Page 156 of Chandelier Sin
“We run Pendulum with discipline. Otherwise, there’d be chaos.”
There was no way I’d walk into that chamber willingly.
I drew in sharp breath. “Did Atticus explain why he came up here?”
“Why so much interest?”
“I’m as much a part of this place as you.”
This time, those words stung.
She considered me for the longest time. “Atticus is cutting his friends out of the deal. If that’s what he’s willing to do to his best friends…” She gave a shrug.
“He made a deal?”
“He made a deal,” she repeated.
My throat tightened. I couldn’t fathom how I’d been so wrong about him.
So damn wrong.
I shook my head as though shaking off a boring thought. “I’m tired. I think I’ll go home.”
“I’m actually here to escort you to the dungeon.”
“Why?”
I knew why—to offer their guestssomething barbaric to feed their craving for cruelty.
I acted like I wasn’t concerned. “Tonight doesn’t work for me.”
Then I saw them—Brice and Reynor—two of Jewel’s Doms. They’d obviously been tasked with escorting me to the lowest chambers of Pendulum.
“Don’t make a scene in front of the subs,” she said. “We don’t want them losing respect for you.”
They locked me in one of the more elaborate chambers. The room was so dark I could hardly see my surroundings.
Being forced to spend time alone with my thoughts was torture in and of itself. Dread coursed through my veins as I imagined what they might be planning to do, causing my heart to race and my breathing to become too rapid—a panic attack was looming.
And what was happening to Atticus? Here I was trapped in this dungeon, unable to help, unable to take any action.
Jewel’s Doms had escorted me in here and she’d followed close behind, swollen with pride that she’d finally found a way to prove her superiority by wielding her power.
Subjecting others to public humiliation was never out of character for him, but he’d never pushed me like this before. He knew I hated him. There was no going back to what we once had before the illusion of our marriage had dissolved.
I walked over to the exit by the discreet elevator and found it locked from the other side.
I stalked over to the other exit that led to the hallway and found it was locked, too.
“Open the door!” I yelled.
Out there, in the real world, there would be consequences for treating people like this, but at Pendulum, they made their own rules.
Aemon owned me and this was about proving it.
Making my way back to the king-sized bed, I sat on the edge and waited. Above me hung a low light fixture with metal antlers. The symbolism was not lost on me. I was the hunted, and they were playing with their prey.
I’d heard that at Chrysalis there were chandeliers everywhere. Exquisite light fixtures throughout the manor, providing a dramatic aura. I wished I’d gotten to see them. It had to be a beautiful sight.
