Warlord and the Waif by Chloe Parker

CHAPTER NINE

ELLA

I DON’T WANT to want him.

That’s what I tell myself as I climb into my bed that night, grateful to have something soft under my head after my two nights in the tower. He’s a cruel man, a true villain. He looks like the devil himself; he has to be evil.

But Calder is right. My body and my brain aren’t aligned.

All I want to do is go to sleep and forget about these awful three days, but I can’t seem to get cool in the little room. The air settles on my skin like a cool layer of silk, but all it does is warm me up in the places that matter most: my chest, my belly, and my core. I can’t stop thinking about sitting in his lap, feeling his hard body underneath me, challenging him to do what he willed.

And his words just leave me wanting more.

Believe me when I promise you that I have never bedded a woman who did not first beg for my cock.

I start to picture it in my sleep-addled mind, to imagine what he might feel like. I’ve only ever been with three boys, and none of them were expert lovers, if my college friends had anything to say about it. But with centuries of experience, and the way he talks, I’m sure that Calder could teach me all kinds of new things.

My fingers trail down my stomach, wanting to touch myself under the thin blanket and my gauzy sleeping gown. Would it really hurt to give into something that isn’t my fear and despair tonight? To imagine him here on top of me, that growling voice rumbling in his chest as he—

I roll over, clamping my hands underneath my pillow.

Never for him.

I need to move, to let out my excess energy. The room is tiny, but I rise and begin to pace, the thin fabric of my gown aching against my breasts and thighs. I can’t remember a time I was ever riled up quite like this.

The room is stifling.

Desperate, and certain that it won’t pan out, I move toward the door to test the lock.

And it slides open before me with a whisper of stone.

It appears that I have free roam.

I step into the hallway on bare feet, not bothering with my shoes. The glowing lights on either side are still lit, and I follow the path down in the dim light from the orbs. The kitchen stairs lie ahead of me, while another branching hallway goes left.

I turn.

I haven’t been through here yet, and the castle seems to sprawl far bigger than it looked from the city. I follow this route for a bit, then I see a winding staircase descending deeper, into the bowels of Kaer Idunn.

It looks dark down there, and I don’t have a flashlight. Tentatively, I reach out toward one of the orbs, marveling as my hand is enveloped in painless light.

I don’t feel anything solid, but there’s a static tingle inside the glow, and when I slowly pull my hand back, the light sticks to it. A smile tugs at my lips—the first since my abduction, I think—and I take the light with me as I descend.

I’m not afraid, even as the stairs go on and on. I’ve gone down at least three floors, and I can’t see the bottom just yet. But I don’t know if it’s possible for me to be afraid anymore. The worst thing I could imagine happened, and now I’m trapped, alone, and abandoned in a strange new galaxy.

Fear feels just as alien as this world.

The stairs finally recede, and I make my way forward, the gauzy nightdress slipping over my shoulder and trailing on the floor behind me. Based on the echoes in the room, I can tell I’m in a vast space, and the chill here is much deeper than the one in the rest of the castle. This must be what passes for the dungeon.

I wonder if he’s got anyone locked up down here.

The ground is slightly damp under my bare feet, and I curse myself for neglecting to put on my shoes. It doesn’t give me the creeps or anything, but I worry that I might catch a cold. I doubt Calder would give me a break. I hold the glow orb in front of me, but the room is big enough that I can’t make much out. Large silhouettes frame the room beyond me, and I move toward them.

Then I stagger backward when a gigantic face looms in the dark.

There’s a dragon down here.

It doesn’t move, and I step tentatively forward once again, brandishing the glow orb at the figure. I bark out a startled laugh when I realize it’s inanimate, clearly made of some kind of glimmering crystal and intricately sculpted.

And it’s beautiful.

I get closer, staring the gigantic face down. When I look down to take in the whole view, I see that it’s at the edge of a steep drop. Good thing it scared me, otherwise I could have walked right off. This is just the front of an enormous ship, crafted out of wood, crystal, and a deep auburn metal.

This must be Calder’s ship.

“Freyr’s Fury,” a voice rumbles behind me with reverence.

I whip around to see Calder several feet back. He holds an orb that matches mine, illuminating his stardust eyes, and he regards me without expression.

It’s a stark change from dinner, when I thought he might eat me instead of his meal.

“Of course your feet would carry you here,” he says, stepping slowly forward. “The only operational spacecraft on Myste. Your spirit yearns to be free.”

“Why don’t you fly it?” I ask.

“I think you know the answer to that question.”

“I do,” I tell him, “But I want to hear it from you.”

“You will not make demands of me,” he warns.

He’s nearly standing right next to me, dressed only in a pair of loose black pants. His feet are bare as well, though he’s clad in his long black cloak. He doesn’t hide his scrutinizing gaze, letting his eyes roam over the parts of me that the gauzy dress reveals in stark detail. I’m sure everything’s on display in this flimsy thing, but something in me wants him to look, and I don’t try to hide.

“What do you want then?” I ask, facing him, “Here to finish what you started at dinner?”

“No,” he says.

He’s telling the truth; I can see it in his eyes. He wants me, but he won’t touch me, an edge of discipline holding him back.

Calder tosses his orb into the air and it hovers before it expands, lighting the entire room. The ship comes into stark, majestic view, cast in blacks and whites with the strange light. Calder rests one big hand on the dragon’s snout, like he’s greeting an old friend.

“This ship was once my body, and my freedom,” he says. “I traveled the farthest reaches of the galaxy, plundering whole planets with my crew. We razed cities and took all the riches we desired.”

“It doesn’t sound like you were heroes,” I scoff.

“I never claimed to be,” he growls, and the admission sends a spark to the pit of my stomach. “No, the crew of the Fury was interested in only one thing: drinking, rutting, and pillaging. I was young and powerful, and had my pick of all the riches of the galaxy.”

“So you took them,” I shake my head, “Just like you took me.”

He ignores me, heaving a sigh.

“Until I came here, I believed that the riches were most important. But now, I realize that flight was my greatest love. The journey from place to place. The freedom to move when and where I chose.”

“Then how can you take that away from me?” I demand quietly.

“I cannot discharge your indenture,” he says, “Though I can and will give you more freedoms once you illustrate that you respect me and my household.”

“And you’re not going to do anything I don’t want?” I ask.

“My body has not been mine since I was shackled with this curse,” he says, looking me in the eye. “In this house, you will serve as a handmaiden, but your body will be your own until you ask to be touched.”

His eyes roam over my chest, and I feel a thrill at the way he looks at me.

“And trust me, Ella McKenna,” he promises, “You will ask eventually. I can already see your resistance ebbing away.”

I shiver, wrapping my free arm around myself, but I can’t tell if it’s fear or desire.

“I should get back to bed,” I say. “I’m tired.”

“You should get some rest,” he calls from behind me as I walk away, “There’s work to be done tomorrow.”

I doubt I’ll be getting much rest tonight.