Other people took up the chant and soon it had spread to the crowd of waiting nobles and royalty in the broad main hallway outside.
“Long live the Empress! Long live the Empress!”
“Come,” Kristoff said, bending down so I could hear him over the noise. “We need to get you to the Royal Chambers.” He looked at T’zorin. “You go ahead of us and make certain they’re all clear. And make damn sure no one and nothing goes in or out until we get there!”
“Yes, Captain!” T’zorin saluted and began weaving his way through the crowd.
Kristoff had me by the arm and was leading me out too. I tried to follow him but the moment I forgot and put weight on my hurt foot, a bolt of pain went through me, making me gasp and sink to the ground.
“Charlotte?” He looked back at me, his eyes filled with fear for me. It was that look on his face, more than anything else, that made me realize we were in a vulnerable and dangerous position. No wonder Kristoff wanted to get us out of here and back to the safety and privacy of the Royal Chambers. “Are you well? What happened?” he asked.
“I…my foot. She…Eucilla stomped on it when she was trying to get away. I don’t know but I think she might have broken it,” I said in a rush. The one good thing about the intense pain was that it drove the desire out—at least a little. So when he bent and scooped me up into his arms, I could feel his body against mine without moaning in need.
It was a good thing because everyone was watching us, including Morbain and Head Councilor Tannus, both of whom were staring daggers in my general direction. If I had started writhing in Kristoff’s arms or trying to kiss him—the way I badly wanted to do—we could have been in real trouble.
Poor Eucilla—who would have thought by breaking my foot she was doing me a favor?
And then we were in the middle of the mob, the honor guard surrounding us and barely clearing a path. It seemed that now I was officially the Goddess-Empress, everyone wanted a better look at me.
“Bow!” Kristoff roared, holding me tightly as he surged forward like a man fighting against a strong current. “Show the proper respect and bow before your new Empress, people of Femme One!”
Reluctantly, I thought, they began to do as he said. They probably would have bowed more readily to Eucilla—she had certainly looked the part more than me and everyone had expected her to win the deadly contest we’d just played together.
God, I couldn’t think of that now. Nor did I want to think of the pulsing desire that was growing inside me like a ball of energy threatening to explode and turn me into a shivering mass of mindless lust.
The feel of Kristoff’s hard body against my own, the spicy, warm scent of his skin, the way he carried me, so strong and sure…everything about him made me want him. Want him so badly I thought I would die if I couldn’t have him. And yet, somehow I held back, mindful of the many, many eyes that watched us as we went.
But God, what was happening to me? And how long could I stand this before I snapped?
Kristoff
“No, no—you’re fine. Just fine.” Dr. Churika snapped her medical case closed and stood up.
“What? How can you say that?” Charlotte’s voice was terse and angry. She’d objected to having Dr. Churika attend her—asking instead for the under-healer who had tried to help us with Eucilla at the Garden of Death.
I had explained, as patiently as I could, that the other healer had not been vetted yet or taken the Oath of Loyalty. Until I could look into her background and be sure of her completely, she wouldn’t be allowed to attend the Empress.
“I don’t care about any of that,” Charlotte had muttered. “She knew what she was doing—I could tell. And she wouldn’t be dismissive of me and…and what I’m going through right now.”
“And what are you going through?” I’d asked her, frowning. I had felt the surge of energy that went through her during the pronouncement of Investiture—everyone in the hall had. It had rippled outwards in waves—a great flow of divine power that proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that Charlotte was indeed the True Incarnation.
But there was something else too—the need I had seen in her eyes when I touched her—the desire I felt thrumming through her lovely body was both intense and immense. I knew it was there but I wanted to hear her say it—to know exactly what we were dealing with before we called the healer in.
“You know what it is,” Charlotte had said, looking up at me. “And you know what I need.”
To that, I had no answer—not one she wanted to hear, anyway. I could feel her yearning for me—it was matched by mine for hers. But we could never be together and there was no use in belaboring the point.
Just then, Dr. Churika had been announced and our conversation had been cut short. The healer had examined Charlotte with her usual brisk efficiency, given her an injection in the hurt foot—which was only badly bruised and not broken—and pronounced everything to be fine.
“I’m not fine,” Charlotte told her again, glaring up from the rich, golden brocade settee in the sitting room where I had deposited her when I finally got her back to the Royal Apartments.
“I assure you, your Majesty, that foot will feel as good as new in just a few minutes. The injection I gave you is a fast healing agent which will—”
“It’s not my foot I’m concerned about,” Charlotte said through gritted teeth.
Churika raised her brows. “And what is it that concerns your Majesty?” she asked dryly.
“It’s these feelings—this need—which you said would fade as the effects of my blood left Kristoff’s system.” She glanced at me and I looked calmly back, willing my face to remain neutral. I had felt her trembling in my arms as I carried her through the crowd back to the safety of the Royal Chambers. Her lust had licked at me like a flame, teasing me with what I could never have.
“Hmm…this is still an issue?” Dr. Churika frowned. “That’s most irregular.”
