Page 39 of Queen of Spades

I flexed my pinky again and again, letting my rage fuel each contraction of the tendons and muscles as they fought the drugs he’d slipped me. This fucking bastard, he couldn’t even be kind enough to knock me out completely. No, he made meexperience all of this, leaving me to feel helpless and afraid. My cheeks were damp with tears as I glared at the black partition, wishing I could move my head to at least be able to see outside.

“I think, Grace, that you could come to appreciate your role in things, after a time,” Gregori mused, and I seethed, feeling my ring finger start to twitch as well. “Your brother is a crass youth, but he has the makings of a strong leader. A place at his side is the best you could hope for.”

Oh my god, I wish I could scream and tell him to shut his fucking mouth. I felt like such an idiot for falling for his schemes, and I would never give him a grandchild. I would cut out my own womb first.

The car slowed to a stop, and the loud rattle of a gate told me we were at my family home. My blood froze in my veins, and I willed more feeling into my arms as we pulled to a stop, and Gregori unbuckled his seat, his hand brushing my side as he unhooked mine. “Home, sweet home,” he murmured, and I hissed out a snarl between my teeth.

Light burst into the darkened car as the door beside me opened, and muscular arms lifted me out of the car. My head tipped back, and I was forced to look up at my brother, who was grinning down at me with a gleam of triumph in his eyes. “Gracie-girl,” he murmured, and I cringed internally as he pressed his lips to my forehead.

“Let’s go inside, I’ve got your new room set up for you.” He smiled, and I closed my eyes, nausea rolling through my gut. He cradled me to his chest as he walked back into the house, and I heard the footsteps of Gregori not far behind. Instead of going upstairs, we walked through the kitchen and toward the basement door.

No, no please, not down there…

Flashbacks of my childhood flooded my brain as we descended the steps, and I felt a choked little whimper work its way up my throat.

“Don’t worry, Gracie, you’ll be seeing your fake husband soon,” Doug whispered in my ear, and his fingers dug painfully into my skin. We walked down the long corridor, toward the torture rooms my father had used liberally throughout my life. He stopped before we reached them, and we turned sharply, entering a dark room. Doug laid me down on a firm mattress, his hands caressing me in a very non-brotherly fashion for a moment, until someone cleared their throat behind us and he mercifully stopped.

“Where is my son, exactly?” Gregori asked coolly, and Doug ground his teeth together at the lack of respect in his tone.

“In the next room,” Doug replied sharply. “We can go see him in a moment, but first, I need to take care of a problem that will affect our contract,” he mused. The light switched on abruptly, blinding me momentarily. I blinked rapidly, my eyes watering, and I flexed my left hand into a fist, my lips pursing slightly as the muscles woke up.

Doug reappeared at my side, a vicious grin on his face. “Gracie-girl, this will only hurt for a second. But we need to make sure you’re properly breedable.” I saw a glint of metal in his hand, and he grabbed my arm, the one with the tiny implant Wren had gotten for me.

My mouth was working just enough to let out my inhuman scream as the blade bit into my skin.

Chapter twenty-four

Anders

“Levy, do you hear that too?” I hissed, slapping my cheeks roughly to wake myself up. I swore I could hear a woman screaming…

“Levy?” I crawled as far as the chain would allow me, wishing he would answer me. He’d gone silent after Douglas had tortured him again, and I was worried that he’d done permanent damage to my already broken ghost. The sounds Levy had made… I would never forget them. I could only imagine what Douglas was forcing him to relieve with his sick power. I’d tried to snap him out of it again, but the concussion was making him too susceptible. I had been awake now for almost two days straight, my mind starting to lag as the sleep deprivation and the hunger weakened me. Soon, he’d be able to get to me too.

“Levy, please, I need your help,” I murmured, closing my eyes and pressing my forehead to the floor as I curled in on myself. “I just need to sleep for a couple minutes. Can you wake me if you hear anyone?” I asked. I couldn’t even see him anymore. What if they’d taken him away and I was just talkingto an empty room? I begged my muscles to sit up, forcing my eyes back open.

