Chapter 15- Not adding up.

[CW- Please note this chapter contains references to marital rape and abuse. Not graphic or shown "on screen". Please take care of yourself while reading.]

Ariadne sat at her desk, tapping her fingers on the wood. North was attached to her breast as she pored over world maps. She used her hairpins to mark areas on the map. Each sharp pin was the location of a reported rogue attack.

Something wasn’t adding up.

“You’re going to make your milk taste sour if you keep feeding him while you’re stressed,” Song cooed.

“You know that’s just an old wives' tale,” Ariadne said, her fingers tapping out the staccato rhythm.

“You haven’t even noticed he’s finished drinking,” Song chuckled. Ariadne glanced down at North. He gurgled and wriggled, no longer latched. She smiled, picked him up, and started patting his back to burp him.

“It can’t be that sour if he’s happily guzzled down his meal,” Ariadne said.

“I still don’t think you should be working while you feed him,” Song said.

“Then I’d never get any work done,” Ariadne sighed.

Song huffed out a noise that sounded like she conceded.

“Have you at least seen any patterns?” Song asked, knowing that if Ariadne didn’t have a sounding board, she would go in circles all night.

“Something like that…” Ariadne said. “There seems to be a trend… East to west is more affected than north to south. Attacks are more likely at night… And strangest of all, there are five religious sites in the sites that have been attacked.”

“Any cities or large settlements?” Song asked, her curiosity piqued.

“Not yet,” Ariadne said. “But it’s like the rogues are getting bolder.”

“There are enough criminals that have been kicked out of their packs to make this many rogues?” Song asked.

“Normally I’d say no,” Ariadne said. “But I can’t explain these numbers otherwise."

“So they’re… Multiplying?” Song asked, trying to understand.

“Impossible, once the criminal is separated from the moon goddess, they don’t have the urge to procreate anymore,” Ariadne said.

“It may not be a natural reproduction,” Song offered.

“Being a rogue isn’t a disease. It’s the lack of connection to the moon goddess, the starvation of magic…” Ariadne said before letting out a long sigh. “It’s not like the wolf can just… Abandon ship and change to a new human. Their souls are bound together.”

“So either something is making more people act like criminals and go through the ritual, or-”

“Something is severing the bond to the moon goddess…” Ariadne said.

Silence hung in the air between them for a moment.

“That is… Concerning,” Song said.

“Deeply,” Ariadne said. “Especially as monasteries, nunneries, and holy sites have all been the targets of attacks.”

“What does this mean for our escape?” Song asked.

“It means that we need to be more careful,” Ariadne said. “While we're down in the south, Leviathorp is on that east-to-west line. The closer we are to our freedom, the less safe it all becomes.”

Song let out a frustrated noise.

“I don’t know if I can take any more bad news…” Song whimpered.

“Well, we may need to brace ourselves for more,” Ariadne sighed. “We have our monthly dinner with his majesty tonight.”

She felt Song freeze in her mind.

“But we gave him a child already-”

Ariadne looked over to her door, where a red flower had been pushed through the gap between the wood and the floorboards. Song whimpered and cried.

“I don’t want to go through this again…”

“I know,” Ariadne said, gently rocking North in her arms.

“But…” Song whimpered, trying to find a way out. They both knew there was no way out of it.

“Try to think of it as we only have to do this seven or eight times before we can leave,” Ariadne said softly.

“Seven or eight times too many,” Song growled. “I don’t want his filthy paws on us.”

“We both know he’s using sex as a means of control,” Ariadne said coldly. “But if we don’t comply…”

Neither of them spoke for a moment. They had tried to refuse the first night and walked away with a fractured rib.

“I miss Nieve…” Song whispered.

Ariadne’s heart clenched. She’d done so much work to put Archer and Nieve out of her mind in the last few years.

“I know,” Ariadne whispered.

Ariadne closed her eyes and took a shuddering breath. Her heart still felt conflicted when she remembered her mate.

She remembered the fear, the torment, the pain. Her lungs still ached when she remembered the day at the pond.

But she also remembers the few good times.

The one time she actually felt like she was in love with him.

That one night.

How much of that was tainted by distance and nostalgia, she couldn’t say.

That night… It had been about four years after they discovered they were mates. It was fueled by long-suppressed hormones, and Ariadne had felt Archer’s feelings for her for years. He had been awkward, but good. His lips on hers, warm and loving. His hands on her, gentle and reverent. His voice soft and

Knock knock knock

Ariadne blushed hard as she was brought from her reverie. She pulled up the front of her dress to cover her breasts. She grabbed the pins out of the map and threw them into her drawer before rolling up the canvas. She wasn’t about to let her own stupidity get Commander Ruiz and his men in trouble.

“Your highness-” Thea called out.

“One moment!” Ariadne called back.

She shoved the canvas map under her bed and stood up straight again. She ran a hand through her hair before opening the door.

“Yes?” she asked. Thea looked apologetic.

“Your majesty, his highness has asked me to deliver this…” Thea said, holding up a red dress. Ariadne swallowed hard. It was sheer and diaphonous. Exactly his taste.

“His majesty does remember that the prince is not yet weaned, correct?” Ariadne asked. “And thus my monthly cycle has also not started, so I cannot yet make him another heir.”

Thea nodded slowly.

“... He knows.”

Ariadne nodded and snatched up the dress.

“Your highness,” Thea said as Ariadne turned to throw the dress on her bed. “I am sorry, you do not deserve this. I just…”

“I know,” Ariadne said with her back to the maid. “You’re just doing your job.”

Silence stretched between them for a moment.

“I don’t like this part of my job,” Thea whispered.

“... But if you didn’t have it, you wouldn’t have an income or a home,” Ariadne sighed. “... Will you look after North while I’m with His Majesty tonight?”

“Of course,” Thea said softly.

“Thank you… You may go,” Ariadne said. Thea closed the door, and Ariadne could hear her walking down the hallway.

“... At least he will be safe,” Ariadne murmured.

“Yes, but… What about us?” Song whispered.

Ariadne closed her eyes.

She didn’t have an answer for that.