Feyre’s POVI lay quietly on my bed, staring unblinkingly at the ceiling. Mishka snored lightly from the bed next to mine. She’d come back much later than I had and called out to me. I’d pretended to be asleep though, unable to face anybody just yet. I didn’t think I could form a coherent sentence without dissolving into pathetic tears and I was sure Mishka had her own woes to tend to considering she was coming back almost seven hours later after being called away first. I’d been awake all night, unable to get a wink of sleep. Every sudden sound made me jump, ever terrified that it was the Lycan King coming to vandalize me again. The one time I’d fallen asleep, Xaden’s arms and one good eye had jerked me awake with a choked scream. I was lucky Mishka had been deeply asleep, pulled underneath by her own exhaustion. Ever since then, I remained awake, the jarring memories of the event replaying over and over again in my head. I’d showered after limping back to my room, but I still
Feyre’s POVI tried to hold the pose steady, paying close attention to my form as we’d been instructed by the yoga teacher. My muscles trembled with the effort but I held strong, not wanting her little plastic cane to land on my back again. I envied Mishka beside me, who moved with a grace and effort that I couldn’t dream of managing with my panting lungs and quaking limbs. It was clear that she’d been doing this a while and she very was well toned for it. The instructor moved us through several more poses which I valiantly attempted. It was only on the last one that my muscles gave out with thirty seconds still to go in the allotted time. To my gratitude, she let me have it without any swing of her cane. I panted while the rest of the girls held through until the bell rang. It took a few minutes for me to feel okay enough to rise. Mishka sat for a few minutes as well, but I had a feeling it was more for my benefit than hers. “You okay?” She asked and I nodded with a smile
Feyre’s POVI was lying on my bed, flipping through my second book two days later when a knock came at my door.Mishka was out getting her laundry so I was alone inside. I sat up on my bed with a frown. “Come in.” The door creaked open to reveal a maid. “You’ve been summoned to the reception, Miss. You are to dress presentably and be there in five minutes.” My hackles rose. “Summoned by who?” I asked but she didn’t reply to me, closing the door with a click now that her message had been delivered. I stared after her, my anxiety, an all too familiar companion these days, rising instantly. I got out of bed, washed my face, and ran a brush through my black tresses before dressing in some sort of red lace teddy that made me blush to even look at. It had garters on the thigh with more straps around my back and waist. It came with a matching robe that didn’t do much for my modesty, as small and thin as it was. Still, I wrapped it around my body as best as I could. It wo
Feyre’s POVAll in all, my last encounter with the Lycan King wasn’t nearly as terrible as my first or as scarring as the second. All that had been required of me was to serve the King and his guests. Even though I had to do it in what was pretty much erotic underwear and high heels, I’d managed to finish and escape without so much as a brush of skin with anyone else. Apart from aching feet and understanding the extent of Xaden’s ambition, I was left with little to traumatize me. I hadn’t relaxed until Garrick escorted me back to the Harem and even then I’d had a little bit of anxiety. It had been two days since then and I was much calmer. I flipped through another page of my book, not particularly engrossed in what was going on inside it. Mishka slept in her bed having been out with a patron particularly late last night. It was nearly noon and she was yet to stir from the slumber she’d fallen into when she stumbled over here by six AM this morning. I was a tad worried
Feyre’s POVI remained kneeling at Xaden’s feet for the rest of the day, numbed by this new realization while the men laughed and drank, some even smoking all around me. Others trickled it, more girls being fetched to serve as party favors. There were mostly nobles and a few retired generals, all brimming with excitement at the disaster they had wreaked on yet another innocent werewolf kingdom. I was ignored for the most part where I was on the floor and I was grateful for it. The first girl I’d met here had long been made topless, the three others who had later joined all sitting or laying across the lap of one man or the other, being pawed relentlessly by multiple hands. Occasionally, I was asked to get up and serve something or fetch another. “To King Xaden! Ruler of the northern straits and soon to the emperor of Lycans and wolves alike!” One of his guests raised in toast and a boisterous cheer rang around the room. “To our brave warriors who keep conquering us territo
CHAPTER SEVENTEENFeyre’s POVI shut the book in my lap and dumped it with the rest of my finished pile with two pages to go. I couldn’t suffer through it anymore, my consciousness and will overwhelmed by the barrage of memories that assaulted my every waking moment. I’d spent the last two days after the gruesome execution of Alpha Landon trying my best to forget. I was having no such luck. I’d been allowed back to my room, Xaden releasing me from my torture and calling for one of his favored girls before the end of the night. As incredibly traumatizing as it was, I’d had the best outcome out of all the girls. I could only thank the goddess that I wasn’t yet ‘experienced’ because I would have bore the same fate as them otherwise staying up with the men until early the next morning and doing god knew what sort of debauchery before dragging their exhausted selves back. Every time I thought about it, my stomach churned. Every time I remembered that soon that would be my own
Feyre’s POVI tried not to breathe too loudly. Tried not to move. Tried not to let my heart beat too fast or any of the other things that would alert a highly sensitive lycan or wolf shifter to my presence behind the wall. I had no such luck because the voices seized all of a sudden, footsteps speeding up. “Who’s there?” I heard a moment later and I immediately turned, trying to run. I had barely made it three steps when they caught me. Hands wrapped around my waist from behind, drawing me into a hard, tall body. I struggled uselessly, squirming and kicking the air as I tried to escape that vice-like grip. The other man came around to face me, a delighted smile that made my skin crawl breaking out on his face at the sight of me. “Well, well well. What do we have here?” He drawled. The man behind me lifted me up, my kicking less now that I was suspended off the floor. “A runaway slave?” Fear lanced through me. “No! I wasn’t trying to run away!” “Oh, you weren’
Feyre’s POVWe met the guard who had escorted me to the library outside the door. He’d been about to enter just as we were leaving. He startled seeing Garrick, then at my disheveled look. “M─My Lord─” “You’re fired. Get your things and get the hell out of the palace. Now.” Garrick said flatly, his tone leaving no room for argument. He turned and kept walking towards the direction of the harem. I followed behind, glancing back to see the guard frozen in place, staring after us in shock. Garrick stomped all the way over to the women’s wing with me in tow. At the reception, he demanded to see Madame Esmelda but was told she was out. He fumed at the receptionist as if she was the one who had made the Madame leave the premises. “Garrick. Please. Let’s not make it a bigger deal than it is.” Perhaps it was the subtle warnings and acts of kindness he’d shown me since I got into this hell of a place, but I felt comfortable enough to speak plainly to him. To my relief, he d