I cocked my head, glancing at Cal to make sure I’d heard his father right. He wanted to... watch us have sex?
"Why is everyone else here?" Cal asked, looking around the room.
The king smiled malevolently. "They're here as incentive, in the event that you might refuse. Fail to do as ordered, and I'll start slitting throats—starting with Lilah."
Janna’s screams flooded my blood like acid, and she squeezed her baby tightly to her breast. "Please, Alexis! Do as he says! Please!"
I stole a quick glance at Mom, who was already crying, before closing my eyes. Janna was her sister; Lilah, her niece. My failure would probably be just as difficult for her to endure as my success would be for me.
I took a deep breath, willing the world to slow down, willing time to freeze, willing this to be nothing more than a dream I’d soon wake up from.
I'd had sex before. I'd had sex with Cal before. It wasn't going to traumatize me; I was already in love with him. But having to do it in front of all these people, and his disgusting father... knowing that we couldn’t refuse or there would be blood spilled... it was abhorrent. I hated that snake so fucking much.
When I opened my eyes, I was unsurprised to find the nightmare wasn’t over.
"I can't do this," I whispered to Cal, shaking my head, trembling all over.
"Shh," he cooed as gently as I'd ever heard him. His warm palms reached up to cup my face in a tender embrace. "It’s okay, Peach. Look at me. It's going to be okay."
I shook my head again, cringing as the salty tears washed down my face in waves. "I can't, Cal." My voice quivered as another wave of tears overwhelmed me. "This is the most fucked-up thing that's ever happened to me. And I know you’re scared too."
He nodded. "I know, but we have to... for the sake of our mothers and your family. Close your eyes, Peach. Pretend it's just you and me."
His lips trailed gentle kisses over to my ear, and he whispered softly, just loud enough for me and no one else to hear, reiterating the words like a spell.
"Pretend it's just you and me..."
Chapter 4
GEMMA
I watched from a tower window as Alexis and the four princes left Blackwood palace in the dead of night. I had no idea where they were going, but it broke my heart to see her leave... again.
She hadn’t spoken to me or her mother, but I didn’t begrudge her for it, not after what she’d just gone through... what I’d just been forced to watch.
I could still see the dead look in their eyes when it was finally over and the Storm King granted them permission to leave. How Alexis cried into Cal’s chest as he tenderly scooped her up and walked them toward the door. How the sharp pain of the Storm King’s final promise had sliced through everyone’s ears and into our very skulls: that we’d be doing this every single month until Alexis fell pregnant... or she would be killed.
I touched my throat, feeling the scabs and the sting from the blade’s edge at my skin. The godsdamned Storm King was a monster. I’d been wrong when I said we were lucky to be living in the palace. Dead wrong.
Still, it wasn’t in my nature to stew in the darkness and evil around me. I needed to look for a bright side, a silver lining against the blackened clouds our lives had become, and find a way to rise above. This wasn’t the life we were destined to live. I couldn’t allow myself to think like that. Negativity would only crack my spirit, and I prided myself on my tenacity.
I silently slinked down the stairs and entered the servants’ quarters, following the narrow corridor until it ended at a door to the outside. Many of the servants worked in the stables, including my new boyfriend, Tristan, so I knew this was the fastest way to the barns.
I crept through the door and tiptoed across the lawn, the light of the moon shining brightly on my emerald green robe. I pulled the hood even further over my golden blonde hair, hoping it would help conceal my identity. Technically, since I didn’t work in the stables, I wasn’t supposed to be out there, but after the day I’d just had, I needed Tristan’s warmth, his kind smile, the strength of his arms holding me together so I didn’t fall apart.
As I scurried across the lawn, a bird swooped by and darted toward the path Alexis had taken. I wondered what had startled it, and just as my eyes scanned the trees, movement caught my eye, along with another robed figure hurrying through the woods.
I paused, scrunching my nose. I really wanted to see Tristan, but an even bigger part of me wanted to follow the person and find out what they were up to. One thing I’d learned during my time here at Blackwood? The palace was full of secrets, and I loved finding them out.
