Lucian

CHAPTER TWELVE (PART I)

An inviting aroma of fresh coffee penetrated my nostrils and disturbed my light sleep. My eyes slowly opened to the blurry sight of an extravagant spacious bedroom. The walls swam around me and it took me a moment to remember where I was and what had happened. Once my vision sharpened, I sat up with a start and instinctively glanced at the other side of the bed.

My heart skipped a beat as I inspected the abandoned satin sheets. It was still incomprehensible I'd spent the entire night in the prince's bed and somehow failed to notice when he left. I'd been vigilant and awake for hours, but as soon as the first rays of sunlight pierced through the windows, my eyelids became heavy and I drifted off into some kind of semi-conscious stupor.

Peering up, I mustered the courage to take a quick, cautious look around the rest of the room, half-expecting the prince glared at me from some distant hidden corner. But there wasn't even the smallest trace of him. The space was filled with silence. The door to the adjoining bathroom was half-open, allowing a narrow glimpse into pitch-black darkness.

A loud sigh of relief left my throat when I finally accepted I was alone. Alone...and somehow still uninjured and in one piece. Memories of the stress I'd endured interchanged in my mind and my hand flew to the sensitive area of my neck. Despite all those nasty threats, he didn't bite me. He didn't force himself on me. He didn't hurt me.

Instead, by the end of the night, he'd held me in his embrace and used his frightening, hypnotic powers to ease the worst of my terror. For some inexplicable reason and against all odds, the prince had honored his word and let me be.

Determined to suppress the fresh memories of his unexpected kindness, I inhaled a deep breath and slowly rose to my feet. That inviting smell of coffee caught my attention yet again and my eyes traveled to the round table. I blinked in surprise at the small mountain of food that had somehow managed to escape my attention up until now.

Such was my fear he might be lurking around I had failed to focus on anything else. A tiny note on a white porcelain plate roused my curiosity so I strolled to the table and picked it up. It was a message from my master.

"Good morning, human. I hope you slept well. The food on the table is your breakfast. I expect you to eat at least half of it. I will know if you don't. Servants will bring you a fresh change of clothes in the afternoon. In the meantime, you're allowed to entertain yourself with the book I left on the nightstand. The door is unlocked, but you are forbidden to leave the room under any, and I mean any, circumstances. Think of it as a test. Dare to disobey and you'll meet my wrath."

The sound of his deep threatening voice rang in my head as I crumpled the paper in my hand. Staying inside the room wouldn't be a problem, but I wondered how I was supposed to make myself eat when my stomach twisted into knots from fear and nervousness. One thing was certain. If I failed to go through with any of his demands, his servants would tell him and it could result in grave punishment.

Breathe, Raven. You have to breathe...

For a short while, I concentrated on the inner voice that coached me into calming down and repeatedly told me I had to do whatever it took to survive. I glanced at the food on the table. Pancakes, boiled eggs, ham, bread, fruit, cakes, and different kinds of pastries were neatly stacked on a large silver tray. It was the most grandiose meal I'd ever seen. A breakfast fit for a king. Even so, that didn't change the fact I had no appetite whatsoever.

The sight of all that food made me queasy, but if I wanted to avoid the pain, I had to do as he said. The mind-numbing fear of brutal punishment was stronger than anything else...including pride...including suffering through any kind of temporary physical discomfort. Resigned, I sank into the chair and forced myself to eat, one bite at a time, until I finished exactly half of everything and washed it down with a large cup of coffee...just as he wanted.