To Defend A Bride (Entangled with the Enduar #3)

Chapter 30

Chapter 30

MELISA

" H e was here last night," a voice rumbles above me.

There are pains all over my body, but I grit my teeth and sit up. Ra'Sa is gone.

There's a sadness that accompanies that thought, but it’s overshadowed by a pain pounding in my head. It doesn't take long for a cramp to squeeze my lower belly. I groan just as another voice filters through the wooden trap door above.

"So what happened to him? You weren't rutting around last night, right?"

Mierda .

? 1 They are talking about the giant warrior who came into the pit while Ra'Sa and I were talking. Ra'Sa... killed him.

"We were here the whole time. A half hour ago, I went to relieve myself, and when I returned, he was gone."

The other man curses in giantese.

"So you're saying he's only been gone a half hour?"

The replying grunt comes instantly.

"You son of a bitch. Lying to me through your teeth already? I can smell the wine on your breath. You were careless—you left your post to do gods knows what. I don’t want to see your ugly, warty face any longer. Report back to the barracks,” the other warrior says.

“But sir?—”

“I'll deal with you later.”

It isn't until I hear the footsteps fade that I let out a long sigh.

My gaze drops from the wooden lid, and I realize I can see. There is a dimly glowing orb of light above me. I reach up and grasp at it, finding it identical to the floating lights all around Enduvida. A small basin has also been hewn from the ground and is filled with what appears to be clean water, almost like a fountain.

A small, rectangular hole has been carved at the back of the cave, which can function as a latrine. The strips of fabric left there are hard to miss.

Ra'Sa.

Ra'Sa did this. For me. While I slept in this slimy, disgusting place.

My musings dissipate abruptly when the pit’s wooden lid is torn off, letting in gusts of chilled air. I shove the spell light into the folds of my dress. My heart races, fearing that I will be caught with contraband.

A giant warrior sticks his head in—Captain Truloj. Luckily, the small, marked improvements aren't enough for him to notice. The sun backlights his profile, showing how he curls his lip.

"You!" he calls in. "You still alive?"

I freeze in place, then force myself to crawl to where he can see me and put on a coy smile.

"I'm afraid I am," I call back.

Raising my hand to shade myself from the light, I peer up at his mousy brown locks and scarred face. His eyes are more burnt orange than the others. Even from here, I can see that his top lip is mostly scarred flesh.

He smirks. "Did you see either of the guards last night?"

I shake my head, and my breath feels a little tighter.

Are you well? Ra’Sa asks.

My mouth parts at the sound of his voice. It caresses my mind, sustaining me in the face of panic. Chills ripple down my spine as I let out a deep breath, and gooseflesh pebbles up my arm.

I nearly forgot to thank you for caring for me last night.

It was good I rested, Ruh’flor. I very much enjoy the feel of your thighs against my mouth.

My heart skips a beat. I press my thighs together at his innuendo, surprised at my body’s response, and ignore him.

Fuck, get it together.

“You didn't hear anything?"

"I was asleep, Captain," I reply.

He pauses, considering my words, and then shakes his head, mumbling something about stupid humans. The top is closed, and I am left in relative darkness. I keep the spell light close to me for a long while.

It pulses lightly against my skin. Gentle reminders of the troll who protected me. A curious sensation creeps up my neck.

He cared for me.

My head throbs, and I lower myself to the ground.

Melisa? Ra'Sa says again.

I let out another long breath.

I'm fine. The giants came. They were just looking for... I trail off, remembering the sound of the giant dying. It was quick, but I knew what was happening.

Ah. I understand.

I don't know what to say to that, only that the entire evening felt like some fever dream. I can picture how the guard dropped into the pit, and Ra’Sa followed him.

Close your eyes. Don't watch, he said.

Why did he risk that for me? Does matehood also take away common sense?

Eneko returns soon, and I will go back to his bed. I need to know what he learned in the mines. He won't be satisfied with a quick hand and spilling over my dress.

My lungs seize.

Sleeping with the foreman has never been a particularly pleasurable experience, nor something to look forward to. But thinking about doing it when Ra'Sa is in my head, taking care of me...

