เข้าสู่ระบบElaraThe night beforeI blinked at him. "Throw? At who?"He grinned. "Your husband. Word travels fast. Everyone on that floor heard you two going at it.""Oh. I didn't throw anything at him..." I scrubbed a hand across my face. "It's not important.""Come on, it's the best gossip of the night," he wheedled, leaning in. "What did you say to him, then?""Nothing you'd call poetry." I smirked. "Why, are you looking for tips on how to tame your own wife?""Me? I don't have a wife." He held up his hands. "Hence my interest."I glanced at him sideways. "Well, I'm not the best teacher. My husband has yet to be tamed."His eyebrows shot up, and then he laughed, a deep, real laugh, and so did I."It's nice to hear someone else's dirty laundry for once," he said.I snorted. "I'm sure yours is plenty dirty.""Oh, yeah?" He took a sip. "What have you heard?""About you? Nothing." I tipped my head at him. "But I've sat here ten minutes, and you haven't left a single thing alone."He chuckled. "It
ElaraLate afternoon, the day of the feastI'll be honest with you, I didn't plan on spending the whole day in a stranger's bed. But there I was, late in the afternoon on the day of the feast, the light through his shutters going yellow, and still he hadn't let me up.I won't say I didn't enjoy myself. The furs on his bed were soft against my skin, but they still scratched the hell out of my back. And the man, well, he had more than enough stubble to go around, and it burned down my neck, along my jawline. I pulled at his hair, trying to bring him closer, push him away.It hurt where he was deepest, his cock pushing against my cervix, and it made me ache and made me wetter by the second. I couldn't separate the shock of him filling me from the throb in my clit. He'd been at me since last night and still I gasped with every thrust.My legs pulled him in even as my hands tried to push against his sweat-slick chest. I didn't know which I wanted, more of him or less. My brain couldn't kee
LyraI set the bucket down with a thud and dug the potatoes and dried meat out of my bag. The potatoes were cold and raw, their skin rough beneath my numb fingers. I gripped the knife, the handle smooth against my palm. But my fingers were slippery and I could barely hold it steady.I hacked at the potato, trying to carve off slices, but the hard flesh kept slipping away. The blade skittered across the surface, gouging out chunks instead, until my potato was a gnawed and mangled lump."What a fucking mess." I hurled the ruined spud across the floor, glaring up at him again. He was still watching, still a hint of a smile on his face."You think it's so easy, you try it then!" I snarled, shoving the lighter at him.He took it and rose to his feet, his large frame looming over me. "First, you need smaller sticks. And bark." He calmly rearranged the logs, adding kindling and bark to the stack. He handed the lighter back to me."Hold this to the bark until it smolders." I did as he instruc
LyraWeathered boards, split and warped with age, rough beneath my fingers. A breath of cold wind hit me as I shouldered the door open, hinges shrieking. I stepped into the gloom and a rank, musty stench hit my nose.Dust swirled in the dim shafts of light from the shutters, making my nose burn. The air inside was heavy and stale, far colder than the damp woods outside.The main room was bare and lifeless. A blackened hearth sat cold and empty. Beside it, a tiny dining table and a single chair. A doorway led to a small back room.On the table stood a cup, its contents dried into a dark, crusted scum. I lifted it and looked inside. A grey-green bloom of mould coated the cocoa's surface. The sour, rotten smell made me pull back.I set the cup down with a clatter.I walked to the doorway of the back room and stopped short. A bare cot sat in the darkened space, but it was the thing on the floor that stopped me.A cheap phone, face down, screen cracked, dead. I picked it up, and my breath
LyraI stepped out of the palace through the south servants' entrance, easing the heavy door shut behind me. I shivered and pulled my coat tighter as I walked down the narrow, cobblestone lane.Fog hung in the air. I could see only a dozen feet in front of me. The mist beaded on my eyelashes and stung my nose. Shivering, I dug my hands into my armpits for warmth.My boots clacked on the stones. The sound echoed off the walls of the lane. I hurried to my car parked by the end of the lane. The grey light coming over the rooftops from the east did little to burn off the mist.I fumbled in my pocket for my key and braced myself against the car's cold metal door handle.A deep voice startled me. "Took your time."I turned to face him. He leaned against my car, arms folded, hair in thick braids. The man from the shed. My stomach dropped, sick and tight.I glared at him. "What...what are you doing here?""Waiting," he said."For what?"His eyes went to the bag slung over my shoulder. The cor
Mina"What the hell's going on downstairs?" I panted, barely glancing at Amara as I shoved past her into Sera's room.Sera sat in her chair by the window, the fire crackling in the hearth, two cups on a table in front of her.She turned to smile at me. "Afternoon, Mina.""It's not afternoon, not yet." I slammed the door behind me."But it's close enough. Close enough for the whole keep to know, that's for damn sure. Everybody fucking knows! And yesterday Kane basically called you a cheating whore, in front of everyone!""I mean, 'cheating whore' is a little dramatic...""Sera! Take this seriously!""I know what he said," she snapped. "And I know what the law says. But Mina, I'm not a cheating whore."She'd be judged by the council if they decided that. If they ruled in favor of faithlessness...She got to her feet and crossed to me, taking my hands in hers. "I mean look, the whole keep is happy for us. The cooks are roasting pigs for a feast tonight. People are congratulating us.""Th
SeraNight fell fast, and with it, the temperature plummeted. We had three fires going, but the heat didn't seem to travel more than six inches past the flames. I sat on a log by the middle fire, pulling the wagon fur around my shoulders, shivering so hard my teeth were literally clicking together.
LyraShe ignored me. She dropped to her knees, her hands sliding down to the waistband of my trousers. She shoved her fingers inside the fabric, gripping my hips tight. With one sharp pull, she dragged the pants and my underwear down to my ankles. I stepped out of them, kicking my boots off in the
Lyra"Tell the girl to step into the room," he said."Leave her out of this," I said. My voice came out as a pathetic, raspy whisper. I cleared my throat, trying to find some spine. "She didn't do anything. It was my idea to come in here.""Tell her to step into the room," he said, his eyes going d
LyraThe voice didn't belong to Nadia. It didn't belong to me. It came from the metallic object resting directly behind my hip.Nadia froze. She pulled her mouth away from me and yanked her fingers out of my body. She stood up quickly, wiping her wet mouth with the back of her hand, her chest heavi







