Chapter 1: The Elf Queen's Failed Rebellion

“Let me go! Fight me one-on-one if you have the guts!”

The elf general Vera struggled fiercely, both arms held fast against the damp stone wall by shackles.

Her wheat-colored skin, beaded with sweat, tensed in the dim firelight. Her battered leather armor barely contained her powerful curves and taut abdomen, while her long, strong legs kicked at the floor.

Across the cell, Princess Elia cowered in a cold, moss-covered corner. Her long golden hair hung in disarray, clinging to her pale cheeks.

Thorns and mud had torn her white gauze dress until it was nearly transparent, revealing the outline of her slender, shapely figure. Her whole body trembled uncontrollably.

Chained between them was Selena, the elf queen. Her long golden hair had fallen completely loose from its high arrangement, and heavy, cold shackles bit deep into her rounded wrists.

Much of her purple royal robe had been torn away during her capture. Her full, pale breasts rose and fell slightly with her steady breathing, and she carried the distinctive allure of a mature woman.

The heavy iron door scraped open. Gray, the imperial inquisitor and warden, strode in wearing a leather apron stained dark red with blood. Behind him, he dragged an elf soldier covered in whip marks.

The soldier’s armor had been stripped away. He writhed on the floor, crying and begging for mercy, his fingers digging into the cracks between the stones as he tried to keep from being dragged farther.

“You elves are a little tougher than ordinary rats, I’ll grant you. But only a little.” Gray grinned and kicked the soldier over at Selena’s feet. Then he unhooked a heavy iron hammer from his belt, its head smeared with brains and fragments of bone.

“This rebellion you called the ‘Wrath of Thorns’ was a joke. It took the imperial cavalry just three days to flatten your stronghold. Now all your finest warriors are merchandise in the slave markets.”

“Shut up, you human butcher! If you hadn’t poisoned our water, the elves would never have lost!” Vera’s eyes were bloodshot, her teeth grinding as she strained forward, trying to bite through his throat.

“I’ve heard that Her Merciful Majesty, the elf queen, knows every soldier under her command by name.” Ignoring Vera’s curses, Gray brought his fleshy face close to Selena’s and pointed at the soldier, whose face was wet with tears and snot. “Come on, Your Majesty. Tell us his name. Let’s see if that can spare him the punishment prescribed by imperial law!”

Selena turned her head slightly, her full lips pressed tight. She could not bear to look into the soldier’s terrified eyes.

The instant she turned away, Gray raised the heavy hammer and brought it down without mercy, crushing the soldier’s skull with a sickening thud. Thick red and white fluid splattered across the cold, rough flagstones. The soldier’s body jerked violently a few times, then went limp and still.

“No!” Elia screamed in despair. She clapped both hands over her eyes and broke down sobbing.

“I’ll kill you! I swear I’ll skin you myself!” Vera roared, her voice raw with fury. The coarse shackles had rubbed her wrists bloody, and bright drops ran down her pale fingers onto the filthy floor.

“Children, look at me. Both of you.” Selena straightened her back and called to them in a voice that was gentle but firm, swallowing her grief. “We’re still alive. As long as we draw breath, the spark of our people hasn’t gone out. There’s still hope.”

“This is only the beginning, Your Majesty.” Gray tossed aside the bloody hammer, rubbed his hands together eagerly, and walked toward an iron rack of torture instruments. “Did you think a ridiculous uprising could change anything? The imperial cavalry will burn your forests to ash, and you…”

Rubbing his bloodstained hands, he turned to the nearby cart of terrifying pincers and iron spikes. His gaze moved back and forth between Selena’s full chest and the pale skin at the tops of Elia’s thighs.

“I’ll start with the most tender places and slowly strip away that lofty pride of yours, until you’re on your knees licking my boots and begging me to finish you with a quick cut.”

“Especially you, Queen Selena. I’d love to find out how many ways that mature body of yours can be put to use. Heh heh.”

Selena made no response to Gray’s threats, but Elia’s sobs grew louder. She bit her lip, trying to suppress the fear in her heart.

“Don’t let him see your fear, children,” Queen Selena murmured, keeping her voice low enough that only the three of them could hear. “Human brutes love watching their prey break. Fear will only excite them more. Take a deep breath. We still have a chance to survive.”

Gray raised his whip with a vicious grin and started toward Vera.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps sounded outside the cell. An imperial messenger entered and handed him a scroll sealed with the royal wax stamp.

“An urgent order, Inquisitor,” the messenger read without expression. “These three elven prisoners are no longer under the tribunal’s jurisdiction. His Highness the Third Prince has ordered that he will examine them personally. No one is to torture them without authorization.”

Gray’s raised hand froze in midair, and the smile vanished from his face.

“That worthless Rhode?” he growled through gritted teeth, slamming the whip onto the floor. “What does he know about interrogation? Does he ever think about anything but women’s thighs?”

“These are His Highness’s direct orders, sir.” The messenger paid no attention to Gray’s impotent rage. “Please hand over the cell keys immediately. His Highness’s men have already taken over security outside.”

Gray’s chest heaved. He shot Selena a vicious glare, but could only tear the keys from his belt and fling them to the messenger. He stomped across the corpse and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

The thick smell of blood hung in the air. Elia was still sobbing softly, while Vera gulped for breath, her chest rising and falling.

“Our chance has come, children.” Selena broke the silence. She turned slowly toward them, her deep eyes clear and resolute, the furrow in her brow easing.

“A chance? What are you talking about, Your Majesty?” Vera stared at her in disbelief. “Falling into the imperial family’s hands will be even worse than falling into that butcher’s! The only thing we can do now is bite off our tongues and keep the last of our dignity!”

“Listen to me, Vera. And you too, Elia.” Selena gave her chains a gentle tug, trying to move closer to them. Her voice was as soft as a breeze through the forest at night, yet every word struck home.

“If the First Prince, Leon, who worships strength, had taken charge of us, all three of us would be stripped and beheaded in the imperial capital’s square tomorrow morning, put on display for everyone to see. If it were the cruel and calculating Second Prince, Vincent, we’d most likely be drained of blood alive and turned into specimens for an exhibition hall.”

She paused and looked slowly from one to the other, her voice growing grave. “But the one who has taken us is the Third Prince, Rhode. Everyone in the empire knows the rumors about him: he’s a playboy obsessed with wine and women. He didn’t ask for us because he wants to interrogate us.”

“You mean…” Elia stopped crying. She seemed to guess what Selena was suggesting, and instinctively shrank back.

“That man wants our bodies. And that is the only weapon we have left to use.” Selena’s voice remained gentle, carrying no harsh command, only the patient counsel and reasoning of an elder. “Show him your beauty and your most vulnerable side, holding nothing back. Don’t resist. Don’t let him see any murderous intent. Use your tears and your submission to wear down his guard.”

“How can we? We’re noble elves! How can we cater to some worthless human prince?” Vera closed her eyes in anguish, her fingers digging into her palms as she shook her head again and again. “I’d rather die right now than let a filthy man like that lay a finger on me!”

“Death is the easiest choice, Vera, but when our people’s survival is at stake, personal dignity is worth nothing.” Selena gazed at the hot-tempered general and continued in a gentle, motherly tone.

“If our beauty can ensnare him completely, if we can make him come willingly to our beds, then we can use him to learn what’s happening outside. We can find a way to survive in the gaps between the empire’s competing powers, and perhaps… even the faintest chance to restore our kingdom. For our people who are still enslaved, we must stay alive.”