The Shrinemaiden (The Maidens) (25 page)

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Allies

General Kazer had been near inexhaustible. He had taken her again several times that night, with Adelai sometimes half-waking from a fitful doze to find him on top of her, lapping at her cunny with his thick, flat tongue. She only had time to cry out, half in surprise and half in reluctant pleasure, and the general would continue not until she orgasmed, but only until she was wet and slick, ready for entry. Then he would push her legs apart to enter her abruptly, with a grunt. The general’s cock was easily the largest Adelai had ever seen, certainly the largest that had ever been inside her, and he took little time with her pleasure, fucking her hard instead to bolster his own. It was always a strange combination of hurt and delight for Adelai, still able to find pleasure though he was often too rough, but after the
arrisque
all the general was concerned about was spending in her as many times as he could, leaving her quivering and sensitive, but only able to spend once herself.

It was well past midnight by the time the general had fallen asleep, his loud snores telling her that he was finished for the night. She waited for some time anyway, to ensure that he would not be getting up or reaching for her again, before quietly stealing out of the bed, slipping noiselessly into a dressing gown she had brought with her. She could not help but feel a small surge of pity for Caera, though the shrinemaiden had also impressed her. If this was what the other girl had to go through every night, it amazed her that she could still remain so lively and cheerful most days.

She had taken note of the location of the general’s study earlier, when Caera had been pointing out the manor’s numerous rooms. Adelai felt nervous sneaking about in the large house, knowing that the other guests were also inside the manor. They could step out and catch her at a moment’s notice, but she felt that the risk was worth it.

But there were muffled sounds coming from the small foyer that she had to go through to gain access to the study, and it was those sounds that drew her, cautious but curious as to what was going on. What she saw halted her in mid-step.

The Silvermaiden was on the sofa, and she was straddling her slave, the Highrolfe general. She had chosen not to disrobe completely, but her dressing gown was already completely askew, her full breasts on display. Her hands were fisted against Khalid’s chest, and she was moving up and down on him, frantic. Her head was flung back and her eyes were closed, biting down a little on her lip to prevent herself from making too much noise. Khalid, no longer reluctant or disobedient, was hammering roughly up into her, his face strained with need as his eyes took in the orgasming woman above him. Both were too caught up in their own passions to notice her, and Adelai tried to take a few steps back, her first instinct to move out of the room.

She ran into a solidly built pair of arms, and a hand clapped over her mouth to stifle her noise of surprise. “Shush,” said a voice above her, sounding amused, even as the newcomer moved them to a more secluded spot where they would be less visible. “We wouldn’t want to spoil my cousin’s fun, now would we?”

He relaxed his hold, and Adelai spun around to see the Wolf grinning down at her. “Did you finally tire the Jackal out? Though I imagine he should already be asleep around this time, regardless.”

It felt like he was trying to test her. Rather than be annoyed or offended by his mocking tone, Adelai smiled brightly at him. “I would not be out of bed had I not.”

He chuckled. “Nothing fazes you, does it?” He stepped closer toward her, and despite the faint soreness that still lingered after her bouts with General Kazer, Adelai could understand the attraction the man possessed. Where the Jackal was abrupt and selfish, relying on strength rather than technique, the Wolf was a different breed of animal completely. “Not even me?”

“Not even you,” Adelai agreed, refusing to back down. He had moved so close, and she had nearly forgotten the couple behind them, still rocking against each other. “I think I know how to read people well enough.”

“And what do you read of me? Not like Kazer, am I?”

“No,” she said quietly, “the Jackal is like a large wave that threatens to mow down anything in its path. He would always use force over subtlety.”

“And I?” He took her chin, bent his head so that his mouth was so close. He could easily take her now if he wanted to. She remembered his exertions with his slave, the ecstatic look on the redhead’s face as she clenched tightly around his cock, and shivered despite herself.

“You are like the groundwater,” she breathed, “seeping into the cracks, seeking to batter down one’s defenses from within. You exploit the weaknesses of your opponent to achieve victory, rather than face them head-on where casualties would be greater. And that requires a considerable amount of technique.”

