Page 53 of What Fury Brings
Today wouldn’t bring them closer together, that was for sure. No, today was punishment for his antics yesterday.
“What the fuck is that?” she heard shouted from the next room.
She allowed herself a grin before hiding it as she entered Andrastus’s room.
“Problem?” she asked innocently.
“No problem, Princess,” Vernys said as the eunuch redid Andrastus’s manacles to settle behind his back instead of in front of him.
Only then did they manage to attach the nipple clamps.
They were made of pure silver, with small onyx stones interspersed along the chain connecting them. A solid silver collar went around Andrastus’s neck, and Olerra was handed the end of the attached leash.
“He’s ready, Princess, unless you would like him to wear the harness, too.”
Olerra raised a brow in Andrastus’s direction, and the prince wiselyshut his mouth. “I don’t think that will be necessary today. Remove his sandals, though. I think he’ll be better off barefoot.”
He glared at her as two men stooped over to remove his shoes. Andrastus wore very little. A short black skirt that reached down to his mid-thigh. It made his ivory skin even paler. Other than the chains and ornamentation and armband, he was bare.
“Hmm,” she said. “I think he’s missing something. Ring for the palace piercer. He needs a jewel in his ear. Maybe two. I haven’t decided yet. We’ll see her tonight. We’ve a busy day today.”
The men all nodded before leaving them alone. The leather-wrapped handle in Olerra’s hand made a noise as she tightened her fist around it. She gave an experimental tug, and Andrastus was forced forward by the neck.
“If you think I’m leaving this room dressed like—”
She didn’t let him finish. “I’m really not in the mood for your temper today. You made me proud yesterday at the match against my cousin’s man, but you lost any favor gained when you tried to escape.”
“As if I fucking care about your favor.”
“You ought to. Because if I don’t care, no one else will. Everyone thinks you soiled by me. No other woman would look twice at you. The brothels might take you in, but you are essentially a broken man in a kingdom where no one gives a fuck who your father is. Today is a disciplinary day. I have a full schedule planned for us. It will be unpleasant but necessary. After that, we continue with our courtship as usual.”
He scoffed.
Olerra yanked on the cord, drawing Andrastus forward until they were nose-to-nose. “I chose you, Prince, to be mine. You haven’t let me woo you properly yet. And your antics yesterday have set us back. But we’ll get there. Today, I’m going to show you who I am and who my people are. Tomorrow, I will begin to show you what you are to me. Now,behave like a good little boy.” She finished her spiel by biting his neck. Not hard enough to break skin. Just enough for him to know whom he belonged to.
Olerra propped the leash over her shoulder. If she felt too much tension in the cord, she was sure to slow her pace. While causing him discomfort was her foremost concern today, hurting him never was. She would not be abusive. She was not her cousin.
Heads turned as they entered the breakfast hall. The conversations around the room abruptly changed, as the women ogled her betrothed. She liked knowing that others found him pleasing. She liked others seeing that he was hers.
Yesterday she’d introduced Andrastus to her aunt. Today it was time for Cyssia and Usstra to properly meet him.
Ydra, ever on her side, was sitting across from the two women in question with an empty seat beside her, clearly meant for Olerra. Ydra was a blessing from the goddess, through and through. Olerra knew that once she became queen, Ydra would become the next general, raising her own station. But that wasn’t why Ydra did what she did. It was the sisterhood they shared.
“Cyssia, Usstra,” Olerra said as she approached the table, “would you like to meet Andrastus?”
Cyssia looked him up and down. “After that fight yesterday? Absolutely. Sit with us.”
Cyssia’s man sat at her feet, massaging them. Usstra had no man to see to her, as she was amise. She preferred to surround herself with friends.
Olerra held up a finger for a servant. “A pillow, please,” she said once the serving girl appeared.
The requested item was placed on the floor beside Olerra’s chair. Olerra looked Andrastus in the eye.
“Kneel,” she said.
The muscles in Andrastus’s neck went taut. There was a moment of challenge, where she thought he might be throwing his noble ideas of not striking women right out the window. Again. She leaned into his ear.
“You will kneel on your own or I will make you kneel,” she whispered, tightening her grip on the leash.
