Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder novel Chapter 819

Chapter 30 : No One Else but Me

The trio of maids tittered around me like little songbirds. They were used to my presence now, especially since we spent nearly four days at Aeris's castle now. One of them was undoing the laces on my dress while the others tidied up my room. A lunch tray sat on the edge of my bed as I kept my hands on the desk by the windows, guarding the stolen treasures that I'd hidden in the drawer before the maids came in.

I played the role of docile, submissive, high-bred female as the maids continued their work. They gossiped as if I wasn't standing there listening to their every word.

Someone within Aeris's court was getting married soon, but there were rumors of a mistress causing issues for the betrothed couple. One of the kitchen maids had just found out she was pregnant, and was mum about who the father was. Two scullery maids had scrapped so badly one of them needed stitches and the other had a broken wrist. A warrior had been caught trying to steal from Aeris, and was currently in the dungeon, facing death.

So on, and so forth… nothing useful for my current situation, and nothing about the mystery behind Jared's whereabouts the past day.

They left the room as quickly as they'd come after dressing me in what they called a “day dress," which was really just a long skirt and tapered blouse. I let out the breath I'd been holding as I padded to the door, listening to their footsteps and chatter retreating down the hallway as I turned the lock.

I was starting to feel like a prisoner in this room. But, I was following Archer's instructions. Lock the door. Stay inside. Wait.

Wait for what, exactly?

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes for a moment as I turned back to the desk. Gray afternoon light filtered through the windows. It was raining now, little specks of water speckling the glass. I walked to the windows and cracked open one of the panes, letting the sweet scent of a wet early spring day cut through the snug room against the smell of the wood burning in the hearth.

I'd snuck both the map and the Cryptex back to the room. It had been far too easy, and I knew without a doubt that Aeris wouldn't know anything was missing. How could he? That place had been a mess. Just being in his vault had given me a terrible headache and had me choking on dust within minutes.

But I had a newfound curiosity about Aeris. Sure, he wanted to keep me here and use me as a breeder. He also had a treasure trove beneath his castle, artifacts and scrolls and books I'd never seen or heard of before. How had he acquired them? He obviously didn't know what he had.

I pursed my lips as I caught my reflection in the full-length mirror across the room.

The little demon who my mother told me was permanently fixed on my shoulder said, 'Would being his breeder really be all that bad if you had access to every shred of knowledge about the Dark Realm you desire?'

“What is wrong with you?" I told myself, shaking the thought from my mind.

I opened the desk drawer and gingerly pulled out the Cryptex, setting it on the desk before the powers within could penetrate my skin. I carefully lifted the map and laid it out flat over the desk, peering down at it.

It was a map of Egoren of course, but a very primitive version. Large chunks of the land were missing, likely unexplored during the time when the map was created. What was interesting about it was the script on the map, however.

The modern written language of the Dark Realm was the same as the Realm of Light. A few things were spelled differently or had different meanings, of course.

But the script on the map wasn't any language I'd ever seen written before.

I took the scroll from the drawer and spent the next several hours matching up the symbols on the map to the symbols on the scroll, the lunch on the edge of my bed all but forgotten.

The sky was darkening with the impending night by the time I'd confirmed my suspicions about the scroll. It was in code, a mix of two ancient written languages. I leaned back in my chair and rubbed my eyes, blinking back fatigue and dismay. I had no tools to translate this here. Jared might have something in his study, but if he didn't?

I had no idea what I was even looking for, or why. I sighed as I flexed my aching hands. Everything would be fine once we were back in his village and out of this Goddess-forsaken city.

A knock sounded on the door. I turned around, staring at the door for a moment until Jared's voice boomed through the room.

“It's me," he said, pounding on the door again.

I bristled at the urgency in his tone as I hustled to the door, unlocking it and throwing it open. Jared had a hand resting on the doorframe, panting as he looked down at me. My body tensed with sudden desire as his eyes met mine. It was so much like the night after the ball.

But then I saw his split lip and the bruising along his jaw.

“Goddess–" I began, then yelped as he grabbed my arm and hurried me across the hallway into his room, where Brandt and Archer were waiting, all of them looking worse for wear.

I gaped at them. Archer had a black eye, and Brandt's nose was definitely broken, among a variety of other superficial injuries.

“What happened?" I exclaimed, looking from man to man before settling my gaze on Jared. “Is anyone going to tell me, or should I get used to the three of you looking like this all the time?"

“You're having dinner with Aeris tonight," Jared said, wiping a trickle of blood from his lip. “Alone."

“...Why?"

“Because we can't be seen like this, not right now." Jared shifted his weight like he was uncomfortable, his eyes still locked on mine. “But we'll be nearby."

“Who's asinine idea was this?" I choked, looking from man to man.

“Mine," Brandt said with a shrug.

It was said so casually that it gave me a start as I glared at him, then Archer, and then Jared.

“What's going on? Where the hell have the three of you been–"

“You're going to distract Aeris while we take care of some… business," Jared said firmly as he straightened up and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Business?" I scoffed. “It looks like you've been taking care of business all evening."

