The Sand Bride - Chapter 24

The door swung open, and a priest barked the order. His eyes were fixed on Esther and the woman. The other slaves turned to look. There was only one reason young women would be summoned at night.

When neither moved, the priest’s temper flared.

“Hurry. He despises waiting! Must I drag you out?”

As the woman’s lips twitched, the impatient priest gestured outside. Other priests strode forward, parting the slaves, and seized Esther and the woman by the arms. But instead of the woman—they hauled Esther up.

Startled, Esther struggled, but the priests dragged her away without mercy. The slaves watched wide-eyed.

They had assumed the woman—the most beautiful and expensive among them—would be the one taken. But the priest locked the door with his usual cold indifference, leaving them in darkness once more.

The silver-haired woman sighed deeply, brushing her hand over the spot where Esther had sat—then paused. Her fingers touched something small: a tiny glass vial with an even smaller slip of paper inside. She tucked it into her clothes, intending to return it if Esther came back safely.

* * *

Dragged down the dark corridor in a daze, Esther’s eyes darted anxiously. The temple’s halls were oppressively dark and foreboding, making her fear not just for her body but for her life.

Flickering torchlight cast writhing shadows as they passed.

“Go in.”

The walls all looked the same, but the priests seemed to know exactly where to stop. Releasing Esther’s arms, one priest pushed her forward while another pulled a decorative ring embedded in the stone. A section of the wall lifted like a door.

“Hurry!”

Cowed, Esther grabbed the handle and pushed. The door groaned open heavily. Trembling with fear and faint curiosity, she stepped inside.

The room was dimly lit, the atmosphere oddly serene. Esther’s gaze fell first on the strange patterned silks hanging from the walls and the plush animal pelts on the floor—until a sound made her turn.

In the blue-tinged darkness where the light didn’t reach, she saw them—yellow eyes. Unforgettable eyes. Then the scent, the breathing, the body…….

A low chuckle echoed. Esther knew that laugh. It had haunted her every night during her escape—the laugh of that terrible man.

“Guess you really are an idiot.”

A sharp clack of teeth. Esther shuddered, staring ahead.

There, glaring down at her with menacing eyes, was Karzhen.

Thud. Her legs gave out. Karzhen strode forward lazily. Even through her terror, Esther felt something was wrong. He shouldn’t be here.

This was the temple’s inner sanctum—only royalty was permitted inside. The priests had said so. Karzhen didn’t belong here. He was just a cruel, vicious… bandit.

“…….”

“Did they rip your tongue out? Say something.”

But before Esther could even open her mouth to beg for help, Karzhen grabbed her hair and yanked. The pain was searing, as if her scalp might tear away. Screaming, she was dragged forward. The priests outside stirred at the noise.

They looked bewildered—but strangely, not angry. Even as a bandit manhandled a slave in their sacred temple, they said nothing.

Esther willed them to stop him, to shout What are you doing? and pull him off her. But when she met their eyes pleadingly, they only hesitated before bowing slightly to Karzhen.

“Then… we shall take our leave, Lord Karzhen.”

Thud. The door shut. Esther swayed in shock, then shrieked as she was shoved down. The torchlight flickered. Her back hit the floor, and through tear-blurred vision, she stared up at the stone-and-iron ceiling.

Karzhen’s eyes bore down at her. Gleaming, cruel golden slits. His lips pulled back in a grin. Esther knew that expression well.

It was the smile he wore when he was furious.

* * *

“Ah~! Ugh…! Aah…!”

She didn’t know how much time had passed. Her body trembled violently. Esther curled into herself, only to jerk and writhe whenever Karzhen thrust into a particularly sensitive spot. The movements were too rough—each time he pulled out, her flushed inner flesh threatened to follow.

The sensation of being speared open made her toss her head and sob. The delicate skin of her s*x ached from rubbing against his veined dxck, but each time he scraped that tender spot inside, pleasure coiled tight in her thighs.

Esther tried to push herself up, but her arms kept failing. As she collapsed again, Karzhen snickered behind her.

“How many times now, huh? Pathetic.”

“Nnh, ah…! Hah…! Aah~!”