Sacrifice of the Septimus: Part 2 (Afterlife saga Book 7) (6 page)

“A month,” she stated and I almost choked when swallowing. A month! I couldn’t wait around here for a bloody month, I would turn into a raving lunatic!

“You do not agree, my beauty?” Draven asked me and I must admit, I preferred it to Little Lamb.

“It is not my place,” I said because I knew it was the right answer to give in this time but he raised an eyebrow again and this time it was joined with a playful smirk.

“I am making it your place,” he told me and at that moment I wished we were alone again so we could continue the playful banter.

“Then in that case I don’t agree.”

“Good because I cannot wait that long. Make sure to have her ready for selection in three days’ time,” he demanded and Parmida looked as if she was choking on a bug.

“But my King, it cannot be done, there is still so much work to be done and she is…”

“Perfect as she is.” Draven finished off her sentence for her whilst looking back to me and once he saw me go for my lip again he shook his head silently telling me of the risks in doing so. I was almost tempted to push and see where it got me…
underneath him I hoped.

“Then you are pleased, My King?” Parmida asked in a hopeful voice.

“Indeed,” he answered, making Parmida relax her tense shoulders.

“Now leave us for a moment but wait for me outside for I wish to speak further on a matter that concerns me.” Parmida nodded and said,

“Of course, My King.” Then she rose up and quickly left the room, leaving us alone once more. Draven looked back down at me scanning my body once more and when his eyes reached mine he surprised me with his honest question.

“What are you?” In that moment I wanted nothing more than to tell him who I was, or more importantly what I was to him. His Electus. His Chosen One. But even greater, that I was his wife from another time. I wanted him to know everything, but I knew that I would also be risking everything if I told him any of these things.

“Your servant, My Lord,” I told him trying to keep as much pain from my voice as I could. He gave me a look that told me he very much doubted my words and panic almost set in…did he know something?

“You are something to me it is true, but I am not sure if it is as my servant yet…but we shall soon see,” he said as if talking to himself and trying to understand our connection, which again begged the question…why hadn’t he figured it out?

“My Lord?” I said playing the part as a naive little slave girl, one I could tell he was quickly trying to unravel to find the real girl underneath.

“I will take my leave of you now,” he told me and my face dropped. I didn’t want him to go…
I never wanted him to go.

“Now what is that face for?” he asked obviously liking the idea that I was disappointed that he was leaving me.

“Do you have to leave?” I braved asking him and his grin told me I hadn’t made a mistake.

“No, I am King and can do as I wish but as a man looking down at a broken body I want to take to my bed, I know that in order to heal such wounds then what my Little Lamb needs is rest and plenty of it…and as your King it is my command, understood?” he added sternly and I knew I couldn’t argue as I would have done in my time. But this was his time and he was my King, one I had to obey if I knew what was good for me.

“Yes, my Lord.” I told him in a quiet voice and it was obvious to him that even though I said the words he wanted to hear, I still didn’t like it. He grinned enjoying my neediness. Then he leaned down getting closer to my face and I could only hope that the night would at least end in a kiss. 

“I can see that your hidden defiance will amuse me greatly and your reluctance to see me go is even more pleasing, but be warned my little beauty…” he paused, this time getting closer to my ear so that he could whisper his threat, 

“…once I have you in my bed, I may not want to let you out of it again.”
  I sucked in a breath showing him without words how much his own had affected me.

“Goodnight…
My Golden Fleece,”
he whispered over my lips without touching them and I was tempted as never before to reach up and kiss him, knowing that once I did, I would capture him as he often did to me. But I couldn’t risk it, not yet, so instead of acting on my impulse I let him lift himself up off the cushions and watched as he left my room. I didn’t want him to go and after seeing this softer side of him that I knew before, my mind was at least put more at ease from when he had been holding a knife to my throat. Yes, I would definitely say this was a big step up from our first encounter.

I listened for a moment and scooted closer to the entrance so that I could hear what was being said.

