Oh. Fuck.
The protective numbness she'd cloaked herself in these last few days burned away into nothing. In its place was shame that she'd considered, however briefly, giving up. Fear for the three men chained on the floor. And rage at the bruises and blood that covered them.
She started to take a step forward to run to them, but Xanth's hard grip on her hand stopped her. It was a stark reminder that she wasn't free to act on impulse and that, whatever happened in the next few minutes, she needed to be very, very careful. For her sake as well as theirs.
The healer in her took over as she studied their wounds. She couldn't tell without a proper examination, but some of those bruises looked days old, some of the blood dried, some of it fresh. None of it appeared to be life-threatening. Gryff's long, dark hair hung in front of his face, clearly in need of a wash. She could see him sniff the air and immediately look up, noticing her first. His posture straightened as he nudged Coen.
"Not quite the daring rescue you were hoping for, I imagine." Coen's voice sounded dry and strained, like he'd been too long without water. His crooked smile warmed her heart.
Her eyes met Beckett's as he looked up. His entire body went tense. Alayna felt the entire world slip away until it was only the two of them staring at each other.
"Alayna." The relief in his voice was palpable. He tried to stand. It wasn't until a giant fist came out of nowhere to strike him in the stomach that she realized the twins were standing on either side of the little group, holding their chains. Beckett grunted and doubled over.
Realization nearly made her stumble. Xanth had let the twins have her as a reward for torturing her friends. The... the people she loved. She'd come on the twins' cocks time and time again, because they'd beaten some of the people who meant the most to her in the entire world. White hot rage began building inside her. Her eyes went to Vaughn as she recalled Xanth telling her he was the one who usually gave the beatings. Her gaze narrowed on him.
"I understand you're all very well acquainted with my pet."
She bristled at that, and then realized what they must be seeing right now. Oh, Xanth had planned this too well. She'd thought he had cornered her outside the room because he just wanted to touch her, but there had been an ulterior motive. She'd walked into this room wearing silks that barely concealed her body, so thin they could see the outline of her hard nipples. Xanth had mussed her hair in the hallway, making the curls wild, and kissed her so hard her lips were still swollen. And he'd stroked her pussy until she was dripping wet, Gryff no doubt scenting her arousal at this very moment.
That fucking bastard.
She wanted to tell them that she'd been forced into all of this, that none of it was what she wanted. Wanted to tell them about the potion and how he'd conditioned her body to respond. But she wasn't free to say any of that.
Xanth tugged her further into the room. He took a seat on the large, ornate throne at the head of the room and made her stop beside him.
"Somehow these three brave souls made it almost all the way through the Greenfrost. Almost. They stumbled upon one of the outlier farms and were apprehended by the guards stationed there. It caused quite the uproar." Alayna had to school her expression so she didn't frown. "I had them imprisoned in the dungeon while I decided what to do with them. Naturally, my first inclination was to torture and kill them for having the audacity to think they could come steal what is rightfully mine."
He placed a hand on her backside in a clear demonstration of ownership.
"But gossip travels fast in this castle and I knew it would only be a matter of time before you found out I had your former lovers put to death. You sucked my cock so obediently in the city and then again while the twins were having their way with you that I thought this could serve as a reward."
She wanted to slap him for the words coming out of his mouth, for the clear message he was sending to the chained men on the floor:
While you were being savagely beaten, she was willingly sucking my cock.
"It doesn't happen often, but we usually give uninvited guests two choices: If they have valuable skills, they can stay here and forsake the outside world in favor of working for me. Or they can die."
"Doesn't sound like much of a choice," Coen said. One of the twins hit him on the back of the head.
"Today, however, Alayna will be making the decision for you. To demonstrate my benevolence, I'll even give her a third option: To set you free."
She tore her gaze away from Beckett to look over at Xanth. "Truly?"
He nodded. "If that's what you want, I'll release them. I'll even have my guards escort them to the edge of the Greenfrost. But if they ever step foot on my lands again, I'll have them executed immediately."
"How will I know they've been safely released?"
How will I know you haven't killed them and lied to me about it?
"It hurts that you still don't trust me. I'll scry so you can watch them leave the Greenfrost."
She worried her lower lip between her teeth. There had to be some kind of catch, an angle she hadn't found yet, but Alayna couldn't see it.
"Release them."
"Very well." He looked to one of the twins. "Vaughn, round up an off-duty patrol and have them escort these men out of our home. Unharmed, with enough supplies to see them safely on their way."
"I'm Victor," Victor grumbled.
"Whatever. See that it's done— "
"What about what we want?"
All eyes turned to Beckett. His dark black hair stuck to the blood crusted on the side of his head, his skin a touch sallow from being denied sunlight, but his gaze was hard on Xanth. Alayna felt dread curling in the pit of her stomach.
Xanth sat forward on the throne, his full attention on Beckett. "You aren't in a position to bargain."
"You said you give trespassers two choices: Death or to work for you. What if we..." he trailed off for a moment, looking at Gryff and Coen, before turning his attention back to Xanth. "What if I want to stay here and work for you?"
"Beckett, no- "
"Quiet," Xanth snapped at Alayna. He turned back to Beckett. "This is interesting. You would truly give up your one chance at freedom and remain here? There won't be another opportunity to walk free."
