LOGINLADY BAEVERAI tossed and turned beneath the thin coverlet, sleep refusing to come. My mind would not quiet, circling endlessly back to that bloodfeeding night. My body restless and wanting.For a female who had lived seven full centuries without lust, it sure was cruel now how fiercely it burned in me, beating at my ribs and scorching my veins, all for a male I should not be aching for.I made another restless turn, pressing my thighs together seeking pressure. One that only sharpened the need.I had never thought myself wanton, nor seen myself as the whore they labeled me, but now all my thoughts and wants bordered on whorism.“Suppress it, Baevera,” I whispered to myself. “Channel your energy into thoughts that can smother this fire.”But every thought I tried to summon circled back to Revandrel, forming a single question that looped endlessly in my mind.How do I get him to touch me again? Tonight. Now.Never mind that I was afraid of going all the way because I may not be able to
Revandrel had yet to return. One of the workers told me he had called an emergency meeting with his team, no doubt about the attack.In the meantime, I had the attendants draw me a bath. I watched them fill the tub with steaming water scented faintly with rosemary and cedar oil. Finally, they filed out, leaving me alone.I slowly sank into the warm water, closing my eyes in pure bliss. Muscles that had been tight for days finally started to loosen. The water gently cradled me, lapping softly at my collarbones as I moved further down, until only my face stayed above the surface.It felt so good to enjoy a warm bath after days of using the cold stream.Soon, Helory would be here.The thought alone made my heart flutter, and I smiled against the steam, my eyes still closed. I was already counting the hours.Afterwards, I rose, reaching for the soft clothing left folded on the low bench and wrapped it around myself, knotting it loosely above my breasts.Gathering my still dripping hair in
The late afternoon sun poured golden over the wide courtyard of Naked Den, shining over the ranks of sentinels who stood in perfect formation to receive Lord Cel’theren. The carriage rolled to a halt before the building’s entrance. Revandrel exited the carriage first.I followed, taking in the sprawling estate, its familiar stone and towers stretching wide under the sky. A journey that was meant to last a single day had dragged on for a week. And now, it has come to an end.Standing here now, mixed feelings churned inside me.Relief, because the danger had passed now that we had left the open road behind. Dread, because as a courtesan of this estate, I did not know what awaited me now. Sadness, because the fragile truce I had found with Revandrel would likely shatter now that we have returned. “This male,” came a familiar male voice filled with exasperation. Lord Alaric strode forward past me, straight toward Revandrel. “You truly do enjoy dining with death, do you not?”“Good to se
“Stop…” I whispered aloud, recognizing the warning signs too late. Panic was stirring in me, the kind that got out of control.But my mind only kept working.They caused an uproar after your first disappearance, searching endlessly but never found you. If your secret is exposed now, they will come for you. All of them. How will you survive when they do?I squeezed my eyes shut, desperate to block the thoughts, trying to slow my breathing.They will take you like Jolan did. They will hurt you. How many captors this time? Fifty? A hundred? Five hundred?“Stop… please, stop,” I whimpered, clapping my hands over my ears.They will lock you away in a dark room for days and days on end, starving, bleeding, heat-crazed, and hurting. They will come searching for you in the darkness to take turns…over and over and over again…!I sprang to my feet, the robe slipping from my lap. I needed to hide.Stumbling blindly, my vision swallowed by the horrors in my mind, I struck something hard, and went
LADY BAEVERASomething had shifted. Revandrel was distant, moody, and withdrawn, the gentleness vanishing. After the morning walk, he kept to himself, moving with purpose, and staying out of my path. More his old self than he had been in days.I tried not to let it bother me, keeping out of his way.We ate our midday meal in silence, the scrape of utensils against wooden bowls the only sound between us. Afterward he left for the village.Loneliness pressed in.With Revandrel close being kinder and gentler, it had been easier to turn off my thoughts and live in the present, pretending the dark cloud hanging over me did not exist. But now, the silence came with thoughts I did not wish to dwell on.So, I cleaned. Scrubbing the small house from top to bottom, sweeping, wiping down surfaces, and shaking dust from the few threadbare curtains that still hung at the windows.When the rooms were clean I turned to the laundry: carrying our soiled garments to the stream behind the house, kneelin
LORD REVANDRELSeated on the edge of the narrow bed, I watched her mix the morning draught with the utmost care, measuring the dried bleakleaf, judging the consistency.As I watched how focused she was, I had to admit I did not know this Baevera.I did not know the female who had begged me to be gentle with every touch the night before, then responded so innocently to them.Nor the one who had kept vigil beside me for five long days and nights, tending wounds she had no obligation to touch, changing dressings constantly, and using cold water when fever burned through me.Nor the one who stole tentative glances at me when she thought I was unaware, only to turn bright red when caught.I did not know the female who still insisted I sit and complete my dosage even though I was nearly fully healed. Yet every new facet of her intrigued me even more than the last.“And the final touch,” she reached for the bleakleaf, crushing a single leaf between her fingers, letting the fine powder drift
THE PRESENTLADY BAEVERAI was closest to him, so I reached him first.But just as my hand lifted to touch him, Alaric's voice stopped me.“Don’t. Do not touch him!”I froze immediately, turning to him. I expected to see anger or contempt, but what I saw instead was concern.He came up behind me, h
LADY BAEVERA.I entered the grand Sunspring Manor, walking through the long, familiar hallway that led to the master’s wing.As expected, Bone and Mitvian were at their posts. When they saw me, their eyes went comically wide as they straightened into full sentinel posture.“My lady!” Bone exclaimed
After I gave him the same version I had told my aunt, Philip was deeply sympathetic. Like her, he raged at the idea that I had not brought the identities of my captors home so he could hunt them down himself.The Sunsprings were an old, powerful bloodline, so wealthy and well-connected. Though Phil
“Stop calling her that,” I snapped. “There is no relationship, absolutely no blood between Baevera Eldareth and I. Her father’s union with my mother was not even strong, they did it the human way.”“What the hell does that even mean?”“It means they made some idiotic vows before some sacred entity







