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And I knew it was ridiculous because I had lived with the three for some time now, and they reassured me every day that it wasn’t just because the elders had appointed them as my mates that they wanted me. They cared deeply for me and showed me as much in subtle but meaningful ways.
Jude cooked with me late at night, which had begun as a friendly time together, but, in recent days, had amped up to something intimate and made it hard for me to continue to keep him at bay. Something that was going to have to change soon. But as I traversed the hallway, headed away from the main kitchens where I’d borrowed a cup of sugar to take to Hilda, someone crashed into my shoulder.
“Hey!” I juggled the cup and only lost a little of the white stuff on the floor. Once upon a time, I’d had to keep these floors clean and remembered how much I hated having thoughtless highers leave a mess to me. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Oh, listen to her,” sneered a voice I found all-too familiar from my days as one of the workers. “Just because she’s mated to the royals, she’s too good for the rest of us.” A chorus of titters followed this statement, and before I could stop myself, I turned on a heel and tossed the sugar right in the face of Mina, a lesser who had made it her business to torment me when I’d been one of them.
The crystals stuck in her blonde curly hair and lashes, and the same people who’d been laughing a moment before went silent. Mina blinked at me, her smile broader. “I see how it is.”
“Let it go, Mina.” I wanted to launch myself into her and rip out her curls or perhaps punch her until she was sorry. “You were never nice to me, but I don’t know why you hate me so much. What do you want me to do?”
“You really don’t get it, do you?” she asked, brushing the sugar off her. Her voice dropped low. “We want you to join us.”
“Join you? In what? I was one of you, and you never wanted a thing to do with me, outside of tormenting me every chance you got. Why would I join you in anything now?”
“Because you were one of us, and we need someone on the inside to help with the rebellion.” She shrugged. “If there was one, of course.”
“Make up your mind, Mina. I need to go see how Hilda is, and I don’t have time for this. If you’re going to rebel, just do it. But I won’t be doing it with you.”
“Hilda is still injured from what they did to her, and see how little you care.” She swung her head around, sending the sugar flying. “Let’s go, everyone. I told you Freya thinks she’s better than us now.”
I wanted to protest, to tell her I didn’t think I was better than anyone, but their open admission of a rebellion meant I needed to talk to my mates, and I still did need to see Hilda. And I didn’t have the sugar I’d noticed she needed on my last visit. It seemed like a little thing to bring, but when she cared for me, it was something she’d always needed and rarely had.
Chapter Three
“Make this the last time I have to tell you, Freya. I’m okay. I’m getting better. If you don’t stop trying to baby me, I’m going to lose it. Now, let’s talk about something else. Anything else.” Hilda was on the mend but, as she got older, those mends took longer and longer.
Dropping the subject, I focused on the teakettle. I jumped up as soon as I heard its first cries. “Name the subject, and let’s talk.”
She chuckled and instructed me on exactly what kind of tea she wanted. Several herbs for healing but some for pain. I’d lived with Hilda long enough to know an intense healing tea infusion when I saw one. “I might like to talk about the status of your mating.”
“You might, or you would?” I laughed and added a spoonful of fresh honey to her steaming cup.
She groaned. “Make an old woman beg, why don’t you?”
There was a lot of talk about begging lately.
Gods alive, was everything about sex? Maybe when you weren’t having any, it just seemed like it.
“There’s nothing to tell, really. The other lessers want me to join them in rebellion. My mates want me to actually mate them. I’ve still got this fever that everyone seems to think is linked to my lack of penis interaction. I’m just tired. I’m tired of this fever and tired of being in limbo in my life.”
“Hmmm…speaking of penis.”
“What?” As soon as the word left my mouth, there was a soft knock at the door. I assumed it was one of Hilda’s friends checking in on her until my nose, my dragon’s keen sense of smell knew otherwise.
It was Nico on the other side of the door.
“What are you doing here?” I asked. He wore black jeans and a tight black T-shirt. At least I could count on Nico’s wardrobe never changing.
“May I?” he asked, looking over my shoulder at Hilda.
She chuckled and bid him come in.
“I came to check on you. It’s not safe for you to be alone, especially in your…delicate situation.”
“I’m not delicate,” I barked back, letting the irritation of my circumstances dictate my tone. It was a mistake. Nico hadn’t done anything to me other than make me want him so badly I could barely breathe. Just having him here was causing me to be tense and twitchy. “Sorry. I’m on edge.”
“It’s okay. That’s part of the reason I came. I knew you weren’t yourself, and there are those who would take advantage of you because of it.”