“Not only is it still an issue, it just got exponentially worse when I was confirmed, uh, I mean Invested as the True Incarnation,” Charlotte told her. “It hit me in this massive wave—I feel like I’m going to crawl out of my skin if I don’t get some…” Her eyes lingered on me, hungry and full of desire. “If I don’t get some relief.”
The healer saw where Charlotte’s eyes had wandered and her face took on a stony, disapproving expression.
“Well, it’s common knowledge that the Empress needs a Consort—you’re probably just longing for yours. I’ll recommend to the Council of Wisdom that the Ceremony of Culling be scheduled for tomorrow and you can choose a Royal Consort very soon.”
“No.” Charlotte’s voice was tense and angry. “I don’t want some stranger I’ve never met before! I don’t want anyone but—”
“You cannot always have what you want, child, even if you are the Empress,” Churika said sharply before Charlotte could speak my name. “As for the need you feel now, I’ll schedule a trip for you to the Royal House of Goddess Pleasures this very evening. Bathe and dress yourself and be ready to go.”
“But—” Charlotte began.
“Not another word,” the older female said sternly. “I will not hear blasphemy spoken in my presence, not even from the mouth of she who rules us all.”
“So it’s blasphemy to be with the one man in the whole universe I want?” Charlotte demanded. “If that’s the case, I don’t think much of your religion. And I don’t remember converting to it, either.”
“You converted when you were Invested as the True Incarnation,” Churika snapped. “Kindly remember that you are the Goddess-Empress and act like it, instead of a spoiled brat throwing a tantrum because she cannot get her way.”
Charlotte’s eyes got very wide and for a moment I thought she would shout or possibly even throw something at the older female’s head. She certainly looked angry enough to do either or both. But she simply took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, her gaze was every bit as steely as Dr.
Churika’s.
“Thank you for your medical opinion, Dr. Churika,” she said in a calm, level voice. “I will certainly take it into consideration.”
Churika blinked, looking surprised.
“Very well, your Majesty,” she said shortly. “I’ll see to the details of your visit to the House of Goddess Pleasures.”
“Do that.” Charlotte nodded. “Now I’d like some time to myself. It’s been quite a day and I need to recuperate.”
“Of course.” The other female was still looking at her warily, as though she wasn’t sure what Charlotte might do next. I wasn’t sure myself. I could still feel the need surging inside her, as well as the simmering anger she felt against Dr. Churika—who really had overstepped her boundaries just now. But there was something else in her—a seed of doubt had been planted. I wished I knew why.
For a moment we all just stood there and then Charlotte nodded at the healer.
“You’re dismissed.”
Churika looked like she wanted to say something else but she didn’t quite dare. At last she simply gave Charlotte an abbreviated bow and left.
“My Lady?” I said, going to sit beside her on the gold brocade settee. She looked weary and worried and so lovely it made my heart ache.
“Kristoff,” she said in a low voice. “Do you think I’m acting like a spoiled brat? Like Eucilla was?”
“No, my Lady,” I murmured. I took her bare feet onto my lap and began to rub the injured one very, very gently. Her bones were so delicate that her foot was barely as long as my hand, from fingers to palm.
“I hope not,” she said in a low voice. “And I know that I’m responsible for an awful lot of people now.” She put her face in her hands. “I made a pretty bad start of it, didn’t I? I already lost one.”
“Eucilla died because of her own foolishness—not through any fault or failing of yours,” I told her, my heart aching for her grief and sorrow.
“I should have been able to save her,” she said in a muffled voice. “I hate losing a patient.”
“She wasn’t your patient. She was your rival and an imposter to the throne,” I reminded her.
“She didn’t know that.” She pulled her hands away from her face. “That bastard Morbain—I saw it when I touched her, you know. The way he filled her head with lies and dreams and swore she would be the Empress when she grew up and came of age. Eucilla was just a spoiled little girl and he poisoned her mind, Kristoff! He made her so sure of being something she wasn’t that she died for it.” She shook her head. “I can’t forgive that or forget that.”
“Then remember it,” I said gently. “But don’t take her death on yourself, my Lady. You don’t deserve that guilt.”
“Thank you.” She sighed and lifted her chin. “I try to remind myself of that but it’s always hard when you lose a patient—and she was my patient, even if it was only for five minutes. So don’t say she wasn’t.”
I nodded gravely, acknowledging her statement, though I didn’t really agree with it. Still, it was like Charlotte to think in such a manner. I had never met anyone with so much personal integrity, such fierce courage and loyalty…and such loveliness.
My heart swelled and I had to look away and concentrate on rubbing her hurt foot again. My old mistress had spoken truly when she said that when I found her successor I would find her worthy of the love and devotion I had shown to her. Sundalla the 999th would have liked Charlotte. She was so like my old mistress and yet she was also her own person, strong and stubborn and wholly worthy of admiration and service.
I only wished I could serve her in the way she wanted me to. In the way that she needed so desperately. Even now, when I was only touching her feet, I could feel the electric tension between us. It made me want to take her in my arms and worship her with my body, not just my heart.
