Alrik roared. Abby barely had time to move to the side before he lashed through the cage, his arms swiping hard for Aidan. Aidan ducked easily to the side, a satisfied smile on his lips. The chains didn’t let him reach far but if Aidan hadn’t moved he would have caught him.
“It doesn’t feel good, does it?” taunted Aidan.
Suddenly, Aidan grabbed her arm and started pulling her away. She fought it, digging her feet in. Spinning back around she grabbed onto the bars one last time. She met Alrik’s worried gaze. “What do I do?”
“I will kill them all.”
The way he said it, with such a dead finality, sent a chill down her spine. He meant it. He would find a way to get out of there and he would kill every last one of them.
“I don’t want you to kill anyone.” His gaze flickered with surprise then he stared off beyond her shoulder at Aidan. “If anyone touches her, I’ll slaughter every one of you. There will be no mercy.” He didn’t say it in a threatening way but in a casual ‘this is how it’s going to be’ way. That made it scarier.
Aidan didn’t give him a chance to say anything else; he latched onto her waist and pulled her kicking and screaming from the room. She screamed loud enough for the whole castle to hear, but no matter how loud or how hard she kicked, he didn’t let her go. She stared into Alrik’s eyes as the door slammed shut, blocking him out. She’d never felt this raw feeling before, like she was being peeled away from something so necessary to her.
Aidan set her down and she whirled on him, enraged. Her hand shot out and caught his cheek with a hard slap. His head jerked to the side. She flinched at the cracking sound and took a step back as panic engulfed her.
She’d just hit her captor. No way in her mind could this bode well for her. Aidan’s head slowly turned back to her. Something hot and earthy filled his eyes, startling her. When he stepped towards her, she flinched and threw her hands up in front of her face to catch a blow. But it never came. Something else did.
Her hands were jerked down in a rough grip, and then her body thrust up against his. His mouth came down a second later and ravaged hers. She tried to process it, but her mind struggled to keep up with all that had happened. All she knew was that he was kissing her like a man dying for his last touch. It was hard and swift and when he pulled away, they were both panting.
“I will win you at the challenge.”
It was a promise if she’d ever heard one.
She shook her head in denial but he only jerked her back upstairs. She followed him like a zombie, which worked for her because it gave her a minute to process all that had happened in such a short span of time.
After they made it back upstairs, they forced her to sit at a table with food and drink shoved in front of her. She ate and drank like a zombie…little bites and sips. She just tuned out all the demons around her watching her with hungry eyes.
Her mind ran over that kiss and all she could think was—he didn’t kiss like Alrik did.
Chapter Twelve
After picking at her food, Aidan and two other big men, one with golden blonde hair cut at his shoulders and another with dark red hair that fell down to his chest, showed her to her room. They locked her inside with a resounding click.
While the thought of being locked inside a strange room scared her, it also gave her some courage to sleep. Just not a good sleep. She woke throughout the night, her gaze sweeping the room for strange men only to fall back asleep when she found none. It felt strange to sleep without Alrik near. Her gut churned with worry over him. Had they beaten him? How was he? A part of her actually wanted him to break down the bars and come grab her, just minus the slaughtering part.
When the door unlocked the next morning, she followed the golden haired demon and the redheaded demon solemnly downstairs. She felt like she was walking her last steps to the death chamber. Only, they wouldn’t kill her. No, they wanted to use her. Her hands were slick with sweat and she wiped them repeatedly down her pants. They led her down a different hallway this time and into a room big enough to be a ballroom. It looked like it could hold many long tables but it was devoid of anything--save many demons standing around the sides of the room. Their gazes were on her immediately, traveling over her body in a way that made her skin crawl. She wanted Alrik so badly she felt physically ill with it. Her stomach clenched and she swore if she but bent over she’d vomit.
Aidan waited at the front of the room. He looked every bit the commander standing tall, his chin up. His eyes smoldered at her. The two guards let go of her in front of him then took positions on either side of the room with the others.
“What’s going on?” she asked. She had a feeling she knew but she had to hear it.
“Today we will hold a challenge for the rights of the human, Abbigail,” Aidan announced in a loud, ringing voice. The demons murmured to each other.
An excited energy floated in the air. The men wore no shirts. They stretched their arms and bounced on their feet in anticipation. They actually wanted to do this.
A part of her hoped that maybe they wouldn’t really want to participate in the events. Maybe they’d realize how crazy this was or that she wasn’t all that attractive. Maybe.
As a simultaneous roar whooped from the men, her hopes were quickly dashed.
“Abbigail,” her gaze went to Aidan. He was speaking to her and no one else. “Today we will fight but not to the death.” That didn’t relieve her in the least. “The winner will become your new master.”
She shook her head in denial. “I won’t do it. I won’t touch any of you.”
Anger flashed in his eyes. “You must.”
She crossed her arms and took a step back. “Unless you plan to force me, I won’t take any of you. Ever. And I’ll fight every single moment of it.” She said it with every bit of energy inside her.
Her words must have registered because unease flickered in his gaze. “And just what would it take for you to accept us?”
Her eyebrows rose. He gave her an option? She thought quickly. Then it hit her. “If you win me will you let me go? I don’t belong here. I want to go home.” She left out the part about Alrik kidnapping her. For some reason she didn’t want to say anything that might make him look bad. Right now, he was the better choice by a long shot.
He slowly shook his head and her hopes crashed to the floor. He wouldn’t let her go. “I can’t do that,” he said almost gently, “we need you. More than you could ever know.” Her breath caught. Maybe if things were different, if she was someone different meeting him under different circumstances, she could like him. But he wasn’t Alrik and he would never free her.
“Then let Alrik fight in the challenge.” The words burst from her mouth before she thought twice about it.
Aidan jerked in surprise, and then he laughed low and deep. “Never.”
“That’s my choice. Let him have his chance. Without him, I wouldn’t even be here. Let him have his chance to win me.”
He ground his jaw, irritation creasing his forehead. “Why should I do that?”
It hurt to say it. Her body physically rebelled at the idea. “Because if you do then I’ll willingly let the winner take me.” Her voice nearly broke saying it. It was a huge promise to make.
His eyes flared, lips flattened as he contemplated it.
A demon standing on the side stepped forward. “What is taking so long? I wish to start this and claim my prize!”
“Silence!” commanded Aidan.
Other demons started speaking out until the entire room filled with an aggressive, hostile energy. Aidan eyed his men, his jaw working hard, and then he looked back down at her.