“So you hit her?”
“She told me to.”
Jarod collapsed against the couch and did something Maya had never seen him do. He started laughing. The rarity of the expression frightened her. It looked, for lack of a better word, unnatural.
“The two of you schemed that whole thing together?” he laughed.
“Well it’s not that funny,” she snapped crossing her arms across her chest. “We did what needed to be done so that—”
Before she could finish, Jarod grabbed ahold of her and pulled her in close, then crashed his lips onto hers. Maya, at first shocked by the sudden contact tensed, pushing her hands against his chest. But he didn’t release her, instead he dug deeper, pressing his mouth even harder against hers, nipping occasionally at her already tender lower lip. His heat coursed through her, his emotions unbridled and little by little her whole body melted into his arms. Never in her life had she felt anything like it, and she moaned her protest when he finally released her. Pulling back just a fraction, he stared deep into her eyes, brushing his hand over her face and into her hair.
“Thank you.”
“For what?” Maya asked, breathless and her mind foggy.
“For helping her … us,” Jarod said, leaning back into the couch. “Jade used to be Gaia’s handmaiden, but when they found out she was helping me, Gaia became infuriated. She jailed Jade for months, then when they finally let her out it was to be their own private play thing, saying that if she wanted to spend so much time with men they had the perfect position available for her …”
Jarod sighed, staring blankly into the fire. “They punished her for helping me, forcing her to come here. They told her if she didn’t … if we didn’t … they would throw her back into the jail and once they finally decided to let her back out, she would be turned over to the men in the Black guard.” Jarod sighed, staring straight ahead into the burning flames of the fireplace. “Over the years I tried various schemes and ploys to get us both out of this situation. But no matter what I did the only thing I ever succeeded in doing was making things worse for the both of us, so eventually I gave up.” Glancing over at Maya, Jarod smiled. “But the two of you just might have managed to fix this once and for all.”
“I did it to help,” Maya responded, smiling, “but I must admit I had another motive.”
Jarod stared down at her with a raised brow. “And what would that be?”
“I was tired of having to share your attention.”
Jarod relaxed, laying his arm across the couch behind her. “Well you have it undivided now. So is there anything else you want to know?”
“Well … I did tell you how old I was,” Maya nestled into his side, “so let’s have it.”
He stifled a laugh. Then his brow creased as he searched his mind for the answerer. “Seventy-five … I think.” He paused, concentrating a little harder. “Honestly I stopped keeping track after I came here.”
“Wow,” Maya gasped amusedly, “you’re old.”
He cocked his eyebrow and smirked, “I’m just now hitting my prime.”
“Well at least we know one thing for certain,” she said, spinning her body around so that she sat straddling his legs.
“And what is that?”
“We are both adults.” This time it was her that leaned in and kissed him. She ran her fingers into his coal black hair and grabbed ahold tightly. And to her delight, he kissed her back. He ran his hands along the long length of her hair, but when his hands reached the tender skin of her back, she flinched involuntarily, causing him to break the contact.
He placed his forehead against hers. His voice breathless and raspy, he murmured, “Maya, I can’t …”
She sighed and laid her head down onto his chest. “I know. But nothing in my life has ever felt as right as this does.”
Smiling down at her, he brushed his thumbs over her cheekbones then leaned over and kissed the top of her head. “Don’t worry about it,” he said gently. “Our time will come.”
Chapter 8
When Maya awoke the next morning, she was delighted to realize, that for the first time since her arrival to the Tower, Jarod was still by her side. Granted it was most likely because she had him pinned beneath her, but Maya didn’t care. She knew if he had wanted to leave bad enough he could have lifted her off of him with ease. But he hadn’t; he had stayed the whole night on the couch with her leaning against him and hadn’t moved a muscle. And for Maya that small act meant more to her than all the gold and precious gems inside the Tower. Stretching the stiffness from her muscles, Maya twisted around and looked up to see him wide awake, watching her. Thinking he must be sore from spending the entire night sitting upright like that, she pushed herself off him.
“Did you sleep?” she asked, brushing her fingers through her hair to try and straighten the tangled strands.
“No,” he groaned, leaning forward to stand.
Fascinated, Maya watched as Jarod stood and began stretching and flexing his own stiffness away. Tall, dark, and handsome, with muscles that would give the ancient gods envy, the man was a marvel to behold. Watching him made Maya suddenly self-conscious about her own tiny, underdeveloped frame. While most Full-bloods grew and developed well into their mid to late twenties, Maya had stopped at seventeen, leaving her with a face and body forever frozen in a child-like youth. Could a man like him ever truly find a girl like her attractive? Especially when there were women out there that looked like Jade.
Jarod moved across the room to the windows and pulled open the shades. The early morning rays shone in, casting its light over the room and snapping her from her self-loathing.
“Were you uncomfortable? If so you should have said something, we could have gone to the bed.”
Puzzled, Jarod turned his gaze upon her. “Maya, you have been here for months, you must have realized by now that I don’t sleep.”
“At all?” she asked, thinking back on all those nights. But try as she might, Maya couldn’t picture one night since her arrival that she had seen him fall asleep. Now that she actually thought about it, she had always dozed off first and had just assumed he had fallen asleep as well.
