When I came to, it was clear to see that I was no longer at The Shade. I was lying in the middle of a king-sized bed with soft white linen sheets. I looked around the torch-lit room and was relieved to find it empty.
Where am I? I sat up on the bed, my head feeling rather hollow. I cringed when I realized what I was wearing—a one-shoulder white dress that went down to my knees. The fabric was so thin, it was practically sheer. The intricate beading it had, however, spoke of the richness of the material. I trembled to think of where I was and what my purpose was for being there.
It seemed I was about to get answers to the questions filling my mind, because the door swung open and Lucas stepped in.
“You’re awake!” he exclaimed delightfully.
“Where am I? What have you done to me? What are you going to do to me?” I spluttered.
“Always so many questions, huh, Sofia?”
I glared at him in response.
He rolled his eyes. “You’re at The Oasis. If you don’t know what that is, it’s the home of the Maslens. We’re in the middle of the desert now, Sofia.”
The Maslens… Tears began to brim my eyes. The thought was horrifying.
“What have I done to you?” He smirked. “Well, the question I think should be what do I want to do with you, but I’ll spare you those details? Sadly, as much as I wanted to have my way with you, I had to bring you to Borys Maslen unscathed. He wanted you to remain a virgin until the night of your wedding to him. Now, for you final question, I’m about to take you to your betrothed, Sofia.”
I was finding it hard to take in the information that I’d just been given. My mind was whirling. “Why would you do this?” was all I could manage to ask.
“You ruined my life, Sofia. I’m about to ruin yours.” He lunged forward, pushing me down on the bed, and letting his weight fall on top of me. He then whispered right into my ear, “Make no mistake about it, Sofia…after your wedding night, I will have my way with you. I still remember how sweet your blood is. I would’ve taken a bite during the journey back here, but there was no way I could have hidden the scars from Borys.”
I trembled beneath him as I began to get a better picture of the life I was about to lead should things go the way they planned. “Derek’s going to come for me.”
He laughed. “Oh baby, that’s exactly what we’re counting on.”
He got off me and none-too-gently yanked me upward out of the bed, forcing me to stand up on my feet. He looked at me from head to foot.
“We’re going to have to do something about the hair. It’s a mess. Otherwise, you’re good to go.”
He clapped his hands and several women stepped in.
“Prepare her,” Lucas ordered, a smirk on his face, as he stood back and watched as they began to fix my hair and straighten out my clothes. I could feel his eyes on me, raking over my body. I shuddered at the thought of being in the same room with him, remembering all the torment he put me through when we were still at The Shade.
Still, it seemed Lucas was the least of my worries. I’d never met Borys Maslen before, but Vivienne’s memories told me enough about him to know that he was bad news. I couldn’t wrap my mind around the idea of being his “betrothed.” Why would he even want me?
I then remembered Gregor’s revelation back at the town square. After everything that happened following the whipping at the square, I’d barely given his pronouncement that Ingrid Maslen was my mother any thought. I thought the whole while that he was just bluffing. Since Derek never brought it up, I just assumed that I was right.
I guess I’m about to find out.
Once satisfied that I looked good enough to present to Borys, Lucas waved everyone off and walked toward me. “You ready?”
“No.”
He just laughed. “Well, it’s not like it matters if you’re ready or not…” He held the small of my back and pushed me forward. “This is going to be fun.”
We walked through eery torch-lit corridors surrounded by dusty brick walls. We weaved through hallway after hallway until we stopped in front of a large, arched door.
Lucas pushed the door open and led me into a large courtroom. A lone figure could be seen in the middle of it. He was seated on a tall black throne, made up of what looked like human skulls. At the sight of me, he stood on his feet, his dark eyes lighting up as he licked his lips.
I immediately assumed that he was Borys Maslen. He didn’t look like I thought he would. I’d expected him to look like the Novaks. He had muddy brown hair, and a stocky, wide, muscular physique. He looked like he could crush me with his bare hands if he wanted to.
“So this is my Sofia.” He smiled as Lucas pushed me forward, forcing me to approach the throne. “It’s about time you came to me, my dear betrothed.”
“I’m not your betrothed,” I spat out. The notion was sickening.
“Actually, Sofia,” a feminine voice came out through the deep burgundy curtains behind Borys’ throne, “you are his betrothed.” A beautiful woman emerged from behind the curtains and it was clear to see who she was. Ingrid Maslen.
Tears began to flow down my eyes at the sight of her. Gregor was telling the truth. It’s my mother.
“She looks so happy to see you, Ingrid.” Borys tilted his head to the side.
I couldn’t even bear looking at him. My eyes were glued on my mother as questions began to flood my mind. “Mom?”
“Yes, Sofia.” She smiled at me. “It’s me. Your mother. I gave you to Borys a long time ago. You are rightfully his.”
I had no idea how to cope with all the information being thrown my way, but two things I was still certain about: my mother was indeed crazy and there was no way that I belonged to Borys.
I managed to pry my eyes away from Ingrid, or whatever she called herself nowadays, and look at the man who was claiming me as his. I felt nothing but disgust toward him. I gathered all the courage I could muster and smirked at him. “You’re too late.” I raised my hand and showed them the ring Derek had given me. “I’m already married to Derek Novak.”
It wasn’t a difficult lie to tell, because it was almost true. Derek was already my fiancé and it was him whom I belonged with.
Borys’ face colored into a deep, beet red. He lunged forward, until he was standing right in front of me, grabbing my jaw. “You lie!” he accused.
I kept the smirk on my face. “You can check if you want. He’s already taken me to his bed. Many times.” At least that part was true. I could almost sense the surprise coming from Lucas. I wondered why he thought Derek would never take me to his bed and realized that Lucas knew that I was different from the beginning, knew that Derek never touched me while I was initially at The Shade.