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“If you hurt me,” I answered him sadly, “I will only fear you. Your friends are right. Humans fear things that bring them pain. I am not like you in that way.”
Their eyes showed the inner turmoil they all felt.
“We acted rashly,” Bane finally said sitting on the bed by my feet.
“If you continue to do things that anger the women, they will take you away from us again,” Evan stated softly. He looked haunted.
“I can be more cautious,” I promised them. “I can learn from my mistakes, but I do not wish to be restrained and beaten.”
The air hummed with the intensity of the moment before Damien spoke.
“You are one of us,” he said slowly, “but you are different. We do not want a slave, we want a Sister. When we disciplined you, you became our slave again. None of us liked how that felt…”
“Promise me,” I said sitting up, “promise me you will not do this again.”
“You must learn,” Damien said eyeing me critically. “You must learn when we tell you things. There is much at stake.”
“I will learn.”
“We will not train you like this again,” Damien promised finally looking relieved.
I made them all promise. I wanted to hear it from each of them.
Kein was last and he kissed my cheek. “Please,” he said, “don’t make them take you away.”
Once my legs were suitably less marked my family took me to eat breakfast. They were all quiet and reserved as we ate. The reason almost made me retch.
The General would have to be informed about what I had done. If the men started to act odd, he had to know what was happening. Of course, Damien and his Brothers could wait, but if it was discovered that would be bad for the family. It would be preferable to own up to the mistake now.
I was panic stricken that the General would punish me, but Damien scoffed at the idea. The women wanted me healthy. In fact, Nu-reeh would be angry if she found out about last night’s punishment. The evil side of me wondered what Hannah would do if she knew.
“Will he hurt the other slaves?” I asked chewing on my nails. “Will he kill them so they don’t talk?”
My wild imagination started to blossom and I found myself hyperventilating as I gnawed at my nails. Damien’s reassurance was not comforting. The General would do whatever was best for the compound.
Bane scolded me for biting myself. It would be dishonorable to be walking around looking chewed on.
I was washed and the cream was rubbed back into a few stubborn places on my inner thighs. They layered several long panels so no one could see the skin they had disciplined, which was still slightly marked. Their reason for placing the marks where they did suddenly made sense. The ornamentation I wore would actually cover the evidence of my discipline.
Once I was dressed they got themselves ready.
We made our way downstairs in silence. The men weren’t bothered, but I fought the urge to pant and cry. The walk across the courtyard seemed to take an eternity and a moment, both at once. I couldn’t believe I’d gotten us in this mess.
The General and his Brothers were talking and looking out the large window when we entered. They greeted Damien and his Brothers politely. There was no wasted time and Damien told the General they needed to talk.
I saw the faces of all the girls I’d spoken to. They wanted to live, none of them wanted to die. How horrible it would be to go to an empty Keeper’s and know it was all my fault. Every death would be on my head.
Fat tears rolled down my face and a sob escaped my throat. How foolish I had been to condemn all those innocent girls to death. I was a pariah and damned anything I touched. The wretched sobs wouldn’t stop now and I heard Damien’s exasperated sigh.
“Ciara,” Bane said sharply, “we will put calming cream on you if we need to. Stop this behavior right now.”
I looked up at him and the tears just continued to fall. Somehow I managed to stay silent, though.
The men sat and I knelt in their sitting area by the fire. It was a cozy space obviously intended to entertain guests. The first time I’d knelt here I’d been safe and protected by the General. I doubted that would be the case today.
Damien told the General that the slaves recognized the way I looked when I carried a child. They’d all figured it out before I left. Once I returned they had wanted to know what had happened.
When Damien explained what I had told them, the General leapt out of his chair. As he paced, he clarified several times exactly what I had said. The fact I hadn’t shared everything was pointed out on numerous occasions.This belongs to NôvelDrama.Org.
“Do the slaves know how this world is organized?” the General asked pointedly.
“Two know, sir,” Damien replied and the General lunged at me.
It was Christof’s quick reflexes that kept the General’s hands from closing around my throat. I was jerked off my kneeling place and shoved between Bane and the wall. My family took a defensive posture between me and the General.
“They do not want her harmed, General,” Damien said with authority. “Nu-reeh will destroy your family if you do that. This is a breeding slave, she holds more value than all of us, or so I am told.”
I peeked from behind Bane’s back to see the General fuming. Two of his Brothers were holding him back, but the others looked just as angry. He sputtered a curse when he saw me looking at him, so I dropped my head.
“This is my compound, my men!” the General fumed. “Do you know how difficult it is to organize the men? To keep them happy and busy? Who Damien, who knows?”
The General wasn’t surprised Basin and his Brothers knew, they’d been acting odd for days. He was surprised Fuji’s owners knew, they had not seemed upset ever. They displayed the same cool temperament they’d always had. The General wanted to speak with both groups though.
Once the General was calm, he assessed the situation more thoroughly. The things I’d told the majority of the girls would actually not cause too much damage. The slaves had been left to think the women took me and kept my child. I’d never said the women had any authority. That I’d been pregnant may surprise the men, but it wouldn’t break them.
Bane didn’t move me back to my kneeling place. While we talked to the General I stood against the wall and Bane stood in front of me. His posture looked relaxed, but I laid my hands on the small of his back and felt the coiled muscle. He was ready for anything that came at him.
“I will not harm it,” the General finally said gesturing to me. “The behavior was unacceptable, but I will not risk my family.”
Damien thanked the General, but Bane didn’t move. The conversation about what to do continued for a while longer. I stayed standing against the wall and staring at Bane’s wide shoulders.
The General made sure I understood now. There were just things I could not say. At Damien’s prompting I assured him I would not talk about the world’s secrets.
“The other slaves that know,” the General said sitting down and watching me. “Do they pose a danger?”
Hersham, the General’s Brother, spoke then. He seemed to be the Brother that understood slaves the best. He noted Fuji was from Batra, she would never say anything her owners didn’t want her to. The human slave may be an issue.
My hands tightened on Bane’s waist. I was terrified they would kill my friend, my best friend. Before I had the chance to say anything the General stated his decision was made and he excused my owners. Bane grabbed an arm and propelled me toward the door.
I tried to speak and was harshly rebuked as we left the General’s house. Now was not the time for questions. Kein whispered we would talk when we could. Damien led us across the courtyard and I followed him obediently.
Upstairs, when we could finally talk, I expressed my fear. If the General killed Rose I felt like I’d never survive. She was a link to my former life and the best friend I’d ever had. Rose had supported me through everything.