“You’d rather keep living here? This offer expires in five minutes, and then I go and grab the sobbing blonde in the entrance hall instead.”
The blonde was Bella, the one Crullfed had hurried off to see, leaving me bleeding on the floor. This man wanted me instead, over Bella’s classic beauty and extensive training. She could dance, sing, cook, and was rumored to have been trained in the bedroom arts as well. What did I have to offer besides the ability to polish the silverware or sweep the floor?
Guilt crept up my spine as I thought of stealing someone else’s chance to get away from Crullfed’s hands, but it was also a risk. This…’man’ was clearly not a human but wasn’t any kind of creature I’d heard about either. What if he planned to use me for some nefarious purpose? Clarice used to terrify the younger girls to keep us inside, going on about blood magicks and demon rituals. Her stories were full of blood and gore that kept us clutching to each other in fear. Fear always worked when it came to control.
“Please come with me,” he tried again. That word jolted me. You didn’t say please to a slave.
Lucretia screamed again, and I winced. His grip tightened on my wrist; his skin was hot against mine. His eyes studied me, neither demanding or threatening. The choice hovered before me, like a phantom breeze as it brushed my face.
“Alright.”
I didn’t try to pull away when he heaved me over his broad shoulders and took off running into the night. All I could do was grip onto his neck in terror as the landscape flew by underneath his feet, aimed directly north. Through the meadow behind the manor, and into the woods that lay beyond, jumping over streams, ditches, and gullies. He jumped, and suddenly we were in the air as a pair of black, scaled wings pumped hard on either side of me. We soared over the forest, headed straight towards the mountains in the north. Massive rock formations rose on either side of us, and before I could blink the mountains rose on either side of us. How fast had he run? How fast could he fly? A delighted roar tore from his throat as he flew higher, and all I could do was shut my eyes and hold on. The air blew wildly in my face as I clutched to him tightly.
“Are you sick?”
The wind had ceased to pummel my face, and I cracked one eye open. The world was dark, but thankfully solid under my feet. I turned and saw the mouth of the small cave we were standing in, and I peered over the edge. The world tilted crazily as I leaned over, and a pair of strong arms snatched me back, safely away from the edge. His eyes were unnerving; not only for their color, but for the hungry, starved way they appraised me. I noticed his wings were gone, and his back covered again by that odd, gleaming skin. I had never heard of a creature that could do that.
“I don’t—I mean—”
He rolled his eyes as I struggled to speak, and then had the gall to sniff me. I wriggled away as he held me in place, his arm a steel vice that clamped around me. He buried his nose in my hair then promptly dropped me as if I carried some filthy disease. Acutely, I became aware of the dirty dress I wore, and the pathetic house slippers covering my feet. Frowning, I hoped the brown splotch on the edge of my toe wasn’t blood from the previous day’s delivery. I wondered why I suddenly cared.
It was impossible to see anything in the pitch darkness. I lurched wildly to the side, unable to get my bearings, still woozy from flying. I put my hands out to the side, feeling solid stone walls to the left and right. It helped ground my mild nausea. The man was silent, stomping off into the darkness.
“Where are we going?” I dared to ask. My fear of the unknown was greater than my fear of him. He sniffed, impatient.
“This passageway goes underneath the mountain.”
If I wasn’t so anxious, I might have rolled my eyes. Obviously. His voice was getting further away, and I blindly reached out in panic, catching the tips of his fingers. He wouldn’t let me die before I could be of use to him, would he? He grunted in irritation and hefted me over his shoulder again, muttering something about humans and their weak eyesight.
“Maybe if you would have worn some decent shoes—”
“I’m terribly sorry, the next time you kidnap me I’ll be sure to be properly prepared!” I froze as soon as the words left my mouth, unsure what his reaction would be. To my relief, he merely snorted in amusement and kept walking. I hung lamely over his shoulder, quickly bored with the endless expanse of darkness behind me. Were we going to some secret, underground ritual chamber? Why was I better suited to his purposes than Bella? Was he some sort of humanoid demon? The questions wouldn’t stop, and I had no way to distract myself from my racing thoughts.
He stopped suddenly, breaking me from my dark musings. There was a loud metallic sound, and the floor underneath us groaned, lurched, and moved. He dropped me heavily, and I crossed my arms as the walls shook around us, refusing to reach out again to my captor to steady myself. After what seemed like a lifetime, a door rose in front of us, and the movement ceased. I sighed in relief as flickering torches lit the way, however dim they were.
“There is one last thing before you enter the great hall.” My head tilted to the side, curious. If I had to guess, he looked...nervous.
“I can’t have you walking
