Page 65 of Brutal Empire

My nod was slow but immediate.

“Are you wet?” His voice was a low growl this time.

I bit my lip as I gave another slow nod. I didn’t understand it, and I wasn’t going to try to either. There were much bigger things at play. I was going to focus on the part where he did it so I wouldn’t have to.

“I would have killed whoever tried to touch you,” he stated, and I believed him.

As soon as we got to the doors, the guard stepped aside.

“Don’t focus on any of the mirrors, and keep close to me,” Bas let me know as soon as we stepped inside.

The noises that followed were ones I knew all too well. Those were screams and some full of despair.

We kept walking, and in my peripheral vision, I could see different things happening in each room, but I didn’t dare turn to find out what they were.

We stopped at the last door, and another guard was waiting for us.

“We’ve been excepting you, Mr. Kingsley.”

Bas didn’t say anything, but I saw him pull his collar as he nodded to the man.

“Stay back, and let me handle this,” Bas ordered without looking back at me. I realized that all of this had been a power play just because Damian could do as he pleased. In this world, he was a god.

The room was wide with mirrors all around, leather couches on the side, and the lighting was purple. Slow clapping erupted from the other end of the room. I couldn’t see his face, but I saw a shadow of a man sitting on a chair that looked more like a throne.

“I find it fascinating that you think you could fool me.”

That voice sounded vaguely familiar. It was rough but rich, yet too far away for me to pinpoint.

“Did you really think I could be fooled by the oil prince?” the man mocked as he got up and began to walk toward us.

He was familiar, not just because I had seen his face on the file Daphne had shown me, but because he had been the one to gift me to Xander Yates. He looked upon my scarred face, and he smiled.

My breathing was uneven. I wanted to scream, but I had to keep my composure.

“I did hope you were as fucking stupid as you looked.” Bas smirked at him. My gaze went from Damian to Bastian, lingering on how his profile looked, and it finally clicked into place why I could never face him, why there was something about him that enthralled yet terrified me.

“Katia,” the man whispered. “Are you here?”

Even though it hurt, I opened my mouth because what I heard in their voice revived the last shred of hope that was too stubborn to die.

“Please,” I begged with a hoarse voice that left a metallic taste in my mouth.

The man stepped deeper into the hallway. His eyes locked on mine, and my breath caught. The darkness almost obscured his features. His eyes were black, but something in them had me reaching out to him.

He looked at me, and his face fell.

“Fuck,” he cursed.

My hand moved of its own accord, trying to find some warmth, a lifeline to hold on to. I didn’t even make it halfway when he spoke again.

“I’m sorry,” he croaked, and then he left.

It all happened so fast that I made myself believe I had imagined it.

He had been there that day; he had been the last person to see me before they had shipped me off.

“How does it make you feel that there’s nothing you can do to get revenge on your precious little Katia,” Damian taunted, and Bas gritted his jaw.

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