0316382981 by Emily Holleman

0316382981 by Emily Holleman

Author:Emily Holleman [Holleman, Emily]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Published: 2015-10-05T21:00:00+00:00


Elder

The god-raised stars hung heavy in the sky, and Berenice lay awake. Her husband’s snores killed any chance of sleep. With every grating inhale, an image flickered in her mind: a pillow sealed over his mouth, a twitching corpse, and then blissful silence.

She hadn’t expected Seleucus to come to her that night, stinking of sour booze and the stale sweat of whores. It seemed that he employed a whole army of them. But they couldn’t give him what he needed. And so he raided her chambers, speech slurring with threats of “wife” and “heir” and “duty.” Rough hands bruised her flesh, and her body acquiesced to his.

Sleep soothed the demon. Traces of a sweet-faced child emerged, a dimple at his left cheek, a curl falling over his brow, parted teeth between parted lips. Desire sated, he lay helpless, and a maternal feeling awoke in Berenice’s breast. But she wasn’t a fool. Men like him could be tamed only by great beauty or great lust. Her own looks were ordinary at best, and on their wedding night, he’d made it quite clear that she lacked the skill to break him by other means.

Berenice rolled onto her side, pressing her face into her pillow, clamping bedclothes over her ears. Between her legs dripped a pink and milky substance, spilt seed congealed with spilt blood. “A hardy woman like you,” he’d sneered. “I didn’t think I’d have to be gentle when I took my marriage rites.” The remembrance nearly made her gag. She pushed the tender thoughts of motherhood from her mind.

At last, his breathing quieted and Berenice closed her eyes. She prayed for auspicious dreams, but she awoke to a blank and empty mind. His arms had wrapped around her in the night and she struggled to be free of the unwelcome weight.

“Hush,” Seleucus whispered. “Lie a moment with me.”

“Why?” Whatever yearning she’d had for closeness had been razed. She’d embrace the balm of hatred and purpose. Strength, not softness.

“I thought we might waste some gentle moments together before the rush of day.”

“You’ve already wasted my night of sleep. I won’t sacrifice my morning too.” Berenice twisted from his grasp.

“Life shouldn’t be torture between us, my dear. We’re cousins, not siblings. We don’t need to share your parents’ woes. The gods don’t frown upon our union.”

His eyes played over her breasts, her belly, her hips. Berenice wrenched the bedclothes from him and wrapped them tightly around her form.

“What’s made you shy?” He teased the fabric from her fingers. “I’ve seen your body bare and bloody. I like it well enough. I appreciate women of all shapes.”

“Last night you certainly appreciated a great number. Though I can’t speak to their shapes.”

“Does that bother you?” His fingers pinched her waist. “I hadn’t pictured you the jealous sort. I thought you were too high and mighty on your throne to bother with petty envies. But it seems I was wrong. All women, even queens, are the same in that respect.”

She hated him, with even more venom than when he was rutting on top of her.



Download



Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.