With a sigh, I ran to the tree line and followed the person toward the eastern side of the grounds. The closer I got, the more I was sure it was a woman. Based off the purple color of her robes, I’d guess it was a royal, and the only royal women around here at the moment were the harem ladies. It almost had to be one of them.
I decided to guess which one it was and whisper her name. Even if I was wrong, it would make her pause.
"Psst! Caroline!" I whispered as loudly as I dared, and just as I’d hoped, her steps faltered. "It’s me, Gemma."
Her shoulders visibly relaxed when she heard who I was and she turned around to meet me in the trees. The woman was breathless and shaking by the time I got close enough to realize it was Ashlynn, not Caroline.
I smiled kindly as I always did, a stark contrast to the general dismal atmosphere of this place. "What are you doing out here?"
She put a hand up to her throat where her pulse jumped madly. "I should ask you the same question. If we’re caught, you know we’ll be tortured."
I rolled my eyes. "If we breathe wrong, we’ll get tortured, so what’s the difference?"
She nodded her agreement, then glanced around, making sure we were alone. She ducked down into the weeds and pulled me along with her. "I was meeting up with someone."
I smiled brightly. "Me too! I was just about to meet Tristan in the barn. Maybe go for a little roll in the hay, if you know what I mean." I nudged her shoulder, and she pressed her palms together as if sending a silent prayer to the gods.
"The person I met was not someone I ever want to roll around in the hay with," she said. "Although it was a man and I do love him with all my heart."
I raised a curious brow. "Your love life needs a lot of work, Ashlynn, you know that? I could probably help you in that department. Get you hooked up with a hot, muscled stable boy like me. You know how ripped they are? They could lift you into the air and shove your—"
She put a hand up to silence me. "Enough with your vulgarity, adorable girl; you might make me vomit."
"Oral sex is not vomit-inducing," I protested, crossing my arms. "It’s actually orgasm-induc—"
But she cut me off again. "I was meeting up with Asher. My son. Please don’t say another word about sex in this context."
Oh, now it made more sense. Someone she loved but wouldn’t want to fuck around with... her kid. Got it. Gross.
"Sorry," I muttered, feeling a little sheepish. "Hey, wait, I thought Asher was dead? I thought the Storm King brutally murdered him in cold blood?"
She cocked her head, and her mouth fell open. "Have you no filter whatsoever?"
I tightened my jaw, and my lips stretched in an apologetic smile. "Not really, no."
Her brows furrowed almost sympathetically. "I’m surprised Zacharias has allowed you to keep your tongue this long."
"Me too, to be honest. But, anyway, about Asher..."
She smiled wide as tears suddenly filled her eyes. "He’s alive, Gemma. He just met with me. He’s with his brothers and Alexis, and he’s safe and well, and oh my gods, I’ve never been so happy in my life."
She latched on to me, sobbing happy tears into my robes, and I hugged her right back. I loved connecting with people on such a real level, and I was honored that she trusted me enough to share in this moment with her.
It was times like these that I needed to keep in th
e forefront of my mind when the Storm King threatened to steal away my light.
"I’m so happy for you, Ashlynn. I know how much you’ve missed him."
The harem ladies and I had gotten close over these past few weeks. We shared a lot of similar experiences—beatings, lashings, cuttings—and as such, it was pretty easy to open up to one another. I might have been the youngest woman of the group and not technically one of them because, thank the gods, the Storm King hadn’t taken me into his harem, but still they treated me as one of their own, and I appreciated the sentiment so very much.
"Please, don’t tell anyone."
"I won’t." I crossed my heart with my pointer finger. "I swear it."
"Not even during torture." She clung to my robe as if her life depended on it. "Especially not then."
I smiled and removed her hands, squeezing them gently. "You know I’d never do that to you."
She squeezed back almost painfully tight, and I knew it was a subconscious reaction to her fear.