“The man who ran the breeder auction is here, Eliza," Brandt said, wincing a bit as I went rigid, the blood draining from my face.

“What?" I said through gritted teeth.

“We need to know what happened to you," Jared cut in, taking a step toward me.

I looked up at him as I chewed the inside of my cheek, then shook my head. Fear ripped through me, making every downy hair on my body stand on end. The rat-faced man was here? In the castle?

“Where is he?" I asked, unable to stop my voice from trembling.

Jared exhaled through his nose, nostrils flaring as he glanced between Archer and Brandt.

“And why are you all beat up? Was it him?"

“Tell us," Jared commanded without answering, which was answer enough, “how you ended up at the breeder auction. The man says he has proof–"

“He doesn't have proof," I bit out, hugging myself. “He has the captain's logs, but I went aboard under a false name."

Brandt breathed a sigh of relief, but Archer and Jared kept their gazes on me, unflinching. I knew I wasn't getting out of this, not now. How much could I tell them without giving myself, and my connections, away completely?

What would happen if Jared found out my cousin was the Luna Queen of his realm?

“I was part of a research team conducting an excavation at Dianny in the Southern Jungle, the southernmost tip of my realm." I sucked in my breath, closing my eyes as the memories of that last day in my realm rushed back to me. “The people of Dianny were Lycaonic people. No one knew they were there until twenty-two years ago. I thought it would be an adventure, but my real desire was to explore the Dark Realm."

“So you just packed up and came here?" Archer asked dubiously, arching his brow.

“I have… family, in the capital," I admitted, meeting Jared's eyes.

His cheeks colored momentarily but he maintained his composure, his arms crossed over his chest.

“I was told by my family in my realm that the trip was too risky for a single woman without escorts, so I was told no. They made me promise. I went anyway. I boarded a trading vessel that was docked in New Dianny and traveled through the Southern Pass into the Dark Realm."

“When and where did your ship get boarded?" Jared asked flatly, not a single shred of emotion in his voice. He was all business, but I could see the frustration flashing behind his eyes.

“I don't know where we were. It's all water, you know, between our realms. The portal is gone, I'm sure you know. They simply called it 'The Crossing,' and said it would be three days until we reached the capital city of Egoren. I went to bed that night and was woken up to an alarm going off. Everyone was running around, saying the ship was sinking. It was chaos. I got to the deck of the ship and someone grabbed me, trying to drag me. I thought they were helping me, but then I saw–I saw the ship captain. He was dead. The boat wasn't sinking. We were being boarded." I swallowed back the quiver of fear in my voice and breathed deeply for a moment, trying to steel my expression.

“I fought back. Whoever was holding me down was very rough with me and threatened to… well, he threatened to assault me, right there on the deck. A few of his men seemed keen to join in before that rat-faced man stopped them and told them not to ruin me."

Jared closed his eyes, his hands clenched into fists against his ribs.

“I told them to f**k off and someone hit me in the head with what I believe was a bat," I continued, absently running my fingers along the base of my skull. “I woke up days later, I guess. I don't really know. I don't remember anything between that moment and waking up in a room, by myself. The rat-faced man called me by the fake name I'd used to board the ship, which is why I think he has the captain's logs."

“So, you didn't know you were at an auction until you were on stage?" Brandt asked, his own naturally calm composure cracking as I nodded.

“I had no idea where I was or why."

“That's enough," Jared breathed as he glanced between Archer and Brandt, nodding and flicking his hand.

Archer and Brandt immediately left the room, leaving Jared and me alone.

“What is this all about?" I practically begged, still hugging myself so tightly my fingers were pinching my skin.

“Why didn't you tell me any of this before, what those men tried to do to you?"

“Why? So you could track them down and kill them? What good would it have done, Jared? I'm here now. I'm helping you. I don't care–"

“Aeris means to use you as a breeder, Eliza. That man, Lou, has sworn that you are the same woman from the auction and the fact is that he's right. The truth doesn't matter in this situation."

“What exactly do you want me to do?"

“You said you have family in the capital," he said, ignoring my question completely. “Who, exactly? A man who can claim you?"

“What do you mean, claim me? Like property?"

“Yes, that's exactly what I mean."

“What the hell are you getting at?"

“Can anyone in this realm claim you other than Aeris?"

“No," I said, although it was a lie.

Xander and Lena could claim me as family. Lena would be ripping the realm apart to find me if she knew I was here. I wasn't going to involve them in my mess, but I understood the urgency of the situation. I was slowly starting to wrap my head around what the men meant when they spoke of the “Old Laws." I'd heard whispers of a tense political landscape in this realm.

I knew in my bones that if Aeris truly meant to keep me here, he'd do whatever he needed to do to make that happen.

Jared stepped forward, one hand outstretched in surrender.

“I'm not going to let anything happen to you," he said, and I could tell he meant it. “I need you to trust me. I need you to distract him, just for an evening."