AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The female returned with a bucket of water dangling to her front, her skinny arms scarcely strong enough to lift it. She grunted and water sloshed from the sides, but before Arianna could consider what to do next, the female yanked Arianna’s shirt from her body and practically shoved Arianna over to do the same with her pants.
She snatched a bar of soap and brush from the bucket and began scrubbing Arianna’s skin so hard Arianna thought it might peel off.
Arianna grabbed the female’s trembling hands and cupped them in her own. Wide, honey eyes locked onto hers.
“Please.” The female trembled, her gaze darting toward the door. “Please, I have to.” Her voice trailed off and Arianna released her hands, letting that rough brush tear through her skin again. The female wasn’t gentle, nor did she try to be as she dunked Arianna’s head into the cold bucket, then poured its contents over her back.
Arianna stared at the water trickling onto the floor and shivered. This is what it’d all amounted to. Her in a dingy cabin with a helpless, terrified female. All the training from Talon, from her father. Wasted.
The girl pulled Arianna to her feet, dried her with towels so stained Arianna didn’t want to imagine what might have once been on them, then slipped an off-white dress over her head.
A dress. Or the ghost of one. She cringed, pulling at the short fabric barely stretching to her mid-thigh. As if the males needed any more reasons to let their imaginations run wild.
She chewed her lip. Was it better to allow herself to surrender to one or make a break for the trees and risk Lan changing his mind? He could just throw her to his warriors where they’d likely take turns with her body then leave her in the mud without a shred of dignity left to her name.
Now there wasn’t dirt plastered across her skin to hide her fair features. No mud to cake through her dark hair, nor baggy clothes to hide the curves of her body. They’d see every desirable trait of a young, half-breed female.
“Who’s the general?” Arianna asked as the female ripped a brush through her tangled hair.
The female’s hands froze, and Arianna could have sworn her breath hitched. She turned to see the female’s lips part, but Lan slammed the door open.
The female knelt, right in the dirty water puddled at their feet. Lan surveyed her, circling like a predator. Arianna clenched her jaw to keep her teeth from chattering.
“Who would have thought such a pretty thing would be hiding under all that filth?” He clicked his tongue. “It’s almost a shame.”
She chewed the inside of her cheek and Lan gripped her bare elbow, leading her from the cabin and into the frigid air.
The scent of their desire hit her so hard she recoiled. Damn these filthy, vile males.
The breeze hit her bare legs and another shiver ran down the length of her spine. They’d mentioned a cabin, so at the very least she’d get out of sight, but what then? Would she try to fight? Was she better off just accepting her fate? Would Talon even want her anymore after—Arianna choked back the sob crawling up her throat. She didn’t want this. What had the other slaves told her? To close her eyes and pretend it was someone else? Could she imagine Talon’s fingers across her skin? Could she envision him violently ripping the dress from her body in an act of pleasure rather than pain?
Their only intimate contact had been a quick kiss that’d left them both breathless and unsure. His touch was gentle, hesitant as if he were afraid she’d run. Arianna had never seen him so off-balance.
No, she couldn’t imagine Talon as violent or cruel. It wasn’t in his nature.
They rounded a corner and the line of tents stopped, revealing a sizable empty space with a cottage at its center. The tents surrounding it had distanced themselves by ten meters as if the cottage itself were a plague. Or the one occupying it.
No fires burned near it. No guards patrolled beyond their tent line.
Fear snaked its way up her spine as they drew closer.
A tiny picket fence stood around the perimeter of the cottage, splitting where an old cobblestone path led to a wooden door. The paint was peeling and small figurines that resembled the Fairy Folk sat hidden within the tall grass, their empty gazes studying the intruders’ approach. Arianna thought Lan might be shaking.
She studied the small structure, wondering if it even contained a bedroom. Lan gripped her arm tighter, trampling over the stones and overgrown grass. He twisted the brass knob, swung the door open, and spun her to face him. He clicked his tongue and sighed. “Such a shame indeed.”
The iron shackles fell from her wrists and Lan shoved her inside. She lost her footing and winced as she collided with the wooden floor. Lan slammed the door before she had time to protest.
Darkness engulfed her and Arianna froze, holding her breath as she listened for any sound of movement. Then she scented the air.
Nothing. The room was too still for anyone to be within, but it didn’t stop her heart from pounding. She rose, legs trembling and mouth dry. For the first time in sixteen months Arianna ran her fingers over her bare wrists and the raised skin that’d formed. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, but it wasn’t from the scars she’d carry forever. It was her magic. That magnificent pulse beneath her skin that made her feel alive again.
She let out a shaky breath, trying to pull herself together as it begged for release, to move with her as it once had. But Arianna couldn’t let that happen. She might be able to hide her Fae scent in her half-breed form, but if she used even a drop of magic, they’d know she was from Móirín.
Arianna dared a step forward. A single bed sat to her left, the furs on top neat and undisturbed. A cold fireplace stood behind it, the mantle free from trinkets or pictures. A small room, the bathing area if she was to guess, was built oddly into the far-left corner.
Her eyes traced the wooden dresser lining the wall to her front and she wondered if she’d find some proper clothes within. Maybe something to wrap her breasts as well, anything to make her look less like herself. Less feminine and desirable.
Her gaze kept roaming and paused at the tiny kitchenette to her right.
