Page 69 of Bred

All I could do was stumble along beside her.

Jaren opened the door, and I made the mistake of glancing at him as I passed. His wink chilled me to the bone, and I didn’t like the sharpness of his smile.

I would have to watch out for him. There was no telling what he might do… and the confirmation of my ‘ripeness’ only seemed to make him more interested in what I had to offer.

Despite the danger he presented, he was handsome enough that on any other day, I might have considered it.

But I wasn’t here for any diversion… I had a purpose. But as Artin had made very clear, my new status was a precarious one, and if I wanted to keep my new position, I was going to have to be on my guard.

Two days.

Two days of pampering, scrubbing, oiling, scraping, massaging, and curling had changed the person I saw when I looked in the silvered mirror that sat on the vanity table in front of me. The room was sparsely decorated, but it was finer than anything I’d ever been in. The bed was heavenly, and the women who had brought me there said that I’d slept for longer than anyone else who had come to the Monarch.

I stared at my reflection and touched the jeweled chain that had been draped across my forehead and wound through my hair to hold it back from my face.

“His Majesty is coming today.” The bright voice of the woman who had brought my breakfast announced from the doorway. “Artin will want you looking your best, and I’m to remind you to be on your best behavior.”

“Best behavior?”

I didn’t know how to act in front of a king. “Are you going to teach me how to curtsey?” I asked as she set down a cup and a pewter jug. The cider she poured smelled sweet and crisp, and I grabbed for the cup eagerly.

The woman frowned, and I felt a twinge of guilt for never asking her name. She’d seen me naked on more than one occasion and had spent a good deal of time in my company… Maybe my manners did need work.

“Artin will explain all the rules, but I’ll give you a piece of advice,” she leaned closer, “be unexpected.”

I looked at her in surprise. “How— How would I do that?”

She shrugged and turned away to gather up my sleeping robe and tucked it into a basket of other linens that needed washing. She pointed to the bed and the velvet gown that had been laid out for me. “Get dressed. You won’t need my help. And don’t touch your hair!”

I pulled my nervous fingers away from the jewels on my head and nodded obediently.

“Hurry! Artin will call for you sooner than you think!”

She swept out of the room with her arms full, and I jumped up out of my chair and hurried to the bed. The dark blue velvet gown was more beautiful than anything I’d ever worn, and I rubbed my fingers over the smooth fabric and the intricately embroidered pattern of interlocking leaves and vines.

Three vines and three star-shaped flowers picked out in silver thread. The symbols of the royal court. Three kings, forever bound by blood.

I would be one of the ones chosen to bear the next generation of royalty.

I would bear the king an heir.

A servant girl from the gutters in the bed of a king. It was almost too impossible to believe.

“You’re not in his bed yet,” I muttered as I shrugged out of the silken robe that I’d been given and picked up the gown. It was heavy. Yards of rich fabric that would have purchased food for a month… and I would wear it once.

I stepped into the gown and sucked in a breath as I realized how closely it fit and how much of my skin was exposed. My arms were covered, but the bodice dipped so low that the blush of my nipples was almost visible above the intricate embroidery work.

The bodice hugged my ribs intimately, and as I laced it up with shaking fingers, I knew I shouldn’t have been surprised. I wasn’t here to be a royal lady. I was a concubine. A surrogate. A means to an end.

The king would choose from the most delectable specimens that Artin had collected at his command, and I had to be one of them. If being chosen meant parading naked in front of him, I would do it. For now, I was grateful to be encased in shimmering blue velvet with assets that were sure to catch his eye.

I turned to look in the mirror and almost gasped at my reflection. No one at my former mistress’ house would recognize me. I barely recognized myself.

Good.

I wasn’t that version of Liana anymore, and I had no intention of going back.

CHAPTER FOUR