Children of the Gods - A Chosen Novel (4 page)

Then I saw him and I knew immediately. He had
that same triumphant look. The hatred I felt was not my own. It was
stronger, deeper than blood.

“My love,” he said as he took Anaya’s hand
and held it up like a trophy. She said nothing. His father said a
few ritualistic words I could not make out; she paid no attention.
The Sari took her in his arms and kissed her.

She was a statue.

“You will grow to love me,” he whispered in a
gentle voice, then held her hand up again.

The rest of the night blurred by. When the
guest’s were done offering their well wishes and blessings, he led
her to a dark room. She was strapped to a table similar to the one
I had been strapped to. Only she was not allowed the dignity of
clothes.

The pain was unbearable. Even the memory of
it was excruciating. I writhed under its influence until
mercifully, it dulled. She was not allowed weeks to recover or
gentle young girls to wash her before she was subjected to his
desire.

I lay in bed unable to move after such
horrific history. I could no longer fault her for wanting an escape
from him, even if it meant I was to be subject to him for the
remainder of my life.

It, after all, could be worse. He was not
unkind. He was actually gentle. I would suffer this burden for her;
a thousand years torture was more than sufficient punishment for
the wrongs waged against me.

Chapter 5

The chimes that announced the wall would be
opening, sounded. I tensed. I was still lying in bed as bare and
exposed as when the Sari left me. There he was, staring in at me, a
peculiar look of adoration and amusement on his face.

“Did you miss me?” he asked in an easy tone
as he stepped through the hole. He pressed his lips to my forehead,
they lingered for a second longer. He pulled back, a smile on his
face.

“Time to get up, my Princess. Your courtiers
await. We will have many other days to remain in bed. Today, we
have responsibilities.”

I made no effort to get up. I know he had
seen me in the most intimate way possible, but climbing out of bed
naked in front of anyone, let alone a man I hated, was not
something I was going to get used to quickly.

My stomach gave a low rumble. He turned from
the bureau with the most elegant blue dress I had ever seen. The
Haloran’s did not wear such fine clothing when they entered the
City. Even the women usually wore the tight black hide pants the
Sari now wore, and a form fitting leather top under a long tailed
jacket.

If they were not so hated, they would be
beautiful.

“I am still not feeling completely well. Can
it wait?”

He held his hand out to me. “You need to eat,
Love.”

My stomach growling had not escaped his
notice. I accepted his hand and was bare for his eyes to take me
all in. Mercifully, he held the dress up for me, covering most of
his view. To show him and maybe myself that I could do it, I lifted
my hands in the air. He obliged and slipped the dress over my head
then turned me and fastened the clasps at the back.

His hands were far gentler than I liked. If I
was not looking at him, I could forget what a monster he was. The
Luna was quick to remind me though, with her memories. I closed my
eyes and tried to block both her and the Sari out.

“Ready, Love?”

I looked up into his worried eyes. This was
going to be harder than I thought.

I nodded and took his hand.

We entered a grand hall where there were long
wooden tables, the finest I had ever seen, set on either side.
There was a plush burgundy carpet with an intricate pattern in rich
brown and gold accents that ran down the middle of the room forming
an elegant walkway.

Every head turned to stare as we stood in the
entry doors. A woman close to the front stood, and as if it were a
grand gesture, walked toward us. I braced myself. There was light
pressure on my hand as the Sari gave it a quick squeeze. I glanced
up at him but he was facing forward, smiling at the approaching
woman.

“Anaya.” Her shrill voice sounded nervous.
“Jaxson, here, has not been exaggerating. You are radiant.” She
reached in for an embrace but then did not actually touch, only
hovered close as if we were embracing, pressing her cheek to mine
then repeated the action on other side.

“Thank you. She is a comfortable young
thing,” I responded, trying to mimic the way they talked the few
times I overheard them in the City.

“Duester, you are monopolizing. Others would
like a chance to congratulate Anaya,” the Sari said with an air of
authority.

“My apologies,” she said, giving him a small
bow of the head and backing away.

There were at least sixty people in the room.
I would never remember all of their names in a day. A couple
approached together.

“Daniella,” the Sari announced her name as
the woman leaned forward for one of those false embraces, this time
laying a peck on each of my cheeks. I copied the action.

“You did a wonderful job choosing this one,
Jaxson.” Daniella bowed her head and took a step back allowing her
mate to step forward.

“Finale,” he announced the mates name as
Finale gave me a bow, not just of his head though, but a small show
of his shoulders also. I thought to curtsy but before I could, the
Sari’s arm was around my waist pulling me tight to him.

“Anaya has taken well to this body, but I
think she may have overdone it last night,” he offered in
explanation of my sway.

My face felt hot and my cheeks angry with
heat. I smiled, hoping I appeared to only be blushing. I did not
try to pull away from his embrace, but I was overly aware of the
intimacy of his touch.

Finale gave a knowing smile. “Two weeks is a
long time to be separated.”

“Indeed,” I responded.

“Jaxson.” He gave him one the small head only
bows, took Daniella’s hand and walked away. He whispered something
to her as they walked. She leaned her head back to look at me, her
cheeks were flushed.

One by one the entire room came to greet us.
I listened as the Sari announced each name. Hopeful Anaya would
help me if necessary.

The food was better than anything I had ever
tasted. I had not realized how hungry I was for real food. Up until
then I had been sustained by a sort of soupy liquid. I had three
helpings. I hated how much this seemed to please the Sari.

“Are you finally satisfied?” he whispered in
my ear after I pushed my plate back. A chill ran up my spine. I
wanted to stay there and avoid returning to our room but I could
not eat another bite.

“I am.”

He rose, took my hand, and led me on a walk
instead of back to our room. We stopped in the empty hallway and I
felt disoriented. I did not know the ship well, but was sure this
was not the way to the room.

