CHAPTER 8
Aria stayed mostly within her room for the next few days, she didn’t bother the prince, and he didn’t bother her. At every meal time trays of food would be sitting outside of the door for her. She took them, because not doing so would be foolish. She planned to attempt an escape, she would escape, but in order to do that she would have to be strong. Food was necessary for that.
The only company she had was Maggie, though the girl was always polite to her they had little to say to each other, and Aria didn’t trust her. On her third day of imposed solitude the prince came to her room, but she ignored him by pretending to sleep when he opened the door.
On the fourth day, Lauren arrived.
Aria was just stepping out of the shower when she spotted the blond within the bathroom, clothes in hand. Aria froze at the sight of her. Their gazes locked for a poignant moment before Lauren turned and left the room. It couldn’t be a good sign that she was here today instead of Maggie. Aria grabbed hold of the towels Lauren had left behind; she dried herself quickly before wrapping the towel around her.
She moved warily to the dressing room in between the bathroom and her bedroom. Lauren’s hand was resting on the back of the chair as she waited impatiently for her; a cruel smile curved her full mouth as her gaze perused up and down Aria. Aria would have been happy if she had never seen this girl again, and it was more than apparent that Lauren felt the same way.
“Where is Maggie?” Aria inquired.
Lauren shrugged absently; she lifted the brush, twisting it within her hand as she eyed Aria maliciously. “I don’t know, the prince has requested my services from now on.”
Aria’s hands clenched. This was just one more way for him to humiliate her, and put her in her place. He was punishing her for locking herself within her room, punishing her for hiding from him, and he wanted some sort of reaction from her. She wouldn’t give him what he wanted though as she vowed to take this punishment without protest. She could take whatever he, and Lauren, threw at her.
She didn’t look at the girl again as she settled into the chair before her. Lauren began to brush out her hair, pulling sharply at it, nearly tugging it from her head. Aria was unable to keep herself from wincing every once in awhile, but she didn’t utter a complaint. Lauren smoothed her hair out, and then grabbed hold of some of the barrettes upon the table. Revulsion slithered through Aria at the bite marks marring the pale skin of Lauren’s wrist and inner arm.
The hateful blond leaned close to her ear. “The prince was exceptionally hungry this morning.”
Aria froze, unable to move or blink as the implication behind those words sank in. No matter what Lauren did to her, no matter what happened within these rooms, it wouldn’t do Aria any good to tell the prince about it because Lauren was his mistress, and the one that he fed from. He wouldn’t believe anything that Aria had to say, especially not when it was about the woman that was providing for his needs.
Though revulsion filled her, she was ashamed to admit that the realization caused an odd twinge of distress within her, a twinge that she despised herself for. She detested him, she reminded herself sternly. She would not allow herself to be jealous of his relationship with Lauren because she despised him. She should be relieved he had not turned to her, that he was going to other women, but she wasn’t. Why was that?
She may not understand her strange reaction to these circumstances, but she was beginning to understand Lauren’s intense dislike of her a lot more. She was threatened by Aria’s presence in this place, threatened by whatever it was that the prince intended with Aria.
What Aria didn’t understand was what she was doing here. The prince had someone to sustain and provide for him. Why was she here when he hadn’t even once tried to feed from her? Was she simply here for his enjoyment? For him to torment? She also didn’t understand, or like to acknowledge the sharp sting of betrayal that stabbed through her. She refused to be upset by the knowledge that the prince was with other women.
She knew that the vampires were brutally cruel and indifferent, but this was the first she had heard of this sort of treatment of a blood slave. Then again, she had always just assumed that a blood slave was drained and tortured physically, but perhaps they were also mentally assaulted and played with until they snapped completely, lost their minds, and had to be destroyed because they simply went stark raving mad.
Aria shuddered at the thought seconds before a barrette jabbed roughly into her scalp. She shot Lauren a dark look, but her protest and irritation died out as she saw the malicious gleam in Lauren’s eyes. A sinking feeling filled her as she realized that it wasn’t only the vampires that were cruel here, but also the humans, her own kind.
She was completely at Lauren’s mercy, a fact that was driven home by the sharp stab of the next barrette.
Aria withstood it all through the next few days; she took the handfuls of hair she lost with silence. She remained quiet through the skin pinching, jerking, pulling, and shoving that it often took for Lauren to get her into clothes that fit perfectly fine once on, but seemed almost impossible for Lauren to get them on without a large degree of difficulty. Bruises marred her skin from her chest down, but for some reason Lauren didn’t touch her face. Though she was in pain, Aria wouldn’t give Lauren the satisfaction of seeing her break, of seeing her cry. She still hadn’t seen the prince, but she would be damned if she let Lauren report back to him that she had finally been reduced to tears.
