Sold to Serve by Kyra Alessy

Chapter 13

At first, Kora had been afraid they were going to begin prying into her past and making her tell them the truth about everything, but then Kade began to massage her opposite shoulder at her question and she saw a look pass between him and Mace. Perhaps they weren’t here for an interrogation …

‘Remember what I told you about Dark Brothers before?’ Kade murmured.

‘I think so. You – you share women sometimes,’ she said haltingly.

‘Yes. Would you enjoy that, Kora?’

‘I-I don’t know,’ she admitted. ‘I’ve never considered such a thing before.’

‘We’ll stop if you don’t like it, but would you like to try?’ Mace asked, his hand trailing down her calf lightly. He delved under her skirt slowly, giving her ample time to resist him.

She didn’t say anything, but both of their hands on her was doing strange things to her body. She was intrigued, more than intrigued, but two of them? How did two men share a woman?

‘You must say the words aloud,’ Kade murmured, bending down to her, his tongue darting out to lick the pulse at her neck.

‘Yes,’ she moaned. ‘I want to try.’ She closed her eyes in embarrassment. ‘But I don’t know how,’ she confessed. They must think her so provincial.

They both chuckled.

‘Let us worry about that.’ Mace laughed. ‘First things first, though.’

He deftly undid the dress’s silken bodice laces and pulled it apart gently as Kade eased the gown from her shoulders, kissing and nibbling the skin that was revealed at her back. She was pulled to her feet, the candle on the table flickering. She could just make out the Brothers in the dim light, but they were blurry. The dress was pulled away from her, leaving her naked before them both.

Suddenly feeling anxious, she folded her arms over her breasts and shivered.

‘If you want us to stop, tell us,’ Kade whispered behind her, his hands caressing her arms. When she said nothing, he eased her arms up, stretching them to loop her fingers behind his neck. ‘Leave them there,’ he instructed, his breath tickling her shoulder. The order made her shiver anew, though for an entirely different reason.

He kissed her neck, his hands sliding down to her breasts. He weighed them, pinching the hard peaks between his fingers gently, and she shifted with a gasp. Then he lifted them, offering them to his Brother. Her eyes widened further as she watched Mace watching her and Kade, taking in every movement.

He leant forward, his gaze never leaving hers, and took a proffered nipple into his mouth. He bit it and sucked gently, his tongue lapping in gentle strokes that made her boneless. His hand plucked at the other one, rolling the tip in his fingers.

She sagged against Kade with a whimper, knees trembling. Mace continued to play with her breasts and, with his other hand, cupped the apex of her thighs roughly, making her rise onto her toes with a cry. He gave her a dark smile that promised all manner of devilish delights.

Delving between her legs, he began to rub that part of her that both Brothers seemed to know felt so pleasurable. His mouth left her breasts. He fell to his knees and began licking her core instead, taking one of her legs and resting it on his shoulder to open her wider for him. She squirmed and twisted at the sensation of his mouth on her most intimate part, and she felt Kade’s hold on her tighten, keeping her in position for Mace.

The control he had over her physical body made her breath quicken and excited her to no end. Why did she enjoy this so? She’d always been fiercely independent, much to her father’s frustration. Ugh! She would not think of him; he would not ruin this! She turned away from her thoughts and focused on what was happening in front of her. Here. Now.

Kade sat down on the bed, taking her with him and settling her on his lap, where she felt the large bulge in his breeches. He took her legs, bent at the knees, and spread them wide. She caressed his face behind her and turned her head to kiss him, passion bubbling over within her like a hot spring. Mace followed them, burying his face between her legs to lick and suck, one of his fingers suddenly thrusting into her channel.

She bucked and twisted and Kade tutted, taking both her legs over one arm and using the other to give her a hard smack on her arse. She yelped in pain, then noticed him pull a small bottle from his person and pour something onto his fingers.

‘What is that?’

‘Oil.’

‘What for?’

He grinned slyly and lifted her slightly, slipping his hand between them. Then she felt his hand at her back passage, rubbing it and using the oil to ease in a finger to the first knuckle even as Mace continued his ministrations without faltering. She tensed, her head whipping around to look at him as she tried and failed to move her body away from his invasion. He looked amused.

‘No!’ she whispered in shock.

‘Don’t worry. I’m not going to put my cock there tonight. Don’t resist and you’ll enjoy it more.’

