Girl Talk

Loch and Hael carried me through the endless hallways of their mansion.

Naked.

Bleeding.

Sobbing.

Too scared to ask where we were going.

Hael opened a door at the end of a hallway, and Loch carried me inside.

I closed my eyes, terrified by what nightmares might await. I’d never felt so vulnerable in my life.

“Open your eyes, little mouse,” Loch said gently.

His voice actually sounded…nice? Impossible. I was sure they were playing a trick on me. My eyes remained shut.

“We’re not going to hurt you, mouse,” Hael said with a hint of impatience. “Our fun and games are over for the day.”

The Dobrzyckas were not to be trusted, but I was growing to believe Hael’s words slightly more than Loch’s. Loch was a loose cannon, ruled by emotion and impulse. Hael had a calmer demeanor. He seemed to know how to control himself.

I opened my eyes, just barely, so maybe they wouldn’t even notice. But of course, the first thing I saw were Loch’s and Hael’s emerald eyes a few feet from my face.

“That’s right, mouse,” said Hael. “It’s okay now.”

I opened my eyes wider, finding myself in the same bedroom I woke in earlier that day.

Had it really only been one day? It felt like so much longer.

“Clean up and get some rest,” Loch said as he carried me to the bathroom fully stocked with fancy soaps and lotions.

I looked uncertainly at Loch and Hael. Was this just like their offer of freedom back in the dungeon? An illusion? Were they going to make this disappear just when I believed them?

“We’re not messing with you, mouse,” Hael said, reading my thoughts. “Take a shower. We’ll get you some tampons from Adara. Then you should rest.”

“You’re getting me tampons?” I said skeptically. It was a kind gesture, but totally unlike the Dragon Lords I’d gotten to know over the last twenty-four hours. I didn’t understand how they could be so hot and cold. It drove me insane.

Come to think of it, that was probably the point.

“We’ll be back, little mouse,” Loch said, filing out of the room ahead of Hael.

I went to the doorway to make sure they’d really left. I watched them turn a corner, then waited a few moments before shutting the door.

I flew to the shower, letting the hot water sluice over my body. I scrubbed until my skin was red and raw. I wanted to remove every trace of what happened in the dungeon. Dirt. Wine. Blood.

Eventually the only thing left were the memories, and those would be with me for life.

When I exited the bathroom, a fresh box of tampons was sitting on the bed.

But that wasn’t all. Sitting next to the tampons were a stack of BDSM books and sexual education manuals. I wanted to believe it was their version of a sick joke, but I didn’t know them well enough to be sure.

At this point, all I wanted to do was get some rest.

I slipped in a tampon, put on clean underwear and a set of black silk pajamas I found in the closet, and climbed into the bed.

I closed my eyes, and within minutes, drifted into a deep sleep…

***

I woke to the bedroom door creaking open. Cocooned under the covers, I turned over and looked out the window. It was morning. The ~next~ morning. I must’ve slept more than twelve hours. Honestly, I’d needed it.

“Morning, mouse,” a woman said. I looked up to see Adara next to my bed, finishing a chicken drumstick. “How’d you sleep?” she asked without a wisp of meanness.

Based on her interaction with Darren earlier, I now knew Adara was just like her brothers. She must’ve been playing one of their games. Luckily, I’d had enough rest to go a few rounds.

“Very well,” I said innocently. “Thanks for the tampons.”

“No problem at all. We girls have to watch out for each other,” she replied, smacking her lips.

~We girls? Yeah, right. I’m the only girl here, Adara. You’re a fucking dragon.~

I watched her eyes drift to the books stacked on the nightstand.

“I’m here to impart a little wisdom on you, Madeline. After all, we’re family now.”

She tossed the drumstick over her shoulder. I heard a loud clang as it landed in a waste bin. Adara casually licked chicken grease from her fingers as she continued.

“Loch and Hael adore you, right? And I know they told you about the prophecy. But you need to do more to keep your place here. If you’re not fulfilling their sexual desires, you’re useless. And our species need you. The prophecy commands it. Do you understand?”

That damned prophecy again. I didn’t know how to respond.

“Do you remember how they were so sweet to you a year ago?” Adara asked, perhaps attributing my silence to human stupidity.

“Sweet’s a strange word to describe Loch and Hael now that I’ve seen—” I tried to continue, but Adara put a finger to my lips and shushed me. Clearly this was her show.

“Let me finish, mouse, and maybe we’ll get a thing or two through that thick skull of yours,” Adara said with some edge in her voice.

“A year ago, my brothers were in the midst of a sexual rampage. Fucking everything that moved. New girls every night of the week. Then they met you.” Her eyes bored into me.

