by Zoey Ellis
“And if I wish to fall to my death from the top of the mountain?” I’mya said, trying her best to keep the sarcasm out of her voice and failing.
“I wasn’t being smart-mouthed when I said that,” Dayatha said. “Everything you see and learn here must remain confidential to the lair—any disclosure of information to the outside will require your death as payment, as does any breakage of our rules. That is why our application process is so stringent. We make sure whoever joins is prepared to stay and commit, to give up their old life. You were very convincing when we interviewed you.”
“Why did you think that?”
Dayatha shrugged. “You thoroughly believed that it was your purpose to be here.”
“And you interviewed me?”
“You wouldn’t have known you were being interviewed at the time, I’mya. You would have spoken to a series of different people without realizing they were us.”
I’mya raised her eyebrows. “So you saw me in my old life?”
“Yes.”
I’mya exhaled a breath in frustration. “Why don’t I remember this? It feels strange to know that other people remember things about me—what I’ve said and done—that I don’t.”
“I suspect that has something to do with magic,” Dayatha admitted. “We use magic to dull the senses when we bring new people here, so they don’t see exactly how to enter or exit.”
“Dull the senses?”
Dayatha nodded. “That is what you saw in the corridor when the other girls had no real sense of consciousness. You awakened earlier than the others, but since you can wield magic, I suspect your memory loss has something to do with that, though I am not certain.”
I’mya’s eyes drifted over the room as silence settled between them. “Is there any way to find out?”
“No.”
“Using magic helped me remember my name,” I’mya began slowly, recalling the rush of magic that embraced her when her memories began to return. “So if I continue to use it—”
“It is against our rules for any servant to wield magic in here,” Dayatha said firmly. “We do not accept magic users. If we had known you were proficient in Thrakondarian when you applied, we would not have accepted you.”
I’mya almost blurted out that she wasn’t proficient, but what was the point in arguing about it. Maybe she had been. Maybe she had chosen not to tell these people for a reason. Dayatha hadn’t mentioned a child from I’mya’s old life. But a child had been part of her memories, an important part of her life. She didn’t remember any elderly parents, so why hadn’t she told them about the girl?
The important point right now was to figure out what to do next. “And now that you’ve discovered I can speak this… language, you still will not expel me from this place.” She paused. “Or… kill me?”
“We cannot do anything while we are in disagreement,” Dayatha said stiffly. “But you can believe that you have been the subject of much discussion already. Some believe you are a threat to us, others believe that magic can sometimes be latent and brought about in great distress. Discussions are still ongoing.”
“And if you decide I am a threat or that I’ve willfully misled you?”
Dayatha clasped her hands on the desk. “As I already explained, no one can leave here, no matter the reason. You seem to have been adversely affected by magic, which may not be your fault. Until we can understand what happened or your intentions, we have no reason to harm you.” She paused, staring at I’mya. “If you settle in here and do not use your magic, there should be no problems. But we will do what we have to in order to protect this lair. Do you remember nothing about magic?”
I’mya shook her head. “I know it’s dangerous that’s all, but I don’t know why.”
“Magic is one of the greatest threats to the Twin Realms, but only because it has been misused. Many are taught to fear it.” Dayatha rose from her seat. “But I’m sure you will hear about it from your new family as you get to know each other,” she said briskly. “You are not to discuss any of this with them. You panicked about being here in the lair, that’s all that happened and all they need to know. We will discuss your relationship and connection with magic another time.”
“But…” I’mya rose from her seat as well. “What if something happens again?”
“Nothing should happen again,” Dayatha said sharply. “You cannot use magic no matter how frightened or scared or emotional you are. Do you understand? If you continue to use it, if you continue to make yourself a threat here, we will have no choice but to remove you.”
I’mya stared at her; she understood the threat. “I don’t know how I did it. How am I supposed to make sure that I don’t?”
“Don’t open your mouth and say words that are unfamiliar to you,” Dayatha said dryly. “And follow the rules. If you follow the rules, there will be nothing that will surprise you. Get used to your surroundings, familiarize yourself with your companions, get comfortable, follow your daily routine.” She paused, looking I’mya in the eye. “If you use magic again, we will have to expel you. Do you understand?”
I’mya’s mouth tightened but she nodded.
“Good,” Dayatha said, walking around the desk. “Your new group is about to start their tour. Make sure you are with them.”
A steward called Tvesha led the tour. Dressed in a long grey cloak with wavy hair pinned up atop her head, she seemed almost regal, as did her slightly different accent.
“I will show you around the permitted area of the lair and answer any questions you have,” Tvesha said after introducing herself. “We’ll start on one of the upper levels. Follow me.”
The same four girls who had been in the corridor where I’mya awoke were in the group on the tour. Along with the golden-haired girl, Elora, and the one with the pretty, bright eyes—both girls omegas—was another girl with freckles over her body, and a tall girl with hunched shoulders.
“Why do we have to be naked when none of these older women are,” muttered the tall girl.
I’mya grinned, relieved she wasn’t the only one who was uncomfortable being naked.