His finger continued to slip in and out of her gently and she found he was right; as she relaxed into the feeling, it was more pleasant. His finger began to go deeper and she bit back a cry. Mace’s one finger became two as his tongue danced over her bud over and over again. His fingers began to hasten, deepening and stretching her, and Kade suddenly added another digit as well. It was too much! She arched with a cry as she was suddenly consumed by sheer, pulsating light. Her legs shook as her insides were pulled taut by pleasurable wave after pleasurable wave, her hips undulating of their own accord.

Their hands left her and she was moved so that she was lying on the bed on her back, her head hanging from the edge. Mace knelt between her legs. He eased himself into her slowly this time, groaning as his cock stretched her. He gripped her legs and put them around his waist as he began to thrust into her leisurely.

Kade caressed her face and she saw that he’d freed himself as well. Her mouth formed an O when she realised where he meant to put it, but she didn’t defy him. In truth she was enthralled. She watched him, wishing his face wasn’t so hazy so that she could see his reactions as she took him into her mouth, sucking on his cock and using her tongue as Mace had just done to her.

Kade gave a groan and gripped her hair, using it to keep her in place as he gradually thrust deeper. He took her mouth in the same fashion as Mace, slowly and easily, playing with her breasts as he pushed into her. He made her eyes water, but he wasn’t rough with her, only firm, and she found that though he might push her, she enjoyed it immensely. She liked the power he was exerting over her, but she also felt strong in her own right. She began to run her tongue along his length as it moved in and out of her mouth in a slow, languid rhythm and was rewarded by his growl of enjoyment.

And, all at once, the ripples of pleasure broke over her again, her cries muffled by Kade as her legs wrapped around Mace, urging him closer and deeper into her. He followed with the groan of his own release, gripping her hips hard as he spent himself inside her. Kade began to thrust deeply into her mouth. Throwing his head back, he gave a sudden roar, his cock spilling rivulets down her throat. Not sure what else to do, she swallowed his seed and he pulled himself from her mouth, caressing her face and using his thumbs to wipe her wet cheeks. They both kissed her and then silently tucked her between them. She sighed contentedly and closed her eyes, feeling, for the first time in her life, completely secure.

In the night, she woke and for a horrible moment thought that she was completely blind once more, but then she noticed the candle burning very low and heaved a sigh of relief. She wondered what had woken her. On one side of her, Kade slept deeply. She watched his blurred features for a moment as she hadn’t yet dared to in the day, easing closer to where her eyes worked better. His soft, dark mane of hair was plaited away from his face, and she could see that the scar that marred his complexion travelled down the side of his neck faintly and under his shirt. She hadn’t seen him without clothes, but she had felt the scar and knew it ran down at least to his chest, though she hadn’t yet explored further. She wondered if he was perhaps self-conscious about it and vowed that she would pay particular attention to his burns next time to ensure he knew that their existence made no odds to her.

As she reached up to touch his face gently, Mace groaned behind her. She turned slowly and found him lying on his back, eyes gleaming in the flicker of the lone candle, and staring at the ceiling. She squinted up, but there was nothing there that she could make out.

‘Mace?’ she asked softly.

No response. He must be dreaming. His face contorted in pain as she looked on and his body jolted, his mouth opening as if to scream, but no sound came forth. He closed his eyes but began to thrash his arms and legs, struggling, all the while muttering the same word, ‘No … No … No … No … No …’

She shook him. ‘Mace. Mace. Wake up. Mace!’

He shot out of the bed with a gasp and was in a fighting stance immediately, frantically inspecting the room as if he expected his enemies to lurk in the shadows.

‘Mace?’ she said softly from the bed.

When he caught sight of her, he visibly relaxed, the tension leaving him immediately.

‘I’m sorry … I have dreams sometimes.’

‘I know.’ She grimaced. ‘You had one that night …’ She trailed off.

‘I’m sorry. I should have warned you. Was that when you left?’

‘No.’ She smiled ruefully. ‘I cuddled and cooed at you like a babe until you were calm.’

He shook his head in disbelief. ‘After what I had done?’

Her cheeks heated. ‘My motives were selfish. I was afraid that the guards would come and you’d let them … use me.’

‘Oh, Kora.’ He rubbed a hand over his face. ‘I’m sorry. I know I threatened it, but I’d never ever have done such a thing. Please believe me.’

