Druscilla blanched. “Lord Halloran is a worthy lord and any woman would be proud to be his mate, but you couldn’t pay me to be his bed servant. I’ve heard he doesn’t care for the woman’s feelings and lets his masculine needs run rampant.”
Snotti snorted. “He has such disdain for the ladies of court and the whores don’t fare any better.” She brushed a stray black hair off her face. “You could say he is kind to Elsa. The other palace courtesans avoid him because he…is never satisfied with them. And he’s not nice about it when he finds a woman not to his liking.”
“It is a shame that such a virile male is a poor lover,” Druscilla said.
“Poor Druscilla has already been through so much with Adonis,” Snotti said to Kiera. “I’ll not subject her to Modez. That leaves you, Kiera. I have been planning on offering you to him for days now. But if you assist in ridding the villa of Cassia, I will choose another female.”
“I still cannot see how I could help you.” Snotti didn’t know that Kiera had already promised to lay with Modez. “Lord Ross made it clear that Cassia is not to be harmed.”
“You’ll think of a way. I want her out of the villa. Gone forever. Dead, if you can manage it. Make it look like an accident.” Snotti’s lips curled up into a smile that looked artificial. “I will give you a week. That’s enough time. Do not disappoint. If you accomplish this task for me, I’ll speak to Diermont about reinstating you as one of my ladies. You’ll be a serf no longer.”
Kiera didn’t trust Snotti. She sensed the woman lied about reinstating her. Once a serf, one generally remained a serf. Snotti wanted Kiera to do her dirty work and then she’d be blamed for it. Punished for it. Killed for it, more than likely. She wasn’t going to lift one finger to help Snotti with the APS project. “I cannot help you.” Snotti was noticeably angry. The princess turned her nose into the air and sighed in an overly dramatic fashion before storming out of the room.
Kiera turned to Druscilla. “How are things going for you?”
Druscilla bit her lip and her fingers drummed on the table. “I am okay. It didn’t work out with Adonis but there will be other opportunities.”
“Of course. The Season hasn’t even begun. When we return to the palace, there will be tons of balls to attend. Scores of them will be mating balls.” Druscilla would be issued invitations but Kiera knew that she would not. Serfs didn’t attend grand events.
“The princess has been putting pressure on me to do something about the Roman woman. But what can I do?” Druscilla frowned. “At least you have access to her. You’re sharing her room.”
“It’s not so simple. Lord Ross would make a formidable enemy. You should steer clear of the whole mess.” Kiera hoped Druscilla would take her advice. If something went wrong, Snotti would leave Druscilla high and dry. “The Roman woman is no threat. Lord Ross cannot mate with a hybrid female. Everyone knows all of his previous attempts have failed.”
“It’s hardly the point. If Lord Ross mates with a human, other noblemen will think to do the same.” Druscilla jumped from her chair and paced inside the spacious chamber, clearly agitated. “And those others are more than capable of mating with us. Some of them could be potential mates for us. But if they become interested in human females, none of us will stand a chance.”
Kiera was done with it all. That dream was dead and it was a relief to be free of that burden. “It’s not worth it. All this preoccupation with mating just leads to misery. For everyone involved.”
“You’ve lost your ambition.” Disappointment and disapproval showed on her face. “You used to want to be somebody. Now you’re content to fade into the background.” Druscilla opened the door and gestured for Kiera to walk with her. “I’m not putting all my eggs in one basket. If things don’t work out with Snotti, I’ll still have the prince. I’m cultivating some relationships that will help me advance my position. I suggest you do the same.”
“You want me to kiss Diermont’s ass?” Little good that would do.
“Not just the prince. There is Lord Halloran to consider. You could offer yourself to him. Maybe then he would treat you favorably.”
The very idea! What was her friend thinking? “Dru, you know his reputation. No woman can satisfy that man, sexually or otherwise. Elsa is his preferred courtesan. She is said to be favored because he does not criticize her services like he does the others. They say there is no real affection between them. Nothing of what you’d normally see between lovers. He treats her with bored indifference.” She wasn’t fool enough to think he would treat her any differently.
