I woke with a gasp, sitting bolt upright and staring around me in panic and confusion. Where the fuck was I now? Definitely no longer on the absurdly luxurious aircraft, as I was halfway drowned by a heavy feather comforter and surrounded by pillows in a king-size bed. I crawled out of the cozy nest and raked a hand through my wild hair. It was bone dry, whereas it had been still dripping wet when I had succumbed to drugged sleep on the plane, so more than several hours must have passed while I was out.

Padding over to the bedroom window, I tried to work out where the hell I might be. The scenery was barren and rocky, but with no snow, so we must have flown south from… wherever.

This isn't off to a good start; we could literally be anywhere in the world.

It was daylight, so there were no lights to indicate a city might be nearby, and the room I was in seemed to be directly above a sheer cliff face overlooking a sandy valley. My perusal of the possible routes down the cliff was interrupted by a polite knock on the bedroom door, which piqued my curiosity. Vali didn't exactly strike me as the type to knock politely.

I crossed the room in my bare feet and cracked the door open to peer out.

“Uh, yes?” I eyed the girl on the other side with suspicion. From what I could see of her, she was around my age, with rich, chocolate brown hair perfectly styled into an elaborate updo.

“Hi!” She beamed at me with far too much enthusiasm for my current predicament. “I brought you food! Can I come in?” She held up the tray she was holding to emphasize her statement, and I caught a whiff of something delicious.

“You can come in, but I am not stupid enough to eat drugged food again.” I scowled at her but opened the door a little wider to let her in. She laughed as though I had just made a joke and breezed past me on deadly looking stiletto heels.

After she’d placed the tray down on a small table beside some armchairs, she spun to face me, and I inspected her shrewdly. She was, in short, stunning. Her face was perfectly doll-like, with huge gray-blue eyes and high, angular cheekbones. Her slim figure was showcased in a formfitting dress that looked designer, and her delicate neck was draped with a blinding diamond necklace.

“The food isn't drugged,” she told me, rolling her eyes as though I was simply being overly dramatic. “Trust me, I was watching Cook prepare it for you. Besides, what else are you going to do, starve to death?”

Ugh, she had a point. I didn't want to run the risk of being drugged again in such a short period of time, though. Who knew how much my body could really bounce back from?

I sat cautiously in one of the chairs and peered longingly at the food she had provided.

“So, I know you had a bit of an, umm, unconventional first meeting with Vali, but he wanted me to come and see if you were doing okay…” She twisted her hands and chewed her lower lip, looking genuinely concerned for my well-being.

“I was drugged, kidnapped, transported to another country, drugged again, sold at auction, covered in blood, then drugged again. Would you be doing okay? Under those circumstances?” I asked, raising my eyebrows at her, and she had the grace to flush in embarrassment. Saying it all out loud like that made me wonder why I was doing okay. Surely I should be crying in a corner somewhere? Ever since Vali had touched me when taking off my collar, I had felt weirdly… safe? That sounded insane, but it was what it was.

“Ah yes, I did hear about Gheorghe. Believe me, that is no great loss.” The hard look in her eyes and bitterness to her voice suggested she'd had her own run-ins with the dead man. I wondered if this girl had anything to do with Gheorghe’s first indiscretion that Vali had mentioned.

“So, who are you?” It wasn’t the most polite I had ever been, but it could have been a whole lot worse.

“Oh of course, gosh, sorry, where are my manners?” She laughed nervously and patted at her immaculate hair. “I'm Elena.” She held out one of her delicate hands for me to shake, which I did with caution.

“I guess I should say thank you for letting me borrow these clothes, but you didn't seem particularly surprised to hear I am here against my will. Does that mean you won't help me escape?” I glowered at her while trying not to look at the steaming food in front of me.

“Escape?” she squeaked out. “Please don't try to escape! I know everyone seems really nice around here, but they're not. They’re really not. And they don't hold back on punishments, so please just, ah, just stay here. I'm sure if you give it a little time, Vali will come to his senses and let you go… God knows why he hasn’t already…” The last part was muttered under her breath, and I just barely heard it.

I snorted a sarcastic laugh at her. “Nice? I was just purchased in a slave auction and then a man was shot dead in front of me.”

Her gaze ducked away from mine as she found an interesting spot on the carpet before she replied to me. “Well, yes, you could say that was all a bit, umm, not-nice? But it could have been a lot worse. No one has actually harmed you, have they? I can't imagine any of the other slaves who were bought at that auction would have been treated anywhere near so nicely. Not to mention gone unmolested for so long.”

Damn, this girl had a point. Why had I been treated differently? It still didn't make it okay to hold someone captive, though.

“Well, anyway. I just came to bring you the food and say hi.” She looked disappointed that I obviously hadn't given her the greeting she was looking for.

“Why? Who are you anyway? His mistress? Another slave?” I narrowed my eyes at her again, this time taking in her expensive outfit with a more critical eye, and her face flamed red.

“No-no!” she stuttered out. “I am definitely not his mistress! What would even give you that idea?” Her panicked disagreement combined with lack of eye contact made me think she most likely considered herself a girlfriend rather than a mistress. Poor girl.

“Uh-huh,” I responded sarcastically.

“Okay, well, I will leave you to your meal. Um, the door isn't locked, but I should let you know that Vali has posted a guard outside.” She bit her lip uncomfortably as she backed towards the door in question. “So, you know, just… stay in here. Please?”

I nodded slowly to her, not agreeing to anything but acknowledging what she had told me. She looked relieved and left me alone with a parting smile. Strange girl. I could see why Dragomir, I mean Vali, was keeping her around. The girl was an absolute knockout and the perfect submissive female to be seen and not heard.

Now, how am I escaping this time?

I headed back to the window, which seemed like my best option, given the guard outside the door. Vali likely would never have expected anyone to attempt exiting through the window, so there wasn’t even a lock on it. I flicked the catch, and it swung open easily. Too easy.

A gust of cold air blew in, making me shiver, but also giving me another clue to our location, as it was clearly still winter wherever we were. I crossed the room again and rifled through the large wardrobe for something warmer to wear. It was full of men’s clothes, but given I wasn’t entering a fashion parade, that didn’t bother me too much. A black coat caught my eye, and I slipped it on, rolling the sleeves up once to keep my hands free of fabric. Shoes were going to be an issue, though. I hadn’t been given any to replace my stripper heels on the plane, and all of the men’s shoes available were miles too big for me.

I chewed my lip for a minute, considering my options. Wearing men’s shoes would only end up in me losing my footing and falling to my death, but traversing an unknown amount of desert in bare feet didn’t sound like the safest option either. One thing I knew for sure: staying put was not an option. I was no one’s slave.

After tying the shoelaces together on a pair of sport shoes, I slung them around my neck and stuffed two thick pairs of socks into them. I would climb in bare feet, then when I reached the bottom, wear the too-large shoes in the hope of saving my feet from getting torn up on any rocks or rough surfaces.

Taking another look at the cliff below me, I mentally mapped out what looked like the most likely route. Without wasting any more time, I climbed out of the window and slowly lowered my body until my toes reached their first foothold.

Here goes nothing!