Instead, she kept it all inside, letting her resentment fester. She let it build, fueling her rage and fanning her drive to escape this place the first chance she got. Even when the stake wasn’t on her, she always kept it nearby and there had been more than a few times she had to fight the urge to shove it through Lauren’s cold heart. She couldn’t waste her opportunity on Lauren though, no matter how much she despised the girl.
Though she continued to remain hidden away, she knew that if she was going to have a chance to use the stake against the prince, she would have to see him again, but she couldn’t bring herself to approach him when he was here, and he hadn’t returned to her room. She had to stop being such a coward.
Today, she promised herself as she twisted beneath the warm water of the shower, hoping to ease the ache of her taut and bruised muscles. Today, she would stop hiding and face him again. Today, she would start to play the game once more. It was the only chance she had of ever seeing her family again, of ever regaining her freedom.
She was climbing out of the shower when Lauren shoved her. Her knees smacked off of the marble floor, stinging her palms, and bruising her hip. She heard the sharp crack of one of her ribs as it caught the corner of the shower stall. It was the first time that a cry of pain escaped her. Aria pushed herself up, gingerly rising to her feet as her hand cradled her wounded ribs.
She had been trampled by horses before; it had hurt worse than this, but not by much. At least then she had been able to roll under most of the horse’s hooves and it had been quick. Now she was on a constant collision course with the woman that was torturing her on a daily basis. She didn’t know how much more she could take before she snapped and pounded the girl into a bloody mess. Though she was beaten, and now also broken, Aria was certain she could still take the blonde, and just as certain that she would face immediate death for her actions.
She was beginning to think that death might be worth it, if it meant getting to exact a little revenge upon Lauren. The only thing holding her back was that she planned to exact revenge upon all of them, not just the bitch before her. She was going to show everyone that she was more than just the simple minded, meek and weak blood slave they thought she was.
Aria held her ribs as she defiantly met Lauren’s smug smile. She walked into the dressing room, trying not to cry as Lauren pulled the strings of her dress harshly. For the first time since she had arrived, she ignored the tray of food outside her door, preferring to curl up in the bed as she tried to fight off the agonizing pain crushing her chest. It didn’t help
that she couldn’t get the offending dress off, couldn’t work the horrible ties free. For the first time she didn’t bother to dig the stake out from under the mattress.
Somehow, she wasn’t quite sure how, she managed to fall asleep for a little bit. It was dark when she woke again to Lauren’s prodding. “Get up you lazy creature.”
Aria bit on her bottom lip, drawing blood as she held back her moan of torment. Lauren pulled unapologetically on the ties, finally releasing the snug binds pinching her ribs. Aria sagged in relief, panting in as much air as her damaged ribs would allow. Lauren released her and left the room, leaving Aria to try and figure out how she was going to get the dress over her head and the nightgown back on.
It took more strength and energy than she cared to admit to wiggle her way free of the dress. Tomorrow morning she was going to throw the thing out, it was the piece of clothing she hated most now, even more so than the ridiculous heels. She sat on the edge of the bed, trying to gather her strength to slip the nightgown over her head. She could just leave it off, Lauren hadn’t bothered to help her out of the ridiculous undergarments she had to wear here, but she couldn’t bring herself to sleep in such a vulnerable state. It was bad enough having to wear the silly nightgown to sleep when she was used to so much more, but to wear even less would be far worse. She was in constant danger here; she must be as clothed as possible if she was going to be at least a little prepared for that danger.
Drawing in as deep a breath as she could, she knotted the nightgown before her and bit by bit began to slip her arms in. She winced as pain shot through her battered ribcage. Struggling not to cry out, she bit her tongue as agony tore through her side. “Arian...”
Aria froze; her hands were trapped within the sleeves of the nightgown. She hadn’t heard him coming. In the forest, she could hear a field mouse from a mile away. But here, in this strange and deadly place, where she needed her senses the most, they were failing her miserably. She didn’t turn to face him; she couldn’t bring herself to do so. Instead, she remained unmoving. For the first time she was grateful for the impractical, uncomfortable undergarments that at least shielded some of her nudity from his view.
She kept her head turned away from him, her breath held, as she waited for him to take his fill of the damage done to her body before he left again. She didn’t know what had brought him here tonight, not when he’d left her alone for so long, nor did she care. She simply wanted him to absorb whatever he could of her, and leave. She had no fight in her at the moment.
“What happened?” he demanded.