When the wall opened, I could not help the
gasp that escaped.

“Griff has been taking care of your garden
while you were unable. I knew you would want to see it first. I
hope he has not messed things up too badly?”

“No. It is perfect.” I let go of his hand and
walked around trying to hide my wonder. There were exotic plants I
had never seen before, and the most beautiful of the local
ones.

“The only thing missing are lilies.”

“What was that, Love?” His voice came from
close behind me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his
head on my shoulder.

“Nothing, I was just thinking aloud.”

Back in the room, the serenity of the garden
was squashed by the large bed that occupied a majority of the
room’s space. I could endure living here and pretending to be
something I was not, if it were not for this part.

“Anaya.” His hand unfastened the clasp of my
dress. “I know this host is strong. That is why I chose her. You
have been so weak lately and those sharks in there have seen it,
they are circling. So even though I have been waiting a thousand
years to feel what we had last night and doing so may end it, you
need to rein in Reka’s impulses. That curtsy you almost gave Finale
would have showed everyone how much control she has.”

I dropped my head and nodded.

“You like being part of her?”

I froze. What was he asking? Did he know?

His hands reached around, gently pulling my
braid back. He unsecured it and spread my hair out across my back.
His fingers carefully combed through it, running the length of my
back then brushed it off the side of my neck, his lips finding the
bare skin. He slipped the dress over my shoulders and it slid down
my body to the floor, pooling around my feet.

He turned me to face him and his eyes were
questioning. My heart was racing. I was too afraid he would expect
an answer to his question, so I led him silently to the bed.
Really, I did not have it so bad. Girls my age that lived outside
the City were often traded for land in pairings to men twenty or
thirty years their senior.

At least he was kind and gentle. It could be
much worse. These were the things I told myself to keep from
screaming.

Chapter 6

The
chimes sounded, waking me as the wall opened. The Sari’s arm
tightened around me, pulling me back against his body.

“Your bath is here,” he whispered in my
ear.

The three girls looked at us without the
slightest shame, even though they were watching us lying in bed
together.

“Go ahead. I will be there in a moment,” I
said to the girls.

He clutched me tighter and kissed my
neck.

“I was afraid the other night was a once in a
lifetime deal.” The sigh that followed sent a chill down my spine.
He rolled me over so we were face to face.

“Promise me you will not go anywhere without
me, or Griff. Not until you have fully recovered.”

“You do not think I am strong enough?”

“Anaya, you have made many enemies over the
years with your… unorthodox policies. Many who would love to see
you fall.”

This was a surprise to me. I always assumed
they were close. Now that I thought about it, you never saw more
than two Haloran’s together at a time and that was only a Sari and
a Luna.

“Please promise me?”

I hated how concerned he was for her. It
confused me even though I knew it was not concern for me. Anaya
flashed the image of him holding her hand up like a trophy.

I reached up and touched his cheek.

“I would like to resume our tour of things I
have missed in my absence.”

“I have things I have to attend to today.
Will Griff suffice as a guide?”

“Yes, he will do.” I tried to sound
disappointed even though this was a turn I was overjoyed with.

He kissed me on the mouth which was something
he had only done while making love. It was unexpected and took my
breath away.

“Did I hurt you?”

I shook my head quickly. He studied my face
like he did not believe me, then pressed another softer, shallow
kiss on my lips and rose to dress. When his back was to me, I got
up and headed for the bath.

Two of the girls helped me into the oversized
bath while the other was mixing something on the table behind me.
The warm water was so comforting. I sank down and let it cover my
head. Hands scrambled to pull me out.

“Are you alright, my lady?” one of the
frightened girls asked. I had not noticed before, but they were all
three identical and all nearly in tears.

“I am so sorry. I was just enjoying the
water. I was not drowning.”

They did not look convinced.

“It is okay. Please continue.” I waved my
hand at them. The girl who was mixing stuff returned to the table
and collected a creamy liquid. One girl held her hands on my
forehead while the other poured the liquid over my hair. It smelled
like flowers and fruit. They massaged my head, working the liquid
into my hair and scalp.

“I will be back for dinner. Please wait for
me?” The Sari’s voice came from behind. I nearly fell back under
the water. The girls scrambled to steady me and helped me turn.

“Of course, I will wait for you.”

I could not help the blush that spread across
my cheeks. It was one thing for the girls to see me naked. And I
knew he could see me while in bed, but it was another thing to be
gazed at from a distance, all things out in the open for
viewing.

His eyes seemed to be smiling though his lips
were not. He gave a final scan up and down, his gaze lingering a
moment before he ducked back around the corner.

~o~

Griff was waiting in the hall for me when I
was dried and dressed. It was going to take some getting used to,
wearing their normal attire. The form fitting boy pants and tight
hide bodice left me feeling exposed, like I was nearly naked.

Griff’s eyebrows arched when I stepped
through the wall into the hall. I pretended not to notice.

“Where to?” I asked, hoping whatever question
or comment he had would drop.

“I thought we would stop by the kitchen
first. Get you some food and see the new staff.”

“Wonderful. I am famished.”

His eyebrows arched again but he said
nothing.

The chime must have alerted the kitchen staff
that we were coming because they were all busy at work, standing
extra tall, breath held in.

“You can all relax. I am only here because I
am hungry.”

There was a nervous round of laughter but no
one relaxed. There was a young boy who, despite his nervousness,
continued throwing glances my way. I walked over and stood in front
of him. He watched his hands closely as he chopped what looked like
mushrooms.

A lock of blonde hair fell in his eyes. He
reached up to brush it away, finally forced to look at me.

“Is there something I can get you, my lady?”
he asked.

“What should I eat?”

“What are you hungry for?”