Fae (11 page)

The bands on Fae’s wrists lit up brightly and she cried out as the pain shot up her arms and her knees hit the floor in response. Nikola finally let go of her hair and stood next to her. The relief at not being on her foot was short as an old oak chair with slats on the back was placed in front of her. Butler was leaning on the chair, grinning, and the fact that he actually looked
happy
made Fae sick.
What did they have planned
?

“Give me your hands, slut.” He leaned over the back and pulled Fae’s arms through the slats, zip-tying her wrists together before she had the chance to decide if she wanted to fight. Panic seeped in under the haze of the Oblivion, and she pulled her arms back hard against the slats. It just served to hurt her wrists, and she let out a little frustrated scream that she’d been so stupid. She jerked back again, but Nikola pressed her arms down against the seat of the chair and shook his head, a silent command not to even try and break the plastic strips. He stepped back from the chair and Butler turned to the group of guests. Fae’s eyes tracked him as he raised his arms to the sound of their hollering cheers – and unwound a whip.

“No!” Irena screamed from across the room, “Don’t! Don’t, please -”

“Stop, Irena!” Fae shouted at her and stared at her wrists through the slats. The last thing Fae needed was for Irena to get in trouble too.
Just one more time to be a failed shield
. She was glad she couldn’t see Ebere from where she was. Fae’s heart was pounding against her ribs and her stomach churned when Butler stepped behind her.

The whip cracked overhead and she jumped, which brought cheers and laughs from the guests. Gritting her teeth she tried to slow her heart rate down to prepare for the first actual blow. Then Butler walked up behind her and Fae felt the chill of a knife against her skin just before she heard the fabric of her dress rip down the back.

“I told you I’d make you regret it if you did anything, and I am going to enjoy this so much. Feel free to scream for me.” He brushed the whip across her back before he stepped away from her, and Fae tried to shut out his words. She was trying to breathe, and trying to think through the haze of Oblivion to remember what it felt like to get whipped. It had been years, and all she could remember was that it was a sharp pain, and that it hurt. A lot.

There was a loud cheer a second before a line of vicious fire went down her back. Fae caught the scream in her mouth and bit down to swallow it and tears pricked her eyes.

Okay, so it did more than hurt
.

The pain didn’t really fade, but spread out from the thin line it was at first. The cheers got louder and a second line of fire criss-crossed with the first. Fae jerked forward against the chair, but she kept the cry quiet through tightly closed lips. She clenched her fists on the other side of the slats, her one palm slick with blood, and put her forehead down against the seat. The cheers were a constant, bloodthirsty roar. Somewhere between the third and fifth strikes, Fae found herself crying out into the cushion of the seat. Her back was a web of searing pain and the ache spread all over her ribcage, making her bow away from the lash and lift herself off the chair. He paused until she returned to position, and she bit her tongue to keep from begging.

Butler began again and Fae started seeing spots behind her eyes. She was hoping she’d pass out soon but eight, nine, and then ten came and she was still conscious. The twelfth lash landed and it somehow hurt worse than before and she screamed into her arm, hiding her face from the room so she couldn’t see the rabid looks of the guests as they roared out their encouragement.

“Enough.” Nikola’s voice was a boom to her right, and her ears were ringing from the pain. She felt a hand run down her back and it burned so much her muscles locked up. Butler lifted her head with one hand and showed her his palm, a bright red streak of blood painted across it.

“That’s mine,” she whispered and Butler laughed. Fae was delirious from the Oblivion, and the pain, and the exhaustion creeping up on her as the adrenaline fled. The words had slipped from her lips more out of surprise that he had actually whipped her hard enough to bleed, but her brain wouldn’t get into gear. Her body just wanted to shut down, the heat in her skin making her nauseous now as the pain throbbed with the beat of her pulse. She felt her hands cut free and she slid to the floor next to the chair hoping she’d pass out soon.

Feet crowded around her, the chair was pulled away and she tried to curl in a ball. Instead of leaving her on the floor, someone hoisted her up into their arms, and she screamed weakly when their arms rubbed against her back. She opened her eyes, but couldn’t see the man’s face as he had turned away, then she heard Butler speak with laughter in his voice.

