Tethered

I had a lot of fun with this chapter, as this scene was actually the whole reason I created Almalfi!

I hope you enjoy.

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Her entire body is a study in pain.

A dark bruise on her jaw where he had hit her.

Aches along her spine from where she had fallen.

Raw skin around the ankle that was bound to this hell.

The coppery taste of his blood inescapable, no matter how many times she brushed her teeth.

Enid still isn't sure why she bit him.

It wasn't something Dante had taught her in their self-defense classes.

The reaction had been instinctive.

His cruelty sparking something crazed, depraved in her.

When confronted with a monster, sometimes you must become one yourself.

His inhuman laughter as she bit down on his thumb haunts the far corners of her mind.

Delight and madness sparking in his eyes.

"Oh, what fun it will be to break you." His words served as a warning before he moved.

His palm flying against her cheek, sharp and hard.

The force of it sending her to the ground.

To his feet.

He had laughed until she could no longer breathe.

"At my feet, as you belong." Flynt had been victorious.

She had stayed there, holding in her tears until she heard the door shut behind him.

Alone, she curled into a tight ball.

Letting the tears track down her face and drip onto the floorboard.

She hadn't seen anyone since then.

The passing of time marked by trays of food being pushed into her room and the arc of the sun across the sky.

It had been over a week.

Ten days of isolation.

Enid barely slept, barely ate.

Afraid of what could happen while she was unconscious.

Afraid of what might be in the food.

Paranoia made her mind hazy, plans forming and failing as she tried to work out a way to escape.

She had pried at the cuff around her ankle until her fingers bled.

Had tried slamming her ankle against the bedframe to break the metal band but had only gained more dark bruises along her fair skin for her efforts.

She had screamed until her throat was raw.

Begged the anonymous person delivering her food to help her each time the door cracked open.

Two days ago, she had opened the window, climbed up onto the sill.

The frigid wind whipping around her barely disturbing her.

Staring down at the grounds below, she wondered if she would survive the impact.

If she could get up, make it to the tree line in the distance.

Keep running until she found help.

Barefoot and injured, stumbling through the woods.

She wasn't sure she'd even make it more than a few feet.

But even if she wanted, she couldn't jump.

Not with the chain still around her ankle.

She'd be stuck hanging upside down if she attempted that currently.

No doubt that would break her ankle.

And then any plans of running would be completely ruined.

It had been a week and she was already losing hope.

Anxiety twisted her lungs, clogged her throat.

Worry for herself, worry for them.

Her immortals.

Her anger at them so buried under all these other emotions that she can barely feel it anymore.

She had to get out.

Had to escape before they walked into this trap.

Had to save herself.

Save them.

But how?

She is stuck in a cage.

Once, when she was on the cusp of turning nine, her father had brought her a pet.

Coming home from a gala opening in Egypt with a handsome, tanned man and a gilded cage.

"I'm home, sunshine! My, how I missed you. I have so many stories to tell you..." He had swung her up in a hug before handing her the birdcage.

She had been drawn to the little bird immediately, just as she loved the birds out in the woods behind their house.

On summer days, she would watch them soar above her head.

Calling to each other with the joy of freedom.

She had imagined growing her own pair of wings, flying up to join them.

Flying up, up, up until she could see nothing but clouds.

And now she had a bird of her own.

It was a cardinal, bright red feathers ruffling as she stared at him between the bars.

"Hi, little birdy. My name is Enid. We are going to be best friends." She grinned, youthful excitement swelling in her.

His small head tilted to the side as he studied her from the other side.

She loved his inquisitive eyes and the soft sound of his chirp.

Already, she was making plans for things to get for him.

A larger enclosure, extra snacks.

Her father had directed the maids to clear a space on Enid's dresser for the cage.

The bird had twittered about, hopping around the cage to explore the new room.

For hours, Enid sat and watched him flutter around.

Trotting from one end to the other, running his beak along the metal frame of his cage.

Almost studying the pattern in the design.

Never touching his food or water.

It wasn't until later that night that she realized what the little bird was looking for.

An exit.

Sitting up in bed, she guilty looked at the bird who was still restlessly exploring the cage.

She thinks of the birds in the woods, free to fly wherever they please.

How could she keep this one from what he was born to do?

Slipping out from under her duvet, she padded over to the golden cage.

The bird began to chirp louder as she approached, staring up at her expectantly.

"Shh, it's okay. I'm going to let you out. And then I'll open the window and you'll be free to go wherever you want, okay?" She whispered to him sweetly.

The bird quietened and seemed to almost nod in response.

Carefully, she slid up the latch and swung open the door of the cage.

Hopping tentatively up to the opening, the bird stretched its wings.

"Okay, I've just got to open the window now-" She turned, but she was too late.

The cardinal had leapt from the enclosure, darting toward the windowpane.

The sound of it smacking into the glass made Enid gasp, watching in horror as it fell to the ground.

Her screams had woken the entire estate.

The staff and her father rushing into her room to find her cradling the small bird.

Both of his wings folded at strange angles.

Sobs and apologies ringing incoherently from her small mouth.

The small bird had died an hour later.