Aria clenched her jaw as she pulled the nightgown further up her arms. She ground her teeth against the throbbing of her body. She refused to answer him, refused to let him see that she was at all disturbed by his presence. Suddenly he was before her, his hand seized hold of the nightgown as he attempted to pull it away. Aria held on to it, unwilling to relinquish anything to him. However, he was far stronger than her, and he wasn’t as injured. In the end, she lost.
She glared furiously at him as her hands fisted impotently in her lap. It took everything she had not to scream in anger and frustration; she hated this powerlessness, this inability to fend him off. “What happened?” he demanded gruffly.
“Like you don’t know!” she snapped.
His mouth compressed in a severe line, a muscle twitched in his cheek. “I wouldn’t be asking if I knew. What happened?”
Aria refused to back down from him, refused to cower beneath the weight of his heavy stare. “Your bitch happened,” she retorted forcefully.
Disbelief registered on his face, his mouth parted as she felt his eyes wander over her again. Though it was far more of her body than any man had ever seen before, she didn’t give him the satisfaction of turning away or trying to shield herself from him. He already thought her far weaker than him; she wouldn’t support his theory by shrinking from his gaze. “Are you talking about the girl that was here earlier?”
Aria didn’t appreciate being played with. Especially not right now. Right now she simply intended to go back to sleep and give her body a chance to heal before it was assaulted again tomorrow. “Yes, that girl,” she replied with a sneer.
The prince’s gaze traveled over her once more. Aria was surprised to realize that he appeared incensed by what he was seeing. “Why did she do this?”
Aria shrugged, wincing as she instantly regretted the action. She clamped down on the small cry that almost escaped. Inhaling sharply through clenched teeth it took her a moment to be able to speak again. “Because she can. I am just a blood slave after all.”
That muscle was throbbing now as his nostrils flared. “You may be a blood slave, but you are my blood slave.” Aria refused to meet his gaze; she kept her hands folded before her as she focused upon the back wall. “Stand up,” he commanded gruffly. Aria didn’t move. “Get up!”
The words were practically snarled at her, but she still didn’t move. She had been beat down enough over the past week, she would take whatever small victories she could get right now, and disobeying him was one such victory. She didn’t think about the fact that he could do whatever he fancied to her right now. She didn’t care anymore, she would withstand whatever he did to her, withstand anything they threw at her until she was able to break free.
He made a low hissing sound, and then his hands were upon her arms. She was surprised by how tender his touch was as he lifted her to her feet. Aria’s eyes snapped back to him, her mouth parted in surprise as she gaped at him. He placed her on her feet, his hands rested on her arms as he took a step back. Heat flooded her face, embarrassment suffused her. At least on the bed she had been somewhat hunched over and sheltered from him, but not anymore. She couldn’t stop her hands from instinctively fluttering up to try and cover herself, but he pulled them easily aside.
Aria fought back waves of annoyance and despair as she stood before him, her body almost completely exposed for him to see. Yet, he didn’t leer at her, didn’t stare at her as if she were inferior to him and unworthy. His fingers trailed over her ribs, running over the edges of the dark bruise that was obvious through the thin material and against her pale skin. Though she kept her face impassive, she felt her body instinctively flinch away from his touch as it neared her broken rib.
His hand stilled upon her skin, his palm flattened gently upon her. “Your rib is broken.”
“I know.”
He raised his head slowly; she could sense the question behind those dark lenses. She didn’t answer it, as far as she was concerned he didn’t have to know how it happened. He already knew who, and why, and that was enough for her. Instead, she remained immobile, frozen beneath his touch. His hand remained against her as it cradled the broken bone just beneath her skin. His touch was far kinder than she had expected from him, he was the one that had allowed this to happen after all.
“And she did this to you?” Aria remained silent, trying to keep the tears in her eyes back. She didn’t want him to see them, didn’t want him to know that his gentleness unsettled her so much. Especially when she had decided that he was nothing but evil and that she preferred to have nothing to do with him. That she would kill him if given the chance. “Arianna?”
She turned her head away. “Yes.”
She could feel the tension that seized him, the anger that locked his bones, and yet his hand against her ribs remained surprisingly gentle. He leaned closer to her, his mouth momentarily pressing against her ear. She could feel the brush of his lips against her skin as he spoke. Though she was determined to hate him, her body betrayed her by pressing closer to him. Instinctively she sought the strength that radiated from him as her heart beat a little faster and her skin tingled for more of his touch. “It won’t happen again.”
A single tear slid free, a shudder tore through her, neither of which she could hide from him. He wiped the tear away before sweeping her into his arms. Aria gasped, expecting fresh pain to explode through her, but the way he held her kept the expected
suffering from coming. It was so gentle, so sweet that she could only gaze up at him in dazed surprise. “Don’t.”
