Page 57 of The Oracle of Dusk

“Move over, I can’t see him!”

“Shove off, I got here first!”

“Oh! Look! He’s quite tall.”

“Do you think he’d make good bed sport?”

“A king? Darling, kings don’t have to be good bed sport with all the people throwing themselves at their feet. You’d be lucky if he even knew where your clit was.”

Aurora blushed as the nobles burst into laughter.

“We’ll have plenty of time to find out either way. If he’s here, Flora is going to take her sweet time playing with him.”

“Unless Orithyia wants him dead.”

“Nowthatwould be a perfectly good waste of all those muscles. Trust if he hasn’t learned to suck cock and tease clit before now, he’ll be learning to do so quickly.”

Their vicious laughter burned Aurora’s ears. A king was reduced to future whore here in this prison. Though at least there would be a new target for their curiosity. Unless the king proved to be the worst of the lot. Given her luck, it was almost a certainty. She shivered.

“Great Goddess, he’s filthy. I can smell him from here.”

“What in the Loom has he been rolling in? Monstrosity-cursed indeed! My eyes are watering.”

“No, I don’t think I’m going to greet this one. Not until after he’s been bathed.”

“Agreed. Oh, that stench is turning my stomach.”

“I think I might faint.”

“Disgusting.”

“I heard there are cakes being served on the terrace. Shall we?”

“As long as it’s on the terrace on the opposite side of the palace.”

Another chorus of laughter, the stampede of footsteps following. Aurora waited until she was certain they were gone before she tried to exit her hiding place. She was lucky no one could see her grunting and sweating as she struggled to get to her feet, covered in soil. She was making adequate progress when the stench of animal dung hit her full-on.

In an instant, she dropped back into her hiding spot, freezing.

The doors to the palace opened, creaking slowly. The metal click of soldier’s boots echoed on the mosaic floors.

“Welcome to your new home.”

“If you want to keep your tongue, you had best unlock my shackles and quickly,” the king snarled.

The guard snorted. The delicate clinking of metal on metal signalled the keys. Aurora jumped when those same keys hit the ground just by her hiding place, sliding to a halt a mere two paces from her leg, hidden beneath foliage.

Merciful Triad, no.

“Fetch.”

“You’re a man without honour,” the king said.

The soldier’s laugh was uglier than even the prisoners of the guest palace.

“You’re the newest addition to the vivarium, Your Majesty. You’ll be sucking my cock for gossip within the year, if you live that long.”

Now the king laughed, a sound so full of malice it sent a shiver down Aurora’s spine.

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