Page 77 of Bred

Her hand flashed out and connected with my cheek. “You cannot think,” she snarled. “You must.”

I pressed my palm to my cheek and glared back at her. “Or what?”

“Or you will lose everything you have schemed your way to possessing,” she hissed. “Do not think I do not know your designs. Some women come to me with the hope of being a surrogate to serve the kingdom, or for some misplaced love for their sovereign, or for the prestige it brings to a family to be so aligned with the royal house. But you… You do not want any of those things or have any of those high-born values.”

My chin lifted in defiance.

“What does it matter?” I challenged her. “If the king puts a child in my belly, he gets what he wants, and I will get what I want.”

Artin shook her head. “Your position is only possible because of me. And you would do well not to forget it. I can pull it all away in an instant.”

My mouth was dry.

As bold as I thought I was, she was right. It would take no effort for her to destroy everything I had and leave me in the gutter with nothing.

“You will do as you are instructed,” she said. It wasn’t a question, it was a command. “Say that you understand me, Liana.”

“I— I understand.”

“Good,” she snapped. “Wash yourself and get dressed. We have precious little time to follow the king’s command.”

The rooms at the Monarch had taken my breath away and had prepared me in a small way for the luxury that I would enjoy as a surrogate. Fine food, rich wine, and anything I could want… but I wanted nothing. I had never had hobbies or pursuits beyond my work, and the realization that I would have nothing to occupy my time while I waited for the king to arrive filled me with a nervousness that I hadn’t expected.

Artin pressed two wooden chests upon me before she left me in the care of the king’s servants.

“Hide these,” she hissed. “These are what you will need to inflame the king’s lust for you, and to open your womb and make your ripeness even more potent. The seed of a king is powerful, but when paired with these… there will be a child.”

I could only nod and accept the chests with a promise to hide them away.

“Follow the instructions that Tannyl has written for you, and we will see victory before the end of the month. Swear that you will do this.”

I nodded. “Of course. This is all— this is all thanks to you.”

Artin’s smile never failed to chill me to the bone, and her pale eyes were hard as she looked at me. “Do as you are commanded, Liana. And pray to the celestial goddesses that you are not a waste…”

A waste.

I was worth nothing to them if I could not conceive.

I knew what the child would mean for me and for my future… But what was this child worth to them?

I was afraid to ask.

When she departed with her servants, I sat on the edge of the sumptuous bed and tried to make sense of the chaos in my mind. I wanted this—badly. Bad enough to risk my life and my future to attain it. The life I wanted was within my grasp.

A servant carrying a silver tray approached and handed me a goblet of wine that smelled sweeter than anything I’d ever tasted.

“Do you need anything, my Lady?”

“I— I am not a lady,” I said.

“You are now,” the girl replied.

Until the king tired of me, or if I was worthless…

“Washing water, I think,” I said. I inhaled the scent of the wine and sighed happily as it enveloped me. Wildflowers and windswept berries… all the flavors of the wildwood and the history of our people.

“Of course,” the servant said. “Have you looked at your gowns? His Majesty sent five trunks here this morning.”