‘It’s in the past. Let’s not speak of it again.’ She smiled tightly and patted the coverlet next to her. ‘I have bad dreams too.’

He came back to bed and kissed her, letting her rest her head on his chest as Kade snored quietly next to them. ‘What are yours?’ he asked, his voice low.

She closed her eyes. ’Sometimes I’m being stolen from my bed to be sold in the market. You’re never there. Only the other man who wanted me that day. The one with the green tunic, remember?’

She felt him nod.

‘Other times the monster is chasing me over the hillside or I fall in the well and there’s something in there with me that I can’t escape. It’s silly, but they feel so real sometimes. It’s terrifying.’ She shivered. ‘And you?’

It was a long time before he spoke. ‘It was before we left the Army,’ he began quietly. ‘We were to travel through the breach to Kade’s home realm. But as we were going through the passageway connecting our worlds, something happened. I found out later that the tunnel collapsed. When I woke, I was alone. I was in a dungeon in a dark realm.’

She put her arm around his middle. ‘Go on.’

‘All of my nightmares are of that place. Part of my mind seems trapped there. Sometimes I think I’ll never escape.’

‘What happened there?’ she asked, feeling useless because she couldn’t help him.

‘Many things I can’t begin to speak of,’ he said. ‘Worse things than even a man like me could ever imagine. I was tortured in so many ways for so long. I broke so many times.’

Kora’s chest ached for him. ‘How did you get away?’ she asked, wishing she could take this pain from him.

‘I don’t know. I woke up in a village near to a portal in this world. I was near death. It took me a long time to get well. I returned to the Army and learned that the bridge between our world and Kade’s had been destroyed. He can never go back to his home. I shouldn’t have been able to return from there either. Yet here I am.’

Kora stared at him for a while in silence, unable to imagine what he must have gone through. ‘I’m glad you were able to come back,’ she said finally.

Mace closed his eyes with a sigh, pulling her to him in the darkness as they fell back to sleep.

In the morning,she was still in Mace’s arms with Kade at her back. She smiled drowsily, opened her eyes and was met with the ceiling. Not just light and shadow, but actual stone with colour and depth. Wide awake in an instant, she let out a little squeal of joy. Both men jerked up, Kade falling to the floor with a thud and a groan.

‘What is it?’ Mace yawned.

‘I can see!’ she cried, tears coming to her eyes. ‘My sight has come back.’

Mace grinned and hugged her to him. Kade picked himself up and copied him.

‘Is it the same as it was before?’

She looked around the room. ‘It’s a bit blurry, but I can see all the colours and the textures and the sky …’ She couldn’t stop smiling as she relaxed between them.

Kade entwined his fingers with hers, kissing her cheek.

She smiled as she looked up at him a little self-consciously, remembering where he’d had his fingers the night before. Catching sight of the bottle of oil he’d produced last night, her brow furrowed.

‘Do you carry that around with you?’ she asked, pointing to the little brown bottle. ‘Or did you bring it by design?’

He smiled cheekily. ‘No, it was in my chamber.’

‘Oh. Do you do this with women quite frequently?’ she asked, feeling a small pang that she didn’t want to examine too closely.

He shrugged. ‘No, not for a long while. I keep it because Lucian and I sometimes … spend time together.’

‘Oh!’ She tried and failed not to appear surprised. Her uncle enjoyed the company of other men sometimes, but … She wrinkled her nose. ‘Lucian? Really?’

Kade gave her a pointed look that made her think that she’d offended him, but when he spoke, there was no anger in his tone. ‘There’s more to him than meets the eye,’ he explained calmly. ‘Like the two of us, he has his moments, but he’s not all bad.’ He kissed her again.

Kora didn’t say anything else about Lucian to them. There was clearly something about all of them that drew her in. They were strong and powerful and each was beautiful and intelligent in his own right. They had all struck her as cruel and callous when she’d first met them – and perhaps they still were. But things had begun to shift and she wasn’t sure if it was the men who had changed or if it was simply that she knew them better. Kade and Mace weren’t as cold and apathetic as she’d thought them to be at first.