"Breathe, Ashlynn," I guided her smoothly.
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"That’s right. In and out. Nice and slow. I’m not going to tell a soul. You’re not going to tell a soul. And everything is going to be okay."
She smiled, finally, and let go of my hands. "I have to get back before Zacharias notices I’m gone. You should make your visit with Tristan a short one. I don’t trust the king to be in a good mood."
I scoffed. "I never do."
She grinned back at me before disappearing across the lawn and into the shadows at the base of the palace. I went the opposite direction, finally reaching the stables like I’d originally intended.
The ripe stench of manure filled my nose and laid heavy in my lungs, but I did my best to ignore it. It was a scent I’d almost gotten used to by now but not entirely. A single lantern was lit in the middle of the giant structure, and despite the late hour, several servants still bustled about tending to the horses and the hygiene of the barn.
I found Tristan shoveling hay in Caramel’s empty stall—Alexis’s horse. It didn’t surprise me to find him there. After all, the five Storms had just left on horseback. Someone had to clean up the mess their horses had left behind, and my sweet boyfriend was just the man for the job. I watched as his muscles stretched and flexed beneath his tight black pants and the rolled-up sleeves of his baby blue shirt. I could watch him work for hours, but unfortunately, we didn’t have that kind of time.
I tapped his left shoulder but quickly hopped to the right, tricking him as I often did. As he spun left, I jumped in front of him, and when he turned back around, I planted a quick kiss on his lips.
He grinned and wrapped me in his giant arms, enveloping me with warmth. "Hey, Gem. What are you doing out here tonight?"
"You?" I asked, mostly in jest. He had a job to do, and I refused to be the reason he got a thrashing. "Actually, I just wanted to see you a bit before bed. I missed you."
He kissed the top of my head and chuckled, the sound reverberating into my skin like a salve for my aching soul. Gods, this man was... everything. If nothing else good ever came from my time at Blackwood Palace, then he would be enough.
"I missed you too. I could probably take a quick break, but it wouldn’t be very long. Maybe five, ten minutes tops."
"Can you even get off that fast? It usually takes you hours."
He bit his bottom lip and hefted me into his arms. "I could try."
I giggled and squirmed out of his grasp. Like I said, I had no intentions of getting him hurt. Now that I knew what true pain felt like, I never wanted anyone else to experience it—ever. And least of all because of me.
"Did you have a good day?" he asked me as he got back to shoveling soiled hay into a cart.
I swallowed hard, my smile finally faltering. "Not exactly."
"Worse than usual?" he asked, knowing full well my usual was absolutely terrible.
I nodded, and my yes came out as a whisper.
He stopped shoveling, jabbing the forked end of his tool into the ground at his feet, and wrapped me in another tight hug. "I’m so sorry, baby."
I tittered, trying my damnedest to hold back the ridiculous tears flooding my vision. "It’s so stupid, because I wasn’t even hurt this time. Not really."
He pulled back, his charcoal-colored eyes dropping to my throat, and he raised a knowing brow. "Oh?"
"This is just a scratch," I told him, tracing the scab with my thumb.
"No," he protested, shaking his head slowly. "No, this is bullshit. He’s going to take it too far one day, and then I don’t even know what I’ll do."
I smiled and smacked his chest. "You’ll mourn my death like the good boyfriend you are."
"Gods, Gemma," he muttered, pulling away before leaning on his pitchfork for support. "You can’t talk about your life like it’s so meaningless. It matters to me. You matter to me."
I grinned and tapped his nose. "Good. Which is why I expect you to mourn my loss properly. I want you to wear black for as many days as the Storm King will allow and to wait at least a month before hopping into bed with a new woman. I know it’ll be lonely, but I swear to the gods, I’ll come back and haunt your ass if you don’t."
"Run away with me," he whispered, not for the first time since we’d gotten close.
"Never," I teased, shoving down the hope that surged up inside of me at his words.
"This place is terrible," he insisted.
"Not for you."
