The Queen's Consorts (12 page)

Sari didn’t like Laysa, and it was more than the power she held. Sari had a gift for spying evil intentions. It had helped her survive on her own since she was very little, but right now she was forced to push down her instinct, which wanted to resist listening to this woman.

She walked to Laysa, her head bowed, letting her hair cover her body, because she got the distinct impression Laysa considered herself the most beautiful woman in the room. Well practiced at being subservient, Sari allowed her Order training to guide her as she stopped in front of Laysa, letting herself
be
silently inspected.

“Are you timid?” Laysa asked, sounding amused.

“When it’s required,” Sari offered, keeping her voice soft on purpose.

“Perhaps a friend for Kayla.”
Laysa placed a finger under Sari’s chin, forcing her to lift her head. Sari met her gaze, watching it narrow as she studied her face. “You have very pretty eyes, young one.”

“Thank you.” Sari allowed a blush to creep up her cheeks, forcing her mind to a place that kept her endearing rather than recoiling in disgust.

“How old are you?”

It sounded more like an accusation than a question and rather than go into a long-drawn-out explanation about why her age was a mystery, Sari simply guessed. “Nineteen.”

“Ah.” Laysa’s eyes were still narrowed, though some of the tension fell out of her shoulders. “I heard you were attended to by the consorts. Did you enjoy them?”

“I enjoyed being healed,” Sari said, keeping eye contact and making her voice neutral. “I was gravely injured, and they helped bring me back to health. Then they helped make arrangements for my apartments and attendants to be assigned to me. I’m very grateful.”

“Never be grateful,” Laysa countered, gripping Sari’s cheek roughly. “They are servants. Treat them as if they are special, and they’ll get cocky.”

“I apologize.” Sari felt the roll of fury bubble in her stomach, and she couldn’t help but add, “I thought they were companions for the queen, blessed by the gods as the ones who complete our great mother’s soul and guard her for our people.”

“You were misinformed.” Laysa’s voice was suddenly icy. “That is a myth. They are simply males who smell sweet and are deemed by the gods to do what they’re told. Their obedience serves all Rayian females, not just the great mother. Did you not enjoy their gifts during your time with them?”

“No, I wasn’t interested in them for pleasurable purposes,” Sari said rather than
play
coy or avoid the question. Lying was one of her more tightly honed skills, and she didn’t even falter as she faced down Laysa’s suspicious gaze. “I was forced into sexual slavery at a young age. My service at the Order of the Seven Swords has soured my cravings for sex.”

Knowing that bit of information would be
shocking,
Sari wasn’t surprised when everyone gasped. She was secretly proud of herself, knowing the best lies were the ones closest to the truth. This revelation was scandalous enough to eliminate whatever threat Laysa felt from Sari.

“Enslaving a sister is a crime punishable by torture and death. Our bodies are blessed by the gods.” Laysa’s tan features showed genuine shock. “How dare
they
!”

“I didn’t know I was a sister,” Sari reminded her. “And obviously neither did
they
. Very few commoners have laid eyes on Rayians. They have no idea what distinguishes us from others. I served there for four cycles.”

“That’s a long time.” Laysa’s gaze ran over her again. She appeared to be in contemplation, curiosity and something darker making her seem almost excited by Sari’s secret as she asked, “What did you do for the Order?”

“I was a performer and specialist in female pleasure,” Sari offered, seeing the greed swirl in Laysa’s gaze. “I helped guide males on how best to pleasure a female. Most were public demonstrations, but for a big enough bag of gold they could purchase hands-on lessons.”

“Was the service in high demand?” Taris asked, stepping close to Laysa, the two of them crowding Sari.

“Oh yes,” Sari assured them, giving both women a knowing smile as she left out the parts about most of it being fake. “I made more for the Order in one night than all the service slaves combined. Learning how to please a female was more valuable than simple sex. Competition for female attention is fierce. Learning the pleasure secrets of the Order of the Seven Swords makes males far more appealing as potential mates. Even lifemates who were bonded often came to my performances, hoping to learn new ways to please the female they served.”

“Sit with me.” Laysa gestured to the attendants behind her. “I want the new one next to me for dinner. Kayla, sit to her right.” She turned back to Sari. “You’ll like her. Her presence is soothing. After all you’ve suffered, I’d like her to be your sister mentor. She’ll guide you through our traditions.”

“Thank you.” Sari gave Laysa a smile. “That’s very thoughtful of you.”

