Sitting with her head bowed, she used her thumb to spin the ring on her finger, feeling the large gem that had failed to cause even a scratch on the chain after she had tired.
If nothing else, it gave her time to think about what she was going to do when he returned for her.
She would have to agree to the marriage, though it wouldn't be legally binding considering her marriage to Epharis. But then she would have to submit to him, and the idea scared her. The alternative was to fight, and he would simply hurt her until she did what he wanted. So what was her option? Fight and be hurt and raped, or go to his bed without a fight and pretend to enjoy it?
If she did the latter, she might be able to convince him to uncuff her. If she was obedient and made him happy, she might be able to be free to move around, and then she could get help.
Letting out a slow sigh, she knew what she had to do, and she closed her eyes, trying to prepare herself for what was to come. She was scared, but if she was going to escape without ending up like the others in that box, she had to make him believe she loved him.
When he returned, he wasn't alone, and she looked around at the whimpering and the thump as Neah dropped the cowering man, though she couldn't really see him.
"Hello, my bride," Neah said softly as he approached her, lifting the mask to see her face.
Looking up at him, her eyes turned to the man and his eyes were huge as he looked at her, bound and gagged, on the bed.
"Gods… you're a monster," the man breathed, but Neah ignored him, drawing her attention back. He smiled when her eyes found his, his lips brushing against her forehead.
"What do you want?" the man asked, crawling backwards towards the door, and quickly finding that the door was locked.
"I want to be married to my beautiful bride here," Neah said to the man, though he was still looking down at her, his thumbs stroking her cheeks.
"No way… look at her, she's not here of her own free will! You're a psychopath!"
It was the wrong thing to say and Neah grabbed the man by the throat, dragging him across the room to thump down on the bed in front of her.
"Do it or I kill her, and you'll be the next one tied to my bed. Man or woman, I don't care," Neah growled, and the man whimpered.
He was human, she could smell it, and the smell of him made her mouth water.
Looking down at the man, he met her scared eyes and shook his head, self-preservation kicking in.
"I'm sorry…" he whimpered.
Neah growled happily, pulling the man off the bed and back onto his feet.
"You will marry us, observe our consummation and then you can leave," Neah said, and she saw the lie. That man was not leaving the cave alive, and part of her was glad for that. He would be dying with her freedom.
The man looked at her, his face blank with his fear and knowing he was throwing her under the axe to save himself. Could she blame him? No, not at all. She probably would have done the same to him if their roles were reversed.
"I'll need to know your names," the man said in a tiny voice.
"Neah and Etani," Neah supplied as he lovingly removed the gag from her mouth. Leaning forward, he rested his forehead against hers and he reached around behind her to release the chain that joined her hands together behind her back. Pulling her arms around to bind them before her instead, he allowed her a little more range of movement.
Her eyes slid shut as the man started the lilting chant, and she caught the name of the God. Swallowing hard, she hoped he was listening. She hoped he would hear the names of the 'lovers' about to be joined, but she doubted it. Eros never listened, just like she had blocked out the whispers of those who worshipped her.
Her eyes opened slowly, and she found Neah staring down at her intently, a savage glee filling him. He had known it was a lie, she could see it now, but he had let her tell her story because it amused him. His eyes were wide, his lips turned up into a grin as he stared down at her, knowing she had no more lies to tell him to get out of it. He had won the game.
"I, Neah, take you, Etani, to be my wife for eternity and always for as long as we both shall live," he breathed, and she at least had that loophole.
The man intoned what she was supposed to say, exactly the same as Neah but with the names switched and she wanted to refuse, to shake her head and refuse to open her mouth but she saw the smile fading from Neah's face, the anger beginning to rise.
"I, Etani, take you, Neah, to be my husband for eternity and always for as long as we both shall live," she said softly, tears welling in her eyes and rolling down her cheeks.
He had known the whole time and simply gone along with it for the fun of it, making her believe he was fooled, but he wasn't, and now she was trapped.
"I now pronounce you husband and wife," the man said and Neah growled happily. "You may kiss your bride."
She kept her face blank as the words sank in and she realised the chance she had. She wasn't gagged, she could do it. She could get herself free in an instant. All she had to do was consume him and they would both be free, she and the human.
Clutching her face, he tilted her head back and his mouth came down on hers with a crushing force. She immediately turned inwards, the need to delve into him rising inside her like a wave, running those mental fingers around the bindings.
Finding the ripple in the binding, she threw herself against it violently, tearing through to make her wrists heat up with a faint sizzling sound.
She ripped through his mental defences and threw herself down into him, reaching for his soul with a gleeful scream that turned into a scream of pain as she felt the knife sliding into her side.
She snapped back into herself with enough force that she physically recoiled from him, gasping as she looked up at all six versions of him, then down at six knives that had been driven to the hilt in her side. Blinking hard, six knives blended together into one, and she watched as he slid the knife free of her.
"You don't think I would be that stupid, do you?" he whispered in her ear, her blood spilling onto the bed between them. "Vincent never shuts up about you… how special you are, how powerful you are… how you can kill with a kiss…"
Lifting her eyes to his face, she saw the sadistic desire rising in him just as her need to kill him rose in her.
"They all think it is the perfect way to die, in your arms. But I speculated that all it would take was a distraction, and he agreed. Distract or injure her and it should get her to hesitate long enough to break the connection. But who could possibly have enough foresight when faced with such perfection who simply wanted a kiss?" he spoke with a perfect calm, but she knew it was the calm before the storm, she knew she would pay for her attempt to kill him.
"Lie down on the bed," he said simply, but she didn't move.
She couldn't look away from his eyes, and that manic grin that sent shivers down her spine.
"Lie down!" he screamed.
She hadn't expected the sudden volume, both her and the priest jumping.
Shifting herself away from the wall, she slid slowly down the bed at his side. With her arms up above her head, she laid back on the bed.
He exhaled a slow breath as he moved, hitching up her dress and grabbing her underwear, pulling them down and throwing them aside. Settling himself between her legs, he released the ties of his pants and his weight lowered on top of her.
Finding a spot on the ceiling to focus on, she listened to the soft murmuring prayers of the priest as Neah moved inside her and the sounds of the metal bed frame on the stone floor spoke of the force of his need for his new bride.