“We have a very specific role here,” one of the other girls muttered back. “It wouldn’t do for anything to be in the way when the master wants to satiate his needs.”
There was a short, poignant silence during which I’mya silently agreed with that assessment. If that giant man had been him, he much preferred instant access from what she’d witnessed.
“How bad do you think being with him will be?” the tall girl uttered. “I can’t imagine it would be pleasant.”
The girl with bright eyes shook her head and lifted her shoulders. “I tried asking the other girls when we were in the sleeping lounge, but no one would tell me.” She worried her bottom lip between her teeth. “I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”
“It’s a bad thing,” the girl with freckles muttered.
At that, a long silence descended.
“One of us will have to go first,” the tall girl said. “So we need to make sure that we let each other know, so we can prepare.”
I’mya kept silent during the exchange. Even if she were to tell them she’d already had an experience with a man who might be him, she wouldn’t even know how to describe it.
Tvesha halted in a cavern area, waiting for them to gather. “I’m afraid there is no way to prepare,” she said, a soft smile on her face.
The girls froze, glancing at each other guiltily.
“No matter how well the experiences are described by any of you, nothing can prepare you for when you are actually with him.” Tvesha chuckled at their expressions. “You haven’t yet learned how to speak quietly when you are surrounded by stone.” She gestured to the surrounding walls. “Sound travels well in the corridors here. You have to whisper to be sure you are not heard, especially in connecting corridors.”
“Are we really inside a mountain?” one of the girls asked.
Tvesha nodded. “The biggest
mountain in the range. Some corridors and rooms are natural, and some have been constructed.”
“Where the walls are smooth,” the bright-eyed girl suggested.
“Exactly. The mountain is big enough to sustain the community here.”
“What about all the big wall-openings that show the mountain ranges?” I’mya asked. “They are in almost every room.”
“What about them?” Tvesha asked, tilting her head to one side. “They are our windows. They provide us with natural light and some cool breeze from the mountains. I can assure you if we had none of the ‘openings,’ it would be pitch black in here all the time with only candlelight to provide us with light. It would not be very healthy.”
“But aren’t they dangerous?” I’mya said. “We could fall out or… something could come in.”
Tvesha shot her a quizzical look. “That’s not possible. Of course we advise you not to get too close to the apertures, but there is no danger of falling out. There is a magical barrier covering each one. Nothing solid can cross through, only sunlight and a little wind.”
I’mya stared back at her, her brows lowering. She was sure that the opening she had been at when she saw the dragon didn’t have any kind of protection on it—she’d felt the warmth of his fiery attack, and it had scorched her. Plus the man had jumped through it.
The tour continued and Tvesha showed them a network of rooms and corridors of places they could visit; a library, an eating lounge, washrooms, a massage room, and several communal lounges for various activities. In one of them, all the girls were stunned into silence to see a woman on her knees, her face red, tears streaming down her face and saliva dripping from her chin, while a man fisted her hair, keeping her head steady as he pushed his cock deep into her throat. I’mya’s breath hitched at how vigorously he pumped his hips, the way he rolled his head back, and groaned to the ceiling. Was that what the giant man would have done with her if he’d had the chance? The thought made her stomach turn and her nipples tingle. But the most shocking thing about the scene before her was that there were others in the room, quietly getting on with activities—painting or crafting. And no one paid any mind to the woman slurping in the middle of the room.
Even Tvesha said nothing of it, explaining to them what the room was for before moving on.
The golden-haired girl glanced at I’mya, her eyes wide, before turning to follow the group.
I’mya lingered, watching the woman. Although she clung onto the man’s thighs, her nails digging in his muscles, she was not resisting him. It was there in her eyes as she stared up at him—the desire, the need, the fierceness of her enjoyment. Interestingly though, the man was bare-chested, pants gathered around his ankles. So clearly, he was not naked.
I’mya walked quickly to catch up with the group. “Tvesha,” she called when she reached them. “Are the kon’aya only female?”
A chuckle bounced off the stone and echoed back to her. “In this lair, yes. But it is a profession that can be undertaken by any sex.”
“So there are men in the lair other than the… master?”
Tvesha slowed and turned. “Yes, but some areas are for females only. This will be explained when you have your study sessions.”
I’mya kept pace with the group but her panic rose again. How many men were they expected to serve? She didn’t bother to ask—it was doubtful she’d be staying long enough to find out.
“If you are ever unsure whether you are straying into an area that you’re not supposed to be in,” Tvesha said, slowing to a stop and pointing at the nearest wall, “look to the walls and check they are a solid slate grey. Forbidden areas have walls that glint with a slightly different color or gemstones that indicate you are in the wrong place.”
She took them around their permitted areas twice before the tour ended, which took all day. There were no stairs fashioned inside the cave in the areas they were permitted in, but rather corridors that sloped upward or downward. The mountain was enormous, much bigger than I’mya had imagined when she’d felt it through magic. She had no idea how she was going to find a way out.
