She was not thinking in terms of the natural order. She was contemplating killing herself in the hope that it would remove Arrek and Bastian from the council.”
Kael frowned. “But … that was months ago! So long as that?”
Camryn frowned, as well. “The troubles had already begun, then. Arrek had had the breeders arrested and thrown into the dungeons and the people were in riot searching for them, demanding their return. She was distressed that we had been charged with treason before that. It must have begun to seem to her that there would be no end of the violence and the arguments. I think then, though, she was only thinking about ending her own life and mayhap she did not go through with it because we would not promise her that we would not go with her. She believed then that removing our fathers would end the problems, though, and that if she could convince us to remain that we would make things better, that we would change things. We would then have the power to change things.”
“What do you think that she expected us to change?”
Camryn shrugged. “I do not know. Mayhap, she only wanted to see to it that we got what we wanted—Simone. It seems clear, though—if we can rely upon what Simone said—that it was the prospect of becoming a breeder again that drove her … to do what she did.”
“You are certain that Simone did not give Lielani her own motives? She has fought against being a breeder from the first. Lielani was a breeder and a drak woman.
She was very traditional. I cannot imagine her suddenly refusing to do her duty when she has never even complained to my knowledge. Unless she feared that death would be the result because of her age?”
“She was gentle and timid,” Camryn said thoughtfully. “Mayhap you are right.
She did not think that her health was good enough and she was shamed that she might fail her people. Or mayhap that was part of it. That still does not explain why she would decide to take Arrek and Bastian with her, unless …. Shinku has long been a part of our customs. Mayhap she thought that Arrek and Bastian did not love her enough to commit ritual suicide and follow her and that is why she took them with her?”
“That does not make sense!” Kael snapped. “Shinku is supposed to be the final act of love and devotion to one’s concubine! It is a choice! She murdered them. That was not shinku!”
“No, and she knew it was not! I am saying that, mayhap, she felt they did not love her enough and thought they would shame her memory! She did not want or expect it of us because she knew that it was equally important that their heirs take their seats on the council, perhaps even because she did not love us as she did them. I cannot understand the workings of a woman’s mind! I am a man!”
Silence fell between them for a while.
“Do you think that Simone is responsible in any way?” Kael asked finally.
“She admitted that she struck Arrek,” Camryn said pointedly. “Beyond that, I could not say, and I see no reason to pursue it. He was dead already. It is clear he drank the poison. She saw him trying to strangle Lielani and tried to prevent it. I believe that and because I believe that I do not want to discuss it further—or hear of it again.”
“I am more likely to applaud her bravery than to hold it against her,” Kael said wryly, “but you are right. Others would only see it as proof that she was capable of things no woman should be capable of and I would not like her condemned for a trait that I admire in her. I was suggesting that she has been staying with Lielani months now.
Mayhap she influenced Lielani’s gentle, forgiving nature and infected her with her own beliefs. That could be dangerous.”
“And it could be something that is already done and cannot be undone. It is our own fault that we were so arrogant that we believed we could wipe out their beliefs and replace them with our own. If they have instead infected our people with their beliefs, then it is because our people wanted to accept. Our generation was already looking to change the old ways because they have failed us. We must change to have a future. I think there are many who still refuse to see that, but there are more who realize that we have come to the end of the old ways and will die out if we do not change and they believed that before we brought the Earth women among us. I will not blame her for that either. If the old ways do not work, then we must have new ideas and figure out what changes will give us the future we want.”
He got up and stretched. “I am weary enough to drop and there is much still to do. Go to bed—check first to see if they have brought Ean and send word to me if he is worse. Otherwise, I intend to try to get some rest in the hope that I will be able to think a little more clearly tomorrow. I had not expected to be called upon to take my father’s place for many, many years. I am not prepared. I will have to learn my way.”
“Gods! I had not really thought of that!” He glanced toward the bed, hesitated, and then left.
Camryn went in to shower. Simone lay tensely, waiting, wondering if she could accept that she really wasn’t going to be blamed and find herself facing serious charges.
She hadn’t been able to dismiss the fears when Camryn came out again, but it soothed her when he climbed into the bed beside her, curled his arm around her, and relaxed.
He wouldn’t hold her like that if he meant to order her head chopped off, would he? Then again, she wouldn’t have thought that Arrek could have been so tender with Lielani and tried to choke her to death. Of course, he had felt betrayed ….
* * * *
Simone didn’t think she completely relaxed after the murders. She was almost positive that Camryn didn’t know that she’d developed a working understanding of their language and therefore couldn’t have said what he had for her benefit. It was the ‘almost’ that was the problem, that made her worry he hadn’t decided not to pursue it, but had, maybe, said it to set some sort of trap for her. Overall, she thought he’d been a kind and considerate lover, but that didn’t mean she was safe, not if he felt that she’d betrayed him. In point of fact, people were prone to behave more violently toward those closest to them who turned on them. It added insult to injury. No one expected a stranger or an enemy to have any loyalty. If he thought she’d stabbed him in the back when he’d given her trust … she didn’t even want to think what he might do to her.
