Page 87 of Born for Silk
“Shark is beautiful,” Medan says.
Bled lays his beasts on the pile with the others. “Beg to differ. It’s the texture for me.”
Sitting on a hacked tree trunk, I lean forward, my elbows meeting my knees. I look between them. “Speaking of sharks, we may have a low supply for The Cradle until the Half-tower is settled. Cairo left this first-light. I’m certain, he will have it suitably organised within a few months. Man has a way with fucking words.”
“I leave tomorrow as well,” Medan states.
“And I,” Bled adds. “Back to my Hall.”
Turin Two laughs. “Orgies. We know.”
“As much as I enjoy dipping my fingers into a bit of vanilla cake,” Bled says, “it’s the tart that really does it for me.”
“The Common House Girl.” Turin laughs.
“If I remember correctly.” Bled raises a brow. “You quite enjoyed my group activities the last time you visited the Lower-tower.”
“I enjoy a great many things,” Turin Two muses, emptying the cat’s innards onto the grass. His arms are painted with guts as he rubs the bloody organs with poison, kneading the scentless flakes into the meat. He will leave the corpse in the clearing and kill a few more that turn cannibalistic.
Bled looks past me across the open grass. “They like it when you join them. It motivates them.”
I gaze over my shoulder to see The Trade Hunters, fifty feet away or so, in a circle, comparing their kills—they’ll hit the markets in first-light, fresh steaks for The Estate’s residents.
I nod at one; he bows.
Turning back, I stand, adjust the cats on my shoulders, fleshy stomachs warming my neck, and walk away, calling out, “If I don’t see you in the first-light, I will welcome you back next month. Congratulations on securing your legacy, my lords.”
Medan says, “And you, Sire.”
Chapter Sixteen
Aster
I rub my upper arm; my vitamin shot this first-light seems to ache while between my legs, my pussy throbs. I am swollen there, but it is proof of everything we shared last night.
The pain is sweet.
Smiling, I regard the perfect temperature in the courtyard as a gift while my black hair tickles my neck and sways around my back.
With a book each to enjoy, we sit on the lush grass. Tiny white flowers wiggle up between the blades. Our circle has a bite in the loop where Ana would have been sitting if she were well today. She is nauseated; we are told that resting in bed is best for the pregnancy.
I’m sure that is true.
She is not actually mourning.
This isn’t about Lord Darwin.
My heart hurts for her.
“The shot changes. The dose, the ingredients, it can sometimes ache,” Daisy offers, her eyes following my hand as I massage my shoulder.
I look to the right, seeing she has put her book down on her lap. “Not just vitamins?” I ask.
“Anything that will support our Meaningful Purpose,” Iris states, eyes glaring at me over the butterflied novel covering her face, measuring me up and down as though she can sense the discomfort between my thighs.
I stare back, deadpan. My eyes scream the fiery words: ‘I will be birthing an heir. Your worst nightmare has come to fruition— a Fur-born girl with no Xin Den genes is the king’s chosen Silk Girl.’
I smile, sigh the words from my mind, and decide to ignore her scrutiny.