Page 14 of A Bond in Blood

I sat up, wiping my tears and turning toward the sound. The hate grew hotter when my eyes found Ulrich at a hidden door behind a thick tapestry.

“Get out,” I demanded, wiping my still-falling tears.

He smiled. “It’s my room,Ursa,and you’re my guest.”

He shoved against the wall as he headed toward the bathing room.

“Get out!” I demanded.

His hand rose, catching the pillow I had thrown at his head. Shocking me with the reflexes and how he’d known I’d grabbed a pathetic weapon.

He turned on his heel, changing his approach to my direction. “Would you like to know the terms of your year of service?” he asked.

“I won’t be your whore,” I sniffled, covering myself with the blankets.

His brow rose above the upper rim of his mask while his eyes scanned me. I recoiled at the burn in his eyes. I would removeeach one of his balls slowly and carefully if he ever attempted to put his hands on me.

“I don’t expect you to be a whore, princess. You’ve clearly seen I have that available to me,” he replied, setting himself on the edge of the bed. He set the pillow beside me. “But I will sleep next to you. Every night for the next thirteen months.”

I stared back at him. He was likely the most insane being I’d ever encountered.

My mouth opened to respond but he held his hand up.

“I will sleep beside you,” he continued. “In total darkness and you will not ask questions. You will not try to escape. And—” He paused, narrowing his eyes. “You will never look upon my face. Do you understand?”

I blinked at him, trying to find the words in my mind to leave my lips.

“Brenna?” he said, his expression turning menacing.

“This is the most bizarre set ofrulesI’ve ever been given,” I forced myself to say.

“Do you understand?” he repeated.

I stared back at him. “What happens if I don’t obey?”

The room went dark. The candlelight was gone in an instant. The bed shifted and before I could cry out, his hand gripped my jaw while he pulled my face against the rough hairs of his beard.

“I will destroy everything and everyone you have ever loved,” he whispered.

My body went rigid with fear. But even more so—hate.

“I understand,” I replied.

“Good.” He dropped me back on the bed. “I’ll return in a moment.”

Chapter 4

The candlelight returned with his retreat but I remained on the bed, rubbing my jaw. Waiting for the monster to return from the closet I hadn’t noticed beside the bathing room.

One year of laying at his side. One year of watching his depravities. A year of not questioning. Of obeying.

Once again living the life of duty and silence I’d always lived.Was it worth it?I wondered. Was my freedom worth being prisoner to someone with little regard to who I was and what I needed?

To someone who put his hands on me with little thoughts. Who had killed the only man I’d ever loved.

My mind reeled while I waited. I didn’t know what to do. I was confused beyond words. I’d readied myself for the possibility of using my body for my freedom or scrubbing every corner of his home.

But to sleep next to him? Every single night?

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