“Ranka has concerns for her safety and believes I should have her moved out of the Harem.” I heard Draven say back in that stern voice he obviously used when speaking with his servants. I heard Parmida cluck her tongue against the roof of her mouth before saying,

“What does a warrior know of such things? Your Harem is a peaceful place, my King.” I would have liked to have seen Draven’s face if I’d have acted on my impulse and stuck my head out through the curtain to say… ‘Uh, I beg to differ with that one’.

“That is quite a different account from the one Ranka expressed to me a short while ago. I believe Stateira was involved?” ‘Yeah I’ll say’ I thought frowning at the way that bitch acted. I could tell by the way Draven asked this that he had his arms folded and no doubt was trying to catch Parmida out to see if she was lying or not.

“Nothing but a bit of healthy competition for your affections, My King and after all, Stateira needs to state her position as head concubine. She is known as your favourite and has been for some time, so I believe this was all she was doing.” I held my breath and waited for Draven’s response, hoping that he would deny this claim and at least give me a small shred of hope that her position wouldn’t be what it was for much longer. I was almost cocky with it, grinning behind the fist that I held at my lips. Surely any minute now he would tell her his obvious feelings for me.

“Whatever her reasons for this hostility are not my concern but her actions are. I want her kept away from my new concubine, is that understood?” I smiled hearing this, but it turned out to be too soon.     

“My King forgive me but Stateira is still your favourite, is she not?” Parmida braved to ask and I unfortunately braved to listen to his crushing truth…

“She is and will be for the foreseeable future.”      

Chapter 42

Back Stabbing Heartache

Once I’d heard this brutal statement from Draven I no longer wanted to listen. I threw myself down on the pillows, wrapped myself back up and revelled in the pain these actions caused my body, needing some physical agony to mask the emotional one. This way I could pretend the tears I cried that night weren’t down to the heartache I felt piercing my chest.

I woke the next morning only to find myself disappointed that this wasn’t all a horrible dream as I’d hoped. I was still trapped in this nightmare and the person who seemed to be pulling all the strings was someone I couldn’t yet reach. I just wanted to go home and feel safe in the knowledge that Draven still loved me the way he always had done. Because even back in the days when we were separated I still knew deep down how much Draven cared for me but this…well this was a different type of torture!

But I knew I couldn’t just sit like a plump chicken in my gilded cage waiting for my golden egg to hatch. I needed to act and I couldn’t do that here. No, I needed to formulate a plan now and as much as it pained me to say, that plan no longer included Draven.

Sure he may have given me some attention and shown me that at least he cared about his new prize getting hurt before he could sample the goods. And in whatever way that was for a supernatural King to do I didn’t yet know and didn’t want to for that matter. Because for someone forbidden to bed humans where exactly did that leave me?

Again I had no answers but one thing was certain and that was I definitely wasn’t going to stick around to wait and find out. Not now I knew there was no hope for me to be the Chosen One to him like I was back in my time. For I knew that falling in love with me was the only way to get him to break his own rules and the reality of that happening now after last night looked impossible. Not when he already had someone he cared for in his life. No, it was time to jump ship and swim as if a shit storm was coming…one that was named ‘the prophecy’. 

So now all I had to do was escape this underground fortress and find the rest of my time travelling party before making my way back to the ocean, or in my case whatever the Hell it was we had jumped into in the first place. It wasn’t as if I could find some tourist office on a street corner and pick up a map to the nearest Janus gate. No, I needed to be clever about this and to do that when I had two guards watching my every move was going to be difficult.

However, the one thing on my side was that I definitely had enough time to think about it considering I was being treated like the leper of the group. If only I had someone on my side who could help me in all this and as grateful as I was for Ranka, right now who I really needed was Pip, Sophia or Ari.

“Where are you guys?”
I whispered to myself.

“What did you say?” Parmida snapped from the corner of the treatment room I was currently in. It was another day at Hell’s spa and once more I was laid out naked on the stone slab feeling like a bruised piece of meat. Some of the servants were washing the mushy gunk off my ribs, whilst two other girls worked on rubbing oils into my feet.

I didn’t answer her but instead just turned my head the other way to stare at the wall. I heard her huff and I knew another lecture was on its way, as I had already heard quite a few today.

