Page 153 of Born for Silk

My monstrous size casts a shadow. I peer down at it, grief striking, sinking its essence into my cells like a poisoned blade. Odio. My shadow for nearly two decades. Dead. Gone.

Shutting my eyes, I breathe through the anguish in my chest. The restricting pressure. I fight the urge to clutch at it.

I remind myself that Aster is safe. Imagine her face, her smile, her lips, her soft body writhing beneath mine, visions that will ease this tight, painful mourning.

She is safe…

Aster and Tuscany have been escorted back to The Estate under Kong’s watchful guard… I don’t like it, but if I trust any man, it is him.

I fucking love her.

I stare at myself, frowning.

So, while I appear more like Turin in this moment, I am nothing like him. I feel deep affection, deep jealousy, and deep rage. My temper has always been a problem; I was never apathetic.

Rome of The Strait.

The Volatile King.

“We require some privacy.” Cairo approaches, dressed in his purple robe, strolling smoothly, unhurried, circling me like a noose as the doctors leave the room.

“You look like a king, Sire.” He muses. “I always know where you are. When I heard of the storm, I sent tanks out after you.”

“Very considerate.”

He laughs and stops in front of me. “I will keep you alive, Sire. It is my duty to The Cradle. And you happen to have a pregnant Silk Girl and the queen with you. Traveling with very precious possessions. I am surprised, given your affection for them both.”

The knowing words slide through me, weigh me down, heavy with meaning. “Say it, Cairo.”

His brows lift to his hairline. “Have I ever lied to you, Rome?”

“I have never caught you.”

He laughs again. “You are lying to me.”

“Aster and I?—”

His lip quirks. “Aster and I?”

Turning to face him, I widen my stance, expanding my shadow until it creeps toward his shoes. “Will keep our heirs in The Estate,” I continue, staunch. “We will raise them. They will each be given an eagle and a Guardian. This is the way I want it. And the Silk Girls from her Collective will have access to their babies.”

He stares at me, a smile sliding into place. Fit for a Trade Master. “I’ve been waiting for you to say that. I told you I know you, and it is true. Part of my Trade is to understand you, your motivations and your needs.” He clasps his hands at his waist. “If we put babes in citizen’s arms, the people are weak. If we allow Silk Girls to nurse, we lose them as breeders. Girls cannot focus on a man when a babe is present. History shows this.”

I deadpan, give nothing away.

For once.

“But put all that aside,” he adds, standing with seamless confidence despite my towering physique. “We are also still healing the land. The ruins have communities in the thousands. Tens of thousands in Ruins E. And across The Mainland, the Half-tower regresses, and pockets of land are overrun with Endigo, unmonitored and uncharted. We do not have the resources to warden them all, so as long as they remain peaceful, we leave them to their own devices. Correct? Use them when we need, but The Cradle is dangerous. You have just experienced this—what happens when a Silk Girl and a queen play outside the pretty walls we built for them.”

A heavy sigh leaves me.

He continues, “The babies must be kept safe at all costs. No one can know where they are kept. We cannot allow visitors in the nurseries.”

His monotone lecture causes my upper lip to curl and a depthless growl to slip through my teeth. With blood or bargain, I will have this. “I am not asking. I am demanding.”

“A king demands.” Cairo takes me in. “A king claims. Rome, you want to change hundreds of years of law. This is not an easy task.”

Volatility prowls inside me. “It won’t be the first time a king changes the rules to suit his own interests.”

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