Chapter 5 The Crash Behind Her Cry

My wrist ached from the chains, the cold iron biting into my skin, leaving behind soft bruises that bloomed across my arms like wilted flowers.

The maid said nothing as she began to scrub my body, her touch brisk but not unkind.

She didn't meet my eyes. Perhaps she couldn't. She hadn't spoken a word since she stepped into the prison mine.

She didn't need to. I already knew why she was here.

Why the water had been warmed. Why the scented oil was waiting on a chipped silver tray. They were preparing me.

Preparing me for the night. For the man who had paid to have me.

That was what Rhydian had said-coldly, without emotion. That as the wife of a traitor, killing me would be too quick, too merciful.

But turning me into something he could profit from? That was where he found satisfaction.

I lowered my gaze as the maid continued her task, the silence between us growing heavier with every passing moment.

And still, I said nothing.

Because I already understood. This was no longer about punishment.

It was about ownership.

And tonight, my body would no longer belong to me.

I couldn't bring myself to blame him not when I had seen the sharp flicker of pain in his golden eyes.

Whatever he had become, I knew he was hurting too. Perhaps even more deeply than he allowed himself to show.

This... this was just my misfortune. Marrying a man I barely knew, only to become a widow within hours.

If I had refused... if I had not agreed to become his wife, maybe I wouldn't be here now, stripped of dignity, chained, and alone. But it was too late for regrets.

No one could reach me in this place. Not even my poor parents... they were powerless, just like I was.

This, it seemed, was to be my fate. I walked to the mirror after she was done scrubbing me.

"Turn," she demanded. Her voice was cruel, and it held no warmth either, just distance, like someone who had long stopped feeling.

"The man who paid for tonight... he's one of the wealthiest in the kingdom. He prefers women who are soft-spoken. Do not speak unless spoken to. Smile only when necessary. And whatever happens, do not upset him. He paid a great deal for this night with you." I swallowed hard, my throat tight.

Was this truly my life now?

Tears pricked the corners of my eyes, then slipped down my cheeks before I could stop them.

I lowered my gaze and nodded softly. "Yes, ma'am."

The words tasted bitter on my tongue. It felt strange and unsettling to show such deference to the maids, the same women who once curtsied in my presence... when I had still been queen.

What an unexpected turn of fate. My stomach twisted at the thought.

She paused behind me, holding up the dress or what little there was of it. A sheer piece of fabric that shimmered faintly under the torchlight. It could barely be called a gown.

"Don't call me that," she murmured after a moment, quieter than before. "Not tonight. Just listen... and survive."

When she slid the dress over my head, I felt the chill in my bones deepen. The fabric clung to my skin, extremely transparent and delicate.

"Do... I have to wear this?" My eyes fixed on hers, but she ignored me, placing a necklace around my neck and a slight makeup on my face.

"I'm doing as I'm told. The king chose the dress." She mumbled, and my stomach twisted more.

"Now go and meet the man who's paid for you tonight.He is waiting for you in the guest room. He is in the second room waiting, just give a slight knock and go in." She gave me a gentle push out of the room.

My knees felt numb as I walked through the hall the same hall I had graced only days ago as the new queen and bride of Vynsera.

Now I walked it again, only this time, not as royalty, but as a woman promised to a stranger for one night.

The guards stood outside, their eyes following me in silence. Some looked at me with quiet sympathy, others with a gaze that made my skin crawl, as if they longed to be in the place of the man waiting behind that door.

I wished I could shrink beneath their stares, vanish into the silence.

One of the guards led me to the guest room, and he walked away immediately after I was standing before the door of the second room.

My body trembling as I dropped a slight knock on it, I didn't bother to knock again before slowly walking in.

The maid said he was short-tempered; I didn't want to add to the misery I already felt.

The room was lit by a firelight, deep orange. A table sat in the center, set with wine, although untouched.

He stood by the window, tall and broad-shouldered, wearing a dark red robe. He turned sharply, and he let out a predatory smile at me.

"You're prettier than I imagined." He drawled, "Come here, pretty." He commanded.

I took a shaking step forward, then another, each one slower than the last. My heart thudded violently against my ribs, but I kept my face gentle and obedient.

"I'm Violet," I said softly, my hands trembling at my sides.

"I don't need that formality; just get on the bed and spread your legs." He smirked. "I...I..." my speech began to stutter, my hands cold as I fidgeted them together.

No... I couldn't do this... there was no way Rhydian would let men lay with me. There had to be something I could do to convince them.

I would have to beg him... I could take any other punishment, but not this.

I swiftly turned to run for the door when he grabbed me by my hair and threw me right to the bed; my stomach slammed against it.

"Where do you think you're going?" His voice was low but laced with fury, his eyes darkening as he leaned over me on the bed.

His presence felt overwhelming, both arms braced on either side of me, caging me in. "I haven't had my money's worth, and you think you can just run?" he growled.

"No... please," I whispered, my voice trembling as tears spilled down my cheeks. "This is a mistake.

We don't have to do this... I can speak to the king plead with him and I promise you'll have your money back." But the man's smile only deepened, twisted with something cold and cruel.

"I don't want my money back," he said darkly. "I want this. I want you. All night. Now be a good girl and comply... or you won't even recognize your face by morning." A shiver tore through me as I tried to move, crawling back on the bed to get away.

"Please don't do this... let me go," I whispered, my hands shaking as I pushed against his chest but he didn't budge.

He held me there, trapped, and I could feel the hopelessness sinking deeper into my bones. He grabbed both my wrists and pinned them down with one hand, the weight of him pressing me into the bed.

I whimpered, too weak to fight back. My heart pounded so hard I thought it would give out. Then, with his free hand, he yanked at my dress, the delicate fabric tearing like paper.

A cold shiver ran through me as I felt the chill of the room against my bare skin, and in that moment, I knew I would be doomed.

"No!!" I screamed, louder than I ever had in my life, my voice raw and filled with terror. My whole body shook violently, and tears streamed hot and fast down my cheeks, blinding me.

The door burst open with a thunderous crack, and in the blink of an eye, the man on top of me was ripped away, his body flung hard against the wall like a rag doll.

I curled in on myself, trembling, heart pounding so loud I could barely hear anything else. I heard the sickening crack of bone the moment his body slammed against the wall.

The sound echoed in my ears, haunting and sharp. Gasping for breath, I dragged myself away from the bed, each movement a struggle as my limbs trembled.

I clutched the torn edges of my dress, trying to hide what had already been exposed. Silent tears streamed down my cheeks, my chest rising and falling with quiet sobs.

Rhydian stood between us, his back to me like a shield I hadn't asked for. His golden eyes blazed with a fury I had never seen before.

"Leave," he said coldly, his voice like thunder, "and don't ever return." I trembled even more... Rhydian's presence had always been terrifying, but now, as his golden gaze shifted toward me, I felt my breath catch in my throat.

There was something different in his eyes something wild and conflicted.

"Why..." His voice was low but sharp, each word cutting through the air, "Why did I feel your pain in my head... and hear your scream like a whistle splitting through my skull?"

He wasn't really asking. It sounded more like a demand.

My lips parted, but no words came. My entire body was trembling, too shaken to truly process what he meant.

How could he have felt anything from me? "Tell me!" He growled, louder this time.

"When you screamed 'No!!'... I felt something inside me tear apart as if I hadn't been the one to give the command."

I flinched, my hands instinctively folding at my front.

I didn't understand it either, but the look on his face... It almost frightened me more than the man who had tried to use me.