Creatures of The Dark

Chapter XI

When I walked into the drawing room the next day, the two brothers were speaking, ignoring the map that lay across the table. It wasn't a harsh conversation, but the type where the listener hung on to every word, waiting anxiously for their chance to speak. Even when the King's gaze flicked to mine in acknowledgment he continued to speak, his words rushed. I couldn't make out what they were saying and they ceased when I sat at the table.

I had eaten breakfast with my sister that morning, residing in the dining hall instead of the courtyard. She hadn't asked me what had occurred after she had left yesterday, but she listened when I spoke of other things. Alexandra sat next to me in the same seat as yesterday. She gave me a knowing smile and smirked as Tannon and Sirus sat down across from her. I didn't miss that they now had pens and papers, waiting to write the secrets I was sure to spill. I had slept deeply the night before, and no nightmares had found me. I wondered now if they would seek me out while I was awake, as I relived my detainment.

"Lucius, I hope you are doing well," Roan said. He gave me a kind smile.

I nodded to him, "Fine, thank you." I tried not to be cold to the male, but it was hard not to resent him after the truths he had shared yesterday. I hoped we would no longer speak of my lineage.

The King cleared his throat, "Lucius we meet again to discuss your enslavement at the Dark Palace." He waited for me to nod before he continued, "Truthfully, we do not know the extent of the information you were told. It would be best if you started. Even the smallest details could make a difference."

I shifted in my seat, finding the glass of water and drinking deeply. "What type of information?"

"Start at the beginning and we'll go from there."

I swallowed, taking a moment to think back. It had been so long ago, but the memories were ingrained there as surely as the scars on my back. "I-He," I looked around, wondering if they needed clarification of who I spoke about. No one said anything. "He often left me in his chambers, and I would look through his things," I offered.

"He left you there alone?"

I nodded, "Sometimes he would stay, but I had told him I was illiterate. He didn't really pay me much mind when he saw me looking at his ledgers."

"And he believed you?" 'I guess if you were smart enough to be literate, you wouldn't have gotten yourself in this predicament in the first place.' His words rang in my mind but I nodded at the King of Light's question.

"I had no reason to lie. Even if he thought I could read, he did not believe I would leave."

"He thought you were past the point of wanting to escape," disbelief in his voice. He wanted me to love him. He thought I was wholly his and that freedom was secondary. He owned me: soul, body, and mind.

"Yes," was all I said. The King considered me for a moment, his gaze assessing. I waited. Whatever question he held on the tip of his tongue, he swallowed it and gestured for me to continue. "He had lists of dates, names, places, and letters."

Roan spoke, a light in his eyes, "And you remember them?"

I hesitated, thinking back to the sprawls of papers on the Dark King's desk. "I think so. They rarely changed, it was all I had to look at while he–". I swallowed the words before I had the chance to voice them. While he groomed me, fed me. A pampered dog at best, a doll–like whore at worst. Roan's eyes guttered as he remembered the type of male his supposed son had been left with.

"While he?" The King prompted.

I gnawed at my lip, my eyes finding my lap. The words came out forced, caught on my throat, "The Dark King...he sometimes had me bathe, he would comb my hair. If I was good, he would give me something to eat."