Caught in the Fox’s Teeth

Chapter 10: Taryn

I’m startled out of my self-pity by a severe pounding at my door. f**k. Surely, I had known he would not take my slight lying down. I knew he would come as surely as I knew he would be pissed at my not coming like a dog to its master. I don’t answer when Dryndenn barks out the order to unlock the door. Curses are shouted beyond the door as his ire grows. I can’t help but smirk when I picture the high lord red-faced from rage as he paces up and down the halls, screaming obscenities. What will his people say of him? Did you hear? Lord Vulpin can scarcely call his daughter to heel. I laugh quietly to myself as I imagine smoke pouring from Dryndenn’s nose and ears like an old, bedraggled fire lizard. The fool continues to beat at my door. I find it immensely funny… until I don’t. The laughter I smother beneath a pillow dies abruptly when a large, hulking mass comes bursting through my now splintered door. The lord may be twenty or so years my senior, but he is in excellent condition. Dryndenn’s cold eyes meet mine, all the moisture leaves my mouth in an instant. I freeze in terror. I’m but prey that is about to fall into the claws of a great predator. Several of the servants look in with horror as my lord rushes towards me. I gasp at his speed, cringing at his onslaught. I make an attempt to dodge his rampage but I’m too slow.

“Did you learn nothing from our little chat earlier? Hmm?” Lord Vulpin wraps his hand around my throat, squeezing enough to cut off my airway while backing me up against a wall. He lifts slightly, my toes barely grazing the floor. I choke, clawing at his massive hand.

“My lord, please! She’s just a confused young woman in mourning. She meant you no insult.” Aggy pleads from outside my room, careful to avoid the debris from my wrecked door. As if by magic, Dryndenn drops his hand and stills. I fall to my knees, gasping for precious air in my aching lungs for the second time tonight. All is well. I am fine. I repeat my mantra over and over with every life-giving breath wishing desperately for it to be true. If I were less of a heathen, it is now that I would be praying.

A heavy silence comes over the room. I chance a look at my father. Aggy is in his sights, his face flashing a violent red. “If I wanted opinions from a servant, I’d go ask someone of greater importance and more sense than an old hag. Perhaps Ullo knows a thing or two about mourning a lost love, eh?” Aggy goes pale. Ullo averts his gaze. “Ullo, control your mother before I do it for you. I believe you’ll have need of another reason to mourn if you don’t remove her from my sight this instant!” Dryndenn’s hands clench into fists. Mother? How did I not see the resemblance before? The long straight nose, the gray eyes. They both have the same cleft in their chins. It makes sense. Aggy has been with the Vulpins for ages. Does that mean Ullo grew up with the Vulpin children? Every question I ask myself only spawns more questions. I don’t have time to get any answers before Ullo is practically dragging a simpering Aggy from my room. Her sad eyes meet mine and then she is gone. Dryndenn turns back to me, fire in his glare. I swallow hard but a lump in my throat makes it difficult.

“Do you see what you’ve done girl? All you had to do was come down to dinner. Share a meal with me. Now look at this mess! Aggy a crying wreck. Your door in ruins. I suppose it’s for the best. You’ll have no means of keeping anyone from having unlimited access to your rooms.” The bastard croons to me, sweeping a lock of my unruly sable hair from my face. “I imagine Odin will delight in knowing there won’t be any barriers between the two of you. It will likely please him that your pleasure will echo through the halls now that no door muffles the sounds. Shall we test and see how far the echoes go?” Dryndenn closes his eyes, letting out a pleasurable sigh. “Soon you will find yourself wed again. Perhaps as a wedding gift I will permit you to have a new door, but only if you’re a good girl and behave. Now… Come. Eat. My food will get cold and then I’ll need to find something else to eat.” Dryndenn offers me a salacious smile before offering me the crook of his arm. It leaves nothing left for discussion. With a heavy head and heart, I twine my arm with his and accompany him to dinner.

“Dryndenn, my love. What was all the commotion about?” Elzbith asks, her voice thick with false concern. She just wants to know for the sake of gossip and scandal. There is no real worry on her face.

“Nothing, dear. Now, let’s sit down and try to enjoy the meal before us. Taryn, would you care to say the blessing? We are guests in your home after all.” Dryndenn’s voice is sugar and honey. I will not let him trap me into another uncomfortable situation tonight. He wants me to squirm. He knows well I do not pray to the Gods, and I do not mean to start. Especially not tonight after so much chaos has been wrought.

