Whatever it was, from the moment her fire had found his, her fate was sealed.
He sat in the shadows watching her.
The strobing lights in the auction club went over the stage, three women in translucent robes standing in the center. He didn’t look at the ones on the sides, his heterochromatic eyes on the one in the middle. He studied her, the way she blinked at her feet, her face dead to the world. The only sign of her life remained her hair, hair that had grabbed his attention since that first time.
He pretended to sip on his drink, wondering who there was going to die by his hands tonight. They all knew never to bid on her, a trail of bodies of her suitors sending a loud message. Yet, someone always did. Someone always tempted their fates. And someone always died. Last time, it had been a sniper bullet through the brain, the poor shit’s blood splattering across her pale skin. This time, he’d make it more personal. Maybe douse them in gasoline while she watched.
As though feeling his gaze, she looked up. Her eyes swept the crowd of well-dressed men, going straight to the shadowed corners, knowing that’s where he stayed. He liked that.
He saw the moment she saw his silhouette, a mix of hatred and betrayal etched on her face for everyone to see. Her hands fisted at her sides. His obsession deepened.
Though she wasn’t a blaze yet, only an ember, she was his.
He watched her, intently focused on the nuances of her face.
One day, she would be an inferno, and he would be the devil who controlled it.
PART ONE
Ashes
“Into this wild abyss, the wary fiend stood on the brink of Hell and looked a while.”—John Milton, Paradise Lost
Chapter oneLyla, 5 years ago
It was her first time in a sex club. Though she had heard about them, she knew many girls who were taken into them, she had somehow never found herself there.
And Moonflame was as upscale as it could get. Her buyer for the night, a gray-haired man with an expensive watch and a nice suit, held her waist as he led her down the corridor and into the wide open hall. It was dripping with luxury, from the chandeliers on the high ceilings to the velvety red couches to the gleaming wood. It was luxury she glimpsed in her darkest moments, only to return to nothingness.
Lyla watched people in various stages of undress sitting around the lounge areas, simply talking and sipping their drinks, some men and women wearing masks while some of the girls and boys remained bare-faced. It was a party for those who could afford it, and Lyla could feel the power pushing at her from all sides.
Swallowing down her nerves, unprepared, she followed the man as he guided her to a door at the other end of the luxurious hall. He had been a smart one—he hadn't bid on her at the auction. Instead, he'd come straight to the complex she lived at and purchased her for a year, and Lyla was terrified because she didn't like the sadistic look in his eyes, and she didn't know if he even knew about her new contract. He usually just watched the auctions, so she didn't know how he could know of a deal that went through during the day.
Dressed in a black gauzy chiffon dress that tied at her waist, without any underwear, she dreaded what was to come of the night as the gray-haired man led her into an auditorium of some kind. There was a stadium-like arena with couches on elevated levels at her back, people on them watching. But instead of an empty middle area, there were tall red walls lining it up, only one opening in the middle for entrance.
It was a maze.
Before she could even grasp the full sight, the monster at her side turned her to the audience, tugging her dress open so her breasts popped out to their lecherous gazes.
"Ladies and gentlemen," he announced. "Whoever catches my slave tonight gets a chance to play with her."
Horror ripped into her, her eyes flying over the masked and unmasked people. They were sick. Every single one of them. So sick.
"No." The word escaped her before she could control it, and she felt a large hand strike her cheek.
"You don't speak, girl!"
Skin burning, she looked down at his feet, her brain warring with anger and pain and disgust, knowing she was helpless to stop this. The monster pulled her hands tightly behind her back, tying her wrists up with some kind of rope that abraded her skin.
"Run," the monster slapped her burning cheek lightly. "Save yourself for a few minutes before we find you."
Adrenaline filling her veins, she didn't wait a moment before darting into the maze, escaping the eyes on everyone. The walls closed in around her, a head higher than she was, enough to keep her hidden from the watching eyes. She took a deep breath, looking both ways, before darting to her right and running full speed until she came to a dead end. Chest heaving, half her dress undone, she pivoted to the left, with no clue where she was going, just wanting to run and escape, but the powerlessness of knowing there was no escape made her eyes burn.