Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 85794 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 429(@200wpm)___ 343(@250wpm)___ 286(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85794 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 429(@200wpm)___ 343(@250wpm)___ 286(@300wpm)
“That’s how it’s always been here,” Be’ti’ta said with a sigh. “Why—is it different where you come from?”
“Well, we don’t—” Phoebe began but Be’ti’ta interrupted her with a glad little cry.
“Oh good, they’re passing out the Sparkler early!”
“The what?” Phoebe frowned as she watched the other girl crawl out from between Y’sfer’s legs and take something from the girl on the other side of her. It appeared to be a silver can, kind of like a soda can from Earth, only there were no markings on it. Be’ti’ta took one for herself and passed one to Phoebe, who frowned at it.
“What’s this?”
“Sparkler!” Be’ti’ta’s eyes were bright with excitement. “Here—I’ll show you how to open it.”
She took the can back again and did something to the top of it. Then she handed it back and Phoebe saw that a perfect circle had been punched in the top of it. She took a whiff of the contents and pulled back for a moment.
“Whew—that’s strong!”
“It only smells strong—the taste is actually really mild. Try it,” Be’ti’ta urged her, taking a swig from her own silver can.
Phoebe took a small sip and found that the other girl was right—the “Sparkler” had a sweet, tart, fruity taste that reminded her a little bit of a mimosa, though it didn’t taste particularly alcoholic. It also had a lot of bubbles, which she liked. She took a bigger sip and before she knew it, she had drunk half the can.
“This stuff is pretty good,” she remarked to Be’ti’ta.
“Oh, I know! We look forward to getting it every day.” Be’ti’ta took another swig from her own can. “It tastes so good and it really makes the nights so much more bearable.”
“What do you mean, ‘more bearable?’” Phoebe asked, frowning.
“Oh, you know. Sleeping with our Masters.” Be’ti’ta looked up through the round glass “table window” and made a face at Y’sfer. “You think it’s easy to put up having sex with him every night? Because it’s not—it’s a fucking nightmare!”
Phoebe was a little taken aback by the other girl’s unguarded words. Earlier, Be’ti’ta had seemed like the type who “wouldn’t say ‘shit’ if she had a mouthful of it,’” as her Granny liked to say. But now she was much more uninhibited. What was going on?
“Er…are you feeling okay?” she asked, frowning.
“Fine. Never better.” Be’ti’ta drank some more. “I won’t be if Y’sfer doesn’t get me pregnant with a son soon though,” she added morosely. “Of course being here in the palace is supposed to help with fertility issues—that’s why he brought me here. But so far it’s not working.”
Phoebe’s ears perked up.
“So…the rumor is that coming to the palace increases your fertility?”
“Oh, yes! Just breathing the air around here is supposed to make a female more fertile. Take a look around and see how many of the girls here are pregnant,” Be’ti’ta said.
Squinting in the darkness under the table, Phoebe looked down the long line of women sitting between their Masters’ thighs. She couldn’t see everyone but it was clear that a fair number of them were, indeed, pregnant.
“Wow,” she murmured. “I guess you’re right.”
“Of course I’m right!” Be’ti’ta said crossly. “But it’s not my fault I’m not pregnant yet. Maybe if his Lordship the Undersecretary could squirt more than a few drops at a time and he didn’t waste it all in my mouth, I’d already have a baby stretching my belly!”
Before she could go on, something thumped on the table hard enough to make all the silverware and glasses above rattle together. It sounded to Phoebe like someone had hit the table with a ham-sized fist.
“Oh, that’s Fuck—I mean, Thruck!” Be’ti’ta gave a little giggle and then hiccupped before taking another swig from her silver can. “He’s making his nightly announcement now.”
“What announcement?” Phoebe asked. But Thruck soon answered her question.
“Friends and fellow males, it appears that once again the Shining One has not deigned to grace us with his presence. We grieve, of course, for we love to see his Royal face, but since the Emperor is not here, let us begin our banquet.”
There was some polite clapping from the males sitting above them and Be’ti’ta rolled her eyes.
“See? That always happens! And then Fuck—I mean Thruck—gets to run things however he wants because the Emperor never shows up anymore.”
“Do you think there’s something wrong with him? The Emperor, I mean?”
Phoebe took another sip from her can. She really did like the fruity flavor, but she was beginning to feel slightly light-headed and loose—kind of like the way she’d felt that one time when her friend gave her an edible in college. Maybe she ought to slow down…
“Dunno if there’s anything wrong with him or not. I guess you could ask the servants—they’re the only ones that can get into his room since Fuck locked the main door.” She hiccupped again. “They just—”