“You sure you want her? She’s going to ruin your bed.”

Above her there was a laugh, and a muffled, “Yes, I’m sure.” The words sounded far away, and then pain pierced her as the man adjusted her in his arms. Her whimper was ignored, and then she felt them moving, saw the glittering lights of the chandelier grow closer as they moved up the staircase. Fae tried to sit up, but the arms just shifted her back towards the chest she was against and her back argued at the movements. A few more steps and she was in a dark room, being dropped onto the bed. She gasped at the pain from the lashes, and then the door slammed shut and the figure of the guest moved towards her.

Fae propped herself on her elbows and almost opened her mouth to beg. If she’d just listened to Ebere, it wouldn’t have happened. The pain would remind her of that. It would make her remember, and with the way her head was swimming she wouldn’t be conscious long anyway.

Chapter Seven

Ráj Manor, Caledon, Ontario

Fae had been awake longer than she’d hoped, but when dawn came she took a deep breath and took in the scent of clean rain and earth that meant Eltera was with her. Her eyes opened to a soft golden glow coming from her skin and she could feel the tingling warmth of her skin knitting itself back together.

“Eltera?” Fae whispered out into the darkness of the room and sat up. It felt like Eltera was just out of sight, that if she turned her head she’d catch her standing next to her, her warm hands on Fae’s back healing her. Looking down she felt the tingle move across her hand and underneath the dried blood that filled her palm she knew the skin was whole again. Lifting her right foot, she watched as a shard of glass was pushed out, and the skin knit back together behind it. Wrapping her arms around herself Fae leaned forward, trying to hold on to Eltera’s scent, the feeling of her presence as every inch of her was renewed underneath the evidence of her punishment.

Fae took another breath but the scent of rain was already fading, replaced by a copper tang. The pale glow still coming from her skin revealed the dried blood from where she had slept. The guest in the bed rolled over and she pushed away the flashes of memory of him on top of her. Andrew had been brave enough to try and talk Nikola down from punishing her, but once the damage was done he hadn’t been brave enough to pick her up off the floor.

So much for his knighthood
.

Her skin was itchy where the blood had dried and all she wanted was a shower. Grabbing the blanket at the foot of the bed, Fae wrapped it around herself and slipped silently out into the hall.

By the time she was halfway to the female quarters the glow of her skin had faded completely. Alone again, without Eltera. Turning the corner into their hall she saw the guard sitting in a chair by their door. He grinned as she approached but opened the door without a word. She wasn’t in the mood to fight with anyone so she simply ignored his obvious glee and walked inside, heading directly to the showers. When she dropped the blanket to the floor someone gasped behind her and Fae flinched. All she wanted to do was get under the hot water and forget.

Yeah, as if she ever forgot anything
.

“Oh, Fae…” Mei-Li was standing in the doorway with her mouth open. “There’s so much blood.” Fae didn’t know how to respond, didn’t know what she wanted from her, so she just stepped into the showers, turned one on, and moved under it before it was warm.

The icy water at her feet turned red as it started washing it all away, and she clenched her teeth hard to keep them from chattering. Mei-Li’s dark eyes were still staring from the entrance to the showers, her pin-straight black hair twisted up into a knot on the top of her head. Her petite features pinched with concern as she spoke, “Are you okay?”

“Of course I am. It’s all healed.” The water had turned a pink color as Fae scrubbed her skin, the blood was under her nails though and that was harder to get clean. She pried the crystals out of her hair and dropped them to the floor of the shower, not wanting to look at them.

“I know that, but I still want to know if
you
are okay.” Mei-Li crossed her arms and waited. She was a tiny thing from China but she had steel in her spine and wouldn’t back down. Most people didn’t realize that the smallest of them was one of the strongest, and Fae respected that in her, but it didn’t mean she wanted to talk things out.

“You tell me, are
you
okay after last night?” Fae asked and finally turned to look at her.

Mei-Li shrugged one delicate shoulder. “I’m hungover from the Oblivion. Last night wasn’t easy, but I’ll survive like I always do.”

Fae huffed out a breath and rinsed her hair one more time to check that the water was clear before flipping it off. She couldn’t help but give a hint of a smile as she stepped by Mei-Li to grab a towel. The girl was strong.

