Bonded

Chapter 8

Jza tried to make herself comfortable on the floor but there was no respite to be had. The stillness of the night was making it difficult for her sleep. As strange as the thought was the castle had always been thrumming with life. That energy, that feeling of life everywhere, was gone. The drunk courtiers, the chattering servants, the youthful bark of laughter from the soldiers had been completely wiped away. She could feel nothing and it was that nothingness that made sleep impossible for her.

Her restlessness got the better of her and she sat up hugging her knees, with her back against the wall. The room was unlit with only moonlight deftly highlighting the corners and plains of the room. Her eyes trailed onto the only other living being in the room, if one did not count the spiders. Her captor was snoring away on the right side of the bed. He was flat on his back with one arm resting on his eyes and the other on the pillow next to him. Her locket was resting right in the centre of the man's bare chest, mocking her.

Jza's jaw clenched as she made up her mind. That locket was hers to protect. Any more time with it and the man might figure out exactly what it was and war would be lost completely. Her father would sacrifice everything except for his daughters. She would not let him suffer the indignity of defeat. She got up slowly, silently, hoping her soft cotton clothes would not make a sound.

Her bare feet sunk into the plush carpet as she quietly walked to the bed. Jza tracked the steady rise and fall of the muscled chest and wondered if her plan would succeed. She leaned down and touched the locket reverently but before she could do more a hand landed on hers.

"Am I dreaming?" The man's soft, sleep laced voice was incredibly amused. He grasped her wrists firmly and pulled her towards him with a jerk. She landed right on top of the man, "I told you, you would join me."

"Let go, you foul beast," Jza pulled her hands away with a tug and glared down at the man.

"Oh, ho, such hypocrisy when it is not I who is straddling anyone."

Her hand covered his mouth to stop his infuriating chatter but she could feel him smiling underneath it which made her pull back immediately.

"Stop being so infuriating. Just give me back what's mine. That's all I want."

"I had no idea I was in such demand. I can claim a hundred women as my property but never could claim they own me in reverse," Tarquin placed his hands behind his head and made himself comfortable. He was a slim man but in the moonlight the corded muscles of his shoulders stood out prominently. 

"I don't want you. Just give me back my locket," Jza's attention was once again taken by the locket but that was a mistake and in the blink of an eye she was flipped and became the captive once again. Tarquin had bared his teeth with a dangerous smile as he loomed over her, the locket hung between. The cool metal gently kissed her bare neck in small intervals as they both breathed.

"Don't mistake me for your kind, merciful, ruler Lord Samuel. I am not a weak and vain fool. I will never give this locket back until you tell me who you are."

"I am a nobody," Jza averted her eyes. The strength of his probing eyes made her feel as if she would blurt out all her deepest darkest secrets.

"Are you sure? Are you not a spy sent to keep an eye on me?" The Lord asked forcefully making Jza squirm. His grip on her wrist would leave another bruise. 

"If you think me a spy then why have you kept me so close. Have you lost your senses?" She retorted trying to shake free, "And I hardly am some skilled warrior infiltrating the enemy camp."

"Women have their own talents," The man replied simply with his amber eyes lingering all over her. They trailed from her bitten lips to her collarbone all illuminated enticingly under the moonlight.