It feels like... it feels wrong .

I rub my hand over my face. The plan was to find someone to take care of the girls, to make him care about me so much that he would do anything for me while I remained emotionally unattached.

I wasn't supposed to feel anything. Not the brush of butterfly wings against my heart when he says my name. Not heat at his touch or loyalty to him.

Fuck.

I feel Ra'Sa smirk in the corner of my mind.

Fuck off, I say darkly, recognizing that I'm having a harder and harder time of keeping my heart in my chest.

It sounds like you are feeling better, he says back. Just so you know, I brought meat to the girls this morning.

I brace my hands on either hip.

You did what? I growl.

They were hungry when I stopped by, so I found them some food.

Did they not have food? I demand, skin heating.

They did. But they’re growing. They needed more.

Relief cools my hot skin.

Thank you, I grit out.

He smiles again, that little shit.

He barely smiled before, why does he have to be so... so...

Charming? he supplies.

I sputter. Am I so transparent?

You are anything but charming. When I met you, there were stones with more facial expressions.

And yet, you still followed me around.

I shut off all my thoughts and go back to sitting against the wall. He can’t be in my head all the time. Except, it feels good to have him there. I shouldn’t find comfort in a place like this, but gods… he makes it happen.

After a few hours, I change the blood-soaked clothes and wash the others the best I can. I lean back and wrap my hands around my midsection. My arm, my ribs, my womb—they all hurt.

When the hatch opens again, late afternoon greets me through it. Hibsej is there with a sneer on her face.

"You’re still alive,” she says simply, clearly disappointed.

My heart leaps at the sight of her. If she's returned, it likely means that I'll get to leave this cursed place and go and see the girls.

I’ll make them something new. I'll kiss their faces and take every cursed beating from Griselda. When I move from my location on the ground, a rope is let down minutes later with a loop around it.

"Get over here," she calls down.

I grab on and then position it around my aching midsection. The knot is pulled, and it digs into my ribs and bottom. All of it hurts. It's so cursedly tight when it pulls me up, it feels like my ribs might pop. When I reach the surface, I'm greeted with the too-cold but mercifully fresh air. I inhale lungful after lungful while Hibsej watches me in disgust.

Little does she know that I would've died if it hadn't been for my ma— for Ra'Sa.

She doesn't say anything to me once the giants set me down. One of them gives a squeeze to my ass, and I don't even bother to look back. Instead, I stumble after the woman, following her through the trees and back to the house. When we reach the cabin, she heads inside, then pauses.

“No visiting your mother until you finish the clothes,” she quips and slams the door shut.

I watch the enormous wooden door for a minute, taking in the knots and veins of rich colors before I go back to my room.

No visits.

My heart lurches, and I try to comfort myself by saying that I am already late.

The second I walk in, I’m bombarded by laundry bags—more laundry than I knew the family was capable of dirtying.

I can't clean all of this tonight. It will freeze and ruin the cloth before the night is up.

A scream sits in my throat, choking me. Instead, I take a deep breath and start to sort through the masses of crudely woven sacks. It takes a minute to find them, but I grab my buckets for the well.

Outside, two warriors round the corner. I freeze.

“You,” one says. "The king's summoned you. Come with us."

My mouth parts. Rholker?

"Now?" I thought he had gone with Eneko to the mines. Apparently not.

They nod.

I look at the buckets and drop them. I grab onto my still filthy skirt and inspect the stains, some of which are crusted while others look oily. The two guards start walking, and I follow after them without even going to grab my coat. As they guide me to the front of the house, I see Hibsej looking at me through one of the cloudy windows. The rough, bubbled texture distorts her face, but I can make out her frown.

When I look at the carriage, I see the royal insignia etched onto the sides.

Hostia puta. ? 2 They weren't lying.

It'll be nothing, I tell myself before the nerves can start to bunch up. The space between the ground and the step is significantly high, more so than the cart that Eneko uses. No one helps me climb in. When I get inside, I fall unceremoniously across the carpet.

