My partner

Isolde.

"Stop pulling me so much," Isolde said to the sentinels as they led her along the halls of the tower. She still couldn't believe what had just occurred. She stood before the lord and spoke to him freely.

It wasn't like he didn't deserve it, Isolde spoke in her mind. He deserved more for leading her on and pretending not to be the man she was referring to.

How could she have been so trusting at first?

Isolde's thought snapped when the sentinels took her into a dark room, and as the lord had commanded, the room had no window, so everywhere was pitch black.

Gasping, she turned to the sentinels and said. "How do you expect me to stay here!?"

"Orders from the lord," The blonde sentinel said. It made her feel agitated, and she spoke.

"My name is Isolde Hawstrings!"

The sentinel mocked as he led the others outside and locked the door. Through the opening, he said, "Your name does not matter. I think you should be more concerned about your situation. Will you be able to fulfill the role as the lord's companion?"

The sentinel let the words linger in the air as they departed, leaving Isolde in the dark as worry overwhelmed her. Now that it was obvious she'd be staying in Abbator, what would she do to manage being the lord's companion?

For the first time since the whole situation, Isolde's eyes watered. The tears raced down her cheeks as she thought about the large male she'd encountered. The lord of Abbator.

Several days had passed with Isolde being trapped in the dark room. The sentinels, of course, obeyed the lord's orders by bringing her food and water once a day. It wasn't enough to hold her belly.

As a result, Isolde grew lean.

She propped up from the floor where she lay when she heard the incoming footfalls. A sentinel was approaching.

Ignoring the cold chills biting into her body, she crawled close to the door and waited. Her heart leaped when the sound of the lock coming undone echoed in the quiet hall.

Isolde hummed the moment the sentinel fluttered the door open. She lunged at him to attack, but the sentinel was fast enough to hold her hand.

"You hawkling!" The same sentinel from days before barked as he nabbed Isolde's wrists above her head.

"Let me go, you knucklehead!" She spat, releasing hot breath while thrashing in his bruising grip. The sentinel enjoyed her struggles more than he'd admit.

"It's not in my place to decide that. Only your body will tell." The sentinel rasped, making her pause.

"What do you mean?" Isolde heard the hope bleeding into her words. The sentinel gave a taunting smirk and said with a cocked head.

"The lord's partner is always put to the test for compatibility. If, after the assessment, you're not endowed enough to become the lord's partner, you'll be sent to a secret house, where you'll be useful to our male population." His taunting smirk grew as he leaned closer and hummed in her ears. "Maybe I could pay a generous amount to have you..." He winked.

Isolde took in his smug look and cursed. "I'd never bear anyone's child!"

"A female can only hope. But it's all crushed as long as you're in Abbator, " He reared back and tugged her out of the cell. Nudging a hand at her back, he commanded. "Now move, hawkling. The elders await!"

Isolde stumbled and gasped. Grounding herself, she started to move as commanded.

Draco.

Hushed murmurs escalated in the courtroom as the lord took his seat after speaking.

What he pointed out obviously didn't sit well with the elders. They were against his opinions. The elders leaned into each other, muttering in disapproval. However, the lord ignored them all, deciding nothing would ever change his mind today.

The decision had been made! The high elder would lie with the partner. Knock her up so the lord would take the pup as his. Draco knew this was his best bet in stopping the continuous deaths of his partners.

One of the elders was just about to stand and speak against the lord's decision before the double oak doors of the high courtroom fluttered open. The object of discussion was dragged in by a sentinel.

Panic shone in her blue eyes as she whipped it around the high courtroom. Fear seeped from her pores. Draco noticed she had lost weight. He thought she deserved it after the way she talked down to him a week ago.

Though her body remained lean and pale, her blue eyes shone brightly as she took in the hordes of elders of Abbator. When they settled on him, the brightness in them dimmed to hatred.

Draco would've shrunk if he were any common male, but he wasn't. He was the lord of the rogues, and no mere female had the power to make him cower.

Silence settled in the hall as the elders looked at her. One of them stood.

The high elder. He gaited to where she stood and circled her.

