~Milo~
I was in love. For the first time in my life I knew undoubtedly that I was in love with this woman, and just like everyone else I had ever cared for, she had been taken from me. But I was a man now and Bri was still alive. I would spend my last breath getting her to safety if that's what it came down to, but I was more than just a lovestruck fool. I was a soldier, a mercenary, a member of one of the strongest units in the most feared infantry in all the kingdoms. There is a time for love and there is a time for war. Now... now was the time for war.
Infiltrating the estate was easy. One good thing about Lord Grenar's alliance with the Brotherhood was the contingent of new men that had been sent to protect the estate from probable retaliations. Most of these men recognised my brothers and I but none of them stopped us when we walked through the front gates. It had been a bit of a gamble, but we hadn't seen any messengers arrive from the Commander making it unlikely that news of our abandoned posts had reached these men. The gamble paid off and we shared nods with a few of the units we had trained with and shared meals with.
Rin remained hooded, obscuring his face from any of Grenar's guards who might recognise him from his time in captivity here. He assured us that they never knew he was a Brother, only that he was a mage. We fell into line with the rest of the men, pretending we were following commands we had never been given.
"She said she was underground?" I asked as we made our way through the gardens toward the main structure.
"Yah," Chiron confirmed. "She said there were no windows but I don't think it was the dungeon. She would have mentioned it."
Rin nodded in agreement then started pointing us in different directions to widen our search. When we entered the hall, our search was abruptly ended. In the room to our right, Bri was sitting at a long table sharing a meal with Grenar and a half dozen other finely dressed men.
We joined the guards along the far wall, unnoticed and Rin took up a post by the door, mostly out of sight. We stood, as if on duty, observing the woman we had come to rescue. I would have expected some kind of reaction when she noticed us, but she didn't notice us. She didn't notice anything.
She sat with a straight back, hands in her lap, staring blankly into space. It was as if her body alone was present and her soul was absent. Her food remained untouched and Grenar seemed unbothered by this as he laughed with his guests. When I pulled my focus away from Bri enough to recognise the subject of conversation, it took all my self control not to try and run them all through with my sword.
"She's extremely skilled with that tongue and you would be amazed the kind of control I can command of her throat! Just a couple words and she's swallowing me like a true whore!"
"Send her over here and show us her tricks."
"I bet she would struggle to swallow me even while under your command."
"You would suffocate her! Don't kill her before the rest of us get a shot in!"
They all laughed, talking about the crude ways they could command her obedience.
"Now, now boys," Grenar stood, downing the last of his chalice. "You can all have a turn with her before you leave, but there are other, greater purposes for adding the witch to my collection. This one has a rare and valuable talent. Abril, stand here."
Bri moved stiffly to stand at the head of the table. She was absolutely stunning in a sheer white dress that left nothing to the imagination. Her hair had been tied into the popular fashion of the upper class exposing a long neck and delicate collar.
"Abril, my dear friend Lord Conrad has been looking for an old book for a very long time. He found a page detailing a very useful ritual and had been searching for the grimoire ever since. Be a dear and let him know where he can find the rest of it."
He put a weathered piece of parchment into her hands and her eyes immediately glossed over, half closed. A minute later she spoke, monotoned and emotionless.
"Outside the township of Liebroke, a witch named Annie holds the Grimoire of the Sleepless."
Shocked silence filled the room until it was broken by the one named Conrad. "Is this real? How do you know she's not making this up?"
"She can't lie," Grenar said smugly. "Isn't that right my dear?"
Bri answered in the same monotone. "You commanded me not to lie."
"Send a man," Grenar suggested. "Liebroke isn't too far and I'd be happy to put an end to this obsessive search of yours. You-" Grenar pointed at Chiron. "Send one of your units to retrieve the Grimoire of the Sleepless for Lord Conrad."
"Yes sir," Chiron said with a convincing amount of deference. He left the room, presumably to relay the order.
~Bri~
They were here! I knew they would come for me! Chiron passed along the message and they were going to get me out of here. For the first time since I had found myself face to face with the monster who hijacked my life I felt real hope.
My body was not my own as I sat and tried not to listen to crude conversation all around me. Instead I stared straight forward and focused on the familiar silhouettes that lingered in my peripheral. When I first noticed them, I was a little glad for the collar that forced me to follow Lord Grenar's command to "sit still and look pretty." My forced composure kept my surprise from reaching my lips or tears of joy from leaking from my eyes.
As expected, the lord made me show off for his friends. When he pointed at Chiron, I feared my heart beat could be heard across the room. Thankfully, it appeared that no one noticed my internal panic and Chiron left the room at the lord's command.
"Now then, who would like some private entertainment while we wait for the book to be fetched?" Lord Grenar asked the table. I managed to grip my fists in defiance. It went unnoticed by everyone but the lord who just smirked and stroked my arm.
This was also not a surprise. He had threatened to give me over to his colleagues when I kept finding loopholes in his control over me. I couldn't help it when he left the door open and I took the chance to run, hands covering my ears. Unfortunately, it appeared that I didn't have to hear a command to be forced to obey it.
"My new wife has been very amenable since our union, but we are still working on manners when I am not in the room to command them. Would anyone be willing to help her learn to be a hospitable lady of the house?"
There were enthusiastic volunteers all around and each of the men started to pitch why they would be the best one for the job. "My cock will have her begging in minutes." "I've trained many whores and the buyers are always satisfied!" "My wife entertains all my guests and still begs for more. This witch looks like she will be just the same..."
"Aaron," Lord Grenar called to a quiet man at the far end of the table. Aaron inclined his head to acknowledge he had been called but otherwise didn't move from his relaxed poise.
"Are you still training up those slaves from the north?"
The man nodded.
"I hear they are very loyal to their new masters when they leave your facilities."
"They are," Aaron confirmed. His voice was very deep and everything about him made my skin crawl. Physically, he looked unassuming, but there was something in his eyes, his voice, the way he moved and held himself. This was a very bad man.
"I would be very appreciative if you spent some time with Abril. Taught her some respect."