“Very rarely, and if I do it’s never more than a few hours.” He returned to working on the windows. “That’s why I get up and wander the hallways. I didn’t want to disturb you by stirring around in here while you were asleep.”
“I thought you were trying to avoid me,” she muttered, rubbing her face with her hands.
Frowning, Jarod returned to her side. He offered her his hand and pulled her to her feet, then stood staring down on her.
“I know I am not an easy person to be around,” he said softly. Cupping her face in his giant hand, he gently raised her chin so she was looking him in the eye. “But believe me when I tell you that the thought of trying to avoid or stay away from you has never once crossed my mind.”
Maya grinned and wrapped her arms around him. She held on as he brushed his hand through her hair. There they stood, holding each other, quietly enjoying the moment, when a knock sounded on the door.
The sudden sound startled Maya who instinctually tightened her grip on Jarod. Trembling, she peeked around him toward the door just as a second knock sounded. Unable to mask her concern, she glanced up at Jarod, who looked livid. In fifty years of living in the Tower, never had he had so many people come knocking on his door as he had in these last few days.
“Whoever is out there better have a damn good reason,” he yelled, pulling away from her and storming across the room.
He jerked the door open and Maya’s heart sank as two very frightened members of the Black guard were revealed standing on the other side.
“What do you want?” Jarod snapped at the nervous pair.
“Sir, ma’am, sorry to disturb you but the Shadows want to see the lady in the throne room,” one of the guards answered shakily.
“Tell them we will be down in a moment,” Jarod grunted, turning to head back inside.
>
“Well, uh …” the guard stammered, but halted when Jarod’s intense scowl fell upon him. Too frightened to continue, he turned to his partner for help.
“Thing of it is, sir, they asked us to escort the girl there … alone.”
Hands clenched in fists at his sides, Jarod stormed back toward the door, causing the pair to retreat farther into the hallway. “Alone?” he growled, standing nearly on top of them. “Why do they need to see her alone?”
Looking like a pair of ants trembling in the shadow of a giant boot, the pair held onto each other as they continued to cower away from Jarod’s ominous presence. “We don’t know, sir,” one of them answered, his voice trembling so much he was barely understandable. “We just do as we are told.”
“Can I at least change clothes?” Maya called across, trying to distract Jarod’s rage. It wasn’t their fault she was being summoned—it was like they said, they were merely the messengers.
“Of course, ma’am,” the partner called back, addressing her around Jarod’s looming frame. “We will wait out here until you are ready.”
Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, Maya headed across the room to the bedroom. Behind her she could hear Jarod slam the front door before following. Once inside their room, Maya headed straight to her wardrobe and began to dig through it, while Jarod remained brooding in the doorway. She needed to find a dress that would give her enough room to move and curtsy without causing too much discomfort. Finally, after a few more minutes of digging, she settled on a blue gown that laced in the back and could easily be adjusted to accommodate her injuries. Removing it from the wardrobe and holding it up in front of her, she glanced over at Jarod who was still scowling at her with arms folded across his massive chest.
“I don’t like this, I should be going with you.”
“No you shouldn’t,” Maya responded calmly. Removing her silk gown, she pulled the dress on over her head, before turning to him once again over her shoulder. “Tie me please.”
Slowly he strolled across the room and gently tied the laces together, leaving plenty of slack for her to move. “It could be a trick. What are you going to do if you get there and Kai is waiting for you alone?”
Silently Maya pulled a brush from the wardrobe and ran it through her long black hair, as he continued to watch her every move. She then slipped on her shoes and quietly made her way toward the door, hesitating only a moment next to Jarod.
“You can’t always be there to protect me,” she said, giving him her most confident expression. There was no use crying and boo-hooing. Whether they liked the idea or not, the fact was, Kai could come and claim his right to her at any moment and there would be nothing either of them could do about it. So instead she gazed up into his concerned eyes and smiled weakly. “I will go and it will be all right.”
Sighing, he followed her as she headed toward the door where the guards stood waiting. “Let’s go,” she said walking past the two of them. She glanced one last time over her shoulder and was saddened by Jarod’s worried expression as he watched her continue away from him. Once again she gave him her best fake smile, then turned to face the long hallway in front of her, fearing if she looked back again she would break down and lose what little control she had left.
The guards followed silently. They both knew the danger she faced in the throne room and were respectful enough not to minimize it with idle chatter. When they reached the third floor, Maya paused outside the massive doors, taking a moment to gather herself as Jarod had always instructed her.
Having completed their task, her escorts left her side and fell in line with the guards by the doors. “Good luck, my lady,” one of them whispered as he passed by. But Maya merely nodded, fearing if she spoke her voice would betray how truly frightened she was. She stood a moment longer, taking the time she needed to relax and calm herself, before motioning to the guards to let her inside.
She proceeded slowly, occasionally sneaking a peek at the tortured statues that lined both sides of the throne room. Maya could only imagine the amount of death and suffering these faces had witnessed over the years. She heaved a sigh at the thought and shifted her attention to the Black guards lining the wall behind the columns. They remained steadfast in their duties, equally spaced apart and as motionless as the statues themselves, not a one sparing her so much as a glance out of fear of the repercussions.
