Page 20 of Death God

“Lady Pip, I’m Lady Harper,” the witch greeted me in a cold, haughty voice. “We’re coming to get you ready.”

“Ready for what?” I asked roughly.

The maids were surprised at my rude tone, but they immediately hid their expressions. I darted another glance at them and noticed bruises on the two younger women’s arms and necks. They were obviously abused. Rage kindled in me in an instant. I’d been in their position in this place as well, even though my situation had been much, much worse.

“The king will have a welcome reception for you in an hour,” the witch said through her nose, as if she had bitten into a sour lemon.

Jealous? For all I knew, she could be one of the horseman’s bitches when he possessed other vessels to enjoy the carnal sins of the flesh.

“That’s very sweet of him,” I said. “You can run back and tell him that I’m not a party girl.”

Well, I was very much a party girl, but I didn’t party with my enemies. Besides, I knew the Alpha King would only present me as his trophy.

The maids sucked in a breath at my boldness. The oldest among them shook her head slightly at me to give me a friendly warning. She was probably in her early thirties and already had worry lines around her wary honey-brown eyes.

“I’m afraid that you’ll have to attend the reception,” the witch snapped. “We all have to play our roles, including you, Lady Pip, or Lady Ophelia.”

My hackles rose immediately, and my nostrils flared. She specifically threw the name Ophelia at me, which meant that she was one of the black witches who had participated in experimenting on me.

Her mocking gaze skimmed over the cuffs on my wrists. That was why she was so insolent. She thought that with my power bound and crippled, she could easily overcome me.

“What’s my role then?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

“I’m not at liberty to say,” she said in a clipped tone. “We’re here to bathe you, shave you, and do your makeup so you’ll be presentable to the king and his court.”

I laughed. “Shave me?”

She ignored me but snapped her fingers at the maids. Instantly, they straightened their spines and flew into motion. A plump maid pushed a trolley to the bed to change the sheets swiftly. Two other maids hurried to the bathroom. A moment later, the water was running.

They weren’t kidding. They were going to bathe me and then shave me like a Thanksgiving turkey.

The fourth maid laid a makeup kit on the vanity table before extracting a few gift-wrapped boxes from the top of the trolley. I bet the fancy gowns and shoes that the Alpha King required me to wear were in those boxes.

Fuck it. Fuck him.

I might let Marlowe dress me, but no one else was allowed that privilege.

“Lady Pip,” the Harper witch said. “Please undress and let the slave girls rub you clean. You need to be presentable. I’ll supervise to make sure you’re prepared properly.”

I laughed again. “You’re talking to the wrong girl, witch tits.”

The maids all froze. Fear and uncertainty rolled off them, even though I was the one who had challenged their mistress. But I bet this witch bitch had been inflicting pain on them. Dark mages and witches harvested power from others’ pain.

The Harper witch blinked, shocked that I’d dared to talk to her that way, before disdain and rage twisted her creamy face.

“Excuse me?” she asked.

“Is that a question?” I asked, arching an eyebrow. “You want me to repeat what I just said, witch tits?”

The guards poked their heads in, then moved back. As long as I didn’t target them, they wanted to stay out of my way. They didn’t seem to want to help the black witch either. After being in the horseman’s fortress only briefly, I already sensed the power struggle between the shifters and mages. I could weaponize their conflict.

“I’ll suffer no insolence, lady,” she said. “If you apologize this instant, I might let the matter drop.”

“Really?” I asked, showing her my pinkie with my left hand and flipping her the bird with my right. “Is this the apology you’re looking for?”

“How dare you?” she hissed. “No one dares to disrespect me.”

Dark power slammed into me. Without my full magic shielding me properly, the spell she tossed at me made me bend over with pain. It was like she was playing with my insides. Tears stung my eyes.

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