Page 19 of My Wild Pet (Whispers from the Imperial Cage #2)

CHAPTER 19

Gabriel

Briar steps into the pet feeding area right behind Aefre.

Mon Dieu. Yesterday’s endurance tests pushed her too far, that much is obvious, but I worry there’s more. Did Aefre have sex with her last night? Already? The thought boils my blood.

Then I notice it—the silver harness strapped tightly across her chest and through her legs, pulsing faintly with Imperial tech. The harnais linguistique. My throat tightens. Memories I’ve buried for years resurface. And I swallow hard, pushing down the nausea associated with that, the language harness.

Efficient. Effective. Brutal. It forces the wearer to learn Imperial through direct neural stimulation, bypassing natural cognition and creating artificial pathways in the brain. It’s the Imperials’ favorite way of making humans “civilized.” But it’s torture. And now, it’s wrapped around Briar.

Her green eyes scan the room. For a moment, they meet mine. She knows something is off. She can sense it.

Every pet here recognizes the harness. We’ve all endured the barbaric device.

Kaelin’s voice breaks the silence. “Focus on your bowls, all of you. Or you’ll go hungry.”

The others obey instantly, their heads dipping into their food. But I can’t look away from Briar.

I know exactly what awaits her. The disorientation, the nausea, and the pure, unrelenting agony in the language harness. Stumbling over words never heard before, meanings that haven’t had time to settle in the mind. And through it all, Aefre will watch, impassive and detached, as though this is just another day of training. All the while, the pressure in the skull becomes unbearable, like the brain is being blown up and then stitched back together again.

I grip the edge of my bowl. I want to warn her.

Her gaze meets mine.

This time, I force a smile—small, reassuring, hollow. I hope she can draw strength from something I don’t even feel. Sois forte, Briar. Be strong.

Kaelin’s hand clamps down on my neck, shoving my face into my own bowl. The wet food covers the whole lower part of my face. “Focus, Ember.”

I bite back a retort.

When Aefre leads Briar out, every pet in the room looks up, their eyes filled with pity.

Kaelin doesn’t miss it. “Eyes down!” he barks, and when we hesitate, he shocks us all for good measure.

Pain rips through my body, but it’s nothing compared to the pain I know she’s about to endure.