Page 78 of Bred

“Five?”

She nodded. “You must choose a favorite. I think you would favor the dark green… The embroidery would match your eyes very well. There are jewels as well.”

“I—”

I stopped short of saying that I didn’t deserve this finery. But this was what I wanted. I would have to get used to it. All of it.

It all felt so strange.

“I shall return with washing water shortly,” the girl said.

“Is his Majesty—”

She paused. “The king is hunting with his brothers,” she said. “They are not expected back at the palace for several hours.”

“I see.”

“The king will come and go as he pleases,” the servant said. “You must not trouble yourself.”

I nodded. As Artin had reminded me, I was a royal possession now, and he would use me as he saw fit.

Servants came and went, and I tried to ignore them as I pawed through the gowns that had been sent for me. Yards of gossamer watersilk, rich velvets, embroidered panels, and feathers… I could never choose my favorite. Or which order to wear them in.

Even the undergarments were made of fine, almost transparent material that I felt guilty pulling over my body. The jewelry was just as overwhelming. For my hair, there were long strings of black pearls that had been taken from the shore of the orc territory on the opposite side of the inland sea—pearls bought with blood and sacrifice; I could almost see it in their oily depths.

Thick cuffs of intricately engraved silverblue set with moonstones fit over my wrists as though they had been made especially for me. The necklaces were beautiful, the purple-veined gold that was reserved for royalty set with large gems mined from the heart of the mountain below the citadel that housed the Jeweled Throne and the three kings who ruled over these lands.

But I couldn’t wear them.

None of it felt right. It was all too heavy, and I didn’t look like myself when I saw my reflection in the mirror.

The only piece of jewelry I couldn’t remove was the sapphire chain that had been fastened around my hips. I could see its glint through the gossamer fabric of the shift I wore.

I’d tried to take it off, but the chain was fastened there by magic, and the only way it would come off was when my pregnancy had been confirmed. A powerful spell that could only be released by the change in my body…

An insurance policy.

The servant I’d sent away for washing water returned and set a large pottery jug down on a marble-topped table that held a large glass bowl. She pulled soft linen from a cupboard and set it beside the bowl.

She clapped her hands sharply. “Everyone out.”

Her command echoed through the room, and the other servants gathered up their work and filed out of the room without so much as a backward glance.

I smiled gratefully as she refilled my wine goblet and left me alone to bathe.

I took a sip of wine and walked across the room to the bowl of steaming water. I savored the taste as it settled on my tongue and then set the goblet down upon the marble.

“Are you enjoying your new chambers?”

Venali Leonan’s deep voice sent shivers down my spine and I spun around to find him. He stood in an arched doorway, leaning casually against the dark wooden frame like a rogue at a tavern. His dark eyes glittered in the soft light, and a nervous flutter twisted in my stomach. Resisting the urge to pull a robe around my shoulders, I stood up a little straighter and lifted my chin.

The gossamer fabric of the shift clung to my body, and his lips curved appreciatively.

“They are wonderful, thank you,” I said. I didn’t want to ask if every one of the potential breeders was given such beautiful accommodation.

“Finer than what you are used to?”

I could not stop the derisive snort that burst out, and the king’s smile widened.