“Same here, Mei, I’ll survive like I always do.” Fae spoke as she stepped up to the long counter. At her comment Mei-Li shook her head and hopped up onto the bathroom counter.

“It’s weird to see your back look so normal after… that. The last time I saw someone use a whip it took more than a month for the girl to heal.”

“Good thing I’m not normal.” Fae pulled a green dress over her head to cover up her back, and grabbed a fresh towel to continue drying her hair. Mei-Li made a noise in her throat and then leaned back against the mirror to watch her. Part of Fae wanted to reach out to her, to show her she was willing to be her friend, to try and recapture the feeling she’d had talking to Ebere – but there was just too much weighing her down from the night before. Mei-Li seemed stuck in her own head anyway, and it was an easy silence after a few minutes.

Fae had started drying her hair when she heard a few of the girls yelling in the main room, and Mei-Li snapped to attention as well, her dark eyes going wide. Turning off the dryer they both hurried into the central area to see the girls crowding around something on the floor. Above the din of voices she could hear Irena’s high pitched voice saying Juliet’s name over and over.

Oh no
.

No, no, no, no.

Caridee turned around from the edge of the group, her hair was a mess and her eye makeup had smeared into raccoon eyes. “Can you help her?” Caridee shifted to the side and grabbed the girl’s shoulder in front of her to clear a path to Juliet who was lying on the floor covered in a thin blanket from one of their cots. Fae knelt down next to her and felt for a pulse, it was faint but still there. There were bruises
everywhere
, and her lip was split. Something inside Fae twisted with the dark thought that her own actions might have made it worse for the girl. Nikola had probably told the guards to hurt Juliet, told them to do it to make a point, but he couldn’t have wanted
this
.

“Why isn’t she awake? They just – they just came in here and dropped her, but she won’t wake up.” Irena’s words came between sobs, her violet eyes desperate for Fae to give her some kind of answer.

“I don’t know.” Fae ran her fingers along Juliet’s scalp, but she couldn’t feel any cuts or bumps. She sighed, “I don’t feel a head injury.” Turning Juliet’s face towards her, she patted her cheek and repeated her name a few times. The girl’s blonde hair was greasy, and her face was a little swollen with bruises. Shifting the blanket to the side Fae could see that there was a wide dark bruise in her midsection. Fae pushed on it gently and Juliet groaned and Fae sat back and covered her up again. “I think the injury is inside. They might have hit or kicked her, broken a rib and punctured something. Fuck, I’m not a doctor, Irena, I can’t fix it. They need to call someone.” Irena broke into sobs again and Ebere started rubbing her back. Fae was worried she would see judgment or irritation in Ebere’s face, but there wasn’t any of that. The girl looked concerned – for Juliet, for her, for all of them.

“I’m so sorry, Fae, I’m so sorry for last night. I just didn’t want her to get hurt, and she’s hurt anyway, and Butler hurt you too, he hurt you so much -” Irena couldn’t catch her breath between the crying anymore and gave up on trying to talk.

Fae looked up, trying to figure out what they could do, when she saw Lena standing at the door; the woman’s face was pale as she stared at Juliet on the floor. With a quick squeeze to Irena’s shoulder she stood up and moved out of the group towards Lena.

Locking eyes with the matron of their little group, Fae grabbed her arm and dug her fingers in as she hissed under her breath. “Do you see what they did? Is
this
what you think Nikola wanted?” Lena’s face soured at the use of Nikola’s name, but Fae continued without correcting herself. “Someone needs to go to him and tell him that Juliet needs the doctor. No matter what, he’s not going to want to lose one of us.”

“You think
I
should do it?” Lena looked shocked, then her eyes moved down to where Fae held her arm and she pulled it away. “I’m not going to demand
anything
of Master. He will make the appropriate decision. This is his house.”

“And what if he doesn’t
know
, Lena? You’d let her fucking die because you don’t want to bother him during breakfast?” Fae asked with disgust in her voice and Lena glared before turning on her heel and storming away from her. She cursed under her breath and grabbed her hair as she looked back at the girls all crowded around the small form of Juliet. She had planned on keeping a low profile for the next few weeks, letting Nikola and Butler forget about their frustrations with her. She’d wanted to actually
try
and take care of herself, but it looked like that wasn’t going to be possible. Fae turned to the doors and knocked loudly, and the girls all looked up at her as the guard opened the door.