“I know he’s not one to show his appreciation, but he may feel it nonetheless.”
“He doesn’t like me.” Kiera didn’t think sex would soften his feelings toward her. She knew he experienced lust and physical desire. But he had no real preference for her. He only wanted to prove his power over her. She was just another conquest.
Kiera followed Druscilla out of the room. They spent time in the courtyard and Kiera was surprised by the number of warriors that approached. She wore the saffron tunic which signified her loss of status. She was easy prey for those males looking for a bed servant.
“Will you go into battle today?” Druscilla asked the circle of warriors that surrounded them.
“We battle every day,” Seamus boasted. “You should have seen the loot we brought back from the last place we visited. We found bars of gold as well as wheelbarrows full of precious gemstones. The place was loaded with goodies.”
“But no sign of Lucine Maximus,” Torin said. “Visant’s working hard to track those samples of seed we sold to a supplier. He’s been getting images in his head and he maps them on paper. Discerning the locations has been a challenge. We’re not experts on Roman topography and landmarks.”
“The two Roman soldiers in the dungeon have been useful sources of information,” Seamus said. “It was good that they were spared.”
“We have pinpointed one of those locales. We would have gone today, but Diermont postponed it. Modez cannot go on a raid until he is free of the slave collar.” Torin’s eyes locked on Modez who stood at the other end of the courtyard. “Modez has been out of commission for too long. The druids are having difficulty removing the collar and the prince is beyond pissed about it.”
“We’re doing all we can to break through that metal,” one of the druids said. “We’ve never seen slave collars like these before. They seem to be indestructible. Whoever did this to Modez needs to be flayed alive. Her head needs to go on a pike.”
Kiera felt that was rather extreme. Especially since she was the person in danger of being flayed. “Lord Halloran appears fine to me. No lasting damage was done to him.”
Torin jabbed his sword in the dirt, showing his frustration. “He cannot transport and he is restricted to using his sword. On the battlefield he is more of a liability without the use of his full strength. He’s been restricted to the villa because of it.”
“Any word on the identity of the perpetrator?” Druscilla asked.
“We haven’t had much luck with that,” Seamus said. “And Modez has been less than cooperative. When we ask for details on this woman, he keeps saying that he doesn’t remember much. He refuses to undergo hypnosis or other forms of mental manipulation.”
“Why? Doesn’t he want this woman caught?”
“What happened to him was shameful. He’s using avoidance to cope with it,” Seamus said to Druscilla. “But any of our healers will tell you that avoidance isn’t a healthy strategy. He needs to talk about what happened so he can work through the trauma.”
Kiera kept her mouth shut even though she was tempted to voice her own opinions about the situation. Modez hadn’t been traumatized. She remembered how his body had reacted to her assault. He had been excited. Stimulated. Crazed with lust. Her gaze locked on Modez. He stood in the courtyard and conversed with the prince. He watched her while he spoke to Diermont. She focused her specialized senses to decipher his words.
“It is time you mate and produce a litter,” Diermont was saying to Modez. The younger Halloran was clearly unhappy with this request and was full of excuses regarding why he couldn’t take a mate.
Boring, boring. Everyone knew Modez wasn’t going to mate for another four decades, at least. He successfully redirected the conversation to a safer topic—the pursuit of pleasure. After a minute her name was mentioned, which caught her attention. She concentrated her senses on long-distance listening, as there was no way she was going to miss any conversation that dealt with her specifically.
“Get Kiera accustomed to a male’s touch so she doesn’t come across like a scared virgin,” Diermont was saying. “I want a good show in the dungeon.”
“I will initiate her slowly,” Modez said in response. “She’s resistant to becoming a whore.”
Damn right she was resistant.
“The fine is in need of new flesh. You will teach her to submit to casual touches. Can’t have her slapping a man or hissing at him every time her ass is grabbed.”
“I’m on it.”
