Darius folded his arms across his chest, glaring down at me, and I dropped my gaze, unable to handle its intensity; it burned into me with a hatred that made my stomach twist.
“Nothing to say, Aleera?” Darius asked. What could I say? What excuse would he accept that was good enough because clearly murdering my parents and burning my family home down wasn’t a good enough reason to run from them? If I told them the other reason, they would probably pin me down and use me to destroy the world as their personal power source.
Movement caught my eye, and Darius suddenly appeared next to me before gripping my face. His fingers dug into my cheeks as he forced me to meet his demonic eyes. Darkness was all I saw in them. He was evil incarnate.
“I asked you a question,” he said, his voice deadly calm when he shoved my face away. I rubbed my cheek where his nails dug in a little too hard, breaking the skin.
“You will remain in this room between classes. If you leave this castle without permission, you will find yourself back in the cells, understood?” Darius asked.
“Don’t try to run, Aleera. Our room is right next door, and I will have guards stationed on the stairs. They have permission to use force if necessary,” Tobias said, and Lycus walked over to a door I hadn’t noticed before.
He opened it, and I saw it was a bathroom. There was another door on the other end, which I guessed led into the room next door.
His words suddenly registered.Did they all share the same room?I stared at them but said nothing when Darius leaned down, making me tilt backward as his hands dropped on the bed on either side of my hips.
My eyes went to the faint outline on his neck, three marks overlapping each other. I blinked in shock, wondering if I’d imagined it.No, it couldn’t be. I was their keeper, and mates didn’t mark each other; usually, they only marked their keeper. I was the link between them, yet why did he have all three of their marks on his neck? I wanted to know if they all shared each other’s marks.
“Is that understood, Aleera?” Darius asked, and I tore my eyes away from his neck to look at his face. I quickly nodded.
Chapter 9
Darius watched my facefor a second, and I swallowed as his eyes ran down my body and to my lap, making me shift uncomfortably. He growled; the noise gave me goosebumps as he towered over me.
“Lycus, go get her some clothes. Kalen, go grab her a shirt until Lycus comes back so she can shower,” Darius said before pushing off the bed away from me. Lycus nodded to him before walking out, and so did Kalen, leaving me with Darius and Tobias.
“You attend every class. Someone will pick you up from your room in the morning to take you down to the mess hall, where all meals are served for those who live here.”
“Where am I?” I asked before I could stop myself. Darius didn’t like being talked over as he took a deep breath, and I watched his hands clench into fists at his sides before looking down.
“Meals are in the mess hall. I will have some books sent in here. Under no circumstances are you to tell anyone here you are our mate. If you do, you will wish you were in the cells. Am I clear?”
“Crystal,” I told him.
“Also,” Tobias said, stepping closer to the bed and moving to stand beside Darius, “you will steer clear of Kalen. Stay out of ourway, and if you can behave and do as you’re told, you will have a bit more freedom.”
“Why can’t I go near Kalen?” I asked, confused. He appeared to be the only one who didn’t outright condemn me.
“Don’t question us. Just do as we ask. It isn’t up for discussion,” Tobias said just as Kalen walked back into the room. He had a folded shirt in his hands, and he placed it on the end of the bed with a towel.
“Now go shower; you’re filthy. Tobias will bring you something to eat when you are out of the shower,” Darius said before turning on his heel and walking out. He stopped at the door, looking expectantly at Kalen, who turned around when Tobias touched his shoulder, nodding toward the door. Kalen left. He looked like he wanted to say something but kept it to himself. They both left, and Tobias stayed behind, looking down at me.
“Count yourself lucky we haven’t killed you yet, Aleera. Be careful not to give us a reason to. Kalen may not want you dead, but the rest of us do. Just remember that,” he said before walking out and closing the door behind him. I heard the lock click in place, so I didn’t even bother checking it as I got up and walked into the bathroom.
A shower sounded excellent. I hadn’t had a hot shower in god knows how long, usually washing in lakes or streams. It wasn’t the same. You never really felt clean with only cold water, and I was lucky to find soap when I could.I suppose that’s what happens when you leave the fae community and are forced to live in the wilderness among monsters, never catching a whole night’s sleep and jerking awake at every noise.
Walking into the bathroom, I stopped in front of the mirror above the basin, furrowing my brows when I noticed it had five sinks. A shower took up an entire wall behind me, and there was a colossal bath that could easily fit five people in the middle of the room. A toilet was in the far corner, and I wondered if they’d specifically made this room for the five of us before I ran.
Guilt gnawed at me as I placed the shirt and towel on the basin before looking at myself in the mirror. I looked different from what I remembered. My face had changed; it was slimmer. I didn’t look like the same eighteen-year-old girl when I left the boarding school. I looked older, drained of life. I was skinnier, my hair dull and lifeless. It was so much longer now. It used to sit on my shoulders; now, it was halfway down my back, having grown out.
The door leading to the other room opened, and Kalen wandered in.
“There is shampoo and soap in the niches and a spare toothbrush.” He walked over before bending down and opening the cupboards under the sink basin and reaching into it.
He pulled out a hairbrush and toothbrush before handing them to me.
“Thank you,” I told him, observing the man. He nodded, and I heard talking in the room he had just walked in here from.
“You all share a room?” Kalen looked at the door before nodding and looking back over at me.