Page 17 of My Human Wife

g.“Good. The last woman who infiltrated Kamos’s palace stayed. Rumor has it she fell in love with him.”

l.“How many women have you sent on this mission before me?”

g.“Only two. The first was killed. We were told it was over a dispute not related to the mission, but that’s second-hand information.”

l.“How was she killed?”

g.“It was alleged that she was strangled.”

l.“And you don’t think Kamos suspects Terra Ka is feeding him women?”

g.“Of course, he suspects which is why he only uses one trader on Gala and that trader has a connection of trusted tradersheonly uses. But you see if you dig deep enough there’s always a chink in the armor, you can always find someone who’s having a bad day and is blaming someone else up the food chain. And so we use those unhappy traders.”

l.“And you don’t think I’m going to be obvious given it’s no secret where I just came from?”

g.“It’s true you’re probably the last chance we’ll have to try this particular plan. But I’ve high hopes for you, Lara. Unlike the other women, I think you know what’s going to be expected of you and you can do the job without being too affected by….”

l.“The sex,” I fill in for him.

g.“I reckon you’ve been educated in these matters. Not the penetration part, but the rest.” I search her green eyes to gauge how she’s feeling. The last thing I want to do is to send her to Kamos knowing what happens with human pets there.

l.“Does it make you uncomfortable to talk about it even after what we did? Have you had your fill of me sexually and now you’re ready to pass me off for another’s use?” That’s what allmales seemed to do to me. They would touch me and then be done with me. No one ever came back.

g.Her words cut me, but I use all my self-control to remain calm. “As I first mentioned at the Fertility Temple, I didn’t want to have sex with you. But,” I say quickly noting her lowered face expression, “that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy what we did together nor do I deny our marriage. But in this instance, when talking about your suitability for this mission, I’d be just as uncomfortable to talk to someone who is about to be tortured for me.” Since I met this woman, I’ve had a stone in my stomach thinking about sending her to Kamos. Especially now that she’s my wife.Am I insane to send her?“I’m asking you to do something you don’t want to do. Don’t assume for a second that I take that lightly or that I think you’ll enjoy being an Imperial man’s pet.”

l.“Many people would. They believe I like it because I’ve been forced to endure sexual abuse from unwanted males because the alternatives were always worse. No one wants to admit, ‘She had no choice.’”

g.“And many people are fools which is why this plan mayactuallywork. You know exactly how to play this part. You know that people who own pets, no matter how much they adore their pets, those pets will never be seen as equal.”

l.“I think you might be a fool too. I’m the third woman you are sending. Are you sure you’re not a fool?” Gael smiles at me for the first time and I’m struck by his sincerity.

g.“Lara, you can be the judge of that. Take the ring and the clothing. I’ll arrange some gold paint. Your language lesson starts soon in the conference room.”

l.“I don’t know how to get there.”

g.“Down the hall and on the right. I’ll escort you.”

l.We reach the conference room and it’s empty. “Has my language teacher not arrived?”

g.I greet her formally in Imperial and bow. “I am your language teacher.”

l.He has a glint in his eye that makes me smile. “You could have said so.”

g.“I like to compartmentalize things. Maybe too much. Anyway, I am the only one who is fluent in English and Imperial. Please sit down. We have a lot to cover.”

l.Gael sits across from me at the table and says something in Imperial. I repeat his words. They sound wrong and feel unfamiliar in my mouth. “Did you teach the other women who were sold to Kamos?”

g.“No. They had translators.”

l.“I heard that was illegal to give a human a translator in the Empire. It was one of the reasons my master hated Imperials.”

g.I shrug. “As everything in the galaxy it’s a grey area. There are still human pet experts who say that if you give a human a translator they’ll get brain damage. It doesn’t matter that it’s not true, people want it to be true because it’s much easier to keep a pet that can’t fluently talk to you. Now, Kamos will know your background with Lord Juo which will make you very attractive to him and you’ll be even more attractive if you speak some Imperial.”

l.“I don’t know how much I can learn in a month.”

g.“You speak Agnorrian. It’s one of the most difficult languages in the galaxy.”

l.“I was surrounded by Agnorrians and Uru. I didn’t have a choice.”

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