“You don’t know how lucky you are to be singled out by the King like this.” I rolled my eyes which one of the younger servant girls saw and smiled down at me. She must have been no older than sixteen and I had to wonder what unfortunate life choices had been made to bring her to this point. Had it been a case of wrong place at the wrong time or more likely had she been born into slavery? 

“You had better heed my warning child for you could very easily be cast aside and resold to the highest bidder should the King choose to do. And understand me now when I say that not everyone with wealth is as easy on the eye as the King is or as gentle with his women.” Of this I had no doubt but she didn’t need to hear me say that. I knew that to have such a handsome King with the reputation of being good to his women was like winning the royal lottery for girls in a harem but for me it meant nothing. He was my husband first and foremost and no matter how much I tried to distance myself from that fact, I just couldn’t.

“You should listen to her, for she speaks the truth.”
  The young girl whispered to me once Parmida had given up trying to get through to me.

“Look, I know you mean well but I am not going to be happy until I get out of here.”
I told her for no other reason than to test her. Her big dark eyes widened in surprise.

“But why would you want to do that?” she asked freely when the others had finished wrapping my ribs up again in fresh bindings and had their backs turned, cleaning up their supplies.

“It’s complicated,” I told her, not trusting her with anything that could potentially turn around and bite me in the ass later on. She looked thoughtful for a moment before helping me up off the stone table. Then she leaned in to me and whispered,

“I might know a way.”
  This surprised me enough to ask,

“But why would you help me?”

“Because I too was sold into this life,” she said, confirming what I already suspected.

“And what of your family?” I asked softly but she just shook her head telling me all I needed to know…
she had none.

“Alright, so you say there is a way out?”

“Yes, but not here,”
she hissed looking towards the others who she obviously feared would overhear us.

“Then where?” I asked looking around in the hope that the others would leave but then I saw the young girl’s shoulders straighten up and I knew whose voice I would hear next.  

“Take her back to her room. She needs to eat and then to rest before she bathes.” Parmida ordered and I was at least thankful that unbeknown to her she was giving us the perfect chance to speak.

“Yes, my Mistress,” the girl said bowing once before leading the way for me to follow. I couldn’t help but notice the imposing presence of the two guards who quickly fell into step behind us. We walked back through the large space and I couldn’t help but notice that the looks I received weren’t all ones of bitter hatred as I expected. Some even looked full of pity and I had to wonder about that, but then one look at the bitch and her posse in the corner and I didn’t have to wonder long. It was obvious they must have known the dangers that came with being chosen by the King for special treatment and the thought made me want to hiss.

Of course I decided against growling at her as I walked past and instead started laughing, knowing this would annoy her much more. The young servant looked at me as though I had lost my mind but I didn’t care as one look at the head Bitch and I knew my work here was done. In fact, she looked close to choking on her own tongue she was so enraged. Obviously she had never come across someone who wasn’t scared of her position in this place. Good, it was about time she met her match as bullies were something I loathed in life!

“Why do you choose to anger her so?”
The young girl asked me in a hushed voice and once we had passed them I told her the truth.

“Because if you show a person like her fear they will only feed from it but if you deny them it, then they themselves soon become afraid.” She looked thoughtful for a moment but didn’t say anything and I only hoped that she took the advice I gave her, as I had no doubt that one day she would need it.

We waited until we made it back to my little room and the guards had situated themselves outside before she started speaking.

“The only ones who come and go as they please are the servants and guards.” It didn’t take long for me to know where she was going with this and I looked up and down at her grey tunic so that she knew we were quickly on the same page.

“But how do I get…?” She cut me off with a wave of her hand already knowing what I was going to ask.

“You will have to give me time to think of something but it may be possible for you to escape the palace dressed as one of us but it will have to be done at night so it is harder for anyone to see your face.”

“Wow, you have really thought this through, haven’t you?” I watched the young girl blush and look shameful for a moment which had me worried.

“Why have you?” I asked frowning, now doubting whether to trust her or not. For a moment she looked as though she wouldn’t answer as she turned her back on me.