“My lord. You honor me, but I am not worthy of such privilege. Would you please grace us with your wise words?” I practically purr the words to my father-in-law. He knows what I say doesn’t mean anything but that doesn’t stop him from preening under my honeyed tongue. He thinks I am falling into line; that I have been broken and have seen the light. He couldn’t be further from the truth.

“I would gladly say the blessing… if you would join me at the head of the table.” Sorsha and Elzbith look at each other; a silent war waging between them at who will give up their seat. Sorsha begins to rise. Dryndenn puts a hand on her shoulder and shakes his head. “No need to give up a seat when I have one right here for her.” Dryndenn scoots away from the table and sprawls out massive thighs. A rough slap to his lap and a wicked smile is almost enough to stop my heart from beating. Terror runs through me.

“My lord… I can’t—“

“Can’t what exactly? Your sinful tongue can’t speak the words, or your round ass can perch over my c**k?” He raises a brow at me.

Elzbith hisses a curse under her breath and turns to her husband. “Dryndenn! You can’t possibly be so hard-hearted. She’s practically a child and we are all ravaged with grief!” She rebukes her mate and I could kiss her then. This saintly woman.

Dryndenn fixes his gaze on his wife and backhands her. The smack has stopped time itself. No one moves. No one speaks. We are frozen to our spots. Dryndenn stands and wrenches me by the arm before taking his seat, bringing me along with him. A satisfied groan leaves his lips when my rear is planted on his lap. “Mmm. That’s a girl. This is how I want you. Silent. Well-behaved. And completely at my mercy.” The lord whispers in my ear, coiling a lock of hair around his finger. He’s obviously pleased with himself. Bastard.

Elzbith lets out a sob. Dryndenn doesn’t even look her way. “Wife. If you cannot control yourself like a civilized woman, perhaps you should make a bed for yourself in the stables like one of the animals.” The tears in her red-rimmed eyes break my heart. “Besides… I have a good feeling our bed will not be of much use for sleeping tonight. Isn’t that right, Taryn?” I hear the smirk more than see it. His hips grind up against me, a sizable erection pressing against my ass. The lord whispers again to me, low enough so no one else can hear. “Tell me, girl. Was my son partial to f*****g you in your ass? I think I should like to give it a try.” His palm gropes my ass roughly. I should slap him. Gods I should stab his fork into the c**k he loves so much. I feel much too violent around all these utensils. There are limitless possibilities with what I can do. My ears heat from his words but the finger that slides between my cheeks is by far the worst insult. I stiffen. The lord laughs huskily before his perusing of my body is interrupted by a quavering voice.

“My lord… th-the blessing?” Elzbith squeaks out. Brave woman. My eyes look upon hers with both sympathy and admiration. I mouth a silent thank you, she pretends not to see it, but her head gives the slightest nod.

“Oh fine. Have it your way. My father always said you must eat your dinner before having dessert.” The lord bites my ear playfully with a moan. I let out a squeak of my own now. He chuckles, then clears his throat. His stern and deep voice rumbles, letting out brief words of thanks and appreciation to the fabled creators in the sky at the same time as his blasphemous fingers rub slowly across my collarbones and between my breasts. He pretends to toy with a pendant I wear and drags at it near my sternum idly. I stiffen, if I were not so afraid of the high lord’s temper tonight, I would almost laugh at the absurdity of it all.

Bare-breasted women riding fiery chariots around the heavens as they wield flaming bows and arrows. Horses that gallop across the night sky pulling carts full of souls to their final resting places. Large, imposing men rippling with inhuman muscles as they manipulate the elements just as easily as I spin my fork around on the table. It’s all a load of horseshit. I’ve never witnessed any miracles in my short time in this world. Quite the opposite actually. That’s not saying I don’t believe in miracles; just that they are not granted to us by supernatural beings. I don’t attribute good fortunes going to the just but rather by the luck of the draw. I will not be so pessimistic as to say miracles are the direct result of the manipulations from the powerful but it feels far too coincidental that such blessings are frequently bestowed onto those who rarely deserve it.

“We thank the gods for the bounty before us. We thank you for the family surrounding us. We thank you for the roof above us. We thank you for the love that binds us.” There is the briefest of pauses in his prayer. I chance a look at him and my stomach flips. Dryndenn is once again staring at me while all others continue to bow their heads. He puts the fingers he violated me with into his mouth, letting his eyes roll back in a comically dramatic display of pleasure. I shift on his lap, much to the lord’s delight.

A whimper escapes me, but not one of pleasure. Heads raise to look my way. I cough and clear my throat in a pathetic attempt to cover my terror. The smile never leaves my lord’s face. I bow my head once more, saying my own prayer to the false gods that this meal will be over with already. I would rather be mounted on a pike than by this monster.