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But I don’t care. My servant will have already gossiped.

Rumors spread like wildfire on a closed ship.

My staff has had nothing to do for the last week, forbidden to leave the ship and mingle with Aurelians.

It was a restriction placed to avoid any diplomatic scandals if something were to happen between a triad and one of the women on my ship.

I wouldn’t be surprised if some had tried to sneak off.

I look at myself over the counter that I can barely see over. Everything is built to the dimensions of the giant species. I’m in their world, but I’m still torn.

The three of them made me feel things I didn’t know were possible.

I’m already craving it again. The lust and hunger as they are driven insane by the Mating Rage, that growing anticipation of pure, perfect surrender when I finally give in, when I open my legs to the triad, and they take me, one after another.

The thought of the cool black rings enters my mind, and I bite my lip in uncertainty.

I’m still not ready to face the Bond. Sex with the three of them while they wear those rings would be intense, but I can remember what Titus said about copulating with women who did not have the scent of a potential mate.

Friction. Bodies, moving together. No matter how good it would feel, it could never be as deep as truly giving in, opening my body to the triad while nothing severed the link between us.

The smile creeps up my lips as I smooth my hair.

It’s nice to know that even with the rings on their fingers, the three of them still look at me like I am the only woman to exist in the world.

I would have always wondered if they were attracted to me because of me, or because of the vision that told them I am the one woman in the universe who can bear their sons.

I stop trying to tame my messy hair, and leave the showers in the now wrinkled dress. The three squires are standing proudly in the bedroom, hands near their weapons.

The first opens the door and strides out. I follow him, and the other two squires take their position behind me, forming a protective wall as they walk out proudly past the guards, excited to be escorting such an important person through the ship.

It’s strange. They look like they are not yet twenty, but they’ve lived so much longer than me.

They stop when we get to my ship, and the bay door opens for me, the walkway extending. I enter my ship past the guards stationed inside my ship, who both can’t stop quickly glancing from my messy hair to my crumpled dress.

As I walk through the ship to my chambers, I pass by open doorways into the technical rooms of the ships, where rooms of staff scan through star-maps and monitor the ship’s vitals.

My presence stops all conversation. People glance over, staring in the same way I used to look at the women who went to Colossus to join the harems. I can remember giggling with my younger sister, making comments.

They no longer see me as the gray, drab Prime Minister. They’re seeing me as something alien to them. They’ll gossip behind my back, that I’m sure of, and I know there will be a few choice words used that would have horrified me just a week ago.

I let their looks wash over me, ignoring the judgmental stares, my head high as I walk back to my chambers.

When I’m alone, I don’t feel like changing back into the grays of the administration. So I strip off the dress, carefully take off the jeweled choker, which I place on my desk, and change into new undergarments as I lie back in my bed.

My adrenaline was pouring through me when I was in the pleasure room with them, and now, as I lie back, I’m deeply exhausted.

Part of me wishes I was in bed with the three men, those huge arms cradling around me tightly, up against the safety of their power.

There’s a new defiance in me. The way I walked through the judgmental stares, knowing they saw the wet stains on my dress. I was completely unashamed. It’s a new kind of power. Their gazes mean nothing to me.

But then I sit up, shocked as a new wave of unease rushes through me.

Our next stop is Virelia. Every other planetary ritual means nothing to me, but I had always imagined one day planting the seeds of a tree with the love of my life. Now we’ll be planting four…

While my family watches.

I’m going to have to face my older brother.

He was my biggest supporter when I told him my crazy dream, that me, a nobody from Virelia, wanted to work for the Administration.

Neither of us could have imagined how quickly I would rise from a clerk to the Administration, and then to Prime Minster of Pentaris itself, but deep down, neither of us were too surprised.

We both knew that Pentaris was hungry for young, fresh blood, the voice of the youth and the fiercely independent planets on the outskirts who needed a champion who would fight to protect Pentaris against Aurelian overreach and Toad incursions.

I’m not looking forward to seeing my parents, either.

They are both respected wardens, protecting the forests from poachers and managing the complex ecosystems of Virelia, keeping nature in balance as their predecessors did for millennia.

They taught me from a young age how invasive species could wreak havoc.

And now I’m the one bringing Aurelians to our planet. The combat boots of the alien conquerors will trample Virelian soil, because I wasn’t strong enough to whip the votes against the trade deal.

I am the face of our submission. To the vast majority, I am the symbol of negotiating and bridging our two cultures, and I have already heard reports of parades and festivals, often with my face plastered on banners.

The masses will have wealth and resources like never before.

The age of scarcity, when all excess grain was pushed out to Frosthold, when factories worked non-stop to provide arms, is over.

But to my family, I will be the face of the first surrender of the principles we hold the most dear.

I lay back in bed and mumble the command to turn off the lights. Sleep finds me slowly, tossing and turning in bed, haunted by thoughts of what’s to come.