I am locked in my rooms. Helos has ordered it.
Most of the Council, all the warlords, all the kings, are here, in the castle somewhere. And while Iâd like to think he has done it for my safety, I think the only real reason is he thinks I will try to escape.
That I will somehow flee before Issar comes back and Helos can hand him back his prize.
The last time I was locked in, it made me angry, so angry, and this time, it feels so much worse.
I am torn between hurt and betrayal at what Helos has done, and I fear for what will become of me because Issar will return soon enough and the king has made it clear to everyone that he will hand me over.
I spend my days hiding, just like I did when I first arrived. Iâd half-expected Helos to come knocking, but heâs made no attempt to see me, contact me, or acknowledge I even exist.
I havenât seen him since our argument, since he told me that Iâm essentially not worth fighting for, and I donât want to see him.
I donât want to see anyone.
I hate them all, the whole Council, all the warlords, but most of all, I hate him. Helos.
He has played me, manipulated me, tricked me, and somehow, I was stupid enough to believe him, to trust him. To not even see it when it was right in front of me the whole time.
Itâs been three days since Issar left. Three days.
With every minute that goes by, I know my time is running out. Iâm helpless to stop it, helpless to do anything. And when Issar takes me next time, somehow, I know he will be so much crueler than before.
Iâm huddled in the bathroom, in darkness. I donât want a bath, but this room, this space tucked away feels safer than the others. I want to weep, to cry, but I have no tears.
I am empty.
Hollow.
Bereft.
And then I hear it. Shouts.
They echo through the quietness of the hall, the quietness of my room. I freeze, listening, and my fear starts to rise. Fighting.
Someone is outside my rooms, fighting the guards. I canât breathe. I canât move, Iâm frozen to the spot because I know itâs Issar. He is here; heâs going to take me away. Heâs going to hurt me again.
The door to my rooms smashes open and I flinch. There is nowhere for me to hide, nowhere for me to go. I hear the footsteps as they run through, searching for me, and then they are there.
Five of them. Two kings, three warlords.
I shake as I feel their power filling up the air of the room around us. Itâs nothing compared to the power of Helos, but it is enough all the same.
Theyâre drunk. I can smell the alcohol leeching off them. My heart pumps fast and fear is racing through me. I donât need to ask what these men want. I can see it in their eyes already.
One of them grabs at me, and I punch him as hard as I can. I donât care that itâs forbidden; I donât care what the consequences are. I just want him to let me go.
He groans as my fist makes contact with his nose, and then he snarls before hitting me back, sending me flying onto the hard floor. The force knocks my senses out of me, and one of them takes the opportunity to grab me again.
Iâm then dragged by my arms between two of them, through my rooms, past the dead guards as I desperately try to get my feet under me.
They throw me on the stone floor and I groan as I roll over from my side. I donât know what room weâre in, or even what part of the castle.
Thereâs nothing here but an empty fireplace, flickering lanterns, and these men surrounding me.
I watch them from where I lie. I know what theyâre thinking, what theyâre about to do, but the mere thought of it sends chills through me.
One of the warlords kneels down and grabs the top of my dress, and I feel it ripping as I struggle against him.
âLetâs see that beautiful body of yours,â he murmurs as he rips the fabric enough that he can pull it off me.
I cry out, trying to cover myself, but they only laugh. One of them grabs me, holding me up, while another rips off my corset and knickers, and then they push me into the middle so that I am standing naked as they all circle me.
I stand, shivering, my arms covering my breasts, trying not to hyperventilate. Fear is pounding through my blood. Iâm shaking so violently that Iâm not even sure how Iâm actually still standing.
And then one by one they make their move.
A king holds me, pressing his erection through his jeans into my back as his lips trace up my neck. A warlord grabs one of my legs and begins stroking up my skin like heâs never felt anything like it before.
Another gropes my breasts, pinching my nipples so hard I cry out.
The other king undoes his jeans and I look in horror as he pushes his way through to me.
âWe pulled straws, remember?â he states, and the king holding me laughs, forcing me to my knees.
âOpen wide,â the king in front of me says as the one holding me wrenches my jaw open and he rams his dick into my mouth.
I bite down hard. The king roars with pain, hitting me to make me release him.
I cry out, hitting the ground, and I curl up, feeling their desire mingle with rage.
âFucking whore,â one of them shouts, kicking me in the side, and I cry out again.
I try to crawl away, to get away, but one of them grabs my legs, yanking me right back on my stomach in the middle of them again.
