Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 99485 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99485 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
He was starting to get up as he spoke and I was about to follow when Lyrah spoke up.
“Before you go, there’s an item of business we need to discuss.”
“No, there’s not,” Slade said flatly. “I already spoke to my Sire about everything that needs doing. There’s nothing else that can’t wait until tomorrow. Now I’m going to bed with my wife!”
“It’s your wife we need to discuss,” Lyrah said and something about the tone of her voice chilled the blood in my veins.
“What the Hell are you talking about?” Slade demanded, frowning.
“I’m talking about these!” Lyrah nodded to one of her servants—it was the same maid who had been going through my things earlier, I saw. “Ulala—show them what you found!”
The maid stepped forward and held out something on a silver serving tray. At first I wasn’t sure what it was. But then I got a closer look and my stomach dropped—it was the baby-stopper pills! The little pink medicine container filled with bright green pills seemed to taunt me as the maid showed them all around the table.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Slade asked irritably. “What are those?”
“I’ll tell you what they are because I had one sent to a quick-lab for analysis during dinner. These are contraception—the herb valorus cutaneous to be precise,” Lyrah informed him. “They keep a fertilized egg from implanting so it doesn’t matter how many Deep Seedings you do, your new wife is never going to conceive your heir. At least, not while she’s taking these.”
“You’re lying,” Slade said flatly. “You’re trying to frame Aurora for something she didn’t do.” He turned to me. “You didn’t take those, did you?”
I sat there, silent and frozen. My tongue felt like it was stuck to the roof of my mouth and I couldn’t make a sound. I saw the look on Slade’s face change from disbelief to pleading.
“Baby, please answer me,” he said hoarsely. “Tell me you didn’t take those fucking pills! That’s a violation of our vows—it could end our Union!”
I wished that I could lie to him, I really did. But I couldn’t make the words come out of my mouth.
“I…I…my maid gave them to me,” I said at last. “I was frightened, Slade! I thought…thought if I didn’t get pregnant, I could go home sooner.”
His face went dark.
“So all you’ve wanted, all this time, was just to get away from me?”
“No!” I protested. “I mean, not for the last few days, at least. But you were so intense—you scared me. And I thought you were the enemy of my people. I thought—”
Slade raised one hand to stop me.
“Just so we’re clear, you did take them—correct?” His voice had suddenly gone cold and his eyes had narrowed. He was looking at me like I was some kind of loathsome bug he wanted to crush!
“Yes, but—” I began.
“That’s all I needed to know.”
Slade rose from the table, his communicator already in his hand. He turned away and began speaking into it, ignoring me when I tried again to explain.
“Rive? I need you here…” He walked away from the table, still talking and I was left to sit there with his entire family staring at me in silence.
His father’s expression was stony and Hrake was impassive. Jessina looked shocked but it was Lyrah whose face I wanted to bash in with a rock. She had a mocking, self-satisfied smile—a look of “I told you so!” that made me want to scream at her.
“This is all wrong,” I began, appealing to them. “I never meant to—”
“I think you’d better pack your things,” Slade’s father interrupted.
“Pack my things?” I began to feel even more panicked. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that I will not have an oath-breaker under my roof,” he growled. “Now please, go pack.”
“But…but I don’t…” I began. Then two servants were suddenly behind me, pulling out my chair and yanking me to my feet. I rose on wobbly legs as they began to drag me away from the dining table.
“Wait, please!” Jessina jumped up. “I’ll help her.”
Her father glowered at her.
“I don’t want you associating with an oath-breaker, Daughter.”
“It’ll only take a minute. Here.” Jessina shooed the servants away and took me by the arm. “Come on, let’s get you packed,” she said gently.
We walked in stunned silence down the hall. I couldn’t find any words until we were alone in the suite.
“I don’t understand this!” I exclaimed as Jessina brought me into the walk-in closet and began folding my clothes and putting them back in my luggage. “This is a mistake—I never meant to hurt Slade. I was just scared of getting pregnant.”
“I understand but nobody else is going to.” Jessina gave me a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry, Aurora, but I’m afraid your union with Slade is over.”
“What? Just like that?” I demanded. “But all I did was take a few pills! I didn’t even take one this morning because I changed my mind.”