Chapter 1
779 Words
A grand canopy bed draped in shimmering silver hung in the center of the chamber. As the sun dipped below the horizon, its last rays filtered through the stained glass windows, casting kaleidoscopic patterns across the walls.
Upon the bed lay a young woman, her delicate wrists and right ankle bound by an intricate floating chain. Each link varied in length, thickness, and hue, emanating a faint, otherworldly glow.
As the clocktower chimed, a tiny wooden door opened, revealing an endearing elf-owl who hooted, "Hoot! Hoot!"
The sound did not stir the captive maiden.
The chamber door swung open, and a figure clad in dark robes strode in, making his way straight to the bed.
"Pretending to sleep, are we?" he mused.
The woman remained silent, slowly opening her eyes to reveal clear orbs framed by thick lashes that fluttered like butterfly wings.
Undeterred by her silence, the man appraised his surroundings. "Do you like your new accommodations? This palace was crafted just for you...I even had the clocktower installed and gardens planted in the courtyard for when you wish to practice your magic."
"Keldrin," the maiden interrupted, her chin tilted in defiant poise despite her restraints. "Either release me or end my life."
The first words she'd uttered since her captivity.
Keldrin regarded her with a leisurely glance. "You think I would kill you? No...I simply need to lavish you with affection until you remember how much you desire me."
His eyes raked over the bedrobe draped loosely over her curves. The chains were his own design, forged by dwarven smiths to allow her freedom within the palace while remaining bound to him.
"I had hoped your willful spirit would persist longer, Lyralei." His voice rasped with thinly veiled hunger. "But if you insist on denying us..."
One calloused hand reached to part the gossamer fabric, but the maiden laughed, a hollow sound.
"Deny you what? The chance to destroy me as you've always wished?"
Beneath the sheer robe, creamy skin glistened, and Keldrin's gaze smoldered. "Barnett? Has he touched you?"
During her captivity, he'd intended to keep her clothed only in vulnerability.
Lyralei met his stare, silent defiance simmering in her eyes.
A twisted grin crossed Keldrin's harsh features as he inspected her body. Finding no foreign markings, some tension left his frame, but his grip remained bruising as he caressed her legs, backside, the swell of her breasts. Reddened imprints bloomed on her tender flesh.
The maiden squeezed her eyes shut, teeth gritted against the involuntary shivers his touch provoked.
"This time..." His words tumbled out in a ragged whisper, trailing hot across her abdomen as he nipped a path upward. Lyralei cried out, that lone free leg kicking uselessly before he pinned and kissed the slender ankle. "Be good, or I'll have to restrain this one as well."
His muscular arms locked her in an inescapable embrace, raw power contained beneath the folds of his robe until he shed the garment entirely.
"What's wrong?" Gravelly words feathered her ear. "This was something we enjoyed frequently, or have you forgotten how ardent our... communions were?"
Leering at her repulsed expression, he chuckled darkly. "At this stage, you can't possibly think those idiots will somehow save you."
A momentary pause followed, letting the insult linger before he continued taunting her further.
"It wasn't that they didn't want you..." His chiseled features twisted in a cruel smile. "They simply didn't dare."
Trapped beneath his scorching bulk, utterly immobilized, Lyralei's voice neared desperate plea. "I regret ever...you mongrels...why did I..."
"Regret meeting us?" Keldrin's tongue traced the whorls of her ear as frost edged his words. "Or merely that you wanted to call us mongrels?"
He wanted to demand if she lamented her kindness, her trust - but the thought of sinking so low sickened even him.
Let her hurl any vile insult she wished. He would keep her bound, restrained, forever anchored to him.
Keldrin lifted her slender leg, grimacing. "It seems...I'm too late."
Lyralei's back arched involuntarily, whimpers torn from her lips despite her attempts at stoicism until, mercifully, oblivion claimed her.
Keldrin did not relent, braced over her petite form consumed in his shadow as he sealed his lips to her slack ones.
"We are but the offspring you nurtured, Lyralei."
"You showered us with affection."
"And now you will pay that debt."
As semi-consciousness seeped back in, Lyralei wondered - if given a second chance, would she make the same fateful decisions?
The answer was a resolute yes.
She would never forsake her quest to liberate her people and rescue her father - no matter the consequences.
For they had been hunting her all along.
- Writer