Oh, that pissed her off real good. He was preparing her for the prince, not for himself. She should have known Modez had ulterior motives. He had no special regard for her. He planned to use her like a common whore, and once he was done with her, he would give her to the rest of the Halloran’s. That was just…gross.
“Good. Update me on your progress with her. She will be on royal cock duty before we depart the villa. I want my fill of her before I turn her over to the king.”
Now she wanted to puke. Being Modez’s whore was bad enough. Belonging to the sadistic, fetish-prone prince would be tons worse.
“There is plenty of time. There’s no need to rush this.”
At least Modez wasn’t eager to turn her over to Diermont. She sensed the reluctance in his voice, but it wasn’t enough to mollify her.
“You’re quite right. Quite right.”
The conversation drifted to mundane, boring topics so she stopped eavesdropping. Kiera felt frazzled. The urge to escape the villa had never been as strong as now. She made up an excuse and left Druscilla in the courtyard. She wasn’t letting anyone turn her into a palace harlot. Those females served an entire family of males, not just one.
Kiera entered the room she shared with Cassia Maximus. Cassia was a proud woman, but Diermont and Cabrian kept her in the most humiliating circumstances. She suspected Cassia cared for Cabrian, but she didn’t understand why the woman wasn’t trying to escape. She approached slowly and sat beside her on the bed. “Lord Ross isn’t going to make you his mate. He’s an overlord. These lords value bloodlines above all else. You deserve more than being a hybrid slave.”
Cassia covered her nakedness with a bed sheet. “He says he will mate with me when I’m fertile.”
“Then why hasn’t he bitten you? If he was serious about the mating bond, he wouldn’t delay in claiming you.” Kiera knew that Lord Ross was attached to his human slave, but that didn’t mean he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. “You have a life to get back to, don’t you? You were an important woman in Rome.”
“I didn’t hold real power. My stepmother ran the business. Her own daughters didn’t have the head for it, so she asked me to assist her.”
“She valued you, but Lord Ross only values you as his slave.”
“I’m not sure she valued me. You could say that I was fired from my position before Lucine departed the villa. She listened to the wrong people and they told lies about me.”
“But now those people are dead, right? And she needs you now.”
Cassia shrunk away from Kiera. Her clear blue eyes were wary. “I’m not going to lead you to Lucine. We weren’t on the best of terms when we parted, but I would not do anything to endanger her.”
“I’m not interested in Lucine. My interest lies with Marly Agrippa. And like I’ve said before, it is personal and has nothing to do with the prince. I want you to take me to the Agrippa villa.”
Cassia clutched her sheet and shook her head with a firm motion. “No, I cannot take you there. It’s impossible.”
Kiera was getting tired of hearing it. She got off the bed and pulled a plain tunic from her closet. Forcing it over Cassia’s head, she pulled the garment past the woman’s curvier hips. It fit her much too snugly but that couldn’t be helped.
“What are you doing?” Cassia looked at her with confusion in her eyes. “I’m not allowed to wear clothing. You’ll get me in trouble.”
“You can hardly go about Rome naked.” Kiera clutched the other woman in her arms and opened a portal. She walked through it, taking Cassia with her. When she opened her eyes, they were on the outskirts of the city. Her eyes widened as she watched the caravans roll past. Merchants carried their goods into the city to sell at the market. The dust made her cough and the smell of horse manure overpowered her senses. “How terrible. Asstrumnia has need of few roads and I am glad for it.”
“What are you doing?” Cassia appeared confused. “You’ll be punished for setting me free.”
“I’m not freeing you. I’m taking you on an excursion.” Kiera didn’t miss the way Cassia’s eyes ate up the sights around her. “It must make you happy to see your beloved city again, even if it is from a distance.”
“Why are we here?”
“I want you to show me where Marly lives.”
“She’s in Eros. But we cannot go there.” Cassia’s eyes lowered to her bare feet.