"If it’s terrible for you, then it’s terrible for me."
I swallowed hard and forced my lips to curl. "It’s not all that bad. Nothing I can’t make it through."
He shook his head, pure and raw emotion burning in his dark eyes. "Please, Gemma. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Run away with me. We can make a good life for ourselves; I know it. We’ll change our names, change our appearances. Hell, we can get a boat and paddle across the sea to a new kingdom and start all over again. Just... please. Don’t let me lose you."
It was the single most gut-wrenching experience of my life—and I’d thought Alexis’s defiling had been bad.
"You won’t lose me," I promised in a whisper. I had no idea how I kept the tears from falling. "Everything is going to be okay."
He shook his head, and as he stared at me, I noticed his lids were rimmed in red. He grabbed my chin and kissed me hard, then let me go.
"You better get back inside," he said. "You’ll be punished if you’re caught."
I sighed, knowing he was right but also knowing that he was upset with me. I didn’t want to leave on those terms, but unfortunately, there was nothing I could do. At least, not yet.
"Good night, Tristan," I said as I slowly backed out of the barn.
He sighed and smiled slightly. "Good night, Gem."
But he didn’t get back to shoveling. He just stood there hopelessly, watching me disappear into the night.
Chapter 5
ALEXIS
A week later, after a brief layover in Ben's kingdom, we found ourselves approaching the first town on the other side of the brutal Obsidian Desert.
The days had been blistering hot and the nights freezing cold. There was simply no in-between. During the day, counterintuitive as it might've seemed, we actually stayed cooler by covering our bodies in a layer of thin clothing from head to toe. It did wonders to prevent our skin from burning, while simultaneously allowing in a bit of a breeze—not that the wind blew all that much across the sands. And during the night, we huddled together for warmth. If nothing else, it was a group bonding experience I wouldn’t soon forget.
In fact, I wouldn’t soon forget anything I’d experienced over the course of these past few months. Every minute detail would remain permanently burned into my brain for eternity. Good or bad.
I fingered the wedding ring that was looped through a thin chain about my neck. The massive stone was just another reminder that the king gave zero fucks about what I thought. Everyo
ne knew I hated jewels. He probably picked the biggest one that would fit on a ring just to spite me. The bastard.
I'd remained unusually silent since the night the Storm King ruined my world, and my Storm Princes had been kind enough to give me my space. It was hard to categorize my feelings about the whole thing. It was Cal who I’d been with—a man I knew and loved—not the Storm King. It wasn't exactly rape, though neither party was all that willing.
I didn't hold it against Cal, and none of the other brothers held it against either of us. We were all smart enough to know exactly who to place the blame on. Still, there was a part of me that was raw and irritated, closed off and caved in.
But there was another part of me that was ready to heal. I didn’t tend to dwell on negative things for very long. So much of my life had been scraping the bottom anyway, that I’d learned a long time ago to keep moving forward without looking back.
I made a promise to myself, though. I might be talking and laughing and loving again soon, but I would never forget what he made us do, and I would never let him do that to us again.
The only problem being, he'd already promised that the sex-watching escapades were going to be a monthly occurrence. If I failed to fall pregnant by the end of the sixth month, he was going to kill me. How he planned on doing that, exactly—considering he hadn't even truly killed Ash—was anyone's guess. Personally, I didn't want to find out. Ash's gift involved dying in order for his magic to work; mine didn't. Maybe he'd be able to kill me much easier because of that?
"Ravibad," Ben said, gesturing to the town before us. "It's the second largest city in Eristan. Full of gangs, lawlessness, and irresponsibility but also a very chill group of people."
I wasn't exactly sure how "gangs" and "chill" related much, but I had no doubt I was about to find out.
Drums and rockas sounded in the street as random people danced around unattended fires. Clotheslines hung from window to window like some intricate spiderweb, soaking up the smoke. I bet they’d smell awful in the morning.
Stormy Nights (Storms of Blackwood Book 2) Page 4