“Would you want me to exert a considerable amount of technique on you tonight?”

“No, you won’t.”

The general arched an eyebrow, and she went on, “I think you’re a little too besotted with your slave yourself, to seek out my bed.”

He smirked. “Besotted? With her?”

“Earlier tonight, when the Jackal talked about her… I saw the expression on your face when you looked back at him. You looked ready to throttle him, and all for something he said with little thought. And then later on, at the
arrisque
. The other masters were quick to share their own slaves, but you refused. And even after she had fallen asleep, you could have taken part in the other revelries, but you did not. I only saw you looking down at her, and I know what I saw.” It had been the same look Captain Thornton gave her sometimes, and in many ways, the Wolf reminded her of him.

The general was silent now, quiet for so long that Adelai worried if she had given offense. But then his features relaxed, and he sighed. “This is why I do not purchase shrinemaidens, though you seem more astute than many others I have met.” He lifted his face away from hers, the tense moment passing. “Then why are you sneaking around the Jackal’s manor? Are you a spy for some other kingdom, Adelai?”

“No,” she said, blushing.

“A pity, then. Otherwise, I would have asked you to join me.”

To her astonishment, the Wolf moved past her, entering the Jackal’s study himself. She followed him inside, where he began to rifle through General Kazer’s papers without any trace of embarrassment. “What are you doing?” she whispered.

“Proof of the king’s madness. Kazer is one of the king’s closest confidantes, but he is careless with the paperwork.”

Adelai stilled. “Does that mean… you’re one of the….” It had come as a shock. The Wolf was the last person she had expected to be plotting against the king. But then again, if he had reminded her so much of Captain Thornton, then it should not have come as such a surprise.

“Does your oath as a shrinemaiden bind you still?” Adelai nodded. She did not want to lie to him, but she did not know him well enough to divulge her own secrets. “Let us say that I am a loyal citizen of Sarcopia in my own way, though not in the manner the king might intend me to be.”

“But the other guests…”

“Are sleeping quite soundly. They had drained my cousin’s silverwine tonight, and failed to notice certain embellishments she had added into the drink. A slow-acting powder that took some time to take effect, but enough to keep them unconscious till morning.”

So that was why he had known the Jackal would pass out soon enough. “Your cousin is a part of this, too?”

“Why do you think she and her paramour are currently preoccupied on the Jackal’s foyer? It was a good distraction, in case anyone had been able to resist the effects of the drink. She balked at first, but she is not the prude she always appears to be.” The Wolf scowled, prowling the room like the animal he had been so aptly named after. “Where the hell does he keep his papers?”

“I might think of checking behind the volumes in his bookcase, milord,” Adelai said softly. At his incredulity, she hastened to explain. “General Kazer had said as much earlier. He talked about keeping me behind his books, so that no one else might see.”

“Perhaps you are not as neutral as you claim to be, Lady Adelai,” the general smiled, crossing toward the small bookcase the Jackal owned, where he kept a few meager books. He let out a small sound of satisfaction as he uncovered a hidden recess behind them, affixed by a lock. “Do you by any chance know how to unlock safes, shrinemaiden?”

“I can,” a voice said softly from behind them.

It was the redhaired girl. She was wearing a plain gown this time, and she appeared more composed than when Adelai had seen her last.

“I told you to stay in the room,” General Falen said. His voice was stern, but there was none of the anger Adelai had expected. Even more surprising was when the girl squared her shoulders and glared back at her master. “I can pick locks,” she repeated, stubborn.

Rather than berate her for her impertinence the Wolf actually grinned, as if pleased that she was standing up to him. He let her walk toward the safe, and study the lock. “Do you have some hairpins, milady?” The girl asked Adelai, as polite as she had not been to her own master.

Adelai produced a couple of small ornate pins, and the redhaired girl bent to begin the task, inserting them into the metal lock.

“What is your role in all this, shrinemaiden?” The general asked, his voice low.