“Of course.”
Laysa was unconcerned with the discord at the table as everyone moved seats to meet her demands. “I’ll guide you as well, young one. I like to think of myself as a mother to all the sisters.”

Macro made a growl of disgust, and Sari glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. The look of horror on his face as Laysa made the claim to be a mother, perhaps the great mother, of their people was palpable. Sari was afraid he might say something and actually endanger himself.

“Thank you,” Sari said quickly, hoping to cut off Macro’s sputtering response. “I’m
very
honored to sit with you.”

“Lovely.” Laysa hooked her arm through Sari’s and guided her to the table and sat by her side. “I want to hear all about your adventures. You mustn’t spare any details. No need to be shy. We’re sisters. There is no shame here and no secrets.”

Sari was willing to believe shame was a concept few of the Rayian’s understood, but the secrets were tangible among these people, flying from every direction, and even she was having a hard time sorting them out.

“I’m happy we’ll be friends.” Kayla stood to Sari’s right, waiting as her seat was pulled out for her. The pretty redhead sat, taking a moment to arrange her skirt before she turned around to smile up at the attendant who helped seat her. “Thank you.”

“Kayla,” a woman next to her admonished, poking her in the ribs.
“You’ll teach the new one bad
habits
!”

“Gratitude and politeness is never bad
form
, Mother,” Kayla countered, arching a red eyebrow. “Lady Laysa knows my habits and obviously finds me a suitable companion.”

When her mother huffed, turning away from Kayla, Sari couldn’t help but smile in admiration. “I’m happy we’ll be friends as well.”

“You have sad stories, but the sadness doesn’t reach your eyes,” Kayla observed, looking at Sari with wide, blue eyes. “Why?”

“I’ve had time to come to terms with it,” Sari offered, finding her remark intriguing, because for the first time in her memory Sari was no longer bitter about her time at the Order of the Seven Swords. “Good and bad, my experiences made me who I am, and I like myself most days.”

Kayla smiled, making her dazzling. “I like myself too, despite others opinions of me. I think the gods meant for us to be friends. We understand each other.”

“I lead our people. The gods work through me.” Laysa made it obvious she had been listening to their conversation. “Don’t sound so surprised by it, Kayla.”

Kayla raised her eyebrows dubiously before she lowered her gaze, going back to playing with the golden utensils. To Sari’s surprise, a fork moved across the tablecloth on its own accord, sliding into Kayla’s hand. Sari gawked at the powerful display and would have opened her mouth to comment if the attendants hadn’t chosen then to place salads in front of everyone sitting at the table.

Then utensils were moving everywhere. All the women at the table drew a fork to them the same as Kayla had. Sari watched the spectacle, finding it was only the women who used this strange method for picking up a fork. The men did it the traditional way, and Sari got the distinct impression the trick was a status symbol, one she didn’t know how to do.

“Simply will it,” Kayla coaxed, obviously sensing Sari’s issue. “Think of it coming to you, and it has to obey. Tourillan gold is the gods’ gift to the great mother. It obeys her sisters.”

“Oh,” Sari mumbled, surprised by how deeply Kayla obviously believed that. Sari was as religious as the next Aurorian, but she didn’t believe the gods were making gold for anyone, even the great mother. She held open her hand, feeling ridiculous as she imagined the fork coming to her. She jumped when the fork flew at her with such velocity she ended up falling into Laysa as it soared past her shoulder. She turned around, finding the fork embedded in a chair behind them. She winced at the furious-looking woman. “Sorry.”

“Turn around,” Laysa growled at the unfortunate woman at the other table, who was leaning over to inspect her chair. “You’re being rude to our newest sister!”

“I apologize, Lady Laysa,” the woman said, turning back around, the fork still embedded in her chair.

“We all struggle with our powers when we first discover them,” Laysa explained when she directed her attention to the head table once more. “I had the same problem when I was young. My power was so strong I was a hazard.”

“That was a commanding display,” Kayla countered, giving Sari an awed look. “It took me weeks to move smaller pieces of gold.”

“Yes, but everyone knows you’re defective, Kayla,” Laysa snapped, her good humor gone.

“Being defective doesn’t affect my gifts as a sister,” Kayla reminded her, looking undisturbed by the label. “I’ve never seen that happen. She made that fork a weapon. That’s a unique gift.”

“Just hush up and eat.” Laysa cast a glare at the pretty redhead. “One of these days you’ll learn your place.”

Kayla shrugged, pushing at her salad and seeming unapologetic as she said, “All I do is
speak
my truth.”

