Chained Hearts: From Slavery to Sovereignty
Chapter 49: The Mistress Will Reward Me

Chapter 49: Chapter 49: The Mistress Will Reward Me

The silence that followed after that was deafening, but it didn’t surprise Dorian because he hadn’t expected an answer. The other part of him had never spoken. They had always communicated with feelings, instincts, and emotions that surged through them like tides.

But one thing was certain: the other wanted Cassian as much as he did. And it terrified him more than anything.

Because this wasn’t a game, not like all the others before. Cassian wasn’t like anything; he could bet and allowed anyone to possess him. No, this was different—dangerously different. The other’s desire was proof of that, and it only intensified the bond Dorian felt.

Lifting his hand again, he watched as the black smoke reappeared, swirling with renewed vigor. It is growing stronger every minute and more unpredictable, especially when Cassian is near. The other’s presence surged within him whenever he was in the servant’s presence, as though Cassian was the missing piece of some long-forgotten puzzle.

"I need to understand this," Dorian murmured, his gaze darkening as he clenched his hand once more, extinguishing the smoke. "I need to understand what you want with him... what we want with him."

He had always believed he could control the other and keep it at bay, but with Cassian, that balance was unraveling. Their shared desire for the boy was pushing them both to the brink, and Dorian wasn’t sure how much longer he could resist.

~~~~

On the other side of a palace, the same woman could be seen running, her footsteps echoing faintly down the corridors.

She didn’t stop until she reached the entrance to the east wing, where the other palace stood, which was gleaming in the moonlight.

The guards barely spared her a glance as she hurried past them, her breath coming in ragged gasps, but she didn’t stop. She knew exactly where she needed to go—straight to her mistress.

But just as she reached the grand doors, she was halted by the imposing figure of the head maid. A woman known for her unyielding demeanor, her eyes narrowed as she took in the sight of the disheveled maid before her.

The maid stood before the head maid with her chin slightly lifted, her ragged breath gradually steadying.

The head maid, a stern woman with years of service and discipline etched into every line of her face, regarded her with a gaze cold enough to freeze the air around them.

"And where do you think you’re going in such a rush; it looks like a storm just blew through you?" The head maid asked her with a clipped voice devoid of warmth.

The younger maid’s heart raced, but she held her ground. She could feel her future hanging in the balance, and if her mistress heard what she had witnessed in Prince Dorian’s chambers, her life could change overnight. The thought alone fueled her boldness.

"I have important news," she whispered, her voice shaking with excitement. "News that our mistress will want to hear. Immediately."

The head maid’s eyes narrowed. "And what makes you think it’s your place to run to her in such a state? You think you can simply storm through this palace and—"

The maid interrupted, her tone sharper than it should’ve been for someone in her position. "If you delay me, you’ll be responsible. My news is important, and the mistress will not appreciate hearing it late."

A flash of annoyance passed through the head maid’s eyes at the girl’s impudence, but she held herself in check, keeping her face stony.

She could see the ambition burning in the maid’s eyes and practically smell it on her—a lowly servant thinking she could climb to new heights with a single piece of gossip.

The head maid wanted to scoff aloud. Did this girl truly believe that rising within the palace walls was so easy?

"You think your news will change anything for you?" The head maid’s voice dropped to a low, mocking tone.

"Do you think a few words whispered into our mistress’s ear will lift you from your rags and into favor?"

The younger maid’s confidence didn’t falter. In fact, her lips twitched into a small, smug smile, as if she knew something the head maid didn’t.

"If my mistress hears what I have to say, she will want to reward me. And I’ll make sure it’s known who stood in my way." Her eyes gleamed with the thrill of it—the fantasy of what could be.

The head maid’s lips curled in a half-sneer, half-smile. She leaned forward slightly, her voice like ice. "You think it’s that easy, don’t you?

Just because you’ve got a piece of news that you think is important, you imagine the mistress will shower you with gifts? Move you higher?" She shook her head in disbelief.

"You’ll find soon enough that this palace is not so generous. Ambition like yours often gets crushed before it can ever bloom."

The younger maid’s confidence wavered for a moment, but she quickly masked it while drawing herself up. "We’ll see," she whispered, defiance simmering in her voice.

The head maid nearly laughed at the audacity of this girl, thinking herself clever enough to rise through the ranks. "I’ve seen dozens of maids like you, all thinking they’ll win favor by bringing a secret or a rumor to the mistress.

But what you don’t understand," she stepped closer, her tone darkening, "is that this place devours people like you. You think the mistress will see you as anything more than a tool to be used and discarded?"

The lowly maid’s heart pounded in her chest, but she refused to back down. "If this secret is as valuable as I think it is, she won’t just discard me. She’ll need me."

The head maid’s brow twitched in irritation. She wanted to lash out, to remind this girl of her place. But before the head maid could speak, the sound of footsteps echoed down the hallway.

A new figure entered the scene—an older woman, her expression stern but dignified. She was the personal nanny of their mistress and one of the few trusted voices close to her.

"Enough of this," the nanny snapped, her voice cutting through the air. "What’s this all about?"