coming...
"It's tradition," Tsedaka drawled, adopting his irritating monotone. "All slaves are branded with the mark of the royal house to whom they serve. Your infantile desires are of no consequence."
Before I could protest further, he pressed the smoldering metal into the soft skin on the underside of Amelia's forearm. Seconds later he removed it, leaving behind a perfect red crescent moon. The inch long burn rested in the exact spot as my own birthmark. And, frankly, I had to give the girl credit. As meek as she appeared on the surface, she didn't even flinch. The same went for Lucien when his turn came; he took the pain without balking in the slightest.
Horrified, I squeezed my eyes shut to the macabre scene and wondered what in the world we'd gotten ourselves into. Indifferent to my reservations, the festivities went on. The string quartet resumed their tedious harmonies, the onlookers gradually transferred their attention from me to those within their groups, and everyone proceeded to have a good ol' time. Dancing, chattering, laughing. Meanwhile, I sank deeper into my own muddled thoughts, desperately wishing I could wake myself from the nightmare that now defined my life.
Chapter 9
"May I have this dance?" Adrian asked as he bowed with a gallant flourish, nearly losing his crown in the process.
Outwardly, I met his pretentious exhibition with a disinterested stare while silently observing the familiar tingles of anger that were creeping up my spine. For real, all the groveling irritated me worse than nails grating across a chalkboard. And a dance? Yeah sure, like I knew how to dance to the classical garbage they kept playing. Hadn't any of 'em ever heard of techno? Sigh.
"I refuse to do that ," I eventually sneered, pointing toward the center of the room. "Whatever the hell that is..."
"It's the waltz and I'll show you how. Come on, don't be shy," he teased, a jovial smile accentuating his freakishly inviting lips.
Perturbed, I glared at several onlookers that'd been gawking at me incessantly for the last hour before slowly returning my scrutiny to him. "Look, I'm sick of sitting on this stupid throne, being on display. How 'bout you help me get outta here? I mean, I'd prefer to escape and all. But, since I probably can't have that, I'll just settle for going back to my room."
"It's customary for the honorees to remain until the festivities conclude. Nevertheless, you might be able to slip out early if you do something to make it seem as though you've exerted yourself." He paused to wink at me. "Dancing would be an excellent ruse."
"Well then," I grumped, standing and taking his hand. "Dancing sounds wonderful ."
With a chuckle, Adrian led me to the edge of a circle that'd formed around the dancers. After which, he gazed straight into my eyes. "Relax, darling," he whispered, concentration lining his mouth as he moved closer. "I'll show you the steps."
Briefly, I wondered how he was gonna teach me without actually being on the dance floor. However, my skepticism rapidly dissipated when an uninvited flood of images bombarded my mind. Woozy, cramped, too much to process. Frantically, I wrenched my face away from his and croaked a gruff, "Shit! Stop that!"
In a flash, Adrian backed off and shrugged his shoulders apologetically. "Sorry, it's the first time I've ever transferred information through a knowledge stream. My father advised me of the possibility, given the correct match of powers between participants. That said, I might've pushed it a bit far. Are you
"It's tradition," Tsedaka drawled, adopting his irritating monotone. "All slaves are branded with the mark of the royal house to whom they serve. Your infantile desires are of no consequence."
Before I could protest further, he pressed the smoldering metal into the soft skin on the underside of Amelia's forearm. Seconds later he removed it, leaving behind a perfect red crescent moon. The inch long burn rested in the exact spot as my own birthmark. And, frankly, I had to give the girl credit. As meek as she appeared on the surface, she didn't even flinch. The same went for Lucien when his turn came; he took the pain without balking in the slightest.
Horrified, I squeezed my eyes shut to the macabre scene and wondered what in the world we'd gotten ourselves into. Indifferent to my reservations, the festivities went on. The string quartet resumed their tedious harmonies, the onlookers gradually transferred their attention from me to those within their groups, and everyone proceeded to have a good ol' time. Dancing, chattering, laughing. Meanwhile, I sank deeper into my own muddled thoughts, desperately wishing I could wake myself from the nightmare that now defined my life.
Chapter 9
"May I have this dance?" Adrian asked as he bowed with a gallant flourish, nearly losing his crown in the process.
Outwardly, I met his pretentious exhibition with a disinterested stare while silently observing the familiar tingles of anger that were creeping up my spine. For real, all the groveling irritated me worse than nails grating across a chalkboard. And a dance? Yeah sure, like I knew how to dance to the classical garbage they kept playing. Hadn't any of 'em ever heard of techno? Sigh.
"I refuse to do that ," I eventually sneered, pointing toward the center of the room. "Whatever the hell that is..."
"It's the waltz and I'll show you how. Come on, don't be shy," he teased, a jovial smile accentuating his freakishly inviting lips.
Perturbed, I glared at several onlookers that'd been gawking at me incessantly for the last hour before slowly returning my scrutiny to him. "Look, I'm sick of sitting on this stupid throne, being on display. How 'bout you help me get outta here? I mean, I'd prefer to escape and all. But, since I probably can't have that, I'll just settle for going back to my room."
"It's customary for the honorees to remain until the festivities conclude. Nevertheless, you might be able to slip out early if you do something to make it seem as though you've exerted yourself." He paused to wink at me. "Dancing would be an excellent ruse."
"Well then," I grumped, standing and taking his hand. "Dancing sounds wonderful ."
With a chuckle, Adrian led me to the edge of a circle that'd formed around the dancers. After which, he gazed straight into my eyes. "Relax, darling," he whispered, concentration lining his mouth as he moved closer. "I'll show you the steps."
Briefly, I wondered how he was gonna teach me without actually being on the dance floor. However, my skepticism rapidly dissipated when an uninvited flood of images bombarded my mind. Woozy, cramped, too much to process. Frantically, I wrenched my face away from his and croaked a gruff, "Shit! Stop that!"
In a flash, Adrian backed off and shrugged his shoulders apologetically. "Sorry, it's the first time I've ever transferred information through a knowledge stream. My father advised me of the possibility, given the correct match of powers between participants. That said, I might've pushed it a bit far. Are you
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