Lover of Thorns and Holy Gods (Wraith Kings) by Grace Draven

Author:Grace Draven [Draven, Grace]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grace Draven
Published: 2016-07-20T04:00:00+00:00

~END~

A MATTER OF TRUST

Ildiko eyed the solar’s closed door longingly, wondering how many of Serovek Pangion’s other guests she might offend if she leapt out of her chair and bolted for freedom. Her escape route, however, was blocked by the wives or sisters of thanes loyal to the Margrave of High Salure, and she was surrounded on either side by more.

The pleasant, shallow chit-chat she expected