“You, the one they claim is their mate. The one who was promised to us.” She scoffed. I could practically hear the air quotes as I sat listening to her.

“Loch and Hael haven’t fucked anyone since they met you. And now they’re two wound-up, sexless lumps of power, unreleased and wanting ~you~. Face down, ass up, pounding away until you fall asleep in your own drool,” she said, grinning as my face puckered in disgust.

They were her ~brothers~!

“That’s nasty—” I started, but Adara put her finger to my lips again, more forcefully this time.

“Listen up before you bore me, rat,” Adara snapped.

I glared at her but shut my mouth.

“You’re a little shit who, for some reason, my idiot brothers are convinced will cause the downfall of the dragon slayers. You should be complying with their wishes,” Adara said, her face leaning closer to mine.

“I know it’s difficult for your mortal brain to process this relationship. You should be worshiping the ground they walk on. Submitting to them will only increase your pleasure. Your life is meaningless without them.”

“No, it’s not!” I shouted, unable to stop myself. “I don’t care about the stupid prophecy. I don’t want to spend my life pleasuring myself…or your brothers!” I was sick of these dragons treating me like a sex toy.

I was meant for something more. I was sure of it.

Adara sneered at me.

“It’s too late for that, Madeline. You belong to them.”

She looked me up and down, and her contempt for me couldn’t be clearer.

“If you won’t fuck them, then I suggest you find a way to entertain them. Please. Tell me you possess some talent that might endear you to two very horny Twin Leading Breeds?”

~Twin Leading Breeds~? ~Huh~?

Reading my mind, Adara quickly pushed forward.

“I asked you a question, rat. Don’t make me ask again.”

I fumbled for something, anything, to tell her.

~But if the brothers unearth their siren’s song, their enemy’s downfall begins with the father.~

Siren’s song? I didn’t know what that meant, but I knew what I could do.

“I can sing, okay?” I finally admitted.

“Lots of mortals say that,” Adara said. “Prove it.”

She sat next to me on the bed, staring at me with her full attention. I swallowed. I didn’t usually sing in front of others, but I had a feeling I didn’t have a choice right then.

I sat up and took a deep breath, trying to ignore the fierce purple eyes watching my every move. I didn’t have a song in mind, so I hummed an improvised tune. I glanced at Adara, gently bobbing her head. Her reaction made my voice grow louder, stronger.

The melody transformed into a lullaby that somehow felt familiar, like it was a part of me. I didn’t remember the words, just the gentle, haunting notes…

I was so lost in the song that I didn’t know if I was singing for seconds, minutes, or hours. Adara didn’t stop me. When I finished, I looked over. Her body had fallen onto the bed, her head slumped to her chest as she snored softly.

I didn’t know how to feel. Was this a good thing?

“Adara… Adara…,” I said gently. The snores grew louder. She was out cold.

“How’s our little mouse doing this morning?”

I looked up in surprise as Loch and Hael entered the room. Hael frowned at Adara, now drooling in her sleep. “What trickery is this?”

“The mouse has another scheme,” Loch said, fixing me with his emerald gaze.

“N-no!” I stuttered. “We were talking. She…she was just tired, I guess. She asked me to sing for her, and she just sort of passed out.”

Hael shook Adara. She didn’t budge.

“Adara’s been exhausted by her own pet,” Loch said. “He’s almost as disobedient as you, mouse. She’s had to teach him quite a few lessons.”

“It must’ve been quite the melody to put her to sleep like this,” said Hael curiously. “Please. Sing it for us.”

“Yes,” Loch added. “I’ve never heard a singing mouse before.”

Both my mates perched on the bed, waiting. My biggest audience ever.

I glanced at Adara. Had I put her to sleep? And would it work on the brothers? Was this my way out of here?

I took a deep breath and began the lullaby again, my quiet hum once again growing into a long, wordless melody. I lost myself once more, barely paying attention as Loch’s and Hael’s eyes blinked as they struggled to stay awake, their heads nodding lower and lower onto their chests…

As I finished the song, I noticed Loch and Hael slumped over on the bed. Their gentle snores made a chorus with Adara’s.

Had I really put them to sleep, or was it another trick? I cautiously prodded both Dragon Lords with my finger. Once. Twice. Three times…

They were completely dead to the world, drooling like Adara.

I nearly leapt out of bed with joy. This proved it. My voice put three dragons out cold.

I didn’t know what it meant or how it had happened. It didn’t matter right then. All I knew was that I had to act quickly, because there was no way in hell I’d stay there until the Dobrzyckas woke up.

~I’m free!~