Isolde.
The rule was simple-submit to the male assigned to you, please him in whatever manner he desires, or die.
The keeper's instructions rang in Isolde's mind as she stood before the crowd of males that had infiltrated the brothel. Males who screamed danger. The whispers from other Blossoms, the females trained by the keeper to provide pleasure to men, were that these males here arrived from the North, which meant the men were from Bloomington, the land of blood and gore.
Bloomington was occupied by rogue lycans and demons, and from the looks of it, the men that littered the tavern were demons.
They hollered with glee, clinking their tankards together as they drank ales and bid on the Blossoms lined up on the stage. Isolde clasped her hands together just like the others, reciting the keeper's instructions all over again in her mind.
"Thirty gold coins for the redhead," Another of the males rose up and bid. Of course, no one beat him to it. And like he demanded, the male took the redhead, Rinna. Isolde recognized her during their training.
Rinna shivered and strutted ahead to meet the male who had paid to have her. The trembling of her body was a telltale sign of how scared she was. Isolde winced when she saw the male brutally clenching Rinna's mound. A deep grunt of satisfaction escaped his lips.
His fellows cheered him on when he tucked his hand at the back of Rinna's hair and fisted hard enough to arch her head. Releasing a snarl, he smacked his lips on hers, kissing her hard and forcefully. Rinna could hardly endure.
Isolde heard Rinna's grunts of pain and shuddered. That was what they'd been suffering for ages now. Pain in the hands of men who thought of them as lesser beings. When Rinna got dragged away by the male into one of the rooms in the inn, Isolde's eyes watered.
The bidding continued with boisterous laughter drowning out the music sung by the group of singers in the corner. The keeper stood by, calling out the prices as if all the Blossoms were commodities to trade on.
"A hundred pieces of gold for the raven-haired,"
Isolde's heart stopped racing when she heard the man in a black robe bid on her. A hundred pieces of gold were absurd! How could someone pay such an amount of money just to have a female give him pleasure?
When the man stood, Isolde gave him a once-over, and right then she knew this man here was in danger. The kind of danger she needed to run away from. His dark eyes met hers, and she cowered under his penetrating gaze. He gave her a devouring look that made her skin prickle.
Isolde felt her heart hammering with beads of sweat coating her skin.
"Lord Draken, you've bid on the most special Blossom," The keeper hummed with a pleased grin on her face. She ran her eyes over Isolde and nodded her head. "Go, Isolde, attend to the Lord."
Isolde moved on trembling legs until she stood before the lord. He smelled like death, and it rumbled her belly. Even though her instincts screamed to escape, Isolde didn't know how to accomplish that with all these males here, seemingly protecting the lord.
While her heart quivered, Isolde still complied, letting the lord caress her skin, run his hand down the nape of her neck, over to her navel.
The bindings on her chest tightened against her skin as the man's hand skimmed over them before reaching for the subligaria tied around her waist. She felt too exposed around him. Too handicapped.
"You have such a pleasant body, Blossom," The lord growled, his pungent breath wafting over her face. "And it shall please me to have such a pleasant body underneath me tonight,"
Lord Draken landed his callused fist on her bicep and, without mercy, he dragged her along the hall to the inn while his men roared and clapped their hands.
Shallow breaths made it out of her mouth as the lord dragged her through the hall of the inn. Their footsteps groaned over the floor. Isolde shuddered at the cries of other Blossoms seeping out of the rooms they were in.
As they passed by some of the rooms, she heard the sound of whips landing on the Blossoms' bodies while in the others, she heard the brutal slap of skin against skin and the helpless cries of the Blossoms for freedom from their pains.
The keeper had told them that some males love pain and they were meant to serve their masters in whichever manner they choose. Though Isolde knew all these, the thought of having to pass through it again tonight scared her. And from her quick observation, Lord Draken seemed to be the type that preferred a dose of pain.
"Ahh," She whimpered as she crashed over the wooden floor when Lord Draken pushed her into the room.
He stepped inside and slammed the door behind him. The floorboard creaked under his weight while he pinned his dark eyes on Isolde. Eyes brimming with evil.
"Master..." She kneeled before him, cowering. That was how the keeper instructed them to acknowledge their master.
"You've been taught well, Blossom. So vulnerable, just the way I love my prey." He stepped into her space and seized her chin, pulling Isolde's head up. His thumb glided over her lips and a smirk curled his. "Let's see what this mouth can achieve. If you serve me well, I shall double the keeper's pay,"
She nodded, letting him believe he'd have her. Isolde's mind ran a mile a minute as she thought of the easiest way to escape this session of pain.
In the depths of her mind, Isolde knew there was no evading the pain as long as she was in this brothel. Hence, her only bet at evading the pain was to flee. To escape the four walls of Kalingrad.
At that moment, a thought came to her. Maybe it might not be the best, but she was willing to try. After serving for years as a Blossom in Kalingrad, it was time Isolde made her escape.
"Rise," Lord Draken ordered and with boldness, she stood. She was half his height and yet Isolde was willing to fight the lord if she had to.