She wished she hadn’t confessed to braining Arrek. It wasn’t something Camryn or Kael were likely to forget even if Camryn didn’t allow her to be charged for it, or charge her himself. At the very least, it fixed it firmly in their minds that she was fully capable of violence and that wasn’t a good thing.
Assuming, of course, she’d left room for doubt when she’d fired at his father before and told him how dearly she would’ve loved to have blown his head off.
One of the first acts of the new council was to release the breeders. Some of them were returned to the barracks to wait out the remainder of their term. Some, like her, were released to the custody of their babies’ fathers.
As soon as she was sure she wouldn’t get into trouble for it, she went to find Ean and check on him. She was disturbed by his condition. He seemed horrified by hers.
“By the gods! Are you being fed at all? You have shrank until you are all belly!”
That was flattering! “Lielani was afraid to ask for more food. She thought it would be noticed and they’d find me. We had to split what she had.”
She was sorry she’d brought Lielani up. Ean’s face closed. “I cannot grasp that she is gone,” he muttered after a bit.
Simone could relate. She was having a hard time with it and she hadn’t even known Lielani that long. She reached impulsively for his hand, bringing it to her cheek.
“I so terribly sorry for your loss. I know you loved her.”
For a moment, she thought he would throw off the offer of comfort. Instead, although he seemed a little startled at first, he tightened his hand on hers and pulled her to him. He uttered a hiss of pain when he’d drawn her close enough to burrow his face against her breasts, but his arms tightened around her waist when she tri
ed to move away.
She settled as comfortably as she could, stroking his head soothingly, taking care not to touch his back.
It made her belly clench when she saw the bandages and the dark stains where blood had seeped through. She couldn’t believe they had such barbaric practices! It was worse that his own father had ordered it, not commendable as the bastard had seemed to think. He sure as hell hadn’t put himself out that she could see to ‘play favorites’. In fact, it seemed to her that he was more inclined to treat his sons with less compassion that anyone else.
She felt Ean stir. He hand moved to the mound of her stomach. “They are kicking me,” he said, amusement threading his voice. “I do not think they approve.”
Simone felt her heart flutter. She’d felt both joy and deep depression when she’d first felt them move, love and fear. Camryn had promised to give her as much time with them as their customs allowed, but she thought that was only going to make it harder to let go. Beyond that, with everything that had happened and his suspicions, could she count on a promise that had been made before?
She couldn’t help but be gratified that Ean had acknowledged them, though. “I think you’re just crowding them a little. They kick and punch a lot harder when they’re angry.”
He lifted his head to look at her a little doubtfully. “You can tell that?”
“Not really. I’m guessing. It just seems like that must be it when they really get rambunctious. Maybe they’re playing together?”
He settled his palms on either side of her belly, as if he was measuring, frowning.
“How many months?”
Simone lifted her brows. “Until they’re done?” she asked teasingly.
“It’s hard to say,” she said when he nodded. “I guess the physician might know, but I haven’t been checked in a long time and … it’s been hard for me to keep up.”
He looked outraged. “You must be examined! You should have been in the care of a physician throughout! We cannot know if they are alright or if it is still permissible to fuck!”
Simone blinked at him in shock. “Ean!”
“I have not touched you in months! If you are past the time when it is permissible then I cannot and you will not be bred again for a year afterward and I cannot. My dick will fall off from disuse!”
She thought he’d said it with a mixture of teasing amusement and seriousness, but she wasn’t sure. “You’re not in any shape to fuck anyway,” she said pointedly.
“I am if my dick will stand up, woman!” he said tightly.
“I think I should go,” she said uneasily.
“I am bored out of my mind tied to this fucking bed! Stay.”
She was bored herself when she wasn’t being scared. She didn’t particularly want to return to the quarters she’d been assigned. She wasn’t actually certain she could find her apartment again if it came to that. She’d only been moved into it that morning by a servant and she’d left to find Ean almost as soon as he’d shown it to her.
She didn’t think it was a good idea to continue to sit on his bed, though, when he obviously had fucking in mind.
He tightened his hold the moment she tried to get up, however. “Lay with me.”
Bad idea! “It’ll only make you more uncomfortable.”
“You are not supposed to argue, you know,” he said testily.
“I thought that only applied to a concubine?”
“It applies to females! Did you listen to nothing that Akule taught?”
Simone settled beside him. He seemed irritated but not really angry. “I tuned out the parts I totally disagreed with.”
“Which parts?”
“Most of it.”
His lips twitched. She could see he was struggling to keep from smiling. “Lielani ….” He stopped abruptly, dropping his head to the pillow and covering his eyes with one forearm.