“My, my, aren’t you looking spry this morning,” Gaia commented as she neared their thrones. “You would think a young lady as busy as yourself would be exhausted.”
Maya kept her mouth shut knowing better than to comment on that sort of statement. Instead she dropped into her curtsy and held it. “My lords, my lady.”
She kept it low with her head dropped just like Gaia had showed her, ignoring the pain running in waves over her entire back. It was excruciating, but she held on, awaiting their permission to rise out of it, determined not to give them the satisfaction of knowing just how bad she was hurting.
“Well I am impressed,” Kai said smugly. He rose from his throne and headed down the stairs. Maya cringed as his hand moved down her spine and came to rest on the laces of her dress. One at a time he began loosening each one. Despite the fear and terror stirring inside her, screaming for her to flee, Maya remained in the low curtsy, eyes locked on the floor below.
Once he had undone the laces, Kai reached down with both hands and pulled open the back of the dress. “Ah, I see. Cheating, are we?”
“No, my lord, I was told not to feed or to drink red formula,” Maya answered quietly. “I was not told I could not to seek medical assistance.”
“She is correct,” Gaia commented, standing and descending the stairs. She joined Kai’s side, investigating the wrapping. Much to her dismay, Gaia reached and pulled down a section of the wrapping, revealing the top of one of the lashes and its stitches. “Patches does very good work. How many stitches are there?”
“I am not sure, my lady,” Maya answered, struggling to maintain her composure amidst the throbbing. “Two whole lashes are stitched closed, as well as parts of the other three.”
“Disappointing,” Aziel said, following his wife to the bottom of the stairs, “it seems even when he needs to the most, the Enforcer still doesn’t possess the capability of using restraint.” Aziel stood over her shaking his head for a few moments before finally giving the order she was desperate to hear. “Rise.”
Never had she been so happy to hear the sound of his voice. Carefully she rose, taking her time to straighten each muscle in her back until she finally stood upright before the three of them. “Thank you, my lord.”
“Don’t thank me,” Aziel commented, donning his typical evil smirk. “I voted for ten lashes, remember?” He paced around behind her looking her over from top to bottom. “However, let’s get to the issue that really brought you here today.” He turned over his shoulder and motioned to one of the guards. “Bring her forward.”
Puzzled, Maya watched as the man quickly disappeared into a wall behind the thrones. Surprised, Maya tilted her head, trying to figure out how she had not managed to see it before. I wonder if Jarod knows about that. But she did not have much time to ponder the thought as the man reappeared dragging a badly beaten Jade from its confines.
The woman was bound in chains and her dress ripped to shreds. Every inch of her body read like a road map of the misery and torture that she had been forced to endure during the night. Maya did her best to keep her face straight and emotionless, but was forced to use her light to help block the surge of emotions she was suddenly experiencing.
“She says that you inhibited her from preforming her duties last night,” Kai stated, watching her face closely as Jade was lead to stand between them.
Maya looked over at Jade. But Jade refused to meet her gaze, choosing instead to focus her attention on the floor in front of her.
“I did, my lords.”
“And why would you do such a foolish thing?” Gaia asked, seeming amused b
y her honest response.
Maya’s mind scrambled, trying to come up with a solution to this dilemma, not really sure that there was one. It was possible they were only toying with her, stringing her along until they finished both her and Jade off mercilessly. Desperate she decided to appeal to Gaia as a woman, praying it would not land her or Jade in any more trouble than they were already in.
Taking a deep breath she sighed, trying her best to look frustrated over the whole ordeal. “I lost control of my temper for a moment, my lords,” she said nonchalantly. “I had been lashed the day before and was hurting. Then she shows up just as I get to feeling slightly better and the Enforcer asked me to leave the room so she could perform her duty, and … well, I am ashamed to say I snapped.”
“Sounds to me like you should have hit the Enforcer.” Gaia grinned slyly.
“Yes, well given that I have seen him in action, I figured it was safer to hit Jade.” Maya said, smirking back, “But trust me, I would have liked to.”
“That still doesn’t change the fact you stopped her from doing what we sent her to do,” Kai snapped angrily.
“And I would do it again,” she snapped back, the words escaping her.
Emotions ranging from amusement to unbridled hatred spanned the faces of the three of them, who were all staring at her as if she had lost her mind.
“You would do it again?” Aziel repeated almost laughing.
Kai, however, was not taking it so lightly. “Who do you think you are talking to?” he demanded. He stormed toward her, grabbing a fistful of her hair and causing Maya to shriek. “Perhaps another trip the lashing pole will help you remember your place. Or better yet …” Raising his hand high in the air, Kai brought it down as hard as he could onto her inflamed back.
The pain was intense, causing Maya’s knees to buckle underneath her as her scream echoed down the length of the throne room. Kai maintained his tight grasp on her hair, holding her in a kneeling position while she struggled to regain her bearings through the dizzying agony radiating throughout her entire body.
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