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SERENAI

“That’s the one you want—the perfect bodyslave to protect you!

” Aunt Nibblegrim pointed to the center of the arena.

They were at the Blood Circuit —the place where all the fiercest warriors in the galaxy fought to the death for the pleasure of those betting on them.

The stadium was packed with Mistresses and their bodyslaves, all cheering for the bloody sport taking place for their entertainment.

Serenai and her aunt were in a private box—another inheritance left to her by her mother. Apparently Mistress Bloodlash had been as fond of blood-sports as her name implied.

“Yes, he’s definitely the one!” her Aunt said, nodding with certainty.

Serenai couldn’t keep the startled look off her face.

“Him?”

She stared at the huge warrior with gray skin and pale, blazing eyes. His muscular body was streaked in blood and gore—not surprising since he had just killed four males who he had been fighting all at once.

The bodies lay around him in small, mangled heaps. One was missing his head. Another had both arms ripped off. The last two were so distorted that their own mothers might have difficulty identifying their remains.

And this was the male her aunt wanted her to choose as her bodyslave?

“I don’t know,” she said hesitantly. “ He seems so fierce—so savage.”

“That’s exactly why you want him, my dear!” Aunt Nibblegrim widened her eyes dramatically. “ Why , no one will dare to attack you or disrespect you with such a huge, savage beast of a male at your back.”

“But what if he decides he wants to attack me?” Serenai protested. “ What if he doesn’t like being owned?”

“Oh, none of the bodyslaves you see around you actually like being owned.” Aunt Nibblegrim waved a hand dismissively at the vast, cheering crowd of Mistresses and bodyslaves. “ That’s the reason the Goddess invented pain collars!” She giggled, putting a hand over her bright pink mouth.

Aunt Nibblegrim loved to “dress up” as she put it. She always had on the most elaborate gowns and her hair—which was dyed bright blue—was always teased up at least three feet above her head. She applied her makeup with a heavy hand, unlike Serenai who barely wore any at all.

Wearing makeup had been forbidden at the Convent , but Aunt Nibblegrim had assured her that all proper Yonnite Mistresses wore a full face of makeup everywhere they went, so Serenai was trying to get used to it.

She had been using some subtle color to make her eyes look brighter and more expressive and she’d found some lightly colored lip balm that she liked a lot.

It was a far cry from the smoky eye makeup and thick, bright lip stain her Aunt wore everywhere, but it was more than Serenai was used to.

What she found much more difficult to accustom herself to was the way the Yonnite Mistresses dressed.

Everywhere she looked, women were wearing outfits that would have gotten her kicked out of the Convent in a heartbeat.

Many wore gowns slit right up the center to show their panties and several had their breasts exposed with their nipples covered in red or blue powder.

When Serenai asked about the colored nipples—as delicately as she could— Aunt Nibblegrim had explained that they were used for punishing bodyslaves.

“The red powder is the ‘fire,’” she told Serenai . “ If a slave displeases his Mistress , she makes him suck the fire dust off her nipple. It will make his mouth burn and cause extreme pain.”

“She…she lets him suck her…her nipple?” Serenai couldn’t keep the horror out of her voice.

Sex was only a vague idea to her since nothing about reproduction was taught at the Convent .

All she knew was that at some point, if she got married, she would have to “submit” to her husband.

But she had no idea what that meant and since she was a Yonnite and her people didn’t believe in marrying males—only in using them as bodyslaves or manual laborers—she had assumed she wouldn’t have to worry about such things.

Also she had been raised with the very strong idea that touching one’s sexual or “forbidden places” was extremely wrong.

And letting someone else touch them was even worse!

Why , two girls in the class above hers had been expelled just for sleeping in the same bed because they were cold.

Both of them had been wearing nightgowns that covered them from neck to toes but the Sisters still deemed their close proximity as “sexual and unacceptable.” So Serenai couldn’t imagine letting anyone put their hands on one of her “forbidden places”—let alone their mouth .

But Aunt Nibblegrim went on as though what she was saying was perfectly normal.

“Of course, once the Mistress is convinced that her bodyslave has been punished enough, she may then allow him to suck the other nipple which is covered in ‘ice’ dust,” she went on. “ That’s the blue dust, you know. It cools the pain of the fire dust almost at once, thus ending the punishment.”

“Oh, I … I see,” Serenai had murmured. But she didn’t see how she could do such a thing, even if she ever owned a bodyslave.

“Of course, if you don’t wish to wear the fire and ice dust on your nipples, you can always use an extra strong pain collar,” her aunt had informed her and Serenai had nodded numbly. She was still thinking about it, but her aunt’s next words interrupted her thoughts.

“It appears his fight is over now. I’ll go find his owner and negotiate for him,” she told Serenai . “ Brax the Butcher , I believe is what they call him.”

“What? But Aunt , I never said I definitely wanted him!” Serenai protested. “ I need time to think about it.”

“Nonsense! Didn’t you tell me you needed a protector at once? You just stay put and I’ll go negotiate the sale.” Her aunt patted her knee and left the private box before Serenai could say anything else.

For a moment she felt frozen to the spot. She watched as the enormous warrior left the arena with the crowd still cheering for him. Was she really going to be able to trust that such a huge, violent male would protect her instead of deciding to kill her and run off?

No— I can’t let myself be pushed into such a serious decision! I have to know if I can trust him or not before I agree to buy him.

Serenai lifted her chin. She’d been deferring to her aunt’s opinion a lot simply because she knew nothing about being a Mistress on Yonnie Six . But some things were too important to allow someone else to decide for her.

I’ll go see him for myself. Maybe even talk to him. That way I’ll have a better idea of whether I want to buy him or not, she thought.

And she left the box, taking care not to trip over her long gown as she went. She would see the huge warrior for herself and make her own decision about him.