“Leviathan, answer me!” I snapped loudly, staring at the empty space across the room. Frustrated, I pulled off one of my socks and balled it up, tossing it over to the corner where I expected him to be. The sock landed on the floor, and I blinked, staring at it for a moment. “Levy?” My voice broke.

A prone form flickered into view, and I sat up in horror. Levy was naked, his body covered in deep lacerations all over his back. A belt was still wrapped around his neck, too tightly, it would be cutting off his air for sure.

“Levy, look at me!” I ordered, standing up and leaning as close as I could, trying to see if he was still breathing. He wasn’t moving, I couldn’t even see the rise and fall of his chest. No, it wasn’t possible, I’d stayed awake the entire time! They couldn’t have gotten to him, it wasn’t possible, I was awake the whole time!

Another scream echoed from somewhere nearby, and I flinched back, watching the door wearily. It was a woman, I was certain, and my heart began to pound as fear coursed through my limbs. No… he couldn’t have… Erik would have protected her. There was no way…

The door swung open, and a guard dropped someone onto the floor inside the room, leaving them with me as he slammed the door shut once more. The tiny form on the ground trembled violently, and the mess of blond curls had me lunging forward, the skin on my ankle ripping open as I strained against the cuff. “Kitten, is that you?” I asked hoarsely.

The figure uncurled, and I cursed violently as I tried to reach her. Grace was a broken mess as she half-crawled,half-dragged herself toward me, my arms outstretched to grab her. There was a long gash from her temple down to her jaw, and she was covered in bruises on her face, her throat… everywhere. Her shirt was torn, hanging on by mere threads, and I could see the devastation they had wrecked across her body. She collapsed as she reached me, and I dragged her into my lap as gently as I could, trying to assess the damage. Blood coated the insides of her thighs, and she had several deep lacerations across her chest and stomach. Too many injuries, too much internal damage.

“Grace, just hold on, okay?” I murmured, cradling her to my chest as my heart cracked open, despair threatening to drown me as her eyelids fluttered closed, and her chest stopped rising and falling with her breath.

“No!” I shouted, reaching for her heart, willing her blood to keep pumping. But there was nothing. No blood. I stared down at the figure in my arms and swore viciously, dumping it on the ground in front of me. “Douglas!” I snarled, and the world around me trembled and cracked apart.

I rose on shaking legs, in the same room as moments ago, but Grace’s body had disappeared, and so had Levy’s. The real Levy,my Levy, was sitting hunched over with his knees tucked into his chest, watching me with terror in his eyes. “Douglas you fucking bastard, come in here and face me like a man instead of hiding behind a door!” I could feel a couple bodies behind the wall, two of them far too oily to get a firm grip on. But that third one, oh, it was ripe for my rage. I reached out and yanked, feeling the last of my energy bleed out of me as muffled shouts echoed behind the door.

I sank to my knees, laughing maniacally as the door opened, and my father of all people strode inside, lookingequally disgusted and impressed as he surveyed me. Douglas was on his heels, but stopped further back, using my father as a sort of shield. Fortunately for him, I was tapped out for the moment, I’d wasted it on… I glanced behind them to see the corpse of the giant who would always loom over Grace, lying on the floor, blood still pouring from every hole in his head. “Father,” I spat, glaring up at him. “Double-cross us already? I had my bet placed for later this week.”

He rolled his eyes, shoving his hands in his pockets as he loomed over me. “Enough, son. You know very well I couldn’t have my only heir remain a prisoner,” he muttered. Of course, because that would have been so embarrassing for him.

“What did you trade me for, huh? A piece of your kingdom? Riches? Status?” I glanced at Douglas, watching the sinister smile creep up his face. There was no way, Erik never would have allowed it. “You didn’t,” I snarled. “Tell me you didn’t. Show me there’s an ounce of humanity in that cold husk of a body standing in front of me.”

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