Page 39 of Claimed By the Fae Lord

A bitter chuckle escaped my lips. I would not let this be my end. Not here. Not like this.

I lay there, shackled and alone, baking in the heat of this oven of a room, and cataloged my thoughts. I needed a clear head.

The heavy door creaked open. My heart quickened as Tabor and Llew entered.

Llew's bulging blue eyes scanned my form with clear satisfaction, while Tabor's beady gaze held a glint of malice.

"Look at our little frostling all trussed up," Llew sneered. "We just came by to tell you it won't be long now. We found who we needed and everything's all set."

"Your parents found you an eager master," Tabor added. "They just need to outbid everyone else. I assure you it won't be a problem, not with this powerful buyer."

Llew licked his lips. "They promised you'd be well-used by many. I might offer a discount if they let me watch."

I recoiled in disgust. I had no idea who this powerful buyer was, but I knew it would be someone who saw me not as a person but a thing to be used. The very thought sent a visceral shiver through my body and rattled the chains binding me.

"Tabor," I said, my voice steady even as fear clawed at my insides. "You know this isn't in your best interest. Lady Aeryn will hear about what happened to me. She won't stand for it. She's—"

"Future queen or not, she's no concern of ours," Tabor cut in, his tone dismissive. "We already told you of the bargain. It's sealed by magic stronger than anything. We have to follow through."

"Think of it as a higher calling," Llew chuckled darkly. "A noble sacrifice for the good of your family's memory."

"Let's not pretend nobility has anything to do with this," I threw back, anger flaring despite the dread that weighed on my soul. "They betrayed me, pure and simple. And you're just the minions they decided would get their hands dirty."

Llew shrugged nonchalantly. "But you're such a valuable commodity we'll be rich minions."

Their laughter echoed off the walls as they exited, leaving me alone once more with the roasting heat and my own spiraling thoughts.

The chains clinked, a stark, chilling cadence, as I tried to shift my position.

Valuable commodity. Valuable to whom? I snorted, a humorless puff of derision escaping my lips.

The notion that I, Raina, a trained fighter, better than almost every single guard under my parents' employ, was reduced to an object of barter? No, I would not accept it.

Llew's words slithered into my mind again, and I shuddered.Well-used by many. The pain in that promise loomed over me, a shadow ready to swallow me whole.

To think that my body, once cherished and respected, might become nothing more than a plaything for depraved souls filled me with a terror so profound it strangled me.

Then, a single memory flickered to life of the one who'd been careful with me, physically, who'd never made me feel used during our time together.

Even now, as darkness consumed me, the memory of our intimacy brought a glimmer of hope. If I could experience such depth of feeling once, surely I could find it again.

I had to believe that this wasn't the end of my story, that somewhere out there was a male who wanted to find me as much as I wanted to be found. The very chance of it was enough of a reason to live.

Clutching onto the fading warmth of those memories was like clutching a lifeline.

My first love may have been lost to me, tossed aside by the cruel whims of fate, but the resilience he helped forge in my soul remained. I would reclaim my life. My dignity.

My freedom.

To break out of here, I needed energy. I needed rest, just enough to carry myself far enough to hide for a short while.

Exhaustion seeped into my bones, pulling me into a fitful slumber. In that shadowy refuge of sleep, I found myself entwined with a male figure whose features were obscured by the mists of my subconscious.

We moved together in perfect sync, lost in an intimacy that transcended the physical realm. His touch was gentle, reverent, as if he understood the sacredness of what we shared.

I glimpsed what might await me beyond the confines of my current predicament. A life where I could once again know happiness, where the touch of another could kindle flames I’d put out years ago.

A sharp clatter jolted me away from the dreamworld. My wrists burned against the cold iron of the chains and all remnants of my shadowy lover dissolved.

---