But Lucian was different. His moods changed with the wind and he could seemingly whip between cruel and kind in a moment. His confusing nocturnal visits to her room to comfort her aside, she’d been on the receiving end of such malice that she wasn’t sure he could put it right even if he wanted to. Her sight had come back, but what if it hadn’t? Could she have ever forgiven such a thing, even if unintentionally done? She didn’t know. Could she ever trust a man like Lucian enough to do the things that she’d done with the others? She snorted. Like as not he’d stab her as he cuddled her to see how much she’d bleed.

The men left her in bed, saying they’d meet her in the library for a morning meal. She’d smiled at that, but once they’d gone, she wondered what would become of her now that she could see again. Would it be back to the kitchens for her? She frowned, her good spirits waning. Would they continue to expect the back-breaking labour that had been demanded since her escape during the day while seeking their pleasures with her at night? If anything, she wouldn’t have a moment’s rest. Perhaps, now that she was well, it was time to reconsider her escape though the thought of leaving them now left her feeling sick.

She dressed in the crimson silk dress, which looked as beautiful as it had felt next to her skin, and made her way from her room to the library without the use of the rope for the first time. Gods, it felt good to have some measure of independence back.

She opened the door to find Lucian sitting with his eyes closed by the cold hearth in one of the more comfortable chairs, goblet on the table next to him as usual. He looked awful! His face was a mass of yellowing bruises and one wrist was bandaged. He sat in an odd position, as if in pain. Kade must have beaten him very badly if he still looked like this days later.

She almost turned on her heel and walked straight out again as she remembered their last meeting. She swallowed hard as she thought about his kiss and then she forced herself to step into the room, pushing her feelings away and trying to appear indifferent to him. She would not flee like a frightened mouse.

There was a pile of sweet buns on a plate in the middle of the table. She took one, ripping it apart to eat the sugary middle first as she walked to the window to take in the sunny view of the vale that she’d sorely missed. When she glanced back at him, his eyes were following her.

‘They told me your sight has returned.’ He looked almost relieved.

‘Yesterday,’ she conceded.

He took a long drink. She’d heard the supply wagons finally delivering from the village early this morning and she wondered whether it was water or wine in his cup.

‘Tell me something about you that I don’t know,’ she said suddenly, finding she wanted to look at his face while he talked. All the other times he’d spoken to her at length, she’d been unable to look into his eyes.

He snorted. ‘There are many things about me that you don’t know.’

‘Then it should be an easy task.’

He eyed her and then gave a long-suffering sigh. ‘Very well.’ He was quiet for a moment. ‘Do you remember the sister I told you of?’

‘Yes. Your only family.’

‘In truth she was simply another gutter orphan, but I loved her like a sister.’

Kora stole another bun from the table and sat in the other chair beside him. ‘Loved?’

‘She’s dead. At least I think she is. There’s no way to know.’ He looked into the empty hearth, his mind suddenly far away. ‘Two years ago, before we left the Brothers, we were given a mission to enter the Dark Realm where Kade hails from.’ He shook his head slowly. ‘I don’t even remember the specifics it was such a trivial matter. We got there and found a group of humans ready to be sent over the bridge as slaves. My sister, Lori, was one of them. I couldn’t believe it, but it was her. I saw her just as she went through the portal. She’d been captured on one of the northern roads, I suppose. I hadn’t seen her since I’d joined the Army, but I thought of her often, sent her letters after I learned to write.’ He took a long breath. ‘We entered the passage, but it collapsed. When we woke, Mace had disappeared. Most of the captured free-folk were dead. The gate was … gone. There was just a chasm in the rock where it had been. That was the first portal collapse. Since that time there have been six more.’

‘Six? Why?’

‘No one knows, but there are seven realms closed to ours now.’

Kora tilted her head. ‘And your sister?’

‘I never found her. My hope is that she died in the tunnel before she reached the other side.’

Her eyes widened at his admission. ‘You’d rather she was dead?’

‘Better that than a slave in a dark realm.’

‘I’m sorry,’ she said. All of them had been through such torment. She couldn’t fathom it.

He gave her a quizzical smile. ‘You are, aren’t you? Even after everything.’

She shrugged and changed the subject. ‘Mace told me about the dungeon.’

‘Did he?’ Lucian looked surprised.

‘He didn’t talk about anything specific, only that there were horrors that I could never grasp. Do you know more?’

‘No. He’s never spoken to me, but,’ Lucian paused before continuing, ‘judging from his nightmares and the state of him when he came back, I’d guess rape and torture.’