She swallowed a little convulsively, trying to ignore the little voice in her head that told her she was always going to be compared to Lielani and she was never going to stack up. Despite the twinge of hurt and jealousy, though, she felt his pain more and snuggled a little closer, trying to offer the comfort she thought he would allow. He moved his arm from beneath her head after a moment and curled it around her in welcome.
“Talk,” he commanded after a few moments.
“About what?”
He sighed. “I do not know. Something to take my thoughts from my mind.”
She searched her mind for any personal history she thought he might find amusing. Most of it, she was sure, didn’t really ‘translate’ because, despite the fact that he understood English well, he didn’t really understand the customs. He shifted down the bed after a little bit, very carefully pulled the opening of the arms of her gown toward the center of her chest, and exposed both of her breasts.
She’d wondered why they made the armholes so damned big!
“They are bigger,” he murmured after he’d studied them and lightly explored them with his hands.
“Because I’m pregnant. They won’t stay this way so don’t get your hopes up.”
He chuckled. “But I can enjoy them now,” he pointed out.
Chop to the ego! She thought her damned breasts were as big as Lielani’s had been, though. She didn’t know why he was complaining! Of course, she didn’t know that they’d been satisfied with Lielani’s breasts either.
He wasn’t content merely to stroke and massage them long. He lowered his head and took a nipple into his mouth. She let out a hissing breath and he released it to look at her. “That hurt?”
“They’re more tender now.”
It didn’t dissuade him, but he was more gentle when he covered the tip again.
Her sex clenched tightly at the gentle tugging, flooding with moisture. She didn’t particularly want to be aroused if she couldn’t do anything about it!
Almost as if he’d read her mind, he released the flesh he’d been torturing. “We can pleasure each other without penetration,” he murmured, moving to the twin of the first.
She wanted to protest, but it felt so good it was hard to muster a complaint. It had been a long time for her, too. She couldn’t decide if he was being so careful with her because he was worried about putting her in labor or just because, but it didn’t detract in any way from the heat he built inside her, didn’t slow it to a gentle building. He had her so hot in a few moments she thought he could finish her off with his finger.
Instead he turned around on the bed, pushed her gown up and pushed her thighs apart. Immediately, excitement and anticipation leapt through her. She nearly came the moment he plucked at her clit with his mouth. Eager to reciprocate, she struggled to reach his cock, finally grasped it in her hand, and brought it to her mouth. He shuddered, began to lap at her more hungrily. It drove her own hunger skyward. Within a matter of moments they were both pulling and sucking at each other so feverishly that they began to convulse with release almost at the same time.
Simone felt a momentary hesitation when his come shot to the back of her throat, but when she managed to swallow it, it only seemed to feed a deep hunger to have it all.
She sucked and pulled at him until the fountain ran dry and finally released him, panting for breath. They rolled apart, thoroughly spent.
And fell asleep.
It was a stir in the room that brought her from her stupor. Opening her eyes sleepily, she discovered that Camryn and Kael were standing by the bed, staring down at the two of them.
She couldn’t tell anything about their expressions, but both men were frowning.
“I see you are recovering,” Camryn said dryly.
“I did not penetrate her,” Ean said a little defensively. “I was not certain it was
still alright to fuck her.”
Camryn’s frown deepened with speculation. “I am not certain of that myself. We
will need to have the physician look at her.” He grinned abruptly. “She is ours,
however.”
> Ean’s eyes widened. “You convinced the council …?”
Kael grimaced. “We are the council—two members now, at any rate.”
Ean blinked in shock, sitting up as he considered that. “The others did not
oppose?”
“They did. We worked out a compromise, however.”
“What sort of compromise?” Ean asked uneasily.
“She is still breedable. They would not consider simply allowing us to take her as our concubine when that is the case and there are still not enough females. She is our concubine, but she will still be expected to breed for the others. It helped a great deal that the other concubines have agreed that they are willing to be bred with the new program.”
“Agreed?” Ean asked blankly. “The agreed to allow it?”
Camryn made a wry face. “They came before the High Council and informed us
that they were willing to do their duty to Macedon and breed … but only in the event that the High Council agreed to their terms.”
Ean was shocked and outraged and he didn’t try to hide it. “They made
demands?”
“Yes, demands. They said that they would only agree on the condition that their ‘sisters’ from Earth were protected from exploitation that would endanger them—overbreeding—
and also demanded that they be allowed to breed daughters of Macedon. That their daughters would be theirs to rear just as the sons are given to their fathers.”
“And the council agreed to that?”
Camryn shrugged. “They said that they were willing to take their lives and
destroy any chance that Macedon would ever have another full-blooded drak if we did not.”
“By the gods! They have all gone mad! Daughters? What of the warriors? All of them have not even had sons!”
“If this new process works, that will not be a problem,” Kael said, “particularly when they are able to produce for several at once … and assuming they are able, physically, to manage at least two more breedings.”
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