No Way Out

Discovery of the Visitor

⚠️TW⚠️ Again, this whole story is a TW, so read at your own risk.

Taylen never did look at the male before him. He didn't look at anyone anymore because the duke seemed to like having him blindfolded. It had been such a long time since the cloth had been removed from his eyes that when Ravus had removed it, everything seemed bright to him. He didn't move except to flinch away from the contact. Other than that, he held only a soulless stare at the chair past his bruised and beaten body. With the gag still in place, he was unable to tell Ravus to put the blindfold back. He knew that the duke would know. The duke always knew exactly what happened and Taylen always got in trouble. He sat completely still because to move meant to stir up the pain of the bruises and wounds in which he was forced to sit upon. It also meant pulling against the ropes and he didn't want that. He couldn't tell what the other male was thinking, not that it would have mattered. He was a slave. It didn't matter what he thought.

He closed his eyes again as the blindfold was placed back over his eyes, but no feeling of ease came. One way or another, the duke would hurt him again. He always did. He doubted that this male knew that the duke used special knots to tie him up. The regular knots would be noticed and he would be in trouble. The apology given to him when the male pulled the blindfold tight surprised him. It actually surprised him and he blinked his eyes open underneath the blindfold. This man, this noble had just apologized to a lowly slave. Of course, he couldn't say or do anything, so it went unacknowledged. He knew that it would be a long night. He would probably get double what he normally received. And still, he didn't move except to breathe. What else could he do.

Taylen had long since lost the hope that he would ever get free of the duke. He wouldn't believe for even a second that he would be anywhere except right where he was. He was sure that he would be the duke's pet until he died, and quite frankly, he didn't care if he did. The sooner he died, the sooner he got away from the duke. Of course, the duke wasn't going to let him die, so it was an endless cycle and he was forced to live as a tortured and abused pet and nothing more. He didn't even have a name. He'd had one once, but he could hardly even remember what it was. Finally, the male finished tying the blindfold back over his eyes. He couldn't help but flinch again when the hand rested on top of his head. It was an action he had no control over. His body automatically associated touch with pain and it would pull away, even if it was a gentle touch.

And then the male was gone and Taylen was left to wait again. Hours would pass before the door opened again and the heavy footsteps of the duke were heard. Taylen knew that it was going to be a long, painful night. The lashes and bruises and cuts that he had would never have a chance to heal. There would be scars on top of scars if there weren't already. Whether the duke hoped that Taylen could hold on or not was irrelevant. He had already let go a long time ago. The duke just refused to let him die, and so Taylen was forced to take the pain and the torture and being violated again and again.

His chin was forced up as the duke held it, and his gaze was turned up toward the male despite not being able to see. His eyes remained closed behind the blindfold. A sense of dread filled him as the male caressed his skin. He couldn't respond to the question the duke posed because he was still gagged. It seemed like the only time he wasn't was when he received food and water. He held still and didn't do anything or even react to the words. His body automatically flinched away from the fingers at his collar bone though. It was something he had no control over and he was sure that the duke loved it. It was a tiny action of fear, and fear is what seemed to make the duke happy.

His head dropped once again once his chin was released and his blinded gaze was aimed at the floor once more as the duke began to untie him to release him from the chair. The brief pause in the untying came and he knew that the duke was realizing that someone else had been in the room. He wouldn't be getting any rest any time soon. Soon enough, he was released from the chair and he stood. The full extent of the abuse to his back side was exposed as layers upon layers of bruises and lashes and wounds that no one would have an easy time looking at but the duke. It seemed as though every inch of the back side of his body was covered in bruises and welts and open wounds. Anyone who looked at such a thing would wonder how he sat down or even moved. He sat because he had been told to even though he was in such a condition.

Now, freed from the bindings, he allowed himself to be led away. They didn't go to the usual room though. Instead, his feet met cold stone steps that led them somewhere else and he did stumble a few times, but the bruising grasp on his arm kept him on his feet as he walked blindly on. He stepped where the duke led him and then stood there as the kiss was placed and the gag removed before the duke stepped away. And then came the question he had been expecting and dreading. He didn't know who it was and he knew that that was the wrong answer. The duke's voice was far too calm. He could hear the ice in it and that meant that it was a calm rage. That was much worse than any time the duke had ever exploded with rage.

He stood in the middle of the room, arms at his sides and unmoving, still blinded. Before he could respond, something wrapped around his ankles and then they came up and wrapped around his wrists. They were pulled above his head and just a moment later, his feet left the ground and he was suspended in the air, his body completely stretched out with no room to move and absolutely no slack. At least the duke hadn't bound him with everything spread apart, but he was still in for a long night. His entire body trembled under the strain and the fear of what was happening and he shook his head slightly. ..I don't know who it was, master.. The words were quiet. He got punished for speaking before, so saying an entire sentence was frightening. He truly had no clue who it had been. He had never looked at who it was, and he wasn't even allowed around people so there was no way really for him to know.

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A/N I know I usually do this on Sundays, but today is my birthday so I thought why not. And don't worry, I'll update tomorrow too.