Darkly Forsaken (Darkly Devoted Series, Book 4)

Chapter 4 - The Wicked

Chapter 4 

I WOKE up the next morning with my face buried in a Persian carpet. As I winced at my throbbing headache and body, I heard the sound of chattering maids. Someone had been kind enough to throw a blanket over my naked lower half, and the collar was gone. As I pulled myself up to a sitting position, I nearly tripped one of the maids who was busy changing the bed linens.

"Ah, I didn't see your legs there under the blanket," the portly one said to me with a wide grin. "We laid a pretty dress out for you."

I saw a pile of golden fabric lying on the blue velvet couch. Fortunately, it was within arm's reach, and I was able to pull it over my head and shoulders without exposing myself even more. Not that I was much to look at, my tiny breasts weren't much to salivate over even before I was thrown into the dungeon.

"It fits!" Another maid exclaimed. "You're a skinny little thing. That dress is one of Miss Amari's."

I made a face but decided that beggars couldn't be choosers. Amari! It was either wearing that hateful woman's clothes or walking around with my bottom on full display.

As I stood up and headed to the door, I winced at the pain across my shoulders. Prince Orion had done his work on my head before I blacked out. Then, a horrible thought appeared in my mind — I wondered what he did to me after I passed out. My hand drifted down to my abdomen. I wondered if he had already impregnated me, and that was why Amari had given me the dress.

At least now I knew for sure that Orion Balan was every bit a monster everyone said he was. It was oddly comforting to know that my enemy was a simple, comical, caricature of a man. The devil who had beat me into unconsciousness last night was so terrible; he was like a freedom fighter's wet dream.

Rafe met me at the door. It was a relief to see him again. I nearly cried tears of joy to see a friendly face even though we had just met yesterday. With dismay, I noticed that Rafe's shoulder was black and blue now. 

He wrapped his arms around me and led me down the hallway. I noticed he held me at arm's length as though our closeness bothered him. Was he afraid of what Prince Orion would do to him if he got close to me? The Prince did say he wanted to possess my body and soul.

"Let's get you something to eat before you pass out again," Rafe told me without meeting my eyes. He set me down at a dining room table and had the servants bring me some porridge and toast. Shakily, I spooned up a healthy serving of porridge and brought it to my lips. It was delicious - warm, gooey, with bits of crab roe and salted sausage. I took a bite of toast in between sips of porridge. The bread was flakey and chewy, like a French baguette.

Rafe sat across from me and watched me eat with a curious look on his face. He was probably unfamiliar with Nivarrin cuisine. Our small country was located in the Mediterranean, but we had done business with the Chinese for so many years that their cuisine had merged with ours. My own mother was a Chinese seamstress who had started out sewing scabbards for my father's higher-paying clients.

"I don't feel any different," I mused as I reached for another piece of buttered toast. "I guess the Prince will have to wait for another night to put a bastard in me."

Rafe made a disgusted face. "He said what? I'm sure His Grace was kidding. He barely knows you. I don't know much, but I do know his father will disown him if he returns home with a baby in his arms."

"You say that because your father isn't Satan himself," I replied in good humor. "And you're not a monster like Orion Balan."

"That is true," Rafe said as he glanced down at the gold band on his finger. He played with it by pushing it up and down his index finger but stopped short of actually removing it. It must have sentimental value to him. It was a little weird, even in Nivarrin, where the men were fashion-forward, for a bachelor to wear a gold wedding band. "My father is a good man," Rafe looked up and stared at me in the eye as though he was conveying something of utmost importance. "And I'm not just saying that because he's my father."