"What is your name, female?" High Elder Takoda asked.

She trembled and muttered with shaky lips. "Isolde Hawstrings."

"Isolde," Draco whispered under his breath, tasting the name. He hated how he loved it. That made him swear never to address her by her name.

Calling her mouthy would be better, given the way she had talked to him a week ago.

"Isolde Hawstrings, a nice name. Welcome to Abbator. You're to be the lord's partner. Do you have what it takes to be the lord's?" Takoda asked.

Isolde practically rolled her eyes at him and scoffed, which stunned everyone.

"How am I supposed to know that? You people took me captive, remember?"

Murmurs broke out in the room. The elders were shocked at her audacity. She had a bratty mouth. Draco nearly smiled at the confusion Isolde caused in the hall. See? She was so mouthy and obviously wasn't a match for him; the thought had Draco rolling his eyes.

"In Abbator, all males do not appreciate being talked to in such a manner, Isolde," Takoda hinted as he continued to circle her. "You shall be forgiven. After all, we took you captive as you said."

Now, he stopped before Isolde, face bland as he ordered. "Strip, female. Let's begin the test."

"What!?" She barked in shock, but no one paid her any mind. The instruction was simple. "I could have the sentinels do that, female, and they'd gladly do it," Takoda added, startling her.

"No. No! I can do it myself," she hummed inside her. Draco had panicked when he heard what Takoda said about the sentinels stripping her. However, his panic calmed at Isolde's adamant resistance.

Isolde reached out for the ropes holding the tunic together and began to undo it. Tension spread in the hall as the elders watched her. Their gazes were sharp and curious.

She removed the tunic and went for her undergarments. With one firm tug, the fabrics slithered down her ankles, pooling together.

She stood bare before the court, her long hair cascading down to her buttocks. Isolde's heartbeat surged under the devouring gazes of the males before her. She stared into nothing for a while before flicking her gaze back down at the lord, Draco.

The look in his eyes was intense. Dire.

"A great piece of...art," Takoda hummed, circling Isolde again. He smelled her skin. Her hair. Looking at the others, he hummed. "She smells like rain-soaked earth and honeyed vanilla."

The elders murmured in glee. None of the females they've gotten for the lord had such a powerful natural scent.

Takoda proceeded with the test. He ran his fingers down Isolde's arms. She twitched, which made the others smile. The essence of the test was to know if she'd feel any spark and to ensure her womanhood was large and fit enough to bear the lord's heir.

Isolde felt so exposed at the moment. Several eyes in the room were fixed on her, but only one pair sent a sizzle of heat down her body.

She gasped when Takoda flung her onto the table in the center of the courtroom and parted her thighs. Her scent filled the noses of all the males, but none moved an inch to act on their baser instincts.

She flinched as the Takoda glided his fingers up her inner thighs. Isolde's wide eyes scanned around the room, settling on Draco. 

Takoda seemed to be using magic to resonate with the sweet land. Isolde was at a loss for what to do with his long gaze. Draco, upon seeing that, nearly leaped out of his throne to whisk Takoda away from her. Yet he reined in on his control. 

This was their tradition; besides, he didn't care for the female. Amid the assessment, Takoda beamed.

"Court! She has it. The gland. The claim is well fit for the king's heir."

"What do you mean....?" Isolde asked, flushing brightly. She quickly shut her thighs. Shielding her body, she stared across the room, confused.

"Uh, the duty now lies to you, high elder Takoda. The lord already made it clear he'd not breed the partner," One of the elders said.

Isolde stared with shocked eyes at the king. When a small smile of relief spread across her cheeks as if grateful she wouldn't have to entertain him, Draco growled under his breath in anger.

"If that's the case, then I shall take her," Takoda said with a shrug, but the lord stood up in haste at that moment, his iridescent eyes glowing as he stared at the elders and then back at Isolde.

Taking a step down the dais, Draco paused before the court and declared.

"No, Takoda. I'll take her. She'll be my partner."

At that declaration, Isolde's eyes went owl-wide with shock. It's over. That little hope she once had of having her life back was gone.