‘Gods,’ Kora breathed. ‘In one moment, all three of your lives were forever changed.’

‘Indeed,’ Lucian replied, taking another gulp.

She couldn’t help but ask. ‘Are you drinking water or wine today? I know the supplies are here.’

‘Ah, ah, ah, Kora,’ he tutted. ‘You’ve had your question. Now it’s my turn.’

She gave him an unsurprised glare. ‘So this is your game. You mean to get the truth out of me with trickery.’

He grinned roguishly. ‘It’s your game, my dear, not mine.’

She ignored the endearment, though it made her heart beat a little faster, as she thought of what she could tell him that wouldn’t give her away. Her gaze fell on the beloved harp, now lying on the table. ‘Playing the harp brings me a joy unlike any other. But until yesterday, I hadn’t picked one up nor even seen one for nigh on twelve winters.’

‘Why not?’ asked Lucian, visibly intrigued.

‘Because one night my father decided I was being difficult and stubborn and he threw it in the fire.’ She smiled faintly. ‘I burnt my hand trying to get it out before they pulled me away. Then he forbade me from ever playing again.’

Lucian looked thoughtful. ‘Not very close to your father, then?’

She smiled in spite of herself. ‘No.’

The door opened and Davas entered. He strode forward and enveloped her in a great hug. ‘Mace told me! I’m so glad your sight’s come back, child,’ he said warmly, ‘but I’m afraid that Kade and Mace won’t be able to join you this morning now.’ He looked at Lucian. ‘The thieves’ trail has been found. They want you with them today.’

‘Of course,’ Lucian drawled with his token arrogance. ‘I am the better tracker. If I’d been with them yesterday, they’d never have lost the trail in the first place.’ He stood slowly, stiffly, and Kora didn’t miss the pain that flitted over his features.

‘Surely you aren’t well enough to go,’ she blurted out before she could think better of it.

Something hard flitted across his face but it was gone before she could understand what it was. ‘You sound concerned.’

‘I am. If you hurt yourself further, I’ll never have the library to myself,’ she said dryly.

He laughed. ‘Say what you will, Kora,’ he said and winked at her, ‘you’d be bereft without my company.’ He gave a courtly bow and, with a very Lucianesque flourish, he was gone.

She found herself left alone, mulling over all that Lucian had divulged to her. She grabbed his goblet off the table and took a sip. Water. Curious.

For the rest of the morning, Kora waited for the Brothers to return. She read and played the harp. She even came across the estate’s account books and, finding them in utter disarray, spent some time sorting out the figures for them as the Brothers clearly needed help in this area. But, when that was done as well, she still couldn’t seem to relax. She couldn’t understand it. Perhaps it was some pent-up energy from being confined and inactive for so many days. She went to the kitchens to see if Davas needed help.

As soon as she entered, she could see something wasn’t right. The cook was pale and his gaze unfocused as he hunched over the table, a large ball of dough in front of him. He was kneading a small piece, making the many fresh boules for the dinner tonight. He worked the dough slowly, weakly, and stopping frequently to wipe his brow.

‘Davas? What’s wrong?’ she asked in worry.

He blinked and gave a groan. ‘I get megrims sometimes.’

She tutted. ‘You need rest,’ she admonished, but he waved her away.

‘I can’t. There’s work to be done.’

She took his hand. ‘Please, Davas, you don’t look well at all. Tell me what must be done and I will do it.’

He swore under his breath as he typically did. ‘Ach! Very well, lass, but only because this truly is the worst one I’ve had in many a season.’

He gave her some brief directions before staggering from the kitchens, scoffing when she asked if he needed her help to get to his bed. ‘I’ve been in over twenty campaigns with the Brothers,’ he boasted, his speech slurred. ‘I can make it to my bed with a headache, girl.’

She smiled after him. He was a sweet man really. He was the sort of father she’d wished for when she was a child.

After he’d gone, Kora pottered about, finishing the bread and leaving the boules to rise under a cloth until it was time for them to be baked on the hot stones that lined the hearth. It was so odd to think that a few weeks ago she hadn’t known how to do any of these things. She tidied the kitchen and chopped the vegetables for the nightly stew, making sure all was ready so that there would be a meal even if Davas was still unwell later that day.

