Page 12 of Seized to Sacrifice
‘Fuck off, Rosalie.’ Leia gave her friend a nasty look.’ Come on. We’ll be missed if we tarry much longer.’
They turned away and the light dimmed.
‘Wait,’ Elle found the strength to rasp.
Leia turned back.
‘Please leave the light.’
The woman grabbed it from the man who held it and looked her in the eye as she walked to the sconce, settling it into place.
Elle breathed a sigh of relief.
‘Thank you,’ she said, thinking that perhaps she’d misjudged the woman.
But then the girl's eyes turned hard, and she took the torch out with a smirk.
She stalked towards the cell and, her eyes not leaving Elle’s she spat through the bars and into Elle’s bowl.
‘You're down here for a reason, slave,’ she said. ‘It's not my place to gainsay the lords.’
With that, she walked off down the hall taking the light with her. The other servants scurried after her, leaving Elle in the crushing black.
She scrunched up her eyes. Her skin was starting to get hot again. Perhaps sheshouldeat even if she didn’t want to. She made her way over to the tray and looked at it with distaste. The girl’s spittle might even have improved whatever they were trying to feed her. She turned the bowl over with her foot, letting it soak into the reeds and other detritus of the floor. The rats could have it.
Moving back into the other corner behind the stone bed, where she couldn’t readily be seen, Elle gave in to tears.
Why were they doing this? What did they want with her? Was this just some cruel game? Was this how they treated slaves?
She was shivering again, and her head was feeling fuzzy. She knew it was only a matter of time before she died down here, she thought as she closed her eyes.
The next she knew, she was being lifted gently in warm arms, her body limp as she was carried down the passageways.
‘Where are you taking me?’ she whispered.
Someone hushed her. ‘Quiet before I come to my senses and leave you down here,’ said a male voice.
She said nothing else because, more than anything, she didn't want to go back to that cell. Her lip quivered at the thought of it. She didn’t know which of the men was holding her, but even if he was bringing her up here to kill her, she didn't care so long as she didn't have to go back to that cold, dark place.
She was shivering violently in his arms and heard him curse quietly as he brought her up into the warmth of the main levels of the keep. She closed her eyes and sank against him, hoping they’d let her see the sun before they killed her.
CHAPTER3
NYX
He lay her down on his own bed, frowning as her eyes stayed closed. She didn't even seem to really care where he was taking her or, perhaps she simply wasn’t aware enough.
‘You should have left her down there,’ said Thorne’s hard voice from behind him and he just barely contained his jump of surprise.
‘Curse your unnatural silence,’ he said, turning around to frown at him.
Thorne stepped closer, peering at the woman, more interested than he was letting on, Nyx could see.
‘Why did you bring her here? Has she already begun her seduction on you?’
Was that jealousy he could hear in Thorne’s tone?
Nyx snorted. ‘Hardly.’
