Page 1 of Kept to Kill
Chapter 1
Lily
There had been a fire. That much she knew from the shouts and screams, the scurrying people she had seen in the courtyard below the barred casement of her small room. The topmost bower; the highest and most inaccessible prison in the Collector’s fortress. He’d never called it that, told her real prisons didn’t have warmth, sunlight, food and all the books she could read from his library. But a prison it was, and it was where he had kept her since he’d brought her here from the north. She’d still been a child then.
The servants of Vineri’s great estate had seen to her needs well enough; brought food, wood for the grate, and books. Couldn’t have Vineri’s prize possession going mad from boredom, could they?
Though sometimes she wondered if she’d gone mad anyway.
When she’d first come here, the room had been small and stifling. She’d longed for the sky. She’d hated this place. But now, after so long, she loathed accompanying Vineri on his journeys, his little displays of power where she was the main attraction – or deterrent. Without fail, she was immutably glad when she was returned to her room’s stone confines. Hearing the lock sliding smoothly into place was like a balm on her spirit. Vineri was right. She’d never have survived without his generosity – though, like everything, it had its price.
She sighed as she craned her neck for some glimpse of what was happening below, but she couldn’t see anything of merit. She threw herself down into her worn chair in front of the currently fireless grate and shivered as she wrapped her shawl closely around her, opening a book.
The wood had not been brought for two days. No food either. There had been yelling earlier, but it had stopped. Perhaps one of the servants would tell her about it later through the door.
Lily began to read, quickly losing herself in the new story.
The sun was high by the time she heard boots clomping up the stone stairs, echoing through the hall. She canted her head as she listened. They didn’t sound like the—
A scraggly face appeared at the small window and she frowned. The bolt was thrown hard, making a loud bang that resonated through the tower. Still she didn’t move as the door was flung open and a large man, unthinkably,stepped inside her room.
She was on her feet and shoving herself against the far wall by the time his eyes fell on her and he grinned – somewhat nastily, she decided – and started forward,crossing the line. Her eyes widened in shock. No one crossed the line! Not unless she was cloaked and gloved, and even then, only Vineri. By the gods, her food was usually pushed through the cracked door on a tray with a long stick!
‘Stop!’ she cried. ‘Don’t come any closer!’
He didn’t listen.
‘Read the sign!’ she screeched desperately.
‘Can’t read, woman,’ he snarled, looking her up and down in a way that made her blood run cold. She’d never experienced a manleering. He didn’t know. There were more men behind him, laughing and joking. None of them knew!
Lily screamed as he grabbed her, tearing off her shawl. She tried to bat him away with her arms, not touching her skin to his, but he grabbed her by the throat with his bare, meaty fingers and the contact felt like a brand.
He yelled immediately and dropped her. He jumped back, glaring at his palm and then at her.
She stared back in horror. ‘You fool,’ she whispered as he fell to his knees with a gurgle, his face turning an awful shade of purple as he gasped for breath.
He thudded to the floor. Already he was bleeding from his eyes, nose and ears as he twitched on the ground in front of her. Dimly she wondered if this was one of Vineri’s diversions or, perhaps, a test. It had never happened so quickly before. He’d be delighted, she thought as she sank to her knees, feeling as though she might retch. At least there was nothing in her stomach, seeing as she hadn’t been fed for days.
The soldier in front of her breathed his last and she gave the others behind him a level look even as she felt the prickle of tears that she forced back. He had been intending her harm, she reminded herself. He was probably a terrible person. But it didn’t ease the guilt. She stood shakily, giving the other soldiers a wide berth. They’d all backed away at least.
‘Get Vineri,’ she ordered.
‘Odd. I didn’t think the Collector enjoyed women.’
A man cloaked in black pushed through the group of soldiers as they hastened to step out of his way. He was tall and broad, his hair a sable brown and his jaw square. His nose looked like it had been broken at least once and his ear was missing a piece at the top, she noted. He also had an intricate, winding tattoo that began on the side of his neck and disappeared beneath his tunic. She’d never seen such a man. Her breath hitched and she hoped that if her cheeks were coloring, he didn’t notice.
She needn’t have worried. He barely looked at her, his gaze flitting around the room, taking in the only home she’d ever really known and making her feel open, vulnerable. She didn’t care for it. Not one bit.
‘Your lover is dead.’
Her lover?She made a face at the thought. Wait, had he just said Vineri was dead? ‘Dead?’ she muttered aloud.
He finally glanced at her and then away again. ‘Take her below to wait with the others.’
‘But, sir, she killed Orinson.’ One of them gestured to the man lying on the floor.
The man in black, their leader, sneered as he looked down. ‘Doubtful. He was frequently seen overindulging in Faerie smoke. Looks like his body finally gave out.’ He toed the corpse with his boot like a child checking an animal was dead, his condescending gaze falling on her again. Whatever he saw made him bark a laugh and descend the stairs without a backward glance.
