“Yes,” I whispered, no shame as I practically begged him. “Please.”
He rolled his eyes but gave me a pointed claw in the back as he nudged me towards the hall behind the dais. He gave a wry grin to his men, raising his voice enough to make my previous headache seem like nothing.
“She is eager to begin creating the next generation!” The men cheered, roaring their approval loudly at this idea. I froze, terror squeezing my heart until I couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t possibly mean what I thought he did, did he? I WAS NOT A BREEDER! My headache throbbed in time with my heavy footsteps over the stone path. We made it into the tunnel before my body and nerves joined forces against me. I wavered on the path and grabbed onto his wrist in desperation. He shot me an annoyed look that turned worried as my eyes rolled back into my head.
“Wren?”
I threw up bile all over his boots, losing my battle with consciousness.
I woke up not in my bed, but on one of the lounge chairs in my sitting room. Benedict sat across from me, swirling a cup carefully as he watched me through hooded eyes.
“More concussed than I realized.”
I tried to sit up, then fell back down as a wave of nausea overtook me. He shoved a porcelain basin at me and I dry-heaved into it, since there was nothing in my stomach to come up. I hadn’t eaten since my meager breakfast at the breeding house, which had been a slice of bread and a bite of an apple.
“What; you couldn’t sniff it on me?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Drink this; it will heal your concussion.”
I didn’t know what a concussion was, but I’d drink anything to make it go away, even if it was offered by him. It was becoming a habit, taking strange drinks from him. I took the cup from his hands and threw it back as quickly as I could. It tasted the same as the vial in the entrance chamber, except for one difference. This one was hot and slid down my throat much easier. I made a face, but already the pounding of my head and its accompanying nausea were fading. Benedict stood over me and gave another tentative sniff.
“Stop that!” I batted him away, but he caught my wrist in his hands.
“It’s how we determine if someone is injured. You can cease your female dramatics.”
Female dramatics? My hands balled into fists, but I managed a deranged grin.
“Where’s my knife?”
He twitched away what may have been an inappropriate grin.
“That’s more like it. You will need to be surer of yourself around the other drakens.”
He gestured at the ridiculous spread of food in front of us. “Eat.”
The food looked rich and creamy, and much too heavy for my starved stomach. If I ate any of that, it was likely to come right back up. Benedict caught my wary expression, and his face hardened.
“If it is not good enough for you, then leave it.”
I had no idea what to do with his anger, so I just looked away. He growled and stomped to the wall that held the passageway.
“Wait!”
He tensed, pausing in the passageway.
“You told your men that you would…that we’d…” I trailed off, flushing in embarrassment. I had to know; I couldn’t wait all night, terrified he would return to finish the job, to force me into something I’d had nightmares about since I was young enough to understand what went on in the upstairs rooms of the breeding house. I felt his gaze scrutinize me from head to toe, and I forced myself to glare back. In one burst of motion, he ripped the traveling cloak from my shoulders, his eyes traveling up and down my body. I tried to cover myself, but nothing could shield me from the coldness in his eyes.
“The draken Games begin tomorrow. In exchange for a carefree life here, you will serve as their prize, and you will do so without complaint. Seven days for seven drakens, each will win the right to your bed and coveted place on my Court. My only advice is to remember that they are not allowed to touch you without your permission. They are to win you over. As for me…”
The look of disdain on his face made me flinch.
“I won’t touch you while you look like that.”
Benedict left, and tears of shame leaked from the corners of my eyes. I tugged uselessly on a curl of my frizzy, brown hair and vaguely wondered if I’d be better off back at the breeding manor. It was the same deal, wasn’t it? Sold to the highest bidder, forced to lay with men… at least he said I had a choice, but I really didn’t, did I? It was just a different kind of slavery.
I shook my head. Benedict was cruel and spiteful, but he hadn’t hurt me yet. Or at least, he hadn’t meant to bash me against the wall. That was more than I could say about Crullfed, or the brutes they brought in to impregnate the women. Here, I at least had luxurious quarters, some sort of standing amongst the men, and more food than my stomach could cope with. If all I had to do was put up with Benedict’s prickliness and these...draken games, then surely it was a fair price to pay, wasn’t it? I entered my private bedroom and crawled under the massive silk covers, not even bothering to change.
FOUR
I awoke the next morning to a frantic pounding on my bedroom door. I shot up, confused at the gauze hanging around the bed and silk sheets wrapped around my body. The events of the previous day set in, and I took a deep breath. Today was the beginning of the rest of my life.
“Breakfast is ready, and then I need to