“We are allowed to protect ourselves in times of war, General - even if that means taking steps to ensure none will come to pass. There are many shrinemaidens in Sarcopia, and I owe it to my sisters.”

“And not to Thornton Altfyre?”

She froze. The general smiled at her, knowing. “Your secret is safe with me, Adelai. It seems we are all in this together. What have you learned so far?”

She was tempted to tell him everything, but she paused. She didn’t know if she could trust him, or if this was his way of getting her to trust him, to report to his king afterward. She was already compromised, but refused to connect herself in any way to Thornton, so she pursued her lips and shook her head. “All I’ve heard of is a war Sarcopia plans with Atalantea. My temple is situated in between both your kingdoms, and would fare badly in its aftermath. You yourself confirmed it earlier with General Kazer, at supper.”

He chuckled. “Kazer insisted on talking shop at the table, though I much rather he hadn’t. I would be wary myself, had I been in your place.”

“Here,” The redhaired girl said quietly, who had successfully picked the lock. “Good girl,” the Wolf said, and the glare returned to her face. “I didn’t do this for you,” she snapped irritably.

“I think I like you better when you were writhing on my lap, Kinlee.”

The girl’s face turned as red as her hair. “You - you drugged me!”

“I sedated you. Your mouth has gotten you in trouble enough times for me not to take the risk. In my defense, I had no idea it would make you so… passionate.” Her blushing increased, and Adelai wondered about their relationship. Kinlee seemed wiling enough to play the slave for the general, but in private they were anything but.

“You - you displayed me in public! That - the man tried to touch me, and if you hadn’t - “

The girl was immediately silenced when the Wolf’s mouth came down on hers, feasting hungrily. Kinlee scratched vainly at his shirt for a few moments before giving up, leaning into his body as his lips savaged hers. Adelai looked away quickly until they were done, and Kinlee was short of both breath and words when he finally released her. Her lips were bruised, her eyes feverish. Was that how she looked like, Adelai wondered, whenever Thornton kissed her?

“Like I said, Kinlee - your mouth gets you often in trouble.” The Wolf strode over and perused its contents, a frown marring his lips. “It’s not quite the damning evidence I’ve been looking for, but you might be interested in this, Adelai.”

Puzzled, Adelai took the papers from the general. Her eyes widened as she took in the contents.

She’d been hoping General Kazer had the documents detailing King Garrant’s scheme to assassinate King Belair. That alone would have put an end to all of Sarcopia’s machinations, and she would have fulfilled her end of the bargain. She knew from the tone of General Falen’s voice, however, that it wouldn’t be as simple as that. Garrant was a shrewd man himself, even if he was a madman, and he wouldn’t have left any incriminating papers lying around for others to find.

What General Falen had given her was not a royal decree, but a bill of sales, for a cargo of slaves that had been shipped out to other kingdoms. Each slave was noted there by name, age and price, and the list was long. But what truly horrified her was how young many of these slaves were. Most of them were females between the ages of eight and thirteen, commodities referred to as “pleasure serfs” on paper. A small handwritten note on the side, scrawled in very familiar writing, boasted “all female serfs sampled, and vouched for quality”

General Kazer was one of the two merchants listed as overseeing the transaction.

The other was the earl of Sevigne. That sneering implication, that he had enjoyed firsthand experience with those young girls before selling them, had been in his handwriting.

She didn’t know what to feel: betrayal and horror, undoubtedly, and shock. But most of all, she angry. A quiet fury was rising from inside of her, the realization that she had been spending weeks with what she had thought was a man who had always been polite to her, thinking that his son was exaggerating some aspects of his character because of the latter’s own bias. And now she was standing in General Kazer’s study, and she was holding proof that Daken was right after all; that the earl of Sevigne was the worst a slaver can be: one who sells young children for profit.

“Those fucking sons of bitches.” The Wolf said. “I recognize some of these names. They’re children of several nobles who’d been vocal against the crown for some time. It was believed they’d all ran away.”

“That’s horrible,” the redhaired girl looked stricken.

Adelai couldn’t find the words; they were all lodged inside her throat, and she couldn’t choke them out.