Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100363 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100363 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
“The wager is over,” I remind him. “Luthian said—”
“Luthian said that it would be more satisfying to wait. He taught me well and he’s never given me bad advice, so I plan to wait.” Cassan’s gaze rakes over my body. “For perhaps the first time ever, I am declining a truly delectable offer.”
He snaps his fingers and I’m fully clothed. I sit up, examining the sleeves of my black mourning gown.
“Please, don’t take it personally,” he goes on. “If it makes my rejection sting less, know that I nearly came in my breeches the moment I saw you lying here.”
I laugh in disbelief and sit up. “Luthian made you out to be some kind of—”
“Deranged sex monster?” Cassan chuckles, moves to sit on the bed, then thinks better of it. “Please, come downstairs before I prove him right.”
Cassan leads me to a small table nestled in an alcove. One of the globes of light follows us and hovers above our heads. He motions over the table and a teapot with two cups appears before us.
I reach to pour for him, but he waves my hand aside. “You are my guest. Allow me to serve you.”
“I am your queen, Your Majesty,” I say softly. “I live only to serve you.”
“Nonsense. You live to enjoy all the pleasures of my court. Including tea.” He fills my cup, then pushes it toward me. “And call me Cassan. You’ll find me a much less formal ruler than my father was. And less vindictive.”
I try to form a response, but his words are too kind, when I haven’t heard much kindness.
That’s not true. You had Kathras. For a whole night, you had Kathras.
I shake my head and force a smile as I stare down into my teacup. “Your father was—”
“I know what he did to you,” Cassan says. “I helped my brother cut up the cephalopire.”
“I—”
“When he told me what our father was doing to you… It wasn’t right. And maybe it wasn’t right to kill that creature when it was only feeding. When he was probably starving it. But Kathras was right when he said that as long as my father had access to it, he would use it to hurt you.” He reaches over and touches my hand. “I’m not going to hurt you, Cenere. I didn’t call you here tonight to fuck you or punish you. I called you here to tell you, in private, that you are safe now.”
The tension that has been steadily winding in me since the moment Luthian appeared in the graveyard bursts apart like a spring in an over-wound clock. There is no fighting the flood of emotions that burst from me, beginning with hysterical laughter and ending with chest-crushing sobs.
Cassan comes to my side and lifts me up, taking my chair and settling me in his lap. He soothes me, kisses my forehead, and rubs my back while I cry.
“You will never have cause to fear me, Cenere,” he promises. “Never.”
And yet, after all I’ve endured, his kindness might be the most frightening thing to face.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
The day of King Cassan’s birthday celebration arrives, and it is as splendid and lecherous as he meticulously plans it to be. After an indulgent breakfast of sweets and pastries, he takes us to my salon, which has been cleared of all its furnishings to make room for two large, gilt tables. Soft straps and fur-lined cuffs dangle from each corner, and a row of beautiful, bare-breasted faeries stand behind an assortment of instruments. Brushes, feathers, phalluses, vibrating stones like the one Luthian gifted to me, spread out like a carnal buffet.
“No matter how we beg,” Cassan instructs them, “do not let us come.”
“There is a spell that will prevent it,” I suggest to him. “Luthian must have used it on you before.”
“Alas, I don’t have Luthian’s powers. This will make endurance all the more important.” Cassan winks at me and unfastens the cuffs of his sleeves. To the faeries, he says, “You may begin.”
Four of the beauties step forward, smiling coquettishly. They are rainbow hued, two of them pink and purple like the mermaids I lay with before. The other two are green, with pointed ears and wings that mimic tattered leaves. Their eyes are pupilless, just two orbs of shining gold that unnerve me. One of them stands to the left of me, the other to the right, but they both lean in to claim my mouth with frilled tongues.
The faeries that have gone to Cassan giggle as they undress him. He holds his hands out wide while they tear playfully at his clothes.
The pink and purple faeries are much gentler with my garments. They work the buttons down the back of my gown and slowly peel down my bodice. They loosen the laces of my corset while the green faeries eagerly free my breasts, pressing their own against my exposed skin. They feel like silk, and their mouths taste of morning dew. My body responds eagerly, unaware of how long it will be denied release.