He didn’t respond to her simple word, didn’t look at her again as he left the room. Aria tried to squirm against him, tried to break free, tried to feel some irritation again, but she was so beat down, so broken, that she couldn’t muster much of a protest. True panic ripped through her when he placed her down in the middle of his room. She tried to jerk free, but he grasped nimbly hold of her wrist and pulled her back.
“You should be watched over. Broken ribs can be dangerous.” He said simply, as if this was enough of an explanation for everything that was happening now. It wasn’t, but she didn’t argue. She simply coveted sleep again, if she could.
They stared at each other for a minute more before he released her wrist. He lifted her smoothly again and placed her down upon the softest, most fantastic thing she had ever experienced. It was only after she sank into the mattress that she realized she was in his bed. Her hands stroked over the thick blanket and silky sheets. It was a little bit of heaven here on earth.
Then, the apprehension kicked in. She was in his bed! She tried to sit up, but pain lanced through her side causing an involuntary groan to escape her. He was at her side instantly; his hands were tender upon her shoulders as he tried to push her back down. She attempted to strain against him, but there wasn’t much fight left in her at the moment.
“Rest Arianna, relax, I won’t harm you.” She eyed him warily, unable to believe him. He released a low, regretful sound as he shook his head at her. “You can’t sleep alone tonight, you might puncture a lung. You must be watched over, and since I much prefer my bed, you will be staying here for the night.” She gawked at him. He was going to stay in here, with her? She thought her heart was going to leap out of her chest. “I can tape your ribs for you...”
“It’s ok, I’ll be fine,” she assured him quickly. It would be a little too intimate if he did such a thing; it was bad enough he expected them to sleep beside each other tonight. Plus she preferred not to have her ribs taped, especially before going to sleep.
Rolling it up within his grasp he held the nightgown out to her. “Put your arms up.”
She frowned at him before gingerly lifting her arms. She strained to keep her face blank as her body screamed in protest. He studied her for a moment before rolling the nightgown over her head with subtle ease. She lowered her arms back down, relief filling her as her body relaxed a little. He adjusted it, pulling the material easily down her legs. Heat flooded her face; she ducked her head as his hand brushed against her thigh.
He quirked an eyebrow at her, but refrained from commenting on her reaction to his touch. “Why didn’t you tell me about this?”
She tilted her head as she studied him. “Why would I?”
Frustration darkened his face, his square jaw clenched. “You are to tell me whenever someone mistreats you.”
“Don’t like it when your property gets bruised?” she retorted angrily.
She didn’t know why she was baiting him, didn’t know why she was being so rude when he had been nothing but kind to her tonight, but she couldn’t stop herself. There was something about him, and this whole situation, that caused a volatile and swift reaction from her. Apparently he hadn’t known what Lauren was doing to her, and hadn’t condoned the girl’s violent actions, but she still couldn’t stop the bitterness she felt surging toward him. He had been rude to her when his brother had been here, but she couldn’t expect him to be nice to her in public, could she? Aria shook her head; she was too tired and too wounded to even try to wade through the conundrum that was him.
“No, I don’t,” he replied icily.
She scrutinized him from beneath her lashes. Her question had truly aggravated him. “I didn’t mean...” her voice trailed off, she didn’t know what to say to him.
“Didn’t you?” Aria shook her head, but there were no more words within her. Mainly because she was certain that she owed him an apology, and she hated to be wrong, and hated to say she was sorry. Especially to someone that was her enemy, wasn’t he? “Come on, you need to rest.”
She lay woodenly upon the bed, her fingers dug into the blanket as he laid it over her. He didn’t lie down beside her but stood up, pulled off his coat, and disappeared into the bathroom that she had used upon first arriving. She listened to the water as he washed himself before returning.
“You will have to eat tomorrow.”
Though it was a command, his voice was nowhere near as gruff as it had been before. She didn’t take offense to the order; in fact she sensed a hint of worry in his tone and demeanor. It warmed her further. Maybe she was far more bewildered and exhausted than she had realized she thought dimly. Especially if she was already feeling as if she could trust him again, when she had so firmly decided that it was the last thing she was ever going to do. “I will.”
She closed her eyes and settled in beneath the thick comforter. She had never been in someone else’s bed before, let alone a man’s, but for some reason this didn’t feel wrong. The mattress sank beneath his weight. Aria didn’t open her eyes again, despite her determination to stay vigilant, she was already falling asleep. Strangely secure in the bed of a vampire.