“Interesting,” the Lord murmured. “Look at me now.”
Pressure expanded in my head, sending spikes of agony through my temples until my gaze returned to his. Only then did the pain retreat.
The green in his eyes pulsed. “Walk forward.”
My feet dragged across the bloodied floor. One foot. Then the other— and a sudden, sharp pain radiated across the right side of my chest, stealing my breath even as I took another step.
“Stop,” he demanded.
I stopped.
The Lord pulled the sword back, holding it up between us. The very tip was glossy with blood— my blood. “I could order you to slit your own throat on this blade and you’d do it.” He lowered it, resting the sharp blade against the base of my throat. “I could have you on your knees and your mouth around my dick. I could have you take this sword and go from house to house, disemboweling those who sleep. Do you understand me?”
Disgust joined the mint taste in my mouth as my lips moved. “Yes.”
“Good.” The Lord inched the sword down. “Now, did you get a good enough look at those around you?”
“Yes,” I breathed.
“You can either do what you’re told or live to regret not doing so. You’ve seen all the many, many ways to find regret. Starting with your brave friend. Do you understand? Say, ‘Yes, my lord.’ ”
“Yes.” My throat ached as the words left me. “My lord.”
He drew the sword over the small puncture wound, dragging a ragged gasp from me. “The only control you have now is in what happens from this moment until you’re handed over to our liege. My orders are to bring you to him alive and in somewhat good condition. Nothing was said about your friend. He is living only on the generosity of Prince Rohan and your actions.”
My hands twitched as the tip of the sword grazed the swell of my breast and then the curve of my stomach before pointing to the floor.
The Lord’s close-lipped smile returned as he sheathed his sword. “It can either be pleasant or I can have you begging for death every moment between now and then. Do you, my dear, understand?”
My lips moved once more. “Yes.”
The green rings shrank until they were once more just blotches in the darkness of his eyes. The weight entrenched into my body lifted without warning, slipping from my ankles and wrists and then my mind. The fuzziness cleared from my thoughts as his— his power retracted its hold on me. Now having felt what a compulsion was like, I understood the terror I’d seen on Grady’s face when we were children and he’d been under one. I staggered back, breathing heavily.
“Now, it’s time for us to go.”
Slowly, I turned around, my movements stiff and jerky. A tremor had started in my hands and had made its way throughout the entirety of my body as I took note of the small circle of blood that stained the chest of my robe. It was nothing compared to what I’d seen— compared to what I knew this lord was capable of. I walked out into the clouded, cooler night sky.
The courtyard was empty.
I barely felt the cold ground beneath my feet as I searched for any sign of Grady and the others. I didn’t see them. Panic took root as all I saw beyond the stone fencing was the outline of a massive black steed, one as large as the horses I’d seen at the Archwood stables. “Where is he? Where are the others?”
“You will see him again.” The Lord strode past, grasping my arm in the process. His grip was bruising, but I didn’t protest. The manhandling was far better than him using another charm and making good on one of his many threats. “He was taken ahead with the Prince and my brother.”
Confusion rose, and then I remembered what Grady had said. “We’re being followed, aren’t we?”
“We’re being cautious,” the Lord said with a chuckle, and I flinched, reminded of Lord Samriel’s apathy. “If we are, they’ll follow the Prince. Not us.”
My heart thudded as I entered the empty, dark street. I had to remind myself that Hyhborn couldn’t lie. If he said the Rae were taking him ahead of us, then that was what was happening. Grady was strong and clever. If he had a chance to escape, he would. I latched on to that as the Lord gripped me by the waist and hoisted me up onto the horse.
The Lord swung up onto the saddle behind me. “Ask another question of me?” he said, picking up the horse’s reins. “And you will find yourself occupying your mouth in a way that will be less grating to me.”
I clamped my jaw shut, and that hurt, causing half of my face to throb. Why did men, no matter what they were, always resort to such threats? As if threatening our lives wouldn’t be enough to ensure cooperation? My fingers dug into the pommel of the saddle.