Under Fiona's instructions, her father had gotten her another pet the next year.

A dog she had named Charlie.

But she had never forgotten that little bird.

And the sound of the impact as the tiny bones in his wings broke.

Now in a cage of her own, Enid wonders if her own wings will break before she can get out.

The sound of the door unlocking pulls her from the somber musings.

Expecting it to just be the food delivery, she does not move from where she is curled in the corner.

Fear flares through her as the door swings open further, the sound of heavy boots entering the room.

It was Almalfi.

Enid watched him warily as he shut the door behind him, an impassive look on his face.

He studied her in turn, taking in the bruise on her face and the raw skin of her ankle.

She hasn't looked in the mirror in days.

But he looks at her like he's seen a ghost.

"Did he do that to you?" His Slavic accent washes over her, and she finds it's nice to hear something other than her own thoughts.

Isolation had impacted her more than she expected.

The scar on his face shifts as his eyebrows furrow.

Silence stretches between them, no answer to his question necessary.

"He said he wouldn't hurt you. In my country, hurting a woman is worse than treason..." His gruff voice trails off.

His dark features shutter back into an emotionless mask as Almalfi glances around her room.

Enid's heart leaps at the guilt in his eyes before he turns away.

Making an ally is all about figuring out what that person wants and showing them that you can give them it.

Theodore's voice rings in her ears.

Standing shakily, she braces herself against the wall.

Her chain rattling as she does so.

These days of barely moving and eating weakening her limbs.

"Why do you work for him?" The question is not the one she meant to ask, but it comes out all the same.

Almalfi's lip curls in disgust, a grunt leaving him.

What does this man want?

What could she give him?

"I do not work for him. We are equals." He practically growls.

His pride.

She can work with that.

Enid hums, pulling herself up straighter.

Hope thrums in her veins, washing away the despair that had sprung up like weeds in her heart.

"Does he think that?" She tilts her head to the side innocently.

Come on, take the bait.

Something dark clouds in his expression.

"Flynt is a narcissistic, psychopathic monster. It doesn't matter what he thinks. We are equals. Partners." His voice isn't as certain as it once was.

She watches as his jaw tightens, a defensive set to his shoulders.

Doubt curling his hands into fists.

This is good.

There is a chance.

"Why would you want to work with him if he's a monster?" Enid asks, hoping he'll keep following the path she is laying.

She studies the metaphorical chessboard between them, trying to prepare for her next moves.

Almalfi frowns before a low chuckle leaves him.

"Oh, little girl. It's about power. Everything is about power. And partnering with him increases mine." The man crosses his arms.

She has to stop the smile that threatens to spread across her face.

Her teeth sinking into the flesh of her lip.

This time the blood she tastes is her own.

The phantom of Theodore's eyes watching her with pride as she made a smart move during chess tickling the back of her mind.

Enid pauses for a moment, knowing she needed to tread carefully if this was going to work.

"But isn't he using you? Making you run errands like meeting me at Harold's shop... Is that the power you're talking about? Don't you want more than that?" She tries to look as demure as possible.

His eyes darken as he stares at her and she prays she hasn't over done it.

There is a tick in his jaw, anger brewing.

She presses her trembling hands to her thighs as she continues.

"Making you clean up dead bodies, dragging you into a war that you have nothing to do with. He's using you and as soon as he no longer needs you, he'll get rid of you. But you're smart, you already know this. You know he's only out for his own success." She hopes the flattery isn't too much.

She thinks of Theodore's eyes on her, watching her strategize.

Shifting her pawns, positioning her knights.

Hoping and praying and wishing.

"You could have so much more, be so much more. T-the immortals, if you got me out of here, they could double whatever Flynt has offered you." Enid holds her breath as she plays the only card she has.

Almalfi's face flickers and she sees it.

Right between the cracks just like he taught her.

She's got him.

"You could be powerful on your own. No needing to rely on Flynt. They'd give you the means and you'd be independent. No one bossing you around anymore." She flutters her eyelashes for the full effect.

Swallowing down her nerves, she takes a hesitant step toward him.

The jingle of her chain drawing his attention.

She has gotten used to the sound over the past few days, but it seems to startle him.

The guilt is back in the darkness of his irises.

She doesn't have to pretend to wince as she takes another step, pain burning like fire along the length of her leg.

"You're better than this. Better than him." Her whisper pulls his eyes back up to her.

She thinks of the bird and the cage and the sound of wings breaking.

But she is strong.

She is strong and she will get out of here.

"I just need you to help me. Please." Tears burn in her eyes and she lets them fall.

Hoping and praying and wishing.

There is a war in his eyes as his mind turns over what she has said.

She watches it quietly, knowing that this is it.

His queen is nearly pinned, all he has to do is make a final move.

Her fate lays in the hands of this brutish man.

When he looks at her, there is determination in his eyes.

Checkmate.

"Well done, Enid."

She breathes in the memory of crawling into his lap.

Home.

She's going to go home.

"What do I need to do?" His question nearly brings her to her knees.

It is the first time she has smiled in days.

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And there is hope!

Where do you think things will go from here?

Updates weekly.

Comments fill my heart with joy.

All my love, Sappho ♛