“There was another not long before you who also didn’t want to be here.” Okay, so this made more sense.

“What happened?” I asked knowing it wasn’t good given the slight emotion in her voice.

“She was resold to another before we could carry out our plan.” I could tell even without asking that this person had meant something to her but I asked anyway because I wanted to know who.

“And she was a friend?” The girl looked back to me and I could see the unshed tears in her eyes when she uttered one heart-breaking word,

“Sister.”

She left quickly after saying this and I couldn’t say that I blamed her. I couldn’t imagine the pain of seeing your own sister not only sold into a harem but to witness the misery of it each day would be even worse. Not everyone got to taste the sweetness of freedom to choose in life, but this was even less so throughout history. It was a brutal awakening and realisation of truth that was hard to swallow, one made even harder knowing that the man I loved had played his part in this cruel world just like so many others. I didn’t want to learn about this part of his life but I guess in the end it was just one more test I had to face in the eyes of the Fates.

I remembered Draven once telling me about how humans had to forge their own path through history and that included making their own choices. His kind couldn’t change the nature of humans as much as we could change theirs. So when playing a part in man’s history it had to be done just as they chose to live. After all, it took the will of man to stand and fight for what they believed in and more often than not, it was the fight between good and evil and between right and wrong. Whether you faced an army standing in your way or just one man. Because in the end the most powerful weapon of all was the belief that burned like an inferno in your heart. One that was so strong it could defeat the Gods or in turn give them the power needed to aid us as we passed into the Afterlife.

Yes, this certainly felt like a test and one that I knew was to be my
last.

Thoughts like this stuck to me throughout the rest of the day like muggy air that just wouldn’t clear without the storm, which in itself had me wondering when my own storm would come. I felt something was coming but without being prepared for it I felt more like I was fumbling around in the dark looking for a way out. Would I have enough time to escape before Draven called for me? And even if I managed to break free from this madness, what dangers lay outside of these walls for me? What of Ari, Pip and Sophia? So many questions and as usual, I had no bloody answers for any of them!

It was so frustrating, just sat here waiting and feeling utterly clueless. I also didn’t like the idea of involving a girl I barely knew and knowing that there was the possibility of getting her in just as much trouble as I would be in if caught. It was at this point that I decided I couldn’t go through with it if it caused any risk to her at all. If there was even the slightest possibility of her being implicated in my escape, then I would just have to think of something else.

What exactly I had no clue, but at the moment that was a moot point until night fell and I could find out what she had planned. Which was why I was more than thankful when I was finally told to go back to my room and sleep before eating for the last time today. Hell, living in this place I just felt like I was fattened up ready for an apple to be stuffed in my mouth before I got a good roasting…
no pun intended
. And with the amount of oil that had been rubbed into my skin in the last twenty-four hours, the idea wasn’t that farfetched as I felt as if I had been marinating all day in a hot sweaty room.

If anything, by the time I made it back to my little tented room, I almost collapsed onto the pillows, feeling utterly exhausted from doing nothing all day. Thankfully before this I had been allowed to cool down in the main pool before returning as I felt like a sweaty mess after being in that heated plunge pool that they had forced me to spend most of the day in. I had protested countless times only to be ignored every time so in the end I’d just shut up and endured it like a good little slave girl.

It was no wonder then that when I was finally allowed out that I jumped in the cool pool so fast, I must have looked like a child on the first day of their summer holiday…well, not that any of the others knew what that looked like but it was at least how I felt. So much for playing the dainty flower like the rest who would simply dip their toes in first before slowly sinking the rest of their bodies in like graceful synchronised swimmers. No, not me, I was only a few steps away from dive bombing in there saying to hell with the others.

And it was whilst I was in there that I received my second warning from Draven’s favourite after she slithered her way into the water like some anaconda lurking in the shallows. Well I had seen the true horrors of what were hidden away in those shadows for most of my life and there were things that would scare the shit out of the bravest of people. I had also dealt with bigger bitches than this pampered princess wannabe and I knew from experience that they had bigger claws than this spoilt brat, so when she approached she obviously wondered why I didn’t look worried.