She was just finishing when she heard shouts from the yard that usually heralded the Brothers’ return to the keep, and her heart stuttered. She went out of the kitchen door and stood on the steps, watching the frenzy before her. She shivered. The weather had turned over the past couple of days. It had suddenly got colder, the winds bringing a northern bite that had her thinking she would need much warmer clothes soon.

At the prospect of the Brothers’ imminent arrival, she felt giddy. Happy. And yet there was an underlying terror that at any moment the bubble would burst and things would return to how they’d been before the flowers; that they would suddenly decide she was simply a house slave who warmed their beds.

She watched what was going on from her vantage point. The Brothers had only taken half the men, so there were about ten still going about their work as usual, fixing the keep, shoring up the stone battlements and such.

Her eyes narrowed as men on horseback began to enter the yard. They weren’t the Brothers and their men, but two-dozen or so soldiers that she didn’t recognise. She zeroed in on the one who was obviously the leader with his blossom-white horse, emblazoned riding cloak and regal bearing. Then he turned and she could see his face, and her blood ran cold.

‘Slave.’

She tore her eyes away and found – Yorn, was it? – in front of her at the bottom of the steps.

‘I have a name,’ she muttered, glancing back to the lord in the yard.

‘Kora, then,’ he said impatiently. ‘The noble there wants refreshment for himself and his men.’

‘But Davas is ill in bed.’

‘Well, then you’ll have to serve them, unless you’re too high and mighty now you’re fucking the lords of the keep,’ he sneered.

Only a few days ago she would have stepped back and allowed herself to be spoken to in such a way, but something had changed in her. She felt more like her old self, or maybe her patience had run dry. Perhaps it was because of the Brothers, perhaps not, but she found she didn’t much care as she descended the steps and faced him, though she was a head shorter.

Her lip curled as she stared into his face. ‘Who I’m fucking is no concern of yours unless I was fucking you, which I’m not and never will be.’

His hands came up in front of him in surrender. ‘Alright, alright. I know my place. No need for a kerfuffle, lass, but they won’t go until their lord has seen the Brothers.’

‘But the Brothers aren’t here,’ she hissed.

‘Aye, he knows. He wants to wait for ’em, he says.’

‘But – ’

‘They outnumber us,’ he interrupted, giving her a meaningful look. ‘I’ve heard enough of this one to know that he will not take kindly to being asked to delay his business.’

She turned back to look at this lord. Yes, it was definitely him – the man in the green tunic who’d touched her and wanted to buy her that day in Kingway. She gritted her teeth. ‘Take him to the hall, then. Only him. Have his men stay in the yard.’ She turned to go, then stopped as an idea came to her. ‘Is there ale or mead?’

‘Aye. Both now.’

‘Good. Ply them with it, especially the mead, but drink only water yourselves.’

Yorn gave her a probing look and she thought she saw some respect for her that hadn’t been there before.

She shrugged. ‘It’s just in case,’ she said cryptically as she returned to the kitchen to cobble together some refreshments for a man who made her skin crawl. She hoped the Brothers would be back soon, because she had a very bad feeling.

* * *

A wild goose chase. That’s what this was, Kade thought as he watched Lucian limping around, looking at marks and tracks, broken sticks and a pile of horse shit on the sun-dappled track through the forest on the east road.

His Brother caught his eye and shook his head. ‘There’s too much here. This road is well-travelled. Anyone could have left these.’ He pulled himself back up onto his mount, the pain his bruised body was giving him visible in his strained features.

‘Then we go back to the keep and wait for them to resurface,’ Mace said.

Kade swore as he brought his skittish horse alongside the other two. ‘How can these … these fucking thieves hide from us so well? They must have a hiding place close by.’

Lucian nodded thoughtfully. ‘But to find it without help would take too long. Perhaps someone in the village will know of a cave or some such.’

‘The village,’ Kade spat, ‘is full of turncoats. They’ll tell us nothing.’ He shook his head. ‘In my realm no lowly villagers would dare go against their lords, because they’d find their children’s heads on spikes outside their door in the morning.’

Mace threw up his hands. ‘If you want to charge into their homes and behead their children, Brother, please do! But you may find them even less eager to help their “lords” who were part of the Dark Army not too long ago, I should think.’

Kade grunted, knowing Mace was right. They had little enough loyalty from the locals even after two summers here. Trying to build a life out of a practically derelict keep with lands that hadn’t known a strong lord in a very long time, let alone three, had been difficult to say the least. He’d thought the tide was turning in their favour, but now, with these raids … How long before the villages in the area began to heap the blame on their lords’ heads?

