The Apprehension: Unexpected Circumstances Book 6 by Shay Savage Page B

condition that he would take her as his queen.  How she believed such an insane idea would succeed was beyond my thinking.
    “You are mad,” I whispered.  “Branford would never—”
    My words were cut off by the sting on my cheek as Whitney pulled her arm back and slapped me.
    “Branford will be mine,” she shouted, “and I will be Queen of Silverhelm as it was meant to be.  The only difference now is finding some other common trash to be my slave!”
    My eyes widened, and Whitney smirked at me again as she watched me become aware of the meaning of her words.  She had no intention of just taking the child and letting me be.  No, that would be against her very nature.
    She was going to kill me as soon as the baby was born.
    Greysen stepped up until he was right against my side and grasped me by the arm.
    “I will be heading back to Hadebrand,” Whitney said to Greysen.  She gathered her skirts around her waist and began to head down the hallway to a large set of doors.  “I will return when the child is born.”
    “You cannot do this!” I screamed as I finally found my voice.  “Branford will never wed you!  Never!”
    “Silence!” Greysen screamed down at me.  He leaned close to my face, and I could hear Whitney’s taunts from behind him as he started to lead me to a doorway on the opposite side of the room.
    “Feel free to use her!” she called out with a laugh.  “If you do your job well, you can all have her for a short while after the child is born!”
    Greysen tightened his grip on my arm, and two other guards followed as he dragged me down a dark, stone staircase.  It was dank, and the scent of mold and mustiness burned at my nose as I was shoved further down the stairs.  My legs and arms ached, but I forced myself to remain upright so I could wrap my free arm around my belly.
    The stairway opened up into a long hallway with many doors on either side.  I knew by the small, barred windows in each door that we had entered the dungeons of some castle though I knew not where.  If Whitney was about to return to Hadebrand, that was obviously not where I was though it had been my original assumption.
    Near the middle of the hallway, Greysen stopped and pulled open one of the doors.  Without any preamble, he shoved me inside.  There was little there.  A bare dirt floor, a pile of old straw, a rusted chamber pot, and some shackles against the wall made up the entire small, windowless room.
    As soon as I looked inside, I knew I was going to die here.
    I was very much aware of the large man behind me as he forcefully ushered me inside.  The other two guards who had followed us down into the recesses of this castle were close behind him.  As I looked back over my shoulder, I was reminded of how I had found Janet in the horse stall.  Even though I now knew that exact image was a false one, it did not stop dread from freezing my body.  The guard in the back looked down at me with a lustful glare as he smirked and poked at his companion.
    “Shall we have a little fun before we go?”
    The second guard laughed and rubbed his hands together.
    “What, with this thing?” Greysen sneered as he shook me a little.  “All bloated and ugly?  I would sooner pass my time with a pig!”
    They all laughed, and he shoved me by my shoulder further back into the cell though he still held my arm so I only barely stumbled. He brought his hand up and pushed at the center of my chest, which caused me to misstep.  Strangely though, he did not let me fall as I thought he would have but quickly leaned forward with his hand at the small of my back, depositing me on the straw in the corner.
    “I do not care if they do call her ‘Queen’ in Silverhelm,” he said.  “I am young, strong, and desired by true nobles.  I would not waste my time on this disgusting commoner in the morning or the night!”
    The other two laughed at his joke.  Despite his insults, I could only feel relief.
    “I would not have my