Page 8 of Where We Ended
“Natty Langford.”
Fable suddenly stood and shoved a hunting knife into the wood table, making me wince.
His eyes were wild, his mouth open as he seethed, “Try again. Last chance.”
Alec looked between the two of us.
My mouth parted with an answer then it shut again. There were limits on what I was willing to give. Silas used to warn me not to fold easily, especially not over secrets. Information is worth more than blood being spilled, or skin being bruised. Details put in the hands of the devil, become weapons.
Fable pulled his knife free. “Natalia Nikole….” He paused, waiting for me to finish.
I searched his face acting confused.
“Langford.”
Fable’s gaze narrowed. “You lie almost as well as my son. You’re his most guarded secret, and yet I have you. To do with whatever I want.”
“What is it you want?”
Rachel came back in with two more bowls and a few slices of bread. She was calm as she set each bowl down and arranged the dishware. Her green eyes flicked over to me a few times before bustling back out of the room.
I looked down at the soup and felt my stomach grumble but resisted grabbing the spoon. Alec, however, dove into his meal without looking up.
Fable continued to watch me.
“You think I can’t break you?” His eyes narrowed.
I shrugged. “You can’t break what’s already been broken.”
Alec froze next to me while Fable rose from his chair.
“You don’t look broken to me, pulchra.” Beautiful.
My face heated as he drew closer, until his finger caught my chin, tipping my face up.
“Broken, is your mouth dripping with my cum, your veins stuffed with heroin, and your will completely gone. Is that what you want, Caelum?”
The way he said my nickname mocked and jostled the stable place inside me that was already starting to crumble, the one that had previously boasted with confidence.
He let my chin go. I stared at the bowl of soup in front of me.
“You will help me. You’ll either be in my bed tonight, or Alec’s. I’ll allow you the chance to decide, but you will bend to our will, or we will take it by force. Do you understand?”
Fear gripped me so tightly it was hard to breathe but I managed to nod.
Silas had trained me to deal with many things, dealing with his father wasn’t one of them.
My belly was full because I was determined to keep my strength up. Besides, I had no idea if one of Fable’s intimidation tactics would include starvation. I didn’t do hunger well. Sasha had once mentioned that my mother didn’t feed me for a whole week when I was little. Apparently, Sasha put my mom in the hospital when she found out, then made a bed for me in her house, in the same room as Silas. She had to feed me saltines slowly for two days straight while I sipped on water and 7-up, before I could eat real meals again.
Now as an adult, any hint of hunger had my hands shaking and my nerves raw. It was partly why I decided baking would be a fun way to reinvent myself. There would always be a little morsel of food at my fingertips, and I’d never have to go hungry. It also helped to keep my mind busy…like right now, I’d give anything to escape into the kitchen and pull out some flour and sugar.
“This is my room here.” Alec gently touched the door near my face, pushing it open.
Without saying anything, I walked inside and kept my arms folded close. A simple queen-sized mattress sat in the middle of the room, decorated with a comforter the shade of cobalt blue. Four fluffed pillows sat against the wall for lack of a headboard. There was a singular dresser to the side, but nothing else.
I inspected the room as Alec shut the door behind me, then locked it.
“Surely there’s another room I can sleep in. In fact, I’ll even go back to my cell.”