Turning his back to her, he faced his men. In Demonish he spoke. “We will have a challenge for her.”
The men tensed. Hesitance, eagerness, and hope flashed among their faces.
“The winner will keep her but will not force her into any deeds she doesn’t wish to do. After three weeks, we will have another challenge. The previous winner will not be allowed to participate so that everyone will eventually have a chance to win. Every three weeks we will hold the challenge again.”
Aidan studied his men finding half of them approving, almost eager, and the others angrier at his command.
“What’s a challenge?” came a soft voice from behind him.
Aidan froze. He turned back to her but words clogged his throat. He didn’t know what to say. He tried to recall his previous interactions with women and the only thing he could think was that she wouldn’t welcome this.
“What’s going on here?” she asked again, her voice getting hard.
Aidan ground his jaw. To hell with it. She was here and she’d have to deal with the consequences. “We are keeping you. The winner of the challenge will win you, Abbigail.”
She gasped and started backing up, her gaze darting amongst the men as if they might jump at her at any moment. “No, you can’t do that.”
“Yes, I can. I’m sorry but we have been too long without a woman. We will not let this chance slip by us.”
“But, but I’ll tell you anything you need to know.”
He didn’t say it aloud, but he thought it. You’ll tell us everything you know anyway, Abbigail. “And what do you know, Abbigail?”
She hesitated and he could see her mind working as she thought about it. She crossed her arms across her chest. She had no idea, but half the men in the room groaned as the action pushed her breasts more fully into view.
“Take me to see Alrik first.”
Aidan stalked to her. She didn’t back down but she looked behind her as if she wanted to. He didn’t stop until they nearly touched. “Why would you want to see him?” Anger and jealousy burned inside him.
“I-I need to talk to him,” she stuttered.
“About what, Abbigail?”
She started breathing faster. It was torture seeing those breasts rise and fall. If he but leaned down he could pull a breast into his mouth. His mouth watered at the idea. So entranced was he that he missed part of what she said.
“...see if he’s okay.”
Aidan stared her in the eyes as he contemplated it. Then he nodded. “Come with me.”
His men stared at him as if he had lost his mind as he led Abbigail away. He only gave them a swift shake of his head. He had his ulterior motives.
Abby followed the big warrior with silvery skin and dark hair. He looked similar to the demons yet somehow different. He reminded her of a vampire. Tall, elegant in nature, but with a warlike ferocity hidden underneath a layer of control, such characteristics were typical amongst vampires. He didn’t have the bulk to his body as the others had and was slightly taller, though he was just as gorgeous to look at. Maybe even better. However, that didn’t make him trustworthy. She had Alrik as proof of that.
Aidan led her down a stone stairwell. It rounded in a tight circle. The air became heavier and torches held by sconces on the wall lit the way down a long hallway at the end of the stairs. It was cold down here and one look at the metal bars lining either side of the hall and she knew it was a dungeon. Yet as she scanned the cages, she saw they were all empty. It was too early to tell if this bode well for her or not. Maybe they wouldn’t imprison her. They could do far worse to her than lock her in a cage, she reminded herself.
At the end of the hall stood a heavy looking wooden door with a rounded metal hatch. She knew who was behind that even before Aidan opened the door.
“Abbigail! Where is she!” came a roar.
She’d recognize that voice anywhere. It made her heart jump and her feet walk faster. She reached the door before the man Aidan did. He eyed her strangely as if trying to figure her out. Well, she had news for him; she didn’t trust him either. Maybe this was just the break she’d been looking for. She’d just have to wait and see. But first, she had to see him to make sure that he was alive and well. It felt like a driving need inside her to make sure with her own eyes that he wasn’t injured.
“I’ll kill you all!” His voice rang down the corridor.
Aidan stopped by the door and waited until she met his eyes to speak. “Just what is he to you?”
Her throat closed up. What was he? Friend, not so much. Lover, nope. Enemy, that was closer.
“He-he’s just a friend okay. Let me see him, please.” She hated to beg but she’d do it if she had to.
Watching her closely, Aidan grabbed the latch and pulled the door open. Abby all but ran inside. Her stomach dropped at what she saw.
An even larger cage stood in this room as if that was its sole purpose. Alrik clung to the metal bars of the cage. Heavy metal shackles bound his wrists and ankles to a large metal loop on the wall behind him giving him only so much space to walk. Blood smudged the metal from where they’d dug into his wrists.
Abby couldn’t hide her reaction, she ran to him. Her hands closed around his on the bars and for some reason tears welled in her eyes. “Alrik.”
She closed her eyes to hide her growing weakness for him and listened to the sound of his heavy breathing.
“What have they done to you?” he said. Anger, no, fury laced his words. He was seething. The look in his eyes was something she’d never seen before. He was not in control. He had gone past that point and had snapped. The look made her shiver and sent a bolt of fear into her belly even though she knew he wouldn’t hurt her.
Abby looked up at his gorgeous face. Blood covered his lips making them bulge, and his left eye was so swollen the skin around it had turned a dark purple. “Did they beat you?” She couldn’t keep the sound of hysteria out of her voice.
A tic pulsed at the line of his bearded jaw. “I’m fine. What have they done to you?”
“Well, nothing really. Alrik, they said something about a challenge and I don’t know what they’re talking about.”
She felt his hands curl tighter around the bars beneath her hands. His gaze darkened with fury and he pinned that lethal look at Aidan. “She is mine.”
“That remains to be seen.”
Abby turned sideways so she could watch them both.
“She’s here with me right now. That shows you everything you need to know.”
Aidan shrugged. “Shows she has a kind heart, that is all. The men will appreciate that all the more.”
“Alrik, what’s a challenge?” What do I do? she wanted to say.
Alrik pulled himself into the bars with a bicep curl then his dark gaze locked on hers. “They will fight over you. Whoever wins gets to keep you, use you however they want. They will take your body, Abbigail. These men are savages.”
“Not without your wish, I assure you,” Aidan added hastily.
Abby’s head started spinning. “What? Use me?” She knew what he meant but still trying to believe that it was happening to her was an entirely different thing.
“Yes, Abby. Use you as a man does a woman. Let me out of here, Aidan, or I swear—”
“You swear what? You’ll break through the bars? I doubt it. They’ve held stronger men than you.” Aidan stalked like a predator to the cage. “Let me ask you, king, how does it feel to be on the other side of the bars?”