10
~Damon's POV
I felt the warmth of the fire in my chest, that pleasant burn after one too many glasses of wine. Kael, Rowan, and I had been drinking and eating, toasting and commiserating. The meal was quiet at first, then cheerful, until our topic circled back to Lisa.
Kael slammed his fist on the table, rattling the goblets. I winced. He leaned forward, voice low and harsh. "She should've been done hours ago. We sent her to prepare our tubs!"
Rowan shrugged, sipping his wine. "Maids help with the rest, but she was supposed to fetch fresh linens, heat the water, and add bath salts."
"I'll handle it," I said calmly. "Let's finish up and head to our baths. She'll be there when we get there." I meant it. We didn't really care if she was late. We mostly just wanted to relax.
We cleaned our plates, drained the last drops of wine. Kael clapped his hands. "Let's go." He stood and stalked off toward the hallway. Rowan and I followed.
When we reached the room, Kael pushed the door open and stopped suddenly.
"What the…"
I looked in. Lisa was on the bed, limp, like a discarded doll. She wasn't even sitting up. Her arms were sprawled out, her head turned to the side. Her lips were pale.
Rowan stepped in behind me. "Seriously?"
Kael walked over and gave her a slight nudge with his foot. "Lisa."
Nothing.
"Lisa!" he snapped louder.
No answer.
He looked back at us, scowling. "She's pretending."
Rowan shrugged. "Or lazy."
I folded my arms. "She's always weak. It's getting pathetic."
Kael bent slightly, studying her. "She's breathing. She's just... what? Too tired to do her job?"
"Maybe she skipped meals," Rowan said mockingly. "Oh, the horror."
Kael laughed dryly. "What did she expect? Room service? This isn't a resort."
"I knew giving her anything would make her soft," I muttered. I wasn't angry, just done. Tired of her excuses. Every single time she was given a simple task, she found a way to mess it up.
Rowan clicked his tongue. "She didn't even try to finish. Look at her. Not even the water's drawn."
His voice dripped with disappointment, like she had broken some sacred rule by passing out before completing a simple task. It wasn't even anger in his tone anymore, just a flat, unimpressed irritation.
"Pathetic," Kael added, his eyes narrowing at Lisa's limp form. "She really thinks this will make us feel guilty?"
He stepped back, folding his arms as though the sight of her lying there was offensive. She hadn't even twitched when they entered. Her arms were dangling off the edge of the mattress, her head lolling slightly to the side. If not for the slow rise and fall of her chest, she could have easily been mistaken for dead.
"If anything," Rowan muttered, "it makes me want to keep her locked up longer."
There was no pity in his voice, only contempt. To him, her collapse was more proof of her weakness, not a cry for help. Not a result of starvation. Not exhaustion. Just a failure. Just another reason to write her off.
"She's wasting our time," I said, turning away, already tired of looking at her. "I'm not lifting her."
I wasn't going to touch her. She wasn't my responsibility. If she couldn't handle her duties, she didn't deserve help. It was that simple. Being our mate didn't earn her a free pass. Not with me. Not anymore.
Kael's voice snapped through the room like a whip. "Someone! Get in here!"
Footsteps echoed down the hall, fast and uneven. A moment later, Milo, one of the younger male servants, appeared in the doorway. His eyes widened when he saw Lisa lying there.
He hesitated, his gaze bouncing from her to us as though unsure of what he had just walked into.
Kael didn't give him a second to process. "Pick her up," he ordered, his voice sharp and cold. "Take her to the doctor."
Milo's eyes flicked to me and Rowan, then back to Kael. "But sir…"
"Now."
Milo didn't argue again. He hesitated only a second before lifting Lisa into his arms. She was limp, completely out. Her head lolled against his shoulder like she was nothing more than a bundle of clothes. There was no reaction, not even a small twitch. Her arms hung uselessly at her sides, her body unnaturally still.
Rowan rolled his eyes and waved him off like he was shooing a fly. "Be quick. We don't want her dying in here."
His voice held no urgency, no concern. It was more annoyance than anything else, like her fainting was just another inconvenience in his day.
Kael gave a cold laugh that sent a chill down the room. "If she dies, at least she'll stop whining."
He didn't even look at her as he spoke, already turning away. There wasn't a flicker of regret in his voice, just a cruel amusement, like it was all a joke to him.
"She can't even do what she's told," I muttered, the bitterness rising in my throat. "What use is a mate who can't manage a bath?"
I hadn't meant to say it so harshly, but I didn't take it back either. She was weak, and weakness was a problem. One we didn't have the patience for.
Kael was already heading for the door. "Let the doctor deal with it," he said casually. "She'll probably be up in a few hours anyway. You'll see, it's all for show."
Rowan grinned. "Maybe next time, we chain her to the tub so she can't collapse before finishing."
We all laughed as we made our way toward the backup bath chamber.
The scent of mint and steam hung in the air. The water was already prepared by the other maids, competent ones. We stripped off our shirts and slid into the heat.
Kael leaned back, eyes closed. "She doesn't know how good she has it."
"She's nothing special," I added. "Just another mark who thought a mate bond would change her life."
Rowan scoffed. "If she wants comfort, she can earn it. Like everyone else."
No one asked how she was doing. No one followed up. And honestly, I didn't care. If she was too weak to stay on her feet, maybe she wasn't cut out to be here at all.
Let the doctor handle her.