Only Him

Chapter 20

"Please...not again," I gasped as Marlen came through the door of my prison. The only times he ever came in were when he felt like taunting me or when he was going to use compulsion on me, otherwise he was suspiciously absent. His minions did the run-of-the-mill bathroom breaks or food breaks. He'd used compulsion on me a few times over the past God knew how long and it always left me with a pounding headache and the overall feeling of being used as a puppet. The pain in my temples increased markedly with each time I was compelled and I didn't think I could handle adding to that any more.

In addition to the phantom icepick being driven into my brain I was a host of other aches and pains. My ribs, which I was almost positive had been cracked in the accident, throbbed constantly due to my concrete bed and bound wrists. My wrists, though leaps and bounds better now that they were not locked behind my back, were bloodied by the handcuffs constantly digging into them and the exposed wounds stung and sent tickling dribbles of blood down towards the crook of my elbows. My ankle faired even worse, the tight cuff intermittently even tighter due to the swelling of my ankles, the oh so lovely pregnancy symptom Lissa had pointed out before I was taken. I wasn't starving anymore but they fed me less than I needed and as a result I could tell that I was losing a few pounds, which, aside from the health ramifications that presented, made the swelling of my belly more pronounced and harder to conceal. I wasn't sure how long I'd been here for but, either because a good amount of time had passed or because my constant staring at my own stomach had made it impossible to ignore, my belly seemed to have grown into the distinctly rounded shape of early pregnancy. The buttons of my blouse strained over the domed shape and it was only due to the dim lighting of the room and Marlen's self-absorbed nature that he hadn't noticed it already.

I felt as beat up and exhausted as if I'd been in a battle.

"What, no sarcastic remarks?" Marlen taunted. I could tell that he wanted me to continue begging, he took a sadistic pleasure in having brought me to that point. Part of me wanted to, if it meant he wouldn't compel me. The rest of me was too stubborn to give in.

"I don't know about sarcastic but I think I can manage saucy," I quipped weakly.

"Ah, never a disappointment are you, Rose?"

I shrugged weakly and tried to push myself into a sitting position. "I've disappointed plenty of people. I make a habit of it." I succeeded in obtaining some form of vertical position and gave him a sardonic grin.

He exhaled sharply. "I can't wait for tomorrow," he said. "I won't miss your commentary at all."

I scoffed. "If you think my friends will ever trade Lissa for me you truly don't understand a guardian's duty."

Marlen chuckled and it sent instant shivers down my spine.

"I don't truly believe they will make the trade," he assured me, leaning comfortably against a nearby wall, looking the picture of patience and ease.

I gave him a confused look. "Then why did you even bother taking me?"

"It's the anticipation," he said gleefully. "When Lissa and Dimitri don't make the trade they will hold themselves personally accountable for your death."

Ignoring the threat to my life I questioned, "And what good will that do you? It doesn't get rid of either of them."

"If you don't think they will be torn apart by the knowledge that they could have saved you then you don't know them very well." He pushed off the wall and moved to follow me deeper into the room, cornering me. "I will take much joy in watching Dimitri suffer. As for the queen," he shrugged. "I have heard about sprits toll. She'll spiral into a depression so deep I doubt she'll ever pull herself out. It won't be long after that before she takes her own life. It may not be as satisfying as ending her life with my own hands but I'll manage."