I swing my legs over the side of the bed, my body aching almost as though I’d endured a fresh beating. He doesn’t offer me a robe. He simply watches as I stand there, naked and vulnerable before turning and walking toward the door.
“Follow me,” he commands without looking back.
What choice do I have? Nakedness is a state of being here. It signifies ownership. He owns me, and my body is simply the proof. I pad silently behind him on the cold stone floor, my bare feet making no sound. He leads me not to the main hall or another wing of the house, but down to the one place I never want to go again.
Fear coils in my gut. My steps falter and he grabs hold of my wrist, ensuring I can’t turn back and run.
We reach a heavy wooden door. He unbolts it, the sound echoing loudly in the confined space. The stench that wafts out is overwhelming; urine, fear, and rot.
My breath hitches. I know this place.
This is where I was kept, where I was trained, where I was tortured by his man.
He pushes the door open and gestures for me to enter first. My feet feel rooted to the spot. He places a hand on the small of my back, not guiding, but pushing. I stumble forward into the gloom.
The floor is the same concrete nothingness; the walls, all of it is like a visceral reminder of things carved into my soul that I want to forget forever.
And in the centre, bound in chains are Felice and Julie.
Julie’s face is a mess of bruises, one eye swollen shut. Felice however, holds herself with a shred of her former defiance, though her fine dress is now rags and her hair is matted.
Their eyes, wide with a mixture of fear and hopelessness, snap to me as I enter. Then, they flick to Antonio behind me, and that fear turns to something close to adoration.
“Master…” Julie cries out.
Antonio steps past me, his boots crunching on the floor. He stops between the two cages, a ringmaster in this hellish circus.
“You say you are mine,” he says so loudly that it echoes off those stark walls. “Now is your chance to truly prove it.”
He turns his head, his dark eyes pinning me to the spot.
My mouth is dry as dust. “Hhhhow?” The word is a fragile croak.
He gestures to the two women. “Kill them.”
The world tilts on its axis, and the air leaves my lungs in a whoosh. I stare at him, certain I have misheard. This cannot be real. This is a nightmare, a test of my nerves, but his face is granite.
“Master, please…” I gasp, taking a step back. My nakedness suddenly feels agonizing. I am exposed, not just physically, but utterly.
“There is no ‘please’,” he says, his voice dropping to a deadly whisper. “It is them or you, Pup. This is the world. You are either the wolf or the sheep. Which are you?”
My gaze darts to the two figures. Julie has begun to weep silently, her shoulders shaking. Felice’s smirk has widened. She thinks I can’t do it. She thinks I’m still the weak, soft thing she tried to kill.
“Prove you are worthy of the bed you just laid in. Prove you are worthy of my time and attention.” Antonio continues, stepping closer to me.
He moves to Julie first. He grabs her by the hair, kicking and screaming, and drags her out into the centre of the room while the chains rattle around her. In one brutal movement, he throws her onto her knees in front of me.
She collapses into a heap, sobbing, her hands clasped together as if in prayer. “No. Please, Master, don’t. I’ll do anything. Anything. Please, Master, I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
Her pleas are a gut-punch despite all the horror she has inflicted on me.
Antonio ignores her as he pulls a knife from his belt. It’s a hunting knife with a sharp, wicked curve. He holds the hilt out to me.
“Start with this one. She is weak. It will be almost a mercy.”
My hand trembles violently as I reach for it. The polished wooden hilt is cool against my palm. It feels alien, heavy with intent. Julie stares at the blade, her cries becoming hysterical shrieks.
“I can’t,” I whisper, my vision blurring with tears. “I can’t.”
