Chapter 10

The door opened, and I lifted my head. It was Vera, carrying some toiletries. Her mouth was drawn together and her eyes glowed with pity. She knew what I had gone through. She knew her Lord was a monster.

“Come, Miss. Let me clean you up.”

I nodded and raised my arms for her to lift me. Vera helped me to the bath. The tub was big and golden, like very other thing around here. Steam rose from the water and filled the air with a honey scent. I chuckled as I remember I used to spend so long under the shower back at my place because the water always came in trickles.

Vera placed the basket of toiletries beside the bathtub. “Do you want me to. . ."

"I'll do it myself."

"All right. I'll be behind the curtain."

I sank into the tub and washed semen, sweat and tears off my skin. No matter how much I scrubbed though, I couldn't get the memory of Ronan using me off my mind.

"This is my life now," I told myself after I finished cleaning. "I had to find a way to survive."

I stepped out of the tub and Vera was behind the curtain with a soft, thick towel. I dried myself then she gave me a robe that fit well on my skin.

“Why is he so evil?” I blurted.

"Lord Ronan?"

"Yes, he’s cruel. He used me like a thing, like I'm not even a person. Why?”

Vera's face darkened. “Lord Ronan isn’t evil, Miss. You just don’t know him.”

“I know him well enough. He has whipped me, slipped his cock in my mouth. That's not what good people do."

"Sit let me tell you something about Lord Ronan.

Maybe I was right or wrong it didn’t just matter at this point. Ronan is the man of my dreams.

Sunlight stabbed my closed eyelids, forcing me out of my sleep. I opened my eyes and immediately swuinted. Vera stood by the window with her hands holding the curtain back.

“You’re up late today, Miss,” she said, smiling.

I yawned and stretched. "Yeah, there isn't anything to get up early for."

I had spent a week in Ronan’s house, and nothing much had happened. I had learned to avoid Ronan's punishments. All I had to do was stick close to Vera and stay far away from Caius.

"You told me your old life was stressful. This is an opportunity to relax. Let us take care of you," Vera said.

I rolled my eyes and got off the bed.

“Breakfast is ready. Lord Ronan will be at the table soon."

Vera left the room and I stepped into the shower to freshen up. Within minutes, I put on the blue dress Vera had left on the bed and headed to the dining hall.

The table was set with heaps of food in different dishes. I slid into a chair next to Ronan's throne-like seat. My stomach growled with hunger. I reached for a piece of meat and bit into it.

My nose pooled with Ronan's scent. I looked over my shoulder and saw his approaching the dining table in an all black regal robe. His silver hair was tied to the back and a gleaming chain dangled on his neck. My breath caught in throat as he came closer. He looked as dashing as ever. If only he wasn't such a monster.

I would never forget how he stung me with his whip, how his clamps drove me crazy. It still didn't make sense to me what pleasure he got from inflicting pain on me.

"Good morning, Lord Ronan," I greeted with a gentle bow as Vera had taught me. At this point, I was doing everything to avoid Ronan's whips and clamps.

"Good morning, Lila. Look at you tearing into that meat. You must be so hungry."

I mumbled yes and continued eating. Sometimes I wondered if I was his only toy. There must have been others before me, otherwise he wouldn't have all those sophisticated tools already. But I was curious if there was another toy, if there was person he slipped his cock into their mouths and fucked their breasts.

Ronan sat across me and lifted a wine glass to his mouth. I noticed his eyes were fixed on me.

“Vera says you’re bored,” he said suddenly.

I stiffened. I had only remarked to Vera that I didn't have much to wake up early for. Why did she even tell Ronan? “Umm. . . I just. . ."

"Be free. Speak your mind. You can't see any whips here, can you?"

My grip tightened on the fork. Why was he doing this to me? It was bad enough that he had punished me physically, now he's tormenting with the mental image.

"Say something."

"Yeah. I told Vera I'm bored. There’s literally nothing to do here. I feel so stuck.”

He peered at me and his eyes glinted. I was suddenly afraid he might suggest going to that torture room. He leaned back in his chair and drummed his fingers on the table.

“I’ve arranged something for next week, and you need to start preparing from today. It's a special event. The Dance of the Undead.”

I wanted to ask him what it meant, but he quickly continued. “Special dancers will perform, and I’ll dance with you. It’ll give you something to look forward to.”

I blinked, my fork pausing halfway to my mouth. “Dance with you?” It sounded absurd to me.

"You sound scared." A dark smile stretched his lips.

"I'm not scared. I just don't know what the whole Dance of the Undead thing means."

"Everyone in this kingdom is scared of me. It's okay if you're scared."

A guard burst into the dinning Hall before I could respond.

Ronan's brows knit and his nose flared. "What's wrong?"

“My lord,” he bowed. “A witch is making a new breed of vampires down in the south, and they're coming for our territory."

Ronan’s jaw tightened as he stood. “I'll be back. Need to handle this right away."

The moment Ronan left, I pushed my plate. My appetite had vanished. I had an eerie feeling that Ronan was walking into trouble.