“Done,” Inayah huffed in exhaustion, sitting back on her heels and wiping saline perspiration from her forehead.Her wary gaze scoured the foyer and hallway before her, the wooden floors scrubbed clean of grime and dirt. The wooden bucket beside her sloshed with murky brown contents as she tossed the brush inside.Her whole body feels sore. The skin of her knees scraped, bruised and bleeding. Her arms numb from the strain of moving back and forth viciously struggling to clean the grime.She blows away a strand of hair that falls over her eyes, momentarily obscuring her vision, then flexes her fingers, cracking each stiff knuckle.Her legs ache with the need to rest, to find somewhere warm and cosy, curl up beneath a blanket and let her heavy eyes slip shut.However, something terrible was keeping her from succumbing to sleep. Her stomach snarled then and from it came the not-so-subtle undertone of pain.Inayah glanced up at the o

Salem stood by the doorway, unsettlingly calm gaze on her.Inayah stood, half terrified and burning Bright red with shame at the notion of being caught not only eating forbidden food, but stuffing her face in the process, without so much of a care.She must’ve looked grotesque with grease and spices smeared across her mouth, cheeks bulging from being overstuffed and her hand… Inayah released the leg she had torn away and straightened, forcing herself to swallow whilst keeping a straight face.Her heart breathed into a paper bag of worry, shock roofing her to the ground. Words deserted her in that moment as she lay vulnerable before her master.Salem Watched her a moment longer, then straightened, “Come to my chambers after you are done.” Is all he says before pivoting and leaving her.Dread. That was all she felt and the food that once settled nourishingly sweet in the pit of her belly turned sour and churned about. She gre

Inayah hovered by Salem’s study chambers. She wore the only other outfit she had, brown dress, scarf and boots. Her hair was slightly damp from the hurried shower she had taken, face flushed from the cold morning air.Kade had wanted to take her out of the mansion.She had not refused, and a slight thrill of finally leaving the boundaries surged through her. Thrill, then terror at the realization of having to tell Salem. Her master. What if he denied her of that right? What if he scoffed in her face? Better yet, what if he punished her for even tolerating the idea? She was a slave after all, and slaves do not seek the pleasures of the freed.Still.Kade was dressing in his room and Mathilde was banging pots and pans whilst moving about in the kitchen having nothing to do since Inayah had done it all in her moment of adrenaline-filled joy. She figured if she did all the chores before Mathilde woke then she would have no reason to interject Ina

Inayah sat on her bed, her belly of nervous anticipation.She had gone about her day in a flurry of sickening excitement, washing clothes thoroughly, scrubbing floors clean, polishing the silver all before Mathilde could command her to do so. By the time dusk began to encroach in the horizon, her whole body was sore, knuckles and knees bruised pomegranate red but she did not care.Be ready tonight. Kade had whispered in that mischievous promising way, I will return for you before midnight.Before midnight. Inayah glanced at the small clock overhead and cleared her throat. She smoothed both palms over the skirt she wore. It was not the most impressionable one she had, if anything it was the only piece of lower clothing she possessed when Sin had taken her.Rising from the bed, Inayah approached the small shard of glass mirror and raised it to her face, angling this way and that as she scrutinized her exterior. The excitement that bubbled within her began t

Oscar?Kade studied the pimply brute of a boy, medium height with a head full of brown curly hair and light green eyes. There was something odd about the mortal, perhaps it was the fact that he stood between three large men who eyed Kade distastefully.Or rather, it was the fixated way he stared at Inayah. His Inayah.“Inayah,” Oscar began, stepping forward then halted, eyes lifting to Kade who simply watched with an imperturbable expression.His bemused stare wandered between the two. “I have been searching for you everywhere.” The boy finally managed, still staring at Kade though he spoke to the girl.Kade’s head cocked to the side, studying the boy from the bridge of his nose. “Oscar.” he finally spoke, eyes glinting with fire and water, together in an unending torrent.The boy straightened, somehow gathering courage and finally regarding Kade head on, though he simply stood at five foot eight whi