âWhere the fuck are you going?â he snarls.
âWhereâs Helos?â I gasp, though I donât know why. He doesnât care for me. He has shown me that enough times now.
âHear what she calls him?â one of the warlords says. âShe doesnât even use his title.â
âI knew he was fucking her,â another warlord replies.
I whimper again. There is no escaping them.
âBy the time weâre done, youâll be so full of us you wonât even think of Helos,â one of the warlords states and they laugh.
Someone grabs me round the head, wrapping his arm around me, pulling me into a headlock. He squeezes so hard I think I might pass out.
He flips me onto my back, and I kick out, digging my hands into his skin, but he only relents enough to let me breathe a little more.
Another grabs one of my legs and pulls it into a near impossible angle. It hurts so much and I cry out in pain, but he doesnât care.
His attention is not on me; itâs on my exposed pussy, and heâs leering, practically drooling, as his hand runs over my thigh. He starts to masturbate himself with his other hand.
The king I didnât bite grabs my breast, squeezing it hard, and then he begins sucking it, playing with it while his knee pins my arm down so I canât fight him off.
The warlord holding my head reaches down and starts tweaking my other nipple. I scream out again. I want them off me. I want them to stop.
Even the creature in me doesnât want this. After the delights of Helos, she doesnât want these weaker men, these lesser men. She wouldnât take over now, even if I begged her.
I shut my eyes as my tears stream down.
There is nothing I can do to stop this. Nothing I can do to fight.
The man on my thigh begins to probe me, jabbing at me, and I kick out at him with my free leg, but the final warlord grabs it, yanking it hard so that my legs are now spread fully apart and I am held down completely.
The man jabbing at me plunges his finger in, and I try to move, to throw them off, but they hold me so tight I canât even struggle.
All I can hear are their groans, the sounds of their lips on me. All I can feel is them violating almost every part of my body.
I want to be sick, I want to scream out, to fight, but the arm around my head is so tight that I canât move.
I canât do anything.
And then I feel it. His aura. His power. He is here.
His face is almost monstrous in his fury. I gasp as I see him in the doorway. He looks around at all of us and I whimper before I can stop myself.
âKing Helos,â a warlord says and we can all hear the hint of panic in his voice.
They spring off me. All of them, except the man holding my head.
Helos narrows his eyes, growling, as he steps in, moving closer.
I donât want him to see me like this. I donât know why I think that, but for some reason, that is what I focus on. My legs are where they left them, splayed, contorted round to almost right angles.
Iâm too scared to move, too paralyzed by fear.
âGet off her,â Helos orders, but the man holding me gives a low rumble of a laugh instead of obeying.
He is too deep into his desire, too deep into his lust for me, for Helos to have any effect on him now.
He leans over me, his lips right up against my nipple, his eyes on the raging king before him. âWeâre having a party, King Helos, wonât you join us?â he murmurs before his lips latch on and he sucks at my breast.
I cry out, screwing my face up in disgust.
Helos launches himself at him. He throws him off me and they land with a crash. And then Helos is on his feet within seconds, holding what looks like a dagger, and even in the poor candlelight, I can see the bright red blood.
I gasp, scooting away, moving away from all of them, and curl my knees up.
There is nowhere to hide in this room. Nowhere that feels safe.
Helos glances at me and then turns to look at the other men.
âIt was just a bit of fun,â one of the kings protests.
âSheâs a fucking siren. She wanted it,â one of the warlords adds, and Helos snarls, losing it completely.
I cover my eyes with my arms, turning away from it. I donât want to see. I donât want to watch, though the creature in me is fixated.
This man, this king, is killing for us now, and she has never been more turned on in her life. I curse her in silence and I keep my eyes shut until there is no other sound than that of his footsteps as he walks toward me.
âKera,â he says quietly, but I donât look up.
I am shamed.
Naked and abused by those men.
I donât want him to look at me. I donât want him to see me.
He pulls his cloak off and wraps it around my shoulders, and I gasp, looking up before I can stop myself. His eyes are filled with concern, and I look away. I donât want to see it. I donât want to believe it.
He picks me up gently and wraps his cloak carefully to conceal my nakedness. I can feel the thick fur of it against my skin, and after all the filth that is on me, it feels so comforting.
I close my eyes and breathe him in. I can almost believe it in this moment that he does care.
He carries me through the castle back to my rooms and then gently he puts me down on the couch.
I look up at him, but he just shakes his head slightly and leaves, shutting the door.
And I am all alone again.