Chapter 20 Terror
\[Lilia\]
My legs finally gave up. The burden I was carrying felt so heavy that even my physical body could no longer bear it. My knees hit the hard floor, my joints recoiling from the impact, but it seems that my entire being numbed.
I could not hold back my emotions. I was crying loudly. My shoulders shook, and my tangled hair came curtaining in front of my face. My tears clouded my vision, and everything around me became hazy as a result. The next thing I knew was that a domineering presence loomed over my hunched frame, a pair of strong arms wrapped around me and then lifted me up in the air.
A loud voice inside my head was screaming, retaliating, berating me for doing nothing but weep like a cry baby, calling me things.
Weak.
Filthy.
Stupid.
And so many other things.
I sucked a trembling lungful of air, sniffing the clogs out of my nose, ignoring the pain in my ribs. My hands curled into a tight ball but then loosened them at the realization that I could not do anything. I wanted to push him away from me, cut his hands from touching me again, and stop him from violating me as a human. However, I do not have the strength left in me to defy him with all his intentions.
He drained me.
He ripped me from the world.
My freedom.
All was gone.
He’s strong for me. Too strong to fight.
“Do not ever say things like that.” His rich, heavily accented deep voice resonated next to my ear, and he began walking. My body pressed against his warm chest as I curled smaller in his arms, trying my hardest to hide myself away from him. I just noticed that he wasn’t wearing anything as well; both of us were stark naked. I didn’t know where he would take me, but I remembered him saying he would clean me up. Did he mean bathing me?
My cheeks suddenly flared like fire. My tears had now stopped falling down from my eyes, though I could still feel the stickiness clinging to my face.
Hence, I did not respond and kept my mouth shut into a thin line.
What he said was more like a warning. And I meant it when I said that I wanted to die.
I am tired of this life. There seemed to be no future. Death might be more peaceful than being used over and over again for bodily pleasures. The very thought of it made me want to cry again, and an impending sob clawed at the back of my throat.
“Answer me, кукла (kukla). Do. Not. Say things like that ever again.” I could hear the rage in his voice, as he enunciated each syllable with tremendous force as he halted in his mid-step. The vibrations on his chest radiated through my small stature. He was clutching my legs, his fingers digging through my skin. Surely that would leave another imprint just like the rest of my bruises.
What he did to me a while ago came back to my head.
My breath quickened, and I used every muscle in my body to stifle a whimper. My heart began to hammer against my chest, and there was a bitter taste in the back of my mouth that I couldn’t seem to get rid of. As much as I wanted to end my life, his threatening voice seemed to be more scary than death itself.
“Yes,” I couldn’t even recognize the sound of my own voice as soon as it left my lips meekly, almost inaudible.
He must have sensed my trembling in his arms, for he relaxed his grip on me, apparently pleased with my response, despite the fact that he simply coerced me into saying it. Kael lets out a sharp breath, relaxing as his feet continue softly pounding on the marbled floor as he pads toward the tub, swaying me gently. I have no idea what time it is, but I know people half the world are still asleep at this hour, and with all the exhaustion I went through, my eyelids are on the verge of falling down to close my eyes.
Kael gently put me down in the large ceramic white bathtub. As soon as my rear touched the cold surface, uncontrolled gasps tore through my lips, but my body immediately adjusted just as the running warm water slowly filled the tub.
Kael stood right next to the tub, towering over me at his full height, and I refused to lift my face. I could barely make out his legs in my peripheral view, and it took a lot of willpower to keep my attention from traveling up to his naked glory. He might have been inside me and seen every inch of my body. I might have felt him down there, filling me in, but I do not have the courage to explicitly look and see him in his full magnificence.
“Look at me, кукла (kukla).” He demanded in a low voice, always threatening. I swallowed the hard lump lodging in my throat, pushing it down as I glanced up, my cheeks burning in a hot blush with both shame and unexpected anticipation that was now thrumming on my body.
The first one that caught my attention was his muscular, toned, hair-covered legs, a bit darker shade of skin on his knees than the rest of the way up. I dared not to look at the thing dangling in front of me and proceeded to look at him straight in the eyes, straining my neck, bending exceeding its capacity to stretch upwards that it hurts.
For a split second, there was a flash of amusement on his face, but it was gone in the blink of an eye, and his lips were pursed into a narrow line, giving the impression that he was annoyed of some sort.
“You are terrified of me, and that is right, my кукла (kukla), as you should be.” Squatting down, he brought his face up to my level, his nose creeping closer to mine, allowing me to catch a whiff of his minty spicy breath.
I don’t know why he’s telling me this. He must have seen it written on my face or that he could easily read it on my expression. Hence, he was right. I am scared of him and of all the things he could do to me.
He could break my bones in an instant with no remorse and pick his teeth using it for all he cares.
The moment Kael raises his hand, I quiver out of fear, anticipating that he will strike me. A deep growl emitted from his chest, indicating his dissatisfaction, but he did nothing to hurt me any more than he already had by his actions earlier.
Instead, the rough palm of his hand gently brushes across the side of my cheek, tucking the tangled mess of my hair behind my ear and wiping away the tears that have now dried.
“But this is one thing that you should know. I won’t let you die.”