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But those stories were so, so wrong. When the empress had selected Inez at her Star Temple, Inez had thought herself lucky. Empress Calanthe appeared kind and gentle. She might use Inez to boost her own magic, but Inez had trained to endure far worse situations. She had squeezed her brothers’ and sisters’ hands, all of them vibrating with jealousy.
Hours later, when Inez had limped into her room stripped naked and bleeding, she knew she wasn’t lucky. She had been tethered to a monster.
Rylec crouched in front of her. “Inez.”
She focused on his voice and followed it out of the darkness swirling within her. Her eyes met her husband’s. “I’m okay.”
“Back to your seat,” a guard said, hand slamming down on Rylec’s shoulder. Her star-husband’s eyes went flat. If their daughter wasn’t in the room, the guard would’ve quickly been short a hand.
Rylec stood stiffly and returned to his chair, a black fire burning in his gaze.
“Come, sit with me, Inez.” Empress Calanthe patted the seat beside her. “Rylec, Soriya, and I were just about to start tea.”
Inez swallowed down her fear. Empress Calanthe had owned her once, but she would never own her again. She was here for Soriya. Her eyes met Rylec’s again. If only she could tell him that Archlord Eliaz might be their secret ally. Without him, their chances of success were low. Inez might surprise Calanthe with her magic, but they’d still have the Imperial Guards to deal with. They would retaliate unless Archlord Eliaz mobilized his own soldiers.
But Inez couldn’t risk giving any of that away in front of Calanthe.
Who stood waiting, the smile growing on her lips.
Let the bitch think it was fear that held Inez back. Was she terrified? Yes. But she wasn’t the broken girl the empress once knew. She had lived without her husband and daughter for three years. Nothing could be worse.
Inez straightened her shoulders and crossed the gilded floor.
Empress Calanthe pulled out a chair, her dainty hands on the backrest. Inez’s skin prickled, but she sat, careful not to touch the empress.
Calanthe stood behind her for a moment longer than needed. The tension crawled up Inez’s spine.
Rylec plucked his teacup from the table. “Stop posturing, Calanthe. You have us. Now tell us what you want.”
The empress tsk-ed. “That would be quite rude, Rylec. Didn’t your mother teach you better manners?”
“My mother didn’t teach me anything.”
“Oh, yes, that’s right.” The empress circled the table to her seat. “Your mother was a star-maid. I remember when my mother killed her.”
“I remember it too.” Rylec sipped at his tea in a rather dramatic pause. “My father gave my mother to your mother as an engagement present.”
“And then your father gave my mother to me asourengagement present. Emperor Oriel was big on giving away his former mistresses to his new ones. It was one of the reasons I…” —those kaleidoscope eyes drifted to Soriya— “…castrated him before I killed him.”
“What does castrated mean, Mama?” Soriya asked.
Inez repressed her flinch, but Empress Calanthe saw the reaction in her eyes. The monster smirked as she brushed a hand across the small girl’s cheek. “I’ll tell you one day when you’re older. Did you know, baby dove, that this is where your Uncle Rylec first met our new friend here, my dear Inez?”
“I didn’t, Mother.”
Calanthe glanced up from the child, the cruel smirk growing. “Do you remember, Inez?”
Inez raised her teacup, forcing her hands to remain steady.
Inez clutched the bed’s footboard, her head thrashing. The pleasure crested in her, higher and higher, but it wouldn’t release, to the point that every touch hurt. When Inez groaned, it was half-pleasure, half-pain. Her mistress’s whip cracked against her back, etching another cry from her.
“Poor little star-maid,” Empress Calanthe cooed behind her, pacing the bloodied space before the grand bed. “Do you want me to release you?”
Inez swallowed. “Mistress, mistress, I…”
“Yes, star-maid?”
Her mistress loved when people begged. Whether she was whipping her or fucking her or whipping her while fucking her, Empress Calanthe wanted to hear the same words from Inez’s lips. “Please, please, let me go.”