Kiera felt like an idiot for forgetting footwear. These humans couldn’t walk the streets without protection for their dainty feet. “Show me how to get to Eros.” Kiera took Cassia’s hand and tried to get an image using her hybrid senses, but she wasn’t adept at sending and receiving psychic images. “I’ll need a map.”
“There are maps at the villa. You should study them first.”
“I suppose you are right.” Kiera had left on impulse. Her heat cycle was upon her and she had less than a day before she fell prey to it. Leaving wouldn’t be an option then and she would be forced to keep her promise to Modez. He wanted to experiment with mongrel sex but she could end up pregnant. He was one of the few hybrids in Asstrumnia who wasn’t interested in begetting a litter. He would probably reject any progeny she birthed. Worse still, any children she had would be born into serfdom unless Modez released them. He had more than enough power over her. She had to get away from the villa. Away from Modez. “I just wanted to give you a taste of freedom. Isn’t it nice to be out of that room for a while?”
“I am so happy to see the sun.” Cassia looked around her, only just now taking the time to attend to her surroundings. “My chamber lacks a decent window.”
“Smell the fresh air. There’s no trace of blood.” Kiera preferred blood to the smell of horse manure and chicken feathers, but she assumed the human would feel differently. “We could even go to the market if you like and do a bit of shopping.”
“You’ve lost your mind.”
“Well, I suppose we couldn’t go now. I need a wig.” She had wrapped her dark tresses in a scarf, but that wasn’t enough of a disguise. “We’ll be prepared next time.”
“There won’t be a next time. Two ladies cannot travel by themselves in Rome. We’ll be accosted. We’ll be taken by the slavers and end up in the brothels.”
“I’ll kill anyone who tries to take us.” Kiera knew she had acted on impulse. They weren’t ready to make their way to Marly’s home.
Cassia’s eyes filled with anxiety. “We should return.”
“You don’t mind being a slave, then?” Kiera noticed some of the traveling merchants were giving her speculative looks. She supposed the two of them would bring in a lot of coin on the slave market. “We must make haste.” The air had suddenly grown thick with smoke. There was a fire up ahead. Kiera reached out with her hybrid-enhanced hearing ability, not expecting to hear anything useful from such a far distance. But she heard the same words over and over. The Red Light Brothel. She pointed in the dire
ction of the inferno and asked, “What’s over there?”
“Nothing but a bunch of gaming hells and brothels.”
“Like the Red Light Brothel?” When Cassia nodded, Kiera said, “I think it’s on fire.”
Cassia paled. “Didn’t you say Lavinia and Calpurnia were taken there?”
“According to Patrick. If it’s on fire…”
“We have to get closer.” Cassia grabbed Kiera’s arm and forced her to halt. “I have to know what’s happening.”
Kiera was curious as well. She opened up a portal and pushed Cassia through it. She followed right behind her. When they were through the portal’s blue ring, the sight that met their eyes was horrifying. The sky was darkened by smoke and it penetrated the air, making it difficult to breathe. The building that must be the brothel burned several feet away. Kiera started to cough. Roman soldiers swarmed the area while local residents tried to put out the fire. She glanced toward Cassia to make sure she was alright. The other woman was coughing, but already she was making her way to one of the nearby soldiers.
“You there. What is happening?” Cassia asked one of the soldiers.
“The Governor of New Babylon ordered the brothel’s destruction. His sons visited a few days ago and contracted the blue rot infection. Their bodies were sent home and the brothel was put under quarantine. The governor ordered it be burned.” The soldier frowned at the two ladies. “You shouldn’t be here. It’s not safe.”
“What about the ladies inside the brothel? What of them?”
“Ladies aren’t found in a brothel. Only whores. And believe me, they’re all dead. Burned to a crisp to stop the spread of infection.”
“No!” Cassia fell to her knees while the soldier shook his head in bewilderment.
Kiera tightened the scarf around her head to make sure her dark hair remained concealed. She put her arms around Cassia. “I’m afraid my mistress has a bleeding heart. She cannot bear to witness suffering of any kind.”
Vampire Enslavement (Lords of Bondage) Page 26
