Missy Jane - Born of Stone

He watched her sleep and his mind and soul were at ease. Never had such peace stolen through him than at that moment. Would it always be this way? He wondered if she had family in the nearby village. Now that he knew of Simon’s abuse, he knew it was very possible she had been taken against her will. That thought sobered him, shattering his peace for the moment. As soon as she woke, he would question her.

A knock on the door brought his head up and he all but leapt from the bed. He glanced back at Astrid to see she hadn’t stirred, then hurried to the door. He yanked it open to find Wynnston in the hallway.

“What it is?” he growled quietly.

His brother’s brows shot up and he crossed his arms over his large chest. “Am I interrupting something?”

Orestes ran a hand over his face and blew out a breath. “No. She’s sleeping.”

Wynn’s gaze ran down the length of Orestes’s body and he smirked. “Is she now?”

“Yes she is. And I’d prefer not to wake her with our voices.”

“Then step outside so we can talk.”

Orestes glanced over his shoulder at the slight form on his bed. It was amazingly difficult to leave the room but he did, leaving the door cracked open in case she called out to him.

“All right,” he said, crossing his arms in imitation of his brother. “What must you say?”

Wynn shook his head and chuckled. “Good thing we don’t have women roaming these halls.”

“Afraid they would find me irresistible in my nakedness?”

“You wish.”

“I wish you would get to the point of interrupting my rest.”

Wynn threw up his hands and sighed dramatically before finally giving a short nod. “Fine. We questioned the staff and learned Simon has been beating them through his entire tenure. Unfortunately he learned the practice from his predecessor.”

“And did that bastard blame it on us as well?”

“Most likely. He died, remember? No way to know for certain now. Anyway, we gathered every human in the castle and let them know the abuse would not continue. Simon has been fired and sent away. I also discovered he hadn’t been paying them. You wouldn’t believe the way some of them looked.”

The haunted look in his eyes spoke volumes and Orestes was reminded of his initial assessment of Astrid. She was way too thin.

“A feast,” he said. “We’ll hold a feast for all who work for us and allow them to indulge for one full day. Then when they go back to work, we will be sure to pay better attention to their care.”

Wynn nodded. “Not a bad idea. I’ll speak to the others about it.”

Orestes turned and placed his hands on his doorknob but Wynn gripped his shoulder before he could enter his room. He looked back at his brother with a raised brow.

“I just want you to know I take full responsibility. As it has always been my duty, I have no excuse for not realizing the state of the staff.”

Orestes immediately turned his body and his full attention back to his brother. Wynn dropped his hand and the shame in his eyes was unmistakable.

“You did place your trust in the wrong human, brother, but I don’t blame you for it. All of us are equally responsible. How many times a day do we pass any member of the staff and ignore them? We must all do better.”

Wynn nodded and his shoulders seemed to ease. “True, but I will be especially wary from this day forward.”

“Good enough.”

Wynn grinned then and nodded toward the open door. “Go on back to your human now, brother. I’m glad to see you’ve finally learned the worth of their women.”

Orestes chuckled and slapped his brother’s shoulder before returning to his room. He shut the door quietly behind him and locked it. His brothers weren’t known for their censure or their respect of privacy. As soon as Wynn told the others about Astrid, they most likely would come looking to see for themselves. A locked door would deter them…possibly.

He was about to rejoin her on the bed when his stomach growled loudly. With a frown, he glanced at her and was happy to see her still asleep. He didn’t want to get dressed and leave her but he’d never finished dinner. He sighed as he pulled on clothes and headed out the door.

Astrid was dreaming, and it began as the most glorious dream. All manner of food lined a massive stone table. The Masters stood all around it but there were also humans among them.

“Eat, eat,” they said, and the humans dug in with greedy hands. Astrid reached for a leg of chicken and Orestes grabbed her wrist.

“No, my little star, this isn’t for you. Don’t you know your place yet?”

He seemed amused but she was humiliated. After the intimacy they had shared, he still thought so little of her? Her stomach growled loudly and he laughed long and hard. His brothers joined in and soon the humans did as well. The whole room was laughing at her while she stood hungry and miserable. She ached to run away, but like in many dreams, her feet were rooted to the ground. She wrapped her arms around her aching belly and lowered her head in the hopes no one would see her tears.

“No, don’t cry, my sweet. There’s no cause for you to cry.”

Orestes’s deep voice sounded in her ear both the same and different from before. She felt the heat of his palm against her cheek. Her tears continued to fall and she realized her eyes were tightly shut. Slowly she woke from the dream to the sight of Orestes’s worried face above her.

“Why do you cry in your sleep, my little star?”

She sniffled and the fresh scent of food invaded her lungs. Was the dream still lingering? Her stomach growled loudly and she slapped a hand over her bare belly. Orestes frowned.

“Are you so hungry it brings you to tears? Come. I have food for you.”

He slipped his large arm beneath her shoulders and lifted her into a sitting position. Then he moved away from her to a small table beside the bed. It was laden with dishes, steam rising from more than a few. Her stomach growled again.

“I was about to eat when I noticed your uneasy sleep. Now we can dine together.”

She remained mute while he covered a plate in more food than she had eaten in months. When he walked to the bed with it, she thought he meant to eat in front of her. The urge to run from the room was strong but she knew he would catch her. Better to simply struggle through the torture as she had so many others.

“If there is anything here you don’t like, just leave it.”

He placed the plate on the bed before her and went back to the table. When he began to fill a second plate she realized the first was for her.

All of it? All for her alone?

“Uh…sir, I can’t possibly eat so much.”

He stopped stacking his plate to glance at her, giving her a grin that weakened her further. Goddess, the man was handsome.

“Just eat your fill then. And no calling me sir. Orestes. Remember?”

She looked again at the large plate sitting before her and wondered if she was still dreaming. But the smells were so good and she could feel the steam coming from the meat. With shaking fingers, she finally picked up one small morsel and put it to her lips. She closed her eyes and slipped the meat into her mouth, moaning as soon as the taste burst on her tongue. It was exquisite—the most marvelous thing she had ever eaten. She ate slowly to savor the experience, then quickly snatched up the next piece.

Orestes was hungry enough that he had begun to impatiently pile food onto his plate without paying much attention to what he grabbed. Then Astrid moaned and his hunger was forgotten. At least, his hunger for food. His head shot up and he watched her eyes slip closed and pure bliss play across her face. She finished a small bit of beef and snatched another as if afraid it would try to run away. He nearly laughed until he noticed the hunger and wonder in her gaze. She really had been starving.