Page 34 of Trapped to Tame
‘Since she's been traveling with us, she's been ravenous, and she admitted freely that she was given little food by her keepers.’
Priest shrugged. ‘I don't understand what you're getting at, Brother.’
Drax’s eyes found her, huddled in her bedroll across the clearing. ‘When she hit you last night. How did it feel?’
‘Hard.’
‘Harder than when you fought her in the ring?’
Priest nodded slowly. ‘Aye, harder than that.’
‘Then she's getting stronger. How long did they have her? How many years was she made to fight in the rings?’
‘You think they starved her for a long time?’ Fie asked.
‘If they did it from her being a child, that would be reason enough for her to be on the small side, even for human female,’ Drax said.
‘But why starve a fighter?’ Fie asked quietly. ‘They wanted her to win, didn’t they?’
‘There is only one reason why they would do such a thing,’ Priest said grimly, ‘They knew she was fae even though she didn’t … doesn’t. They kept her weak, probably even slipped iron shavings into the food they did give her because they knew that if she became too powerful, she would have been impossible to control.’
‘You think she's that strong?’ Fie asked.
‘If she is her father's daughter, then she will be. If she reaches her full potential, she'll give any of us run for our money,’ Drax said.
‘What do you suggest we do then?’ Fie asked. ‘Put her in chains? Starve her as they did?’
‘No,’ Drax said. ‘The opposite. We let her have all the food she wants and let her rest when she needs it. I don't think it will take long. By the time we reach the Underhill, she'll be strong enough to reach her magick, to do what we need her to do.’
‘And if she’s too strong for us to control by then?’ Priest asked with a snort.
‘Then we chain her in iron, make sure we can subdue her with our own power,’ Fie replied before Drax could.
‘Even if all that works,’ Drax piped up, ‘she’s never conjured before. It takes fae with magickal affinity years to control their gifts. Can she learn to conjure that quickly?’
‘Priest,’ Fie said, turning to his Brother. ‘You're the best with magick. Is it possible? Can you teach her how to use hers in theory so that when her power does appear, she can find it? Otherwise, we'll get to the Underhill, and be stuck while we wait for her to understand.’
Priest gave a long-suffering sigh. ‘Very well, but I make no promises.’
Drax shook his head. His Brothers didn’t understand and, after last night, Drax had seen how precarious his command was. He needed to tread carefully or risk losing his unit and his Fourth for if Priest took over, Drax had no doubt that he’d break the bond and slit Eve’s throat as soon as she was of no more use to them.
He changed the subject, letting the matter of their Fourth lie for now.
‘Now that the Dark Realm beasts have begun to make themselves known, do we have enough amulets for all of us?’
Priest nodded. ‘I always keep a spare or two. We have enough for us and the female.’
‘Good,’ Drax said. ‘Give it to her when she wakes and tell her not to take it off. We don't need her being caught and killed by something as innocuous as a wraith.’
* * *
Eve
Morning had come too quicklyfor Eve. She felt as if she hadn't slept at all. It didn't help that throughout the night she'd been woken by dreams of being thrust outside the protective circle and devoured by whatever lurked in the bushes.
The men were already awake and moving about the camp when she woke. After last night, her first impulse was to run. But that was foolish. How far would she conceivably get before they found her again now that she was bound to their unit? It was ironic that she was now a Dark Brother when that was what she’d wished for. She should have been more specific.
She stood up and walked into the edge of the circle, needing a piss, and wondering if it was too dangerous to leave it in the day. It would be easy enough to simply squat by the edge here and do it, but Eve was beginning to think she should begin using what manners she did have.
