Page 72 of Depravity

“Brynn?” She gasps. “Jesus, Brynn, what are you doing here? What?” She falls silent as a shadow covers us.

The man that had only seconds ago been assaulting her tries to pull her away and she moves, wrapping her arm around me, using me like a shield.

“Stay away from me!” She screams.

The man pauses, staring at me like he knows who I am, who my husband is and then he strolls off, leaving me with a sense of dread.

“What are you doing here?” I ask. What the fuck happened to put her in Oblivion?

“They sent me here, they arrested my father…”

I screw my face up. What the fuck? What did he do?

“They sold, they…” She trails off, her cheeks heating as she looks away. “They put me in an auction and now…” She shudders. “Why are you here? I thought you ran away, I thought you got away?”

I let out a bitter laugh. Is that what they all think? That I got lucky?

“Brynn.”

That voice, it echoes behind me, making my blood turn cold. He’s back, whatever the fuck took him away clearly wasn’t enough to keep him occupied for long.

Clara looks at Conrad, then at me and she takes a step back. “No, no,” she whispers.

Conrad’s lips turn into a smile. “Making friends, are we?” He says in a tone that tells me I’m in serious trouble.

“He, he took me, he was the one…” Clara’s words are silenced as Conrad sends her flying with a backhand.

I scream, trying to grab her and Conrad yanks me back, using that leash to keep me in place.

She lands in a heap, her mask now slightly ajar and she looks up at us. “He sold my virginity.” She snarls. “He had me brought here, he turned me into this…”

My heart slams into my chest. Conrad? Conrad did that to her? He made her into a slave for Oblivion.

I turn to face him, and it’s clear he’s not even denying it.

He tilts his head, cupping my cheek. “Kill or be killed, Doll. This bitch and her family were selling us out.”

“No, we weren’t.” Clara screams. “My dad is innocent, my mother is too.”

“Was.” Conrad corrects her. “Your mother didn’t make it through training, and your father made a good sacrifice for my brother’s cause. Seemed fitting, considering all the trouble he caused...”

I blink back, registering what he’s saying. That her dad was the man Magnus butchered, while Conrad was assaulting me.

Clara starts howling and Conrad looks around, jerking his head for a guard. Two burly men come over and haul her up by her arms.

“Please,” She begs, and I don’t know if she’s talking to me or to my husband. “I didn’t do anything…”

Conrad tuts, “You didn’t pay attention, did you? Didn’t learn your lessons very well.”

He jerks his head, and she starts kicking out as she’s dragged away.

“No,” I gasp and I’m pulled back, slamming into Conrad’s bare chest.

“You’re making a scene, doll. And not the kind of scene I envisioned.” He murmurs into my ear.

“She’s my friend…” I state. “You can’t.”

“I can and I have. She is no longer the girl you know. She is the property of Oblivion. As the wife of a Blake, you need to understand what that means, what all of this means.”

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