Chapter 11: Chapter 11

SILVER

Storm stands from the nest of red to stalk around his spacious den until I see him open a closet in the middle of the right wall. I have never seen this one opened before.

My eyes widen when the two doors swing aside to show the interior. Belts of all kinds, whips, ropes, and chains hang inside.

I gulp from my position, and while he is distracted with his back to me, I quickly contact Elena.

~“You need to get out of this territory,”~ I warn her. ~“Storm saw into my head. I convinced him not to kill you. He will punish you, though. Leave. Your idea failed monstrously.”~

~“I may not be able toooo,”~ the Rogue connects with me. Elena barely sounds conscious, and she almost sounds drunk.

~“I ate these weird berries, little silly sil—silver.~

~“Silly little boy gave them to me, lured me in. Kicks picked them, purple and blue and soooo shiny and new. I’m not feeling so good or quite…wow…so bright…are these your friends…let me say hi!”~

She laughs and speaks so damn loudly through my head I physically wince.

I don’t understand what she’s said until I realize… What boy would feed some hallucinogenic berries to a Rogue to incapacitate her? What boy would have that intention?

And that one line Elena used… “Kicks picked them”?

Kix.

“Oh, no,” I whisper and jump from the bed, feeling a little off as I stand, looking frantically for some clothes, only to see Storm turn to me with silver chains wrapped around his fists and dangling and dragging along the floor.

I pause and eye him suspiciously.

“The silver chains aren’t for you; don’t worry, pet,” Storm murmurs with a raised brow. “At least not ~these~ particular ones…

“And with how weak and small you are now, restraints aren’t even required for me to fuck you… I promise, very soon.”

Storm tilts his head, his mouth curling up in a half smile as I stiffen my back from his words.

“Don’t look so shocked, poor pipsqueak. I’ll make sure you stay still. Completely still. We wouldn’t want to open that wound on your shoulder now, would we?

“Cover up, stay warm… I have a bat to catch.”

“Bat?” I ask, and as I look into his golden-burned gaze, I see the image of his meaning with Heart Knowledge.

~Rogues.~

“Stay,” Storm smirks, and considering he was very angry just moments ago, I am alarmed by his humor now. “Little mate…stay…”

He nods to me until I sit back down on the red nest, while his hand reaches behind him and closes the cupboard with the various belts, ropes, and chains. Storm now passes me a deadly wink.

“Don’t be alarmed, little Silver. I am happy…because…through all this, I clearly broke your heart. Which means at one stage you truly did give it to me.”

“You are twisted,” I murmur. “And you are wrong. I hate you more than anything. Believe me, I do.”

“That’s a thin, ~thin~ line; it always is.” Storm decides to just keep his chest bare, and he now waltzes toward the wagon door, which I know will disappear once he exits.

“Wait.” I hold up my hand.

“Answer me this. Am I still your student? Because I feel more like a…toy for your entertainment.

“With the way you throw me aside when you’ve had enough of me talking…or you’ve had enough of just looking at me…or interacting with me. Yet now, you wish to ~sleep~ with me soon?

“Fucking seems to be more of a priority to you than bonding emotionally.”

“I wasn’t aware mates had another purpose.” Storm halts by the door with his chained hand wrapped around the doorknob.

“You will always be my Student of Feeling…and I have many lessons to teach you.” He looks at me over his shoulder.

“Once you learn, you will yield to all I say without hesitation. And now, you will stay in your room.”

“Because I am too young to wander this camp?” I call out needlessly as he opens the door and prepares to exit.

Storm, for once, glances back at me one last time.

“No. Because you are, apparently, a needy, whiny mate that needs to be fucked until she smiles again…without having to injure herself to grab my attention…

“Of all your ideas and silly little plans you think of, Silver… Today you showed me just how naive you are. I pushed you away to give you time.

“Even if you’re still not ready, clearly you can’t survive on your own. So, I ~will~ keep you as a fuck toy until you grow another fit purpose…”

Storm turns, and as he leaves me dumbfounded, I see Drax and his friends appear just in time on the outskirts of the grass by the wagon door…and Drax’s eyes are wide.

Because he heard Storm’s parting words to me.

The door locks and disappears right before, in a rush of golden magic, I see particles and mist swirl to solidify before me. The bath appears, filled to the brim with hot water…and rose petals.

I stand naked, grinding my teeth in frustration as I see the luring bathtub.

Elena is poisoned.

I am trapped with no door to exit the cabin.

I am effectively nothing but a soon-to-be sex slave to a Legend with twisted morals.

But at least the bath will soothe my injuries.

“Shadow in the Sky…more like breaker of hearts,” I murmur as I think of the Healer’s words.

She was correct, and she shocked Storm with her words, yet he seems proud of it now.

My heart aches as I take a step into the hot bathtub and fall into the warmth of the sparkling liquid.

Golden water that licks with flames. As I sink into it, my bruised muscles heal, and my shoulder…as it slowly sinks below…starts to seal.

The stitches pull out on their own, and it is painless. Any dirt or grime that enters the water is diminished until the water is clear again. The string of the stitches burns up ~in~ the water.

The rose petals tickle my body while the liquid seems to move on its own, massaging my skin. My breasts tingle, and I gasp as the massaging water starts to affect other intimate areas on my body.

The bastard is distracting me.

It feels so good I almost forget about my own objectives.

~Shit.~

Kix! Elena!

~“Kix, are you okay?”~ I call out to him in a panic as I stand out of the water and jump out of the evil tub.

~“I missed you, Silver. I’m so glad you’re back. Guess what? I caught a monster, I caught one!”~ Kix screams back to me in excitement.

~“I called Storm over; he’s coming now. He said he’ll chain her up to a post like a dog in retribution for Joel’s death and in punishment for hurting you. Are you okay now?~

~“You’re safe. I told you, Silver; I told you I’d keep you safe.”~

~“She is my f—friend…sort of. Please, please don’t hurt her too bad,”~ I try to explain to Kix, but all I get is a wave of misunderstanding and boyish angst in return.

~“How can you say that?”~ Kix is so angry he cuts me out of the mind-link.

I am surprised by the power he holds to do such a thing, and I stand and heat my body with my magic to dry myself.

Once dry, I slip into the red covers again, finally healed and fresh. I wrap myself in a red blanket and lean my head against the wall, sighing loudly.

“Why…?” I whisper. “Why am I excited for ~him~ to come back?” I am so unsure of myself.

Storm has hurt me for so long.

Now he is about to chain up a Rogue to avenge me.

And even though I hate Elena for hurting me…my gosh, I don’t believe in torturous punishments.

“Hey, little Silver?” I hear a distant call, and my eyes snap open… It’s Drax, and I hear a distant knocking too.

Before I know it, the door that vanishes upon Storm’s command appears and is opened up once again.

“What do you want?” I call out when I see Drax’s red eyes gazing in at me, with Julian and Kai at his back. I notice the magic bath is now gone in a wisp of smoke.

“How are you feeling?” Drax slyly takes a dress out from behind his back, and I see it is a brand-new, shiny purple one. Satin.

“I’m fine,” I call out, narrowing my eyes at the dress he holds.

“We’re certainly glad your pretty face is back in camp,” Drax jokes as he winks and jumps up into the wagon, followed by a waving Julian and an impatient Kai.

“He’s been hell without you here.” Kai glares at me. “Storm’s been one pain in the ass crack—”

“Worse than that,” Julian murmurs while Drax waltzes right up to me and carelessly throws me the dress so it lands over my head and covers my face.

I snatch it down and hold it into the blankets as I glare at them and wait for them to explain themselves.

“I’m not in the mood for company,” I growl.