Ambience: A Reverse Harem Fantasy Romance (In The King's Hands Book 1) by Sierra Knoxly

Author:Sierra Knoxly [Knoxly, Sierra]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cardium Press
Published: 2022-01-29T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Sira

Despite my best efforts to keep occupied, I find myself marking off the days until my week-long seclusion ends. It seems luck is on my side because my womanly monthlies come and go as I’m waiting for the king’s summons.

What frustrates me most is the lack of activity available to the concubines. The women sit around all day waiting for roll call, and it’s a wonder they haven’t all run to fat. All my life, I’ve been required to work. Even as Bane’s lap-women, we cleaned the keep when we were well enough. I’m not desperate to start scrubbing floors again, but once my cramps ease, I begin a few of the muscle-building exercises I saw Bane’s warriors doing. If the only way I can be of use is when the king calls for me, then I’ll be as prepared as I damn well can be.

Most of the other women avoid me, obviously believing the king has spurned me. But when Mallory continues to seek my company, June, Varessa, and Kalti all allow me to drift into the circle. From them, I learn the ins and outs of harem life and more of the history of the kingdom.

The stories they tell of our king’s heroic battle for the throne leave me longing to ease the difficult burden he carries. When the previous king passed, all sixteen sons battled for the throne, leaving a trail of blood and death that only Jasper survived, except for one brother who hasn’t been caught yet.

Of course, the concubines gossip plenty about precisely what I did wrong to be belted, but the truth never finds its way into the mix, so I know the boys and Mallory have kept their mouths shut. The versions of the story I happen to hear when no one thinks I’m around leave me shaking my head in wonder. The one that makes me laugh the most is the variation that says I passed wind in His Majesty’s presence.

On the eighth day, I take a midday nap, then spend the afternoon in the baths surrounded by lavender steam. Mallory and June, who both know me to be an early bather, watch me closely.

“You know something, don’t you?” Mallory finally asks when I request the rose-scented balms for my skin during my massage.

I shrug. “Maybe, maybe not. Isn’t this what every woman does, every day?”

She shakes her head. “Not you.”

I chuckle.

Something hot and heavy presses on my back, and my adrenaline spikes at the touch of smooth granite. The faint sickening thud of rocks on bodies murmurs like ghosts in my ears.

“Get them off!” My voice rises to a shriek.

Tamari gasps, and the pressure eases immediately. “Yes, my lady. My apologies.”

I swing myself up to sit on the table, breathing hard as I watch her carry the heated stones back to their shelves under the brazier. Heavy, crushing stones. I squeeze my eyes shut against bloody visions as a chill creeps down my bare spine, and I shudder.

When the slave returns, I rest my hand on her arm.

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