Page 25 of Bonded By Savages

Did losing the third of their triad drive them mad?

Or was it me? Did I change them? Is it my fault they left the noble Aurelian to join the Fanatics?

I peer out at the city of darkness, my hands on the sill, overwhelmed, and turn away quickly, rushing through the doors to the bathroom.

It’s huge. There’s a big stone tub, but I can’t imagine the Aurelians bathing in it. In the corner is a shower without a door. Instead, it has a rectangle of black stone up to my knees to keep the water in. It’s big enough to fit a football team, with high ceilings. Instead of a nozzle, the ceiling has a hundred tiny little holes that must drip down water.

The toilet is big enough I will have to be careful not to fall in. I quickly pee, flush, then jolt upwards as a warm jet of water splashes me. A littleeepcomes out of my mouth.

“Everything okay?” There’s a knock at the door. One of the servants must have been waiting for me to wake, and I remember with guilt I asked for broth when I woke. The poor woman must have been waiting, ear pressed to the door.

“Yeah! One second!” I say, looking at the toilet with suspicion. Of all the technologies the Aurelians had, I didn’t expect a cleansing jet of water in their damn toilets. There’s a million buttons on it. I grab a towel, wrapping it around myself, wishing I had a shower first, because I am still dirty from the Toad palace. I wash my hands and go to the door, opening it.

Laura’s on the other side, and my stomach grumbles as I see the bowl of broth. I grab it with both, my stomach growling, and take a noisy sip as the spoon clatters to the ground.

“Slow, slow!” she says, and I lower it from my mouth, licking my lips, embarrassed.

“I’m sorry…I…”

“Don’t be sorry. But if any harm comes to you, it’s my hide. And I rather like my hide. I never got your name!”

I look away. I already lied to the Aurelians, and it’s not fair to put her in a position to hold my secrets. “Nelly,” I answer.

“Sit down, Nelly, enjoy. Don’t worry, I’ll have fresh sheets for you before tonight,” she says, and I sit down on the bed and take another sip. Gods, but it’s good. Vegetables and meaty broth, with a salty flavor that must be full of minerals.

She walks into the bathroom, putting down a bag. “There’s everything you could need in here—fresh towels, toothpaste, a human-sized toothbrush—those are hard to find on Obsidious, you know! And some shampoo. I found you some clothes, but you’re skin and bones, they’ll be big on you.”

I take another sip and find that the bowl is empty. “This soup is so good,” I say.

She beams. “My special recipe. The Aurelians want you on a liquid diet, but I’ll smuggle you up half a bun later, if you think your stomach can handle it. What—” She shuts up.

“No, you can ask.”

“What happened to you?” Her voice is full of sorrow.

“Bad past. Toads.”

She can tell I don’t want to talk about it, and she excuses herself gently. I put the bowl down on the bedside table to take a shower. At one edge of the shower, there is a ridge you can sit on. I have to jump up, my legs dangling. Everything is built to the specifications of the over seven-foot-tall aliens, and I feel tiny. I pull the towel off, throwing it onto the bathtub.

“Warm water, please,” I say to the AI. I feel vaguely ridiculous for saying please, especially when nothing happens. “Oh, of course.” I repeat the words in Aurelian, and warm water jets down from the sky. It caresses my body, and I lean back.

I’m trapped on an alien planet…

But as alien planets go, this one isn’t so bad. My belly is full. I’m warm and comfortable after a deep rest, and the Aurelians aren’t what I expected from Fanatics.

I tap my fingers against the stone ledge as steam fills the bathroom.

Fanatics. I thought they would grab their Mate. I thought they’d grab me, push my legs open, and breed me rough in front of the crowd.

I bite my lip as my nipples harden. I can’t help it. Those twodosomething to me.

The lust is drowned by a wave of grief. I felt all three Aurelians in my mind. The savage power of the third of their triad is gone, and his rage seems to have infected the other two. When I first sensed them, the leader was filled with a noble, imperial power, the other haughty Aurelian blessed with a quick mind and a dancing wit. I could feel his intelligence.

Now the two of them are shadows of their old selves, lost in anger and rage. Can I pull them back from their pain, or is it too late for them?

I put my chin up. There’s no saving them. Icannottrust men with the brands on their chests.

Aurelians bargain. I’m responsible for the lives of those five women I managed to beg Damian to save, and a tear goes down my cheeks for the others that couldn’t make it through.

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