Chapter 26
1071 Words
The morning sun didn't bring warmth to Castle Valdren; it only illuminated the dust and the despair.
The castle was a hive of activity, but for Elara, it was a prison where the walls moved closer every day.
She walked with her head down, a basket of clean linens pressed against her hip, trying to make herself invisible.
But her mind was a chaotic mess of silver eyes and a voice that had spoken to her like a human being.
Commander Vaelith.
The memory of his protection was a dangerous drug, one she knew would get her killed if she wasn't careful."
Stop."The voice cracked through the corridor like a whip.
It was sharp, venomous, and instantly recognizable.
Elara's blood ran cold.
Her heart hammered against her ribs, a frantic bird trapped in a cage.
She froze, along with every other slave in the hallway.
Slowly, dread pooling in her stomach, she turned.
Princess Lyanna stood there, a vision of royal cruelty.
Her beautiful face was twisted into a mask of pure rage.
Two guards stood behind her, hands resting on their sword hilts, while her ladies-in-waiting whispered like vipers..
Lyanna wasn't just angry.
She was furious.
And she was looking for something to break.
"Come here," Lyanna commanded.
Elara had no choice.
She dropped her basket, the linens spilling onto the dirty floor, and walked toward the princess
."My princess
Before she could finish, Lyanna lunged.
Her fingers tangled violently in the front of Elara's dress, yanking her forward with such force that Elara choked."
You think I don't know?" Lyanna spat, her face inches from Elara's.
Her breath smelled of mint and malice.
"You think I don't hear everything that happens in my palace?
Every whisper? Every secret?"
Elara's eyes widened in terror.
"My princess, I—"
"Why?" Lyanna screamed, shaking her until Elara's teeth rattled.
"Why does he keep asking for you? Why does Commander Vaelith want a filthy little slave like you in his chambers night after night?"
"I don't know!" Elara cried, tears streaming down her face.
"I swear, I don't know!""
Don't lie to me!" Lyanna shrioked, her voice echoing off the stone walls.
The servants looked away, terrified.
No one dared intervene.
No one dared help.
Lyanna's grip tightened, her nails digging into Elara's skin through the fabric.
"A slave doesn't get summoned by the Commander unless she's spreading her legs for him!
Is that it?
Did you open your legs for him?
Did you let him f**k you?"
The words hung in the air, crude and humiliating."
No!" Elara sobbed.
"No, my princess!
I would never!""
Then why?"
Lyanna's eyes narrowed, filled with a jealous rage that made her look demonic. "
Women throw themselves at him. Noblewomen.
Princesses.
And he ignores them all to f**k you?
A nobody?
""He... he just asks me to wait," Elara stammered, her mind racing for a lie that might save her life.
"He makes me wait until he finishes eating so I can clear the dishes.
That's all.
I swear it!
"Lyanna stared at her, breathing heavily.
Then, she laughed.
It was a cold, hollow sound that made Elara's skin crawl."
You expect me to believe that?" Lyanna sneered. "
That the Commander of the King's Guard is inviting a slave to dine with him out of the goodness of his heart?
Don't insult my intelligence."
I don't dine with him my princess. Slaves cannot dine with nobles, especially the Commander.
She shoved Elara hard.
Elara stumbled backward, falling to her knees on the hard stone floor.
She looked up, trembling, expecting a blow..
Instead, Lyanna looked at her with pure disgust.
She pulled a silk handkerchief from her belt and began wiping her hands vigorously, as if Elara's touch had contaminated her."
Filthy creature,"
Lyanna muttered. "
Disgusting.
Fetch me something to disinfect my hands," she ordered one of the nearby servants.
"Now!"
The servant scrambled away, terrified.
Lyanna tossed the handkerchief onto Elara's face.
"You disgust me.
All of you slaves.
Thinking you can climb above your station by spreading your legs for power.
I know how it works.
I know what men want.
They want to f**k something they can't have.
Something forbidden."
She leaned down, her voice dropping to a deadly whisper that only Elara could hear.
"But listen to me carefully, you little w***e.
If I find out that you have been f*****g him... if I find out that you have been letting him touch you, kiss you, or f**k you in those chambers.
.."Lyanna's eyes darkened, filled with a promise of torture."
...I will make you wish my father had chosen you for his nightly entertainment.
At least when the King r***s you, it's quick.
If you cross me, I will make sure you are passed around by every guard in this castle until you are broken beyond repair.
I will make sure you are f****d until you bleed out.
Do you understand?"Elara nodded frantically, tears soaking her face.
"Yes, my princess.
Yes."Lyanna straightened up, her face returning to a mask of cold indifference.
"Good.
Stay away from him.
Or I will destroy you.
"She turned on her heel, her entourage scrambling to follow.
"Let's go.
This place smells of desperation and slave sweat.
"As they walked away, Lyanna's laughter echoed down the corridor, cruel and mocking.
Elara remained on the floor, shaking, surrounded by the scattered linens.
The threat hung over her like a death sentence.
Princess Lyanna had noticed her.
And in Castle Valdren, being noticed by the Princess was a fate worse than death.
She knew what Lyanna was capable of.
She knew the kind of torture the Princess could inflict.
And she knew that if Lyanna found out the truth—that Vaelith had protected her, that he had treated her like a human being—the Princess would not just kill her.
She would make Elara wish she had never been born.
Elara curled into a ball on the cold stone floor, sobbing silently.
She was trapped.
Between a King who r***d her, a Princess who wanted to destroy her, and a Commander who... who what?
Who offered kindness in a world of monsters?
She didn't know what was worse: the certainty of death, or the hope of something better that could never be real.
Because in this castle, hope was the most dangerous thing of all.
And Elara was running out of time.
- Writer
