Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 28150 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 141(@200wpm)___ 113(@250wpm)___ 94(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 28150 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 141(@200wpm)___ 113(@250wpm)___ 94(@300wpm)
Tuk’s eyes narrowed to an angry glare. “I don’t know why, but the King has his heart set on you.”
This took her by surprise. She would have thought she’d been all but forgotten by now. After all, with thirteen women constantly vying for his attention, he surely would have moved on. Now why the hell did that bother her?
She shrugged, trying to project a nonchalance she didn’t feel. “I still fail to see what I can do about that since I’m no longer in his harem.”
“If you’re telling the truth, which I suspect you aren’t, then you’re a bigger fool than I thought. Have you no idea the honor it was to be chosen on your first night dancing for him? There were women far more experienced than you performing the Dance of Seduction, some of them much more attractive than you, in my opinion, yet our good King chose you. Then you threw that honor back in his face as though you were above him. You! A lowly slave.”
Callie’s mouth opened and then closed. What did the woman expect her to do? It wasn’t her fault that she didn’t want to be used as a convenient bed warmer. “Tuk, I’m not really sure what this angry diatribe of yours was for, but I have a lot to do.” She looked pointedly at all the pans she now had to redo.
Again the other woman glared. “I’d slap you if I didn’t think it would leave a mark. Instead, I’ll give you a little word of warning. If you don’t come to your senses soon, the little one will suffer.”
Callie gasped. “Leave my baby alone. She’s innocent in all of this.”
“I will gladly leave her alone if you do what you’re supposed to. We could always resell her, you know. She is the King’s property after all, and he has no use for her.”
“You can’t do that!”
“One word from me and she’s gone,” Tuk finished with a satisfied smirk.
Callie believed her too. What wouldn’t these crazy zealots do to please their ruler? She grabbed the other woman’s arm, gripping it in a vise. “I can’t let you do that.”
Tuk smiled humorlessly. “Then I guess you know what you’ll have to do.”
Callie didn’t have to ask for specifics to know what was implied. As much as she hated the prospect of pleasuring that arrogant king, she knew she had to. Or she’d lose London.
“Why do you look so smug, Tuk?” Darus asked leaning casually against the wall in the servants’ hall.
“I have single handedly solved our dilemma.”
“You’ve convinced the human to rejoin our Sire’s harem?”“
“Yes, and not only that, she’ll make sure he’s satisfied for as long as he wants her.”
Darus’s forehead scrunched together as though in deep contemplation. “How did you manage that? The stubborn woman has been unbending, even when you’ve given her the most demeaning of tasks.”
“We had the means all along to control her. The child you so adamantly wanted to leave with the Adieaens is the key.”
“Aw yes, the little one. Your soft heart wouldn’t allow a mother to be separated from her child. You do know we weren’t authorized to bring her back with us.”
“But she came as part of the deal. As long as we keep her out of King Blaze’s way, there should be no problem.”
“I suppose, but I want you to know that if he does come down on us, I’ll tell him how it came to pass. Now tell me what exactly you said to the human.”
“I implied that we could sell the child if she doesn’t rejoin the harem.”
A look of comprehension crossed Darus’s face. “Aw, now I understand. Would you actually follow through, or would your conscience do you in again?”
“Despite the way I feel about the mother, the little one is starting to grow on me. She’s been a delight to have around.”
“That doesn’t answer my question. Do you or do you not plan on sending her back to the Adieaens to sell?”
“I really don’t know, and I don’t think it matters as long as the human thinks we will.”
“You don’t like her very much, do you?”
“Do you?” Tuk challenged.
“I can’t say I’m happy with the way she’s put our King in such ill humor, but I reserve judgment.”
“Well I, for one, hate her for what she’s done to him. He goes around the palace snapping at everyone without the slightest provocation. And did you see that bruise on the side of Lord Radien’s face? It was unseemly. I’ve never seen the king lose his temper this way before, and it’s all her fault.”
It was true. Tuk knew from the moment she spotted her on the auction block the woman would be trouble, but Darus thought the human would make a good match for their king. Tuk thought of her king as more than just a ruler, but like a surrogate son. It was she who had seen to most of his needs after his parents died. There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do for him, even if it meant resorting to a little blackmail.