Wicked Court by Ketley Allison

Author:Ketley Allison [Allison, Ketley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mitchell Tobias Publishing LLC
Published: 2024-03-21T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 18

Axe

Breath rattles in Elara’s lungs as we haul her across the threshold of Thornhaven Estate.

The interior grandeur of the manor looms like the mouth of Hell, its ornate windows wide and staring, the walls gilded with fading portraits, the floors made from the rarest marble.

But it’s the basement that will swallow her whole.

Elara pushes against Kaspian and Wilder’s hold, eyes wide open, revealing metallic pools of fear.

“Where are you taking me?” she whispers.

I steel myself against the tremor in her voice. She is nothing but a heartless mission. Just like the other ones before it.

I tried to warn you.

I keep silent.

We descend the staircase to the basement, a sunless underworld where even the air feels like a frigid caress. Flickering candlelight can’t penetrate the depths of the corners, casting slivers of light seeking escape to the outside.

It’s a place designed for one purpose: to isolate and intimidate.

A dungeon.

“Please,” she whispers, but the plea only feeds the anticipation coiling inside me.

The basement is an icy sepulcher, the chill seeping through the stone walls. I feel more than see Elara’s shiver, but the way her nipples press against her dress’s fabric is a telltale sign of her body’s involuntary reactions.

There’s no warmth here, no comfort.

“Stand here,” I instruct, my voice echoing slightly as I motion to a stone slab in the center of the room.

Kaspian and Wilder release her, letting Elara be the one to walk forward of her own damning volition.

This could have been avoided, I almost tell her, then remember she’s more aware than our usual victims. We gave her so many openings, tireless options to avoid this⁠—

I’m pretty sure we did.

One eye twitches as I work on recall rather than reach for my crutch—my phone full of reminders.

I redirect my focus on the space around her beautiful form. We will force Elara to bend to our will, but there is no way she should be here.

Elara stands in the center of the room, her fiery hair cascading over her shoulders, a stark contrast against the icy pulse of the underground chamber. Her dress clings to her like a second skin, an unintentional provocation that stirs the beast within me.

My men flank me, our dead calm a shared language of intent.

The wide basement contains sparse furnishings except for a few pieces that hint at the unspeakable. Chains dangle from the ceiling, their purpose as clear as the fear in her eyes. Old, brown stains decorate certain corners and dig into cracks we couldn’t fully remove the blood from.

Elara stands in front of the slab, folding her arms around herself and shivering while Kaspian winds around the rectangular room lighting the torches on the wall.

“I’ve changed my mind. Let me go, Axe.” Elara’s gaze meets mine, a flicker of desperation shining through.

Muscles shift behind my expression. The kind I’m not used to, the ones that want to be sympathetic. But it’s not enough to change the course she’s on.

“By the time we’re done with you,” I say, moving closer until I can feel the heat leeching from her body, “you’ll be begging to give up all your secrets.

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