The light spilled into the darkness, and Daniella woke from her reverie. Adrenaline spiked in her veins, but she did not move, waiting as Nero and Barker drew nearer.

Nero quickly taught him to hate her. He was an evil bastard with designs on her body but did not compare to his mistress, his spite not measuring up to Azera.

He unclasped her manacle, wrenching her wrist, but she made no sound.

"Come on, honey, give it up. We all know you'll be screaming that sweet melody for our lady soon enough. She has your number and knows how to dial it," he mocked, pushing her forward while keeping his hold on her injured hand while copping a feel of her arse.

Her lack of response annoyed him.

"One of these days, Nero, you'll go too far with this one, and Azera will string you up in her stead," Barker warned.

They were night and day. One was a blond-haired Adonis with no moral compass, and the other an ebony carving of pure muscle and bone, who looked about as warm as ice, but there was more to him than met the eye. Yet they were both Azera's puppets and did anything she ordered without question.

The light in the corridor made her eyes water, but she blinked the moisture away. She could not afford to be blinded for even a second. Nero enjoyed walking into doors with her, tripping her over lintels, and pushing her down the stone steps.

She would soon have pain enough. There was no need to give him the satisfaction.

If he could get away with it, he would do anything he wanted, blaming her clumsiness, but Azera knew full well he was lying. Yet she would take it out on Daniella, although it was not her name anymore, even that they had stolen from her.

Azera named her Kay the day she arrived, derived from Kay-ha-an, which in their weird language meant slut, but if anyone was one, it was their mistress.

The woman had no moral compass, liked sex, and usually got off on whatever she did to Kay or whichever unfortunate crossed her path.

Azera liked having orgies on her bed of furs in the dungeons like an animal in heat with any available man except for the guards and servants, which included these two. Nero was jealous, and Baker was relieved to be spared such a fate.

***

As they approached the dungeons through the wide stone passages with their artificial lights, her heart beat louder, and the pit in her stomach became a crevasse. Why couldn't she control this reaction? Why could she not get used to the pain and the fear and just take it?

When they entered the dungeons, her gaze landed on Azera dressed in a leather outfit that covered her flesh in strips, exposing more than it covered, and she stood way too close to The Rack for Kay's liking.

Stomach churning, she fought her instinct to turn and try to claw her way clear of Nero. Bitter experience taught her she had no chance against him and Barker, nor was it worth the pain and humiliation.

Azera turned when they reached her. Her dark hair glinted in the low light, the expression in her blue eyes the only thing about her that betrayed that she was more than a thousand years old.

Something wild and untamed under the surface of that placid expression, drawing men to her side in droves. A terrifying darkness hid beneath the enticing exterior, eventually consuming even those she favored.

"Beloved Kay," Azera said as if speaking to a daughter but invaded her space and kissed Kay like a man kisses a woman.

Kay knew better than to resist, waiting for it to end while Azera plundered her mouth.

It didn't bode well.

Every time Azera acted like this, something bad had a way of happening to her.

Azera let go, those blue orbs searching her own.

***

"Get her ready," Azera ordered as if she had not just kissed Kay like a starved lover and turned from them, finishing whatever task occupied her attention earlier.

How deeply she hated this woman and not the way the child Daniella had understood hatred. What she felt was so deep, dark, and volatile that it defied description, but she dared not show it. If she had a chance, she'd kill Azera; if she had the opportunity, it would be a slow and terrible death.

This was the part Nero loved just a little too much as he removed her clothes, and with his mistress not facing him, he took small liberties. Touching her breast and letting his hand dip down to her navel while caressing her buttocks.

The guard filled the second slot on her wish-to-kill card, but she'd make him plead for mercy.

He skimmed her inner thigh as he drew her panties down, then quickly, furtively touched her while she tried her best to ignore him.

Someone bent back his hand until it almost broke, forcing him to his knees.

Azera had moved without his notice and gripped his wrist as if he were a child. This was why others feared her so much. The only person stronger than Azera was Thane, her former husband, and Kay's "father."

The bones in his wrist snapped as she bent it even further. Coldly causing him pain until a keening noise forced itself past his clenched teeth, and she let go, backhanding him in the same motion.

Kay had to prevent herself from smirking. The mistress rarely mistreated her staff, and this little bit of justice pleased her more than it should.

"This is the last time I'll tell you this, Nero, son of Zartan. The whore is mine and mine alone; you shall not touch her flesh, nor will any other. Kay is a succubus, whether she understands that or not. We do not feed her enough of the blood she needs, and she will revert to her true form if she mates with a man."

What? This was not something Akira told her, although it should have been obvious. After all, Azera was a succubus which meant that all aliens were either succubi or incubi.

"Blood, I will feed her, but fornicating with my men, I will not allow. If she reverts, blood could sustain her, but it will never be enough, and she will no longer be a source of energy for me. Get out of my sight. Barker, finish readying Kay."

This was only the second time Azera sent Nero away, and he didn't like it. At some point, Kay would pay for this humiliation, despite it not being her fault. Still, she enjoyed the tiny victory while it lasted.

Nero scampered out of the woman's way like a dog, and it was almost enough to make her smile.

Barker did not treat her with the same disrespect before leading her to the device, and nausea threatened as he lifted her onto the frame. She had seen what this thing could do, and until today, it was the one torture Azera spared her.

Something had ticked their mistress off, and Azera's words about her changing bothered her. Was it true? It was certainly possible after what Akira had told her so long ago. At least it kept Azera from having her violated, as she often did with others.

Barker did not even glance at her naked body or show any fascination with Azera.

A lighter band of skin on his left hand told a story, although he never wore the ring at work. Did he hide his marriage from his mistress? Was it possible to hide anything from Azera? This job was clearly not his choice, but in this underworld, possibilities only belonged to the powerful.

The guard tied her diligently into place, but when their eyes met briefly, the pity in that look unsettled her even more. This might be worse than the last night of her "turn" in that horrible hospital, something she dared not even think about.

"Pull those knots nice and tight," Azera said, distracted by her phone, not even bothering to glance at him as she gave the order.

Barker pulled the wooden lever that tensed the ropes, and her body stretched to its maximum capacity just short of damaging her joints and spine that "cracked" as it realigned.

Her arms were above her head, and her legs slightly splayed. He pulled the lever another notch, causing discomfort but not yet pain. Three more notches, and she feared another would pull her joints from their sockets.

How many times had she prayed for death in this place, yet she always survived. Would today be the day Azera released her from her agony?

Once, a long time ago, she saw a contraption like this in a museum but could not imagine its efficacy or lethal intent at that stage. It stretched a person until their back broke and their limbs disconnected, the little plaque said, but living it gave meaning to the words.

"Another notch, Mister Barker. Pop her cherry for me," Azera mocked, and after an infinitesimal hesitation, he obeyed. Kay's right shoulder popped from the socket, and darkness tinged her vision.

"Another."

Her right arm, hip, and knee pulled from their sockets this time, but oblivion didn't come. Unable to hold back, she screamed and didn't need to see Azera to know the woman had tilted her head slightly tilted back, looking like someone savoring a fine wine or a great steak.

Azera approached with a lazy smile like a cream-fed cat, and a few simple adjustments ensured that the other joints pulled from their sockets.

Tears streamed down her face as she screamed, but she refused to plead. It would not help and only make Azera more spiteful.

The mistress hated those who begged for mercy.

Poor Kay! Someone pitch this bitch in a wood chipper while she's alive and awake! Newest Version ©2014-2023 All rights reserved. If you find this on any other platform but Wattpad under @CSDreamer, please report it. No part of this book may be copied or reposted without the author's permission.