Page 26 of Seized to Sacrifice
Perhaps he and Thorneshouldhave a skirmish out in the yard to get rid of some of thisenergy, but he knew what he'd rather do, and it had nothing to do with fighting his Brother.
* * *
Elle
She didthe chores Fen told her to do in the kitchen, her mind in such a whirl that she didn’t really notice the barbed comments from the other servants or the fact that they gave her the worst jobs to do at first. But, when she gave them no reaction, Rosalie and Leia began to give her hard pinches and singing slaps when Fen wasn’t looking. Elle tried to ignore them as best she could, but that only seemed to make them more persistent.
Then, Fen gave her a basket of fresh eggs to wash in the scullery. She didn’t notice Rosalie put her foot out as she walked through the kitchens, and tripped over it, the basket flying from her hands.
She got to her feet and quickly began to pick them up, but all but five of the eggs were broken.
‘Stupid slave!’ thundered Leia, a malicious look in her eye as she hit Elle across her cheek, the crack and Elle’s resulting cry audible though the kitchen.
She raised her hand to do it again and Elle stood her ground, anger coursing through her at the injustice of this place.
But Fen grabbed Leia’s arm and stopped her. ‘The lords will see to her punishment,’ he said, ‘not the likes of you.’
He turned to Elle who was holding her stinging cheek. He scowled at the eggs all over the floor. ‘Your masters will know of this.’
Elle looked at Rosalie, whose back was turned now, as if she hadn’t orchestrated this.
Everyone went back to their duties and Elle cleaned up the mess. She didn’t deserve what these people were doing to her.
The only one who’d been anywhere near kind since she’d been brought to this vile place was Nyx. He’dsaved herfrom the darkness and then he'd confronted Thorne about it. She didn't know what to make of him. He was a monster, wasn't he?
She caught sight of Eruk chatting to Rosalie and Leia while they worked. Who were the real monsters?
After the eggs, the servants ignored her for the most part, and Elle was glad that she had some relief from them. She still didn’t know what to do once everyone went to bed though.
It was late evening when she was allowed to sit and given a meal after all the others had left. She was weary, her body feeling heavy. There was a red, swollen boil on her shoulder that was hot and painful to the touch, and she’d been feeling ill all afternoon. She feared she’d been bitten by one of the spiders that Thorne had warned her about down in the cellars. Perhaps she should speak to someone about it in case she was in danger, but who would she tell? Who would care?
Feeling lightheaded, she stood. She should get to the hiding place she’d found. It was in the scullery inside a small cupboard by the cold, outer wall. She went to the storeroom and grabbed her blankets, holding the wall as dizziness washed over her. She dropped to her knees and retched the food she’d just eaten onto the floor, falling to the side as everything went black.
She woke the moment his hand clapped over her mouth, but her mind was groggy. She was still lying where she’d fallen in the storeroom, never having made it to her hiding place.
Hewas over her, practically panting with excitement as he pushed her legs apart without delay. He wasn’t wasting even a moment of his opportunity this time. She felt him touch her core and tried to push his hand away, grabbing his wrist, but she was no match for him in strength. A seasoned former slave like him was used to labor and she … well, she had no idea what she was used to, but her arms were pathetically weak compared with his even after all the hauling she’d been doing in the cellars.
‘Hush,’ he whispered in her ear. ‘You’ll enjoy it so much you’ll beg me for it next time.’
She turned her face away from him, pushing at him with all her might even as she realized she had lost already. She sank into despair. Was there no passer-by this time, no servant needing to put something away? Someone needed to see. Someone needed to know.
He chuckled low and she felt one of his fingers delve between her legs and into her channel. With renewed strength, she shoved at him, kicking and catching him in the shin with the heel of her foot. He cursed, taking both her wrists in a punishing grip, and slapping her hard with the back of his hand.
She whimpered in pain.
‘There’ll be more of that if you don't do as you're told,’ he promised harshly, pulling her legs wider and settling between them as he fumbled with his belt.
She felt her own blood dripping across her lip, tasted it on her tongue. Her fear dissolved and anger began to course through her along with a line of thoughts that almost wasn’t her own.
Who was this man? How dare he touch her? How many others had he done this to in the past, knowing that few cared what happened to a slave?
She turned her head and stared at him, her eyes boring into him. He didn't notice her fury, so engrossed was he on unbuckling his breeches. He freed his cock.
She looked at it with disgust. Thin and flaccid. He thought her beaten and subdued.
She was not.
With a newfound strength, she sat up, dislodging his legs from hers. She raised her arms to push him away. There was a flash, and he was on the other side of the room, thudding into the wall and falling down limp.
