me. It’s the firsttime he’s turned up drunk, and I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing. “Why did you leave me before,Kukolka?” My chest goes tight as I swallow, wondering what the fuck he’s talking about. Is it when Nik took me to the Shadows? Is that what he means? “I searched for years, but I found you. I’ll always find you, Anushka,” he purrs, stumbling towards me and tangling his hand in my hair. He yanks me to my feet with his hold, and I grit my teeth at the sharp sting, feeling his vodka breath wash over me, making my stomach clench. “You’ll never leave me again, will you,Kukolka?”

He gives me a little shake, pain lancing across my scalp as he tears some strands out of my head. “N–no, Sergi,” I stutter, my feet tripping over themselves as he drags me to my bed and throws me down on top of the freshly made covers.

My breathing becomes shallow as I watch him undress, my body trembling because I know what happens next and there’s not a damn thing I can do to stop it. It’s like my body gives up, freezing as he sheds the last item of clothing, his arousal clear as he kneels on the bed. His hand wraps around my ankle and he sharply pulls me towards him, all the breath leaving my lungs when I look up at him.

He’s a demon, a monster who rips me apart every night. The sound of tearing fills the room alongside my quiet, panted breaths as he rips open my silk nightgown, exposing me to his loathsome gaze.

“So beautiful,” he murmurs, his eyes burning a path across my skin and making bile fill my throat. My jaw clenches when he covers my body with his, his touch so repulsive that I have to swallow repeatedly to stop vomiting all over him. I made the mistake of vomiting the first time he touched me like this, and learned not to repeat it after the beating he gave me.

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