“So,” Charlotte said, her tone deliberately light. “Tell me about this, uh, House of Goddess Pleasures. What is it and how in the world is it supposed to help me with my, um, my problem?”
“It is a place where unmated females can go to get their needs met and unmated males can worship them.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Worship how exactly?”
I explained the process and her eyes went wide.
“What? Kristoff, I can’t do that.”
I frowned. “I am afraid you have no choice. Dr. Churika is still the Royal Healer. If she has prescribed a course of treatment for you, you’ll have to go through with it.”
“Well, I…I want a second opinion,” she sputtered, clearly upset. “I want…I need…”
“What you need, Charlotte, is someone to take care of you,” I interrupted in a low voice. “You won’t get through the Culling Ceremony otherwise. You need to be calm and collected tomorrow—not ‘ready to crawl out of your skin’ as you put it.”
She reached out tentatively to cup my cheek in her hand.
“I like when you call me by my first name,” she said softly. “I mean, ‘my Lady’ is nice too, even if it does sound kind of Renaissance-y. But when you call me by name it’s more…intimate somehow.” She blushed as she spoke the words but she didn’t drop her eyes or take her hand from my cheek.
“My Lady,” I said again, deliberately using the honorific. “Please don’t change the subject. I happen to agree with Dr. Churika on this particular point—you need a deep release and the House of Goddess Pleasures is the best place to get you one.”
She bit her lip. “But…I don’t want to let some stranger do that to me!”
I turned my face into her hand and placed a gentle kiss on her palm, my heart drumming beneath my ribs. Gods, how I wanted her!
“I don’t want anyone else touching you either,” I admitted in a low voice. In fact, the thought made me sick inside. “But I swear to you, my Lady, I will make certain of your safety. I will not let you be hurt,” I told her fiercely.
“You will?” She looked at me pleadingly. “I mean I’m sure you will. But do I really have to go through with this”
“Charlotte,” I said softly. “You need this release.”
“All right.” She dropped her eyes. “I…I guess I’ll try. I just don’t know if I can go through with it.”
“When your need grows great enough, you will be willing,” I assured her, thinking of some of the stories I had heard of Empresses past.
When their needing was on them, their lust could be truly legendary which was one reason it was so important that the Consort be a fit male who had a drive to match the Empress’s own. It was one of the criteria the Council of Wisdom considered when choosing candidates from the Royal males available.
Charlotte sighed. “I guess I’ll just have to take your word for that.”
“Come,” I told her. “Let us get you fed and bathed and prepared for tonight.”
Chapter Twenty-five
Charlotte
“I can’t believe I’m actually going to do this,” I muttered to myself as the golden carriage made its way through the crowded halls of the palace, which was so large there were actually roads inside to get from one area to another. It really was like a self contained city with a market district, several theaters, numerous restaurants, beauty salons, and everything else you could think of.
So far we had been staying in the section which was reserved for the Royals—the Royal Sector it was called—and it was where the Empress and the Council of Wisdom made their homes and ruled from. But now we were going to an area outside that sector—to the House of Goddess Pleasures.
I had been piecing together more information about the place we were going and what I found out surprised me. It was, as Kristoff had told me, an establishment where unwed Majoran females could seek sexual pleasure without any shame, blame, or social repercussions.
But it wasn’t some kind of a whore house staffed by gigolos. Rather, the Majorans considered it a kind of temple—a place that was sacred to the Goddess and to the goddess-hood of all females everywhere. Because of that, it was staffed by
unmarried Majoran males who had to pay dues in order to serve there. They were specially trained by the priests who ran and oversaw the place in the arts of pleasuring a female in various ways and they were always, Kristoff stressed, extremely respectful.
I tried to imagine something like that working on Earth and just couldn’t see it. There were still too many places on my home world where women were objectified or treated like chattel to be bought and sold. There was still too much sexual shaming going on. But in the Majoran society it was believed that every woman had a little spark of the Goddess within her and they were worshipped by their males because of it.
Not to say there weren’t some males who disapproved of the situation or disliked it—I was pretty sure Prince Morbain and the Head Councilor of the Council of Wisdom were living proof of that. But most Majoran males seemed to dote on their females and treated them as if they were more precious than gold.
The way Kristoff treated me.
I tried not to think about that. Tried not to think about the fact that tomorrow, during the Culling Ceremony, I would give my blood to at least three candidates—none of whom I had ever seen before—and all picked for me by the Council of Wisdom. Out of those candidates, supposedly I would feel drawn to only one and he would become my Royal Consort.
Right now I couldn’t imagine being drawn to anyone but the man sitting beside me, scanning the crowds outside the carriage’s opaque glass windows, ever protective and always on the alert for anything or anyone who might pose a threat to me. I realized what I was doing was the equivalent of falling in love with your bodyguard but why was that so bad? Especially when he was so strong, and brave, and handsome, and muscular…
Stop it, Charlotte, I lectured myself. You can’t have him and you know it. For some reason it’s supposed to be some kind of a sin or sacrilege and no matter how stupid that seems, you’re supposed to be ruling these people now. You can’t start your reign by disrespecting their religion and throwing their customs in their faces.
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