‘We should get back to the keep,’ Lucian advised.

Mace snorted. ‘Is that because your ribs ache or because your bollocks do, Brother?’

Kade chuckled in spite of his low mood as Lucian scowled.

‘Has she even spoken to you willingly?’ Mace goaded.

‘She has. Once or twice,’ Lucian said with bravado.

Mace and their men rode on and Kade hung back for a moment. Lucian wasn’t himself. He was clearly torn and Lucian was never more dangerous than when he was in conflict with himself. In the wrong mood, he’d light the world on fire simply to watch it burn.

‘What are you plotting, Brother?’ he asked, taking Lucian’s reins to stop his horse from leaving.

‘Me?’ he asked innocently. ‘After your beating I’m still recovering from, why would you think I’m scheming? I barely have the strength to sit on my horse.’

Kade’s eyes narrowed. ‘I know you better than you know yourself, Lucian. You’ll not hurt her again.’

Lucian made a frustrated noise. ‘Why do you care what I do with her? She’s a devious, pretty little slavegirl. There are a thousand of her! She’s a passing fancy, that’s all.’

* * *

Kade’s eyes transformed to solid black faster than Lucian had ever seen and he leant back in the saddle in case he attacked.

‘No, Brother, she is not,’ he ground out, his voice sounding inhuman. His eyes cleared just as quickly and he took a deep breath. ‘She is our Fourth.’

Lucian could do nothing but gape for a long moment. ‘Our Fourth‽’ he scoffed finally. ‘Do you fucking hear yourself? You’re Dark Realm, through and through. You used to be a warrior whose name was feared throughout this world and beyond. Now look at you; a tamed rabbit sitting on a girl’s knee pleading for whatever titbits of affection she’ll give you.’ He ran a hand through his long hair. ‘Gods, what has she done to you? To both of you?’ His mouth twisted into a sneer. ‘You’re pathetic, you and Mace both.’ He leant forward. ‘And I’ll remind you that a Fourth can only be taken if all of us accept her. I don’t!’

Kade let out a disappointed sigh, let go of Lucian’s horse and was gone, leaving a cloud of dust that had Lucian choking. He swore at his Brother’s back before urging his mount into a canter to catch up to his idiot Brothers.

Every time his horse’s hooves thudded in the dirt, his ribs jarred. He gritted his teeth. His body ached dully practically everywhere. What he wouldn’t give for a barrel of wine to himself. But he needed his mind sharp if he wanted Kora. She was a quick little thing. It would take effort and determination on his part. But he would do it. He had to. The want of her was driving him insane.

And then there was Kade speaking of Fourths. Not only were Fourths so rare that they were practically a myth, but Kade might as well be writing sonnets and declaring his undying love. Mace too. In the short weeks that Kora had been at the keep, both of his Brothers had changed. How had she turned them into these weak creatures? Was she some sort of witch?

Their party neared the keep and he noticed the portcullis open. That wasn’t unusual, but he’d ordered it closed before they left – because she’d tried to escape that way before, not for her safety …

He gripped the reins more tightly. Something wasn’t right, though he couldn’t rightly say what had warned him. Everything but the gate seemed normal, but the others were looking as wary as he felt. They rode through the main entrance in silence and saw that they had visitors. Lucian frowned. How long had they been here and where was Kora?

Yorn approached them under the guise of taking their horses to the stable. ‘Their lord is inside. Been here since early afternoon, perhaps,’ he murmured quietly.

Not very long, then.

‘His men are deep in their cups, but she bade us to keep clear heads.’

‘Who did?’ Mace asked inanely.

‘Kora.’

Clever girl. But curious that their men had listened to her orders. She wasn’t a good manipulator from what he had seen ... Perhaps she really was a witch, he mused.

At Lucian’s inquiring look, Yorn simply shrugged.

Lucian began to climb the steps to the main door slowly, speculating as to why the man was here. His brothers were just behind him. Mace had mentioned seeing him in the market at Kingway, but he didn’t usually have business this way these days, which meant that this was a special trip.

Suddenly he heard a shout and then a loud scream from the main hall. Disregarding his injuries, he leapt up the remaining steps and ran towards the sound, drawing his sword.