The clink of cutlery against porcelain forced Cora’s eyes open. She blinked a few times before she could focus on what had made the noise.

She had a plate in front of her. A piece of steak, bloody-rare, oozed pinkish blood onto the pale porcelain. Tiny little red roses flecked with gold rimmed the plate. Someone had a knife and fork over her plate, and they were sawing away a small slice of fillet.

“Open,” came a voice beside her.

Cora lifted her head. Her eyes widened at the sight of Zachary, sitting beside her at a long dining room table.

Her mouth fell open, and he slid the piece of meat past her lips. His attention was solely on her lips until she closed her mouth around the fork. Then he sat back, arms resting against the edge of the table as he gave her a warm smile.

There was a warm, heavy weight on her feet. When she tried to move them, she felt it breathing.

Lady.

Memories popped into her mind like bubbles from a drowning body snapping open on the surface of a stagnant lake.

The party.

A car.

Miguel in the trunk.

Blood and a knife.

Smoke in the air.

Someone undressing her.

Flies. A body.

New clothes.

Stale perfume and sweat.

Lick, lick, lick.

Dinner. Dirty plates. Zachary’s smile under shadowed eyes.

Not today. That had been his answer to her question.

Not today.

But today was almost over, wasn’t it?

Cora looked down. She could remember the events her memory provided…all except the undressing and the new clothes.

She wore a satin blouse, cream with pearl buttons. A tight skirt that sat just above her knees. When she moved her head, hair didn’t brush her shoulders, but sat heavy and tight on her head.

The scrape of metal against porcelain wrenched her head up. She watched Zachary slice another bite of beef and bring it to her mouth.

She ate; chewing, but not tasting.

“Do you like it?” Zachary asked. His eyes moved over her outfit. “It looks good on you.”

She couldn’t maintain eye contact, so she looked over the dirty table again. Enough dishes for a full house, but emptiness pushed in around them like fog.

Whoever was controlling her mouth asked, “Where is everyone?”

The slightest flinch on Zachary’s face. Irritation? Confusion? “I had to let them go. They weren’t performing their duties.”

“Where did they go?”

“Don’t worry.” Zachary’s gaze bore into her. “We’re not staying long.”

The weight on her feet stretched and let out a long sigh before going limp.

She didn’t want more meat. She didn’t want Zachary to feed her. She wanted out of here, away from him, back with her men.

If they’d ever take her back. They didn’t deserve a failure like her. She’d put them through hell, and still expected them to follow her.

She’d never be a leader. How could she expect them to follow her?

Her hand thumped down on the plate, rattling cutlery. The dog resting on her feet jerked up.

“You don’t like it?” Zachary asked, a frown on his face.

He couldn’t have been older than thirty five, but his eyes carried a lifetime of suffering in those voids.

“Not hungry,” she said. Her fingers were clumsy, but she managed to drag the steak off her plate. It slapped onto the floor, spraying watery blood on the side of her leg.

In a flash, the dog laying on her feet darted out from under the table and snatched up the meat in yellowing canines.

“Lady, no!” Zachary pushed back his chair, but by the time he got to his feet, the dog had already swallowed down the meat. It immediately dropped to its haunches, cowering as Zachary took a step toward it.

“It was hungry,” Cora said, holding out a hand.

Zachary looked up at her, confusion drawing his eyebrows together and parting his lips. “I have trained my animals not to eat from anyone else’s hand,” he said through gritted teeth.

Her thoughts were slowly stabilizing. Neurons that had lain dormant began firing again. Her body might still be useless, under the influence as it was, but she still had her mind. That had to be worth something right?

“She ate it from the floor,” Cora said.

She pushed back her chair, and came to a jerky stand.

“How dare you—?” Zachary began.

“I don’t want to be here anymore,” she said. “I want to go home.”

He blinked. Then he threw back his head and laughed. He straightened his head a few seconds later. His mirth tapered off as he dragged fingers through his hair.

Cruel, dark eyes scanned her face. Zachary stepped forward, shoving Lady aside with the side of his shoe. He cupped Cora’s face, tipping it up and giving her another one of his unreadable stares.

“Then we’ll go home, little Elle.”