I scramble to my feet and find a rough cloth has been laid across the seating. I sit, back straight, as the carriage starts to move. My gaze soaks in the fine fabrics lining the walls. Several of them are painted and stitched with golden threads. There's even a makeshift window made out of magical glass as clear as crystal. It keeps out most of the chill, but a frozen sort of stale air hangs around.

When we reach the palace, I am taken aback by how much of it is still rubble. I mark the completely destroyed hall, and the steps that look as if they've been ripped from the ground up. Slaves swarm the area, carrying lumber and stone as they patch the structure’s skeleton.

Seconds later, the door to the carriage is yanked open.

"Out," one grumbles, and I stand carefully before hopping off the tall platform.

None of them help; they just begin to walk.

We ascend the stairs to the palace when Ra'Sa's voice returns.

Nearly finished. I will come to you soon.

I suck my teeth and say, No. They let me out.

There's a long pause, only filled with the sound of boots and slippers across polished floors as we head to the throne room.

Where are you?

I hesitate as the gilded wall adornments become increasingly elaborate. Precious metals glint, and the marble around me seems to glow from within. Hundreds of candles are lit in the chandeliers above us, and I savor the moment we begin crossing the plush carpet. It's soft on my aching feet.

We slow, and I see the entrance to the throne room.

The palace. I think they're taking me to see King Rholker?

What?

I don't answer.

Melisa. That's dangerous—he’s a murderer. Get out.

I can't do that.

Two large gilded doors are pulled open. Rows of polished wooden pews line the way, each upholstered with patterned velveteen fabric.

The statues of Khuohr's brides holding up basins of fire have been lit and line the path to the throne where High King Rholker sits. He reclines against the gilded chair with a fresh, angry scar slashed across his eye. His oiled curls are arranged just so across his shoulders. A scepter is clutched proudly in one of his hands, and a golden, bejeweled crown rests upon his brow.

A woman stands behind him—a Bruja —lurking like a shadow. She almost sinks into the background, and my eyes cannot focus on her, try as I might.

To the left of Rholker sits the Elf King on the throne typically reserved for the queen. I also spot Lord Fektir, the new advisor to the king. He wears several Enduar diamonds on his doublet and scowls at me as I enter.

Elf King Arion is dressed for the high court in elaborate robes and silver details. I had informed Estela that the relationship between Rholker and the Elves was strong, but this is a united alliance like I've never seen.

I continue up the carpeted path. Upon reaching the end, I bow deeply enough for my head to touch the ground as the giant to my left announces me.

My muscles scream at the action, and gods, do I smell.

"Melisa, Formen Eneko's comfort woman, My King,” the warrior belts out.

I stay there, looking at the short fibers of the hand-woven rug before Rholker's voice rumbles across the room.

"Rise."

I do. Slowly to account for my aches. Although I'm a stinking, ugly mess, I arm myself with my protective smile. The two kings look down at me. My empty stomach churns.

What am I doing here?

Tell me what's happening, Ra’Sa insists.

I sigh inwardly. I can't talk to three men at once.

Then let me in. Your mind is… strong. It resists me.

I hesitate for a minute.

Please, or I'll storm the castle.

You’re insane, I retort.

Melisa, he growls.

Fine.

Carefully, I prod at that bond in the back of my head. I open it as much as I can, feeling him peer at the scene. His presence fills up the space in my mind and soul. I tell myself it’s just easier than speaking to three men at once, but something about him being there eases my roiling belly.

Ra’Sa growls at the sight of King Arion, and one word rings in my skull: traitor .

"You have been called here to answer questions about your fellow humans," King Rholker says at last.

I nod once, and he purses his lips.

"You assisted me with a slave. The one that recently escaped several weeks ago," he says.

A cold sweat beads on my back, and I swallow.

One of the king's bushy eyebrows pops up, and I realize he expects an answer, though that wasn’t a question.

"Yes, Your Majesty," I say with a dip of my head.

“And now she is gone,” he says with a frown. “Scurried through the cracks like a diseased rat.”

