Chapter 5 Onto another monster

Chapter 5 Onto another monster
NYX

They say hell is hot, but clearly, they’ve never stepped into Luna Daciana’s quarters.

Every maid we pass stiffens. Backs straighten, eyes drop in sheer fear at the mere sight of her. Silence crawls behind her, making this no different from a funeral march, and I, wearing this hideous khaki sack they call a uniform, might as well be the corpse.

An older maid had shoved the thing into my arms with a pitiful look that screamed, “Good luck surviving.”

I am not even here for Luna Daciana, but if it guarantees my survival, I'll take it, until I can get that bastard.

That son of a bitch.

We arrive at her chamber and a gasp spills from my lips.

Oh. It is beautiful, bathed in blues and purples. Marble chandeliers hang above us, dangling with rhythm. The windows are the widest— floor-to-ceiling, adorned with the highest quality stained glass. 

A maid takes Luna Daciana’s coat, while the other takes off her shoes like the Luna is an imbecile unable to move a finger herself.

“Slave!” Daciana, lounging on her expensive velvet couch, claps her hands, signalling for her latest toy.

Me.

“Well,” she drawls as her eyes rove over me, “it fits… disgustingly well. Almost as if you were born to be a slave.”

I smiled tightly, just a step away from yanking every strand of hair off her pretty head. “Thank you, Luna. You’re so… gracious.”

She doesn’t notice the sarcasm. 

“What are you called?”

“Nyx.”

“Nyx,” She tastes the word, eyes me disgustedly once more. “I see.”

Another maid crouches at her feet, gently scrubbing them with an entire pedicure kit sprawled across the room while Luna Daciana rambles on.

“So, slave—”

“It's Nyx,” I say. “Ma’am.”

“Don't you ever in your stupid, miserable life attempt to correct me, you ugly vulture!” She snaps. “You are whatever I say you are, understand?”

I hope she gets run over by a carriage. How can a woman this beautiful have a soul so ugly?

She hisses. “Now. I’ll find something to keep you busy. Can’t have idle slaves drooling over my husband,” she says, shooting me a glare.

My stomach twists as the memory invades me. Memories of him. Of last night. His hands on my body, his tongue in my mouth with an expertise I can't quite define.

The shame, the heat, the aftermath… My thighs clench without permission. 

God, I hate him.

Daciana’s voice cuts through my reverie. “Bookshelf.”

I look in the direction she's pointed. “What about it?”

“Upturn it.”

My brows pull together. “You want me to flip a full shelf? You sure you don’t want me to uproot the castle next?”

“What did you say to me?” Her eyes flash. “Did I stutter?!”

“I am sorry, your…lordship.” Before she suffers an aneurysm.

What sane person would want me to…upturn a shelf?

I sigh dramatically and walk over. The shelf is sturdy, well-arranged, taller than me and heavier than my pride, but I wedge my shoulder under it and grunt as it crashes to the ground, the poor books scattering everywhere.

A sardonic smile crosses her red-stained lips. “Now color-coordinate them.”

“Color… what?”

“Arrange them by color, you uneducated wench. You miss a shade and start over.”

I mutter under my breath as I start stacking red covers. This woman needs an exorcism, but after her husband's funeral.

The door creaks and another maid walks in trembling like a leaf and holding a silver tray with artfully arranged fruits of all kinds.

Luna Daciana shuffles in her seat, her brows furrowing as she watches the maid enter. 

“T-they said… the Alpha rejected the gift.”

“Did you tell the guards it was from me?” She asks in a rush.

“Yes. I…did, but-”

“Why then didn't he accept it?!” Daciana’s foot snaps out like a snake strike, kicking the poor girl at her feet. The water sloshes, tipping the tub. The maid screams in pain as hot water splashes over her legs.

“Are you insane?!” I yell before my brain catches up, rushing to help the maid. “She was scrubbing your crusty feet, why are you being such a lunatic?”

The room freezes.

Daciana stands up with a terrifyingly calm demeanor. “What did you say to me?”

Oh dear.

“I…”

Her hand strikes my cheek so hard I see stars. The taste of copper floods my mouth.

“You insolent fool! What? A lunatic?” She reaches forward and grabs my hair, twisting it around her fingers as she pulls.

I grit my teeth in pain. 

“Take her to the dungeon,” she hisses to the guards. “Whip the arrogance off her back. Wait. Better still, I’ll do it myself!”

It took every iota of self-control in me not to throw a punch at her smug face.

“I will make sure you suffer and grovel for mercy, slave!”

I look her dead in the eye. “You’ll have to dig deep for that.”

That earned me another painful strike to the face. As the guards grab me, I still manage to kneel beside the burned maid, grabbing her hand. “Are you okay?” I whisper. “Blink twice if you need me to fake a seizure to get you out of here.”

The girl blinks once. Well, at least she blinks.

They yank me up and shove me forward. Daciana stalks behind us like a queen in mourning—mourning the fact that she has the personality of a rabid dog.

Maids and servants peek out from doorways, gawking as I’m dragged down the hall like some criminal.

Daciana makes sure everyone hears her. “Let this be a lesson, anyone who crosses me will be stripped of dignity and flesh.”

“And here I thought I was special,” I mumbled to myself.

We round a corner and a familiar sight drains me of all my confidence. It isn't only me, apparently. Luna Daciana also looks like she's seen a ghost, or some gemstone she could only dream of obtaining.

Alpha Kane stands a few steps away from us, surrounded by his entourage. He's still as cold and smug as I remember.

The chilling feeling that graces his presence remains, except this time his filthy lips aren't on mine and his careless hands aren't exploring my body.

My heart starts to palpitate and my face grows hotter. Did he feel it too? This stupid, electrifying feeling that buzzes in my veins when he's near?

I stiffen but not from fear. No. The last time I saw him, I was on my knees, willing and weak and… damn it, I still taste him.

He stops and takes in the scene, his eyes flitting from Daciana to me with my bruised wrist, red cheek, and uniform soaked in sweat.

“What the hell is this?” he growls.

Daciana pastes on a smile so fake it belongs in a wax museum. “Your new whore insulted me. I’m having her disciplined.”

Kane’s jaw ticks. “Disciplined. Hm.”

“She questioned my authority.”

I lift my chin. “Only because your authority was burning innocent people, your lordship-ness.”

He looks at me and for a second, there’s that flash of confusion again but it passes so quickly. 

He turns to Daciana. “I’ll handle her.”

My breath catches.

What.

“No!” Daciana snaps. “She’s mine. My maid, my responsibility!”

“She might be your maid,” Kane says in a low, lethal voice. “But I have better ways to punish her. Return to your quarters this instant.”

Daciana is seething, trembling with rage. “You’re making a mistake, Kane.”

“Wouldn’t be the first.” 

I am dumbfounded, still as he walks over and unclasps the guard’s grip from my arm, so gently I almost forget he’s the same monster from last night.

“Hi, mate,” he says, ensuring no one else hears it. “We sure have a lot to discuss, don't we?”

Just like that, I’m transferred from one monster to another.