“What do you want?” The guard at the door sneered.

“We need the doctor for Juliet. I need to speak to Master so he can call.” Fae said it with more confidence than she felt at the moment, but there was no way she’d trust the guards to deliver the message themselves. They’d be much more concerned about keeping it from Nikola than admitting what they’d done.

The guard glanced over Fae’s shoulder and smiled. “I’m sure she’s just fine. We weren’t too rough.”

Fae clenched her fists to resist the urge to drop him and crush his throat. She had to take a breath and remember that attacking him would just keep the doctor away longer. Swallowing her anger and her pride, she spoke as calmly as she could. “Please, sir, may I speak to Master?”

“That would be up to Butler, sweetheart.” The guard was trying to get under her skin on purpose, but Fae just gritted her teeth and dug her nails into her palms.

“Then may I
please
speak with Butler, sir?”

“Maybe. After last night I think Butler will be happy you want to spend some more time with him. I’ll go tell him you miss him.” The man grinned and Fae wanted to hit him and break bone, and then keep hitting him for Juliet, but she forced herself to nod and step back so the guard could shut the door. The girls behind her were quiet for a moment, but Sobeska finally spoke up.

“Fae… what
exactly
are you going to do?”

“I’m going to offer Nikola what he wants if he’ll get the doctor for Juliet.”

“Which is?” Sobeska asked.

“My obedience.” No one responded to that. They could all think of a hundred times Fae had done something to be defiant, and it was clear Nikola wouldn’t take it from her anymore. He’d used Butler to make that point loud and clear.

Everyone sat quietly around Juliet while they waited for Butler to arrive, and each minute that passed had Fae more on edge with concern. Irena was trying to comb Juliet’s hair with her fingers, and a few times Juliet groaned, but she stayed asleep – which under the circumstances was probably best. When the door finally opened everyone jumped. Butler was standing in the doorway and his eyes locked onto Fae immediately.

“Come outside, Fae.” He snapped his fingers, and Ebere grabbed Irena to make her stay seated when she started to stand. Fae nodded at Ebere in thanks, and held a hand out to Irena to make sure she stayed. Walking out the door she found herself in the middle of two guards and Butler. “You asked for me?” Butler crossed his arms and didn’t hide the self-satisfied smirk on his face as the door to their quarters shut.

“Juliet needs the doctor. I just need to talk to Master, sir.” Fae tried to speak as respectfully as she could manage.

Butler grabbed Fae’s hand and looked at her palm, running his thumb across where the glass had cut it. “All better I see.” Fae tried to tug her hand back but Butler tightened his grip and twisted her hand to the side, which sent a shock of pain up her arm. Butler tilted his head watching Fae’s face change as she fought to suppress her reaction. “Why would I want to take you to Nikola this early in the morning?”

“He’ll want to know how bad she is, he needs to call the doctor, sir. If you don’t want me to go,
you
ask him.” She growled the words out and Butler twisted her wrist harder making her bite back the cry.

“Don’t tell me what to do, whore.” He bent her wrist a little farther and for a second she thought he might actually break it, but then he let go. She clenched her jaw so she wouldn’t respond hastily again, after all, she still needed his help. “Are you sure you want Nikola to see you again this quickly? He might ask me to give you another
lesson
.” The idea made her nervous and sick, but there wasn’t much of a choice.

“Yes, sir. I’m sure.” Fae cradled her wrist against her chest, keeping herself calm by focusing on her breathing, and trying her best to ignore his comments. When she looked up at him, Butler made her stomach lurch with the way he looked at her.

“Alright then, since you’re sure, let’s go.” He turned on his heel and Fae followed. One of the guards remained behind at the door but the other guard followed her. They moved down the stairs and ended up with Butler standing in front of the doors to the parlor. Fae’s heart was racing at the mere idea of walking back in that room, especially with
him
, and Butler could see her discomfort so he just stood by the door waiting. “Anytime you’re ready, Fae. Unless you want to go back upstairs?”