More uncomfortable silence. That doesn’t sound like a question, either. I push my shoulders back, fidgeting some of the tension out of my spine.

“Before Foremen Eneko left, he mentioned something to me in passing. Something that’s caused me to ponder for many days.” The king sits forward in his seat, looking at me with his shining, yellow eyes. “He said that he was grateful you had returned.”

My breath stutters in my lungs. My mind races with the trek, Enduvida, the Enduares. How had a king taken note of a slave’s location?

“Given the situation with the woman who escaped, I can't help but wonder where exactly you were,” Rhoker’s voice booms.

My breath continues, chopped up and shallow.

Breathe, Ruh’flor . Lie.

"The woman you speak of was insane,” I say, voice steady.

King Arion smirks and leans over to whisper something to King Rholker. The two of them share a short laugh, but the giant’s eyes snap back onto my face.

“Continue, girl.”

You’re doing well. Keep going, but don’t mention being outside for a week.

“I tended to her for weeks, and she would ramble lies about the trolls. The night she escaped, she... did something to us. Used some sort of spell. I remember it hit me in the head, and then I fainted. I woke up when another slave found me in the yards and returned me to my master." The lies roll off my tongue, but they hang in the air for several minutes.

My head is bowed while King Rholker considers me, not daring to look back at his face and crack.

I catch a slight movement as King Rholker looks at the Elf King. Slowly, King Arion nods.

"I detect no lie," he says.

I blink. Truly? Does he have some power where he can smell deception?

If so, it doesn’t work. He is a horrid man, be careful, Ra’Sa says.

The giant king nods at the other king’s words, but he doesn't seem satisfied.

"If you were beaten and left, why did all the other slaves go with her?" he demands. "She rarely had access to the outside world."

With the Elf King a few paces away, it's in my best interests to remain collected.

"It pains me to say I do not know, Your Majesty. I was busy preparing her for the coronation. Whatever happened, whatever spell she used with her strange magic, was something I simply cannot understand with my feeble mind," I say as innocently as possible.

The men before me accept this, but the Bruja behind them tilts her head to the side.

The Six are also human, so a part of me worries she will call out my deception. She does not.

The giant king turns to the Elf King. “Do you want her?"

Ra’Sa’s rage flows through me, watching intently.

The elf’s head turns to me, studying my face. He scans my filthy form from my feet to the top of my head.

"I think I'm still partial to the flame-haired girl," he says quickly, as unbothered as ever.

I relax, but then I begin to think of all the humans I'd ever known with red hair, and one comes to mind.

Is he talking about Arlet? The sweet-natured weaver in Enduvida? There aren't many humans with the vibrant red color that she sports on her head.

When did he meet her? I ask my mate.

He was in Enduvida for a time. We invited the elves in hopes of making an alliance, and he betrayed us to the giants. He is the reason Estela was taken.

Our conversation is interrupted with the giant king’s voice.

“Take her away. But be warned, human, I may have need of you again.”

As the giants usher me out, I hear the Elf King say, "Do all humans in Zlosa tend to smell like rotten meat left in the sun?"

I clench my fists and walk through the door.

You did well, Ra’Sa declares.

I did? You don't disapprove of how easily I lied?

If I recall correctly, I was the one who told you to do it.

No matter. Most would probably wonder if they could ever trust me again if I openly showed such a conniving side.

You, Ruh’flor, cannot hide from me. I trust you.

You are sure of yourself.

Laughter rumbles through me, and I smile.

On the way out of the palace, the giants leave me at the steps. I notice that the carriage is gone. I look up at the guards, who stare ahead into the twilight. It illuminates the carefully curated gardens as the sun continues to dip down.

"Go home," one grunts, reaffirming my thoughts.

I take a deep breath and do just that, despite the chill. Resigned and grateful that the encounter with the kings went smoothly, I remember my daughters and what Hibsej told me. I will work hard tomorrow—for as long as it takes that I might see them again.

Tonight, I will bathe. And then I will sleep.

Or perhaps, I should visit, Ra’Sa’s voice returns.

I let out a long sigh.

Fine.