I refuse to move forward. Hael just dared me to come closer and call him a barbaric bastard one more time. Something tells me that is not in my best interest.
As it turns out, I don’t have a choice.
My simple slave dress tightens around me and is suddenly pulling me forward against my will.
My boots drag and scrape along the cave floor as I try to resist. All too quickly, I am brought within inches of him.
“Clearly, you like to use a lot of force to get your own way,” I hiss through gritted teeth, but my words don’t faze him.
“Until you learn to obey without hesitation, force is the only way you’ll be handled, and I do not mean that lightly.”
Hael eyes my neck, and I wonder if I’ve pushed him to the point of violence.
“I think I’ll have to put a chain around your pretty collar, Madeline.”
While I’m gaping at his words, blood rushes to my cheeks out of embarrassment, shock, and anger.
Hael stifles a laugh before turning around and stalking down the corridor again.
As I walk behind him, I start to see light filtering into the cave corridors. We slip down a side corridor, and I hear the sound of running water as we enter a room.
After following the cavernous hallways for what feels like an age, doors, four walls, and ceiling lights seem…out of place.
I take in the humongous, well-lit bedchamber and estimate it’s big enough for twenty people to lounge about in comfortably.
The bed is huge and serves as the centerpiece on the back wall, with a large, red, woven mat in front of it. I’m surprised; he must prefer to sleep in human form.
My eyes widen even more when I notice one whole wall is a natural shower, with water running off a protruding ceiling.
A basin has been carved into the rock beneath it to hold a shallow pool, and I can see there are seats below the shimmering water.
One could stand under the protruding rock and use the waterfall like a shower or sit and bathe themselves. It makes my skin itch; I want to jump in and clean off the hard day’s sweat and dirt.
Somehow, the shower is not the most eye-catching part of the room. The other half of the chamber contains piles of treasure…and beautiful but ominous golden cages.
Each one is big enough for a slave girl to reside in. Literally. The cages have small beds in them.
I’m suddenly afraid to go any further and try to ignore the cages. If I look at them for too long, I will start to think about why all four of them are empty.
About how I’m the only female here…
About how he is so utterly barbaric, so primal, so wrong. This isn’t right, and now, just thinking about it, a small spark of anger lights up inside me.
But fear still prevails. I have no weapons and no way to escape. I can’t afford to be angry right now while I’m at his mercy.
I have to assess the situation carefully, slowly, and then find a way to get the hell out of here.
I watch Hael walk over to a fireplace between his bed and the waterfall.
“H-how are you going to punish me?” I ask. “Put me out of my misery and tell me. I know you think you have to. I wasn’t doing my usual duties, and so you think I tried to escape.”
I blurt out all this in a rush, watching him light the dry logs in the fireplace.
“Are you so eager to find out what I have in store for your innocent little mind, Madeline?” Hael’s cruel smirk is illuminated by the fire as he turns to look at me.
I’m standing awkwardly by the entrance, refusing to come any further into the room. “I don’t understand why you want me so much.”
“But you’ve… Well, I've heard you’ve banished all your personal slaves. Why else would you empty your bed of all those females, just to drag me here on my eighteenth birthday?”
I’m so confused. “Not to mention, you already know I’m a terrible slave to rely on. Even Layla can’t even keep me in line. Why do you want me, of all people, to serve you?”
I watch as Hael stalks over to his bed. There is a shiny gold bracelet on top of the fur covers. He picks it up and eyes me.
“That day you kicked me, still a mere child, so small and fragile, facing me without one drop of fear in your eyes…,” he says as if to himself, but loud enough for me to hear, “I wanted to break you.”
I take a moment to calm myself; there is so much adrenaline in my body, I can feel a terrible urge to shake. I clench my fists, curl my toes, and grit my teeth.
There is a silent, tense pause.
“Not anymore, mouse.” He holds out the bracelet toward me. “This was going to be your birthday gift… Instead, I have a proposition for you.”
I look at him suspiciously but don’t say anything.
“This is a slave bracelet. If you don’t wish to accept it, don’t. I’ll send you back to your tiny slave quarters where you can clean for the rest of your life.
“However, if you willingly choose to be my personal slave, in a month from now, I’ll let you return to see your brother.”
“I…I… How do you know about my brother?” I ask in a whisper.
“I constantly get letters from him asking for me to return you,” Hael admits.
“What does willingly being your slave entail?” I ask quietly again, too scared to accept just yet.
“You just have to place this bracelet on your wrist, Madeline.” Hael uses his demeaning tone once more, almost challenging me to deny him. “That’s all.”
I decide to be spontaneous and accept, even if he won’t be fully transparent with me. “Well, fine then”—I walk forward—“I’ll wear it.”
The iron shackles instantly start to loosen until they fall off my wrists and clatter onto the floor behind me.
“You want it?” Hael asks with a whole new type of menace in his tone. “Then go get it, Madeline.”
I’m just about to grab the bracelet when he flicks it away from me. It bumps on the hard rock floor, recoils, and starts rolling along toward an open door I didn’t notice before.
I follow it, careful not to run like an eager little puppy, even though I want to.
I have to retain some dignity, even if he is a bastard for making me chase the very thing that will mark me as his personal slave.
In the room, I find the bracelet and lean down to pick it up. I clutch it in my hand and slip it on my wrist.
The space is so dark, I can hardly see anything at first, but with the small amount of light coming from behind me, my eyes adjust, and I spy metal things glinting.
Before I can make out what they are, the dim light fades even more. I spin around to see a metal door rolling shut.
“Hey!” I yell, feeling panicked.
Light suddenly floods the room as torches on the walls light up on their own.
Suddenly, I can see what’s lining the walls.
I feel like throwing up.
Putting on the bracelet suddenly feels like the worst decision of my life.
I guess this is what he meant by corrupting my mind first. I have to spend the night trapped in a room with weapons and torture instruments lining the walls? Is this his idea of a sick joke?
I turn to the door, refusing to look at the instruments on the wall any more. “Let me out, Hael! Please!” I can’t help but resort to begging as I bang my fists on the door. “Hael!”
“Sweet dreams, sweet mouse,” Hael says from the other side of the door before he starts chuckling and a lock snaps into place.
“No!” I jerk away from the door, shaking and with tears welling up in my eyes.
I shut them tight so I don’t have to look at the instruments on the wall. I know, without a doubt, that he plans to use them all on me at some point... and I’m terrified.
This is the worst birthday of my life.
Suddenly, I feel like I’m eight years old again. I’m helpless, trapped, and alone. I want to go home. I want my big brother with me because I know he’ll protect me.
If I had Alexa here, my pet dragon, she would protect me.
I slide down to the cold ground and hold my knees to my chest.
After I’m done praying for a miracle, I start humming. I’m too afraid to sing, but I know that even humming a tune will help to clear my mind a little.
I just have to make it until sunrise.
Then I’ll figure out how to survive the next month before he lets me see my brother.
For all I know, it could be an empty promise.
I should have never accepted the bracelet.
