Shattered Heart (Red Queen)

Chapter Three

•Mare POV•
"I have a proposition for you," Maven says as he paces in front of my cell.
I don't hesitate and reply, "I'm not interested."
He sighs and says, "You don't even know what it is yet."
"I don't have to know. I'm not doing anything for you," I say coldly. I struggle to sit up on the stone floor. Maven's idea of punishment is horrendous and has left me in constant agony. I glance at his face and see he is enjoying my pain.
"I can make your life miserable," he states.
I laugh a short, unamused laugh and reply, "It already is miserable. It can't get much worse."
He steps up to the bars and says, "It can always get worse. Do not test me. You will do as I say and not put up a fight. I will tear you apart piece by piece if you cross me."
I stare into his cold, heartless eyes and bend under his will. I have no strength to oppose him. He knows he has won.
"Fine," I force out, "I will do what you want."
"Good," he says. "You will address all of Norta and say exactly as I tell you."
I nod and he continues, "If you do not do this, I will kill everyone you love."
"You have no idea where they are. That is nothing but an empty threat," I say.
"Is it? You don't know what I know," he warns.
Is it possible that he has found out about Tuck? No, he surely hasn't. He would have already killed everyone there if he knew. Still, I cannot help but fear for my family.
"Would you like a few hours of freedom?" he asks.
     He has a Magnetron unlock the cell and I watch as the bars fold open under the Magnetron's will. He steps inside the cell and I can see by the expression on his face that the Silent Stone is affecting him as well. The Magnetron hands him two sets of cuffs and he locks them around my wrists and ankles. He helps me stand and leads me out of the cell.
Even though I am away from the cell, the Silent Stone still mutes my powers. Maven is smart, and must have put the stone in the cuffs somehow. He helps me walk out of he prison and to a room. For a moment, I almost forget that I am his prisoner. His gentle touch reminds of when we were engaged. I then trip on the chains and remember who he is.
A maid is waiting in the room for me and helps me into a chair. I manage to hold back a sigh as I sink into the plush comfort of the chair. I have been sleeping on a stone cot for I'm not even sure how long, and I am stiffer than a tree.
     "Help her look a little more presentable," Maven says and leaves the room.
     "I'm sorry," the maid says quietly when he shuts the door.
     I let out the sigh I was holding and say, "Thank you. Do you know what he has planned for me?"
     "No I don't," she says and looks down.
     She can't be much older than I am. She's a Red, I can tell by the slight flush on her face. She pulls a dress out of the small closet behind her. It's a plain dress and she helps me into it. It does not cover much of my body and Maven picked it out on purpose. It doesn't hide any wounds or healing scars and Maven knows it makes me look weak.
     I look at myself in the mirror and run my hands through my tangled hair. I look like death itself. I'm very thin and my cheeks are sunken in. I look worse than I did back in my old life. I'm vulnerable, and Maven wants to show the world.