Sinful [malexmale]

Chapter Fourteen

"I... I want to know what happened... while I was gone." I heard myself say. It took a moment for it to sink in that even my voice had changed significantly. Aside from the fact that my words were almost whispered and tremulous, my voice itself had become hoarse and deeper. Was it from all the screaming or the nights without water? Was my throat scarred just like the rest of me?

"Are you sure?" Akin asked uneasily. I nodded. Akin bit his bottom lip hesitantly for a moment, then nodded and gestured for me to follow him. I was terrified to leave the safety of my bedroom and to walk around exposed. Granted, I wasn't as exposed as I had been in the camp. In the camp, I was naked and on my back ninety percent of the time. Here, I had a black thermal shirt and sweatpants on. It was clothing that I knew I was going to have trouble adjusting to again. The material, though soft and cozy, felt wrong against my skin. And I could hear Julius's voice in the back of my mind...

"Whores don't need clothes, little prince."

Funny how he had stopped calling me "little prince" as the year dragged on. He wouldn't use my name either, even when I asked if he could. He punished me for asking. He only ever called me "whore" or "slut" or any other insult he could come up with when he flew into a rage.

I followed Akin down the hallway, senses naturally alert as I listened for anyone who might join us or follow us, but much to my relief, we were alone the whole way, except when Akin stopped by the kitchen to ask Hannibal to bring the food to the living room instead. He only nodded in silence before we kept moving. A question formed on my tongue before I could stop it.

"Is he your slave?" I asked. Akin stiffened for a split second before shaking his head.

"No, punkin'. Hannibal's as free to do as he pleases. It just pleases him to do everything I say."

"I don't see how."

"Neither do I. I'm so annoying and lazy. Don't work, can't cook, dusting is totally out of my range of skills. Hannibal does it all and more, a hundred times better. He can stop whenever he wants and tell me he's leaving, but in seventeen years, he's never done it." Akin explained. I wasn't sure what to say to that. From the sounds of it, maybe Hannibal felt it was his purpose. I wasn't sure why, but I didn't want to ask him. Hannibal looked like he was about as ready to do show-and-tell as I was. And I respected his need to keep things private.

We made our way into the living room and Akin patted the sofa in front of him as he sat down, an indication that I should sit there too. And even though it was such a normal thing, I felt oddly unworthy sitting on such a nice velvet soft. I felt uncomfortable on it. I tried not to focus on it as Akin started to explain to me what had happened.

"You disappeared about a year ago. I think it was November 30th. Like the news report said, people were scrambling in your realm to get you back. Volunteers left and right to go into Hades and bring you back. I remembered that hysteria. It was scary. Even scarier when the reporters said you called your brother, Thorn, before you disappeared. And even though he didn't show it on camera, I could tell he was scared. But things kept getting worse. Julius and his men had destroyed the mountain pass to keep your people from getting through, and those mountains are awful obstacles. They couldn't risk climbing through them to get to you. They'd lose all their men and have no one to save you. They couldn't go around them to the south because of the Black Sea, and Malachi had strict orders to launch attacks on anyone who tried to sail over. And to the north, the mountains touch Duat and Seth and Ra threatened to crush anyone who treaded their land. They didn't want to get involved in the war. Then the package finally came with your blood and certificate..."

I grimaced at that. By law, it was required that if a royal member of an army passed, the lord of the realm was to sign their certificate as proof. And a vial of blood sent to the family to bury instead of a corpse. I shuddered to think how Julius had managed to get my blood to them, but then, given the amount of blood he drew from me, it didn't surprise me that he didn't send them a whole gallon.