Everything in the lair was in pristine condition, luxurious even. Many items had been crafted in gold or silver, or set with sparkling gemstones she didn’t recognize. Some were crafted from materials she couldn’t identify. There were rooms for almost everything, and even a “garden” that simulated a lush rainforest through the use of incantations. As much as she thought of the dragorai as brutish, primal animals, the standard of living within the lair had to be better than royalty. She could certainly see why many would want to come here to escape the effects of war.
The woman on her knees in the craft room wasn’t the only sexual act I’mya witnessed. It was happening everywhere. Within the next three rooms they visited, an entanglement of bodies met them—the most ambitious being a group of five. One woman, her knees spread wide, was being mounted from behind by a man, his slams jolting her forward, while a woman lay on her back underneath the woman, her weight on her elbows as her head disappeared between her legs. Between the lower woman’s legs was another man, and in his ass pumped yet another man. The wet slapping, moans and muffled hums were all that filled the space. And again, everyone else in the room paid the no attention, as if it was the most normal thing to be happening.
Each time I’mya saw it, she was reminded of the giant man and how he’d made her feel. She couldn’t blame anyone for chasing that feeling; it was exhilarating. And while she couldn’t imagine partaking in anything like what she was seeing, she couldn’t judge them when she’d already done something like it.
The only room in complete silence was the temple. It was the largest room she’d seen in the mountain so far, with seven shrines arranged in a semi-circle and an altar in the center of the space.
The girl with freckles clapped, grinning from ear to ear to see it, while the tall girl seemed in awe.
“This is, of course, the prayer room of the Seven,” Tvesha said. “You may visit this room at any time.”
“In our province, all the altars have been cracked in half,” the tall girl murmured as she walked closer to the nearest shrine.
“The ember destroyed the ones nearest to me,” the girl with the bright eyes said. “I haven’t visited one in years. We just used to pray in a semicircle.”
“We very much honor the Goddesses here,” Tvesha said. “Everyone is encouraged to visit the temple as often as they can, but we don’t force it. Is there anyone who is against the Seven and their rule?”
No one replied, but I’mya noticed that Elora barely looked inside the temple.
By the time they finished their tour, due to the heat of the lair and their arduous walking, all them were sweating to some degree, so Tvesha left them in one of the communal washroom where trickling columns of water ran down from a ledge high up in the room. Each of them grabbed a wash-pouch from a row by the wall and headed to one of the trickling waterfalls.
I’mya held a finger under one of the streams, expecting it to be bitterly cold, but it was quite warm. “I thought the water would be cold up here in the mountains.”
“Each washroom has water coming from different parts of the range,” Tvesha explained from the door. “This one is warm, but others have cooler water if you prefer it.” She eyed the girls. “Your first task is to find your way to the dining room from here. Stay together and don’t get lost.”
The girls nodded as she stalked away, her cloak swishing around her.
“I’m so glad there is warm water!” one of the girls exclaimed, stepping completely under the trickling water and sighing with relief as it splashed over her body.
“There had to be,” chuckled the bright-eyed girl. “We are in the lair of a dragorai don’t forget.”
The others nodded in agreement, laughing with her.
The golden-haired girl noticed that I’mya was still not yet under her stream.
“What are you waiting for?” She gesturing to I’mya’s stream. “You mi
ght as well wash all that sweat and grime off you. If you’re waiting for privacy, it will never come.”
I’mya tentatively stepped forward until her body interrupted the sleek stream of water. She released a long breath as her muscles relaxed. In her wash-pouch was a bar of soap, a small vial of liquid, and a dry cloth. She began to rub the herby-smelling soap over her skin, grateful for the opportunity to rid herself of the sweat she’d built up.
“I’m Elora, by the way,” the golden-haired girl said. “What’s your name?”
“I’mya.”
“And yours?” Elora asked the bright-eyed girl.
The girl was trying not to get her coily hair wet, and failing. “Nureen,” she muttered, distracted.
Elora looked at the tall girl.
“Sybeia,” she responded. “Or Syb.”
“Tiiu,” the freckled girl said without waiting to be asked. I’mya suddenly realized she wasn’t actually a girl at all, but a woman. She looked older than the rest of them, though she was the shortest.
“What happened between you and Dayatha when we first arrived?” Syb asked I’mya.
“What do you mean?”
“She carried you into the sleeping lounge—you were unconscious. Why?” There was a slight demand in her voice. “What happened?”
“No need to be rude,” Nureen said, her nose wrinkling.
“I want to make sure I am safe here, like they promised us,” Syb said stiffly. “We are the newest recruits, and there are only five of us. If one of us was knocked unconscious on our first day, the problem is either with her or Dayatha… and I want to make sure we can trust Dayatha. She is supposed to be looking after us now.” She eyed all of them. “It should be a concern for all of us.”
The others’ demeanor changed as they glanced up at I’mya, and Elora shot her an apologetic look. I’mya could understand their concern, but while she didn’t trust Dayatha, there was no sense in starting a panic. “As far as I’m aware, there’s nothing for you to be concerned about,” she said.