“Defective.” Laysa leaned into Sari, saying, “Just pick up your silverware. I’ll help you hone your gifts later.”

Dinner was silent after that, though Sari felt eyes on her as one small plate after another was placed in front of her. Instead of a large plate of food, it seemed the meal consisted of samplings of a variety of fares, mostly fresh fruits and vegetables, but there were a few pieces of meat offered. Once Sari saw the rhythm, she started eating less, taking just a few bites of each, despite the days of her youth spent fighting for food that demanded she eat all that was available.

When the last of the plates were cleared, Laysa turned to one of the attendants and said, “I’d like the fruit soaked in my personal store of wine brought to the table to celebrate our new sister returning home. The kitchen had it premade for the special occasion.”

Sari wasn’t thrilled with the idea of consuming alcohol in any form around these people, but she didn’t see an escape when large bowls of fruit floating in a vibrant green liquid were set in front of everyone at the table. Sari looked to other tables, finding that their table was the only one being served the unique dessert.

“Why is it green?” Sari asked Kayla, resisting the urge to poke at the fruit floating in the green mixture with distaste. “It’s an unusual color for wine.
Very unusual.”

“I’ve never had this before.” Kayla also eyed the bowl in front of her warily. She did what Sari refused, reaching down to poke at one of the pieces of floating fruit, making tiny bubbles spring up. “I tend to agree with your observation about the color, and it’s effervescent. Odd.”

“It’s fermented, you silly chits.” Laysa picked up a piece of fruit out of her bowl, making a show of biting it, then sucking on her fingers with exaggerated flare. Then she closed her eyes heavily, taking a deep breath as if savoring the aftertaste. “Gods, but it is divine.”

Laysa’s enjoyment of the fruit was genuine; anyone with eyes could see that. Sari turned to Kayla, who shrugged, seeming to decide if Laysa was willing to eat her own poison, it couldn’t be that bad. Sari watched the redhead reach into the bowl with dainty fingers, fishing out a small piece of fruit and then taking a tentative bite. Red eyebrows rose, and she turned to Sari in surprise. “It really is quite divine.”

Still skeptical, Sari looked around the table, seeing everyone enjoy their fruit, including Macro and Haven across from them. Though the dish looked new to them as well, they appeared to be relishing it, gluttonous pleasure replacing their typically stern, soldier-like expressions.

Sari reached into the bowl, fishing for her own piece of fruit, finding one she didn’t recognize that had likely been yellow or white when picked, but now was dyed vibrant green from the wine. Sari popped the whole piece in her mouth, knowing eyes were on her and feeling like this was a test of her trust in Laysa.

Sari sucked in a breath when the flavor hit her tongue. Both tart and sweet, it was like edible happiness and what Sari imagined sunshine would taste like if it had a flavor.

“Oh.” She gasped, closing her eyes as Laysa had because she felt the need to savor the indulgence for as long as possible.

“I find myself wishing I saved more room.” Kayla sighed, voicing Sari’s thoughts out loud. “This fruit tastes like sex—it’s
that
incredible.”

Sari laughed, turning to look at Kayla in shock. “Have you ever tasted sex? This tastes
much
better, I assure you.”

“Equal, not better,” Kayla argued, speaking her truth once more as she turned to give a heavy-eyed stare to Haven and Macro across the table. Her gaze was absolute sin for someone purehearted, and her voice became husky as she eyed the two men. “If you think
it’s
better, you haven’t tasted the right males.”

“Disgusting,” Laysa hissed, making it obvious Kayla’s preference for a male’s taste was not the norm in Rayian society. “I’d never lower myself to take a man in my mouth. Let alone
taste
one.”

It wasn’t common even in ordinary Aurorian society for a woman to service males like that. It was only Sari’s work as a sex slave that made her different than most. Even still, she should be shocked, not just by sweet Kayla’s daring words, but with how Haven and Macro met Kayla’s gaze boldly, the three of them practically fucking each other with looks across the table. Instead of losing herself in someone else’s love triangle, Kayla’s words reminded Sari of lying on the floor with Taryen, his heavy body crushing the air out of her, his cum sticky and warm between their bodies. Sari remembered indulging herself, tasting him when usually the taste of men repulsed her. With Taryen, the flavor had been amazing on her tongue, a completely different experience than she was used to, and it had left her craving the taste directly from the source. She wanted to suck him, to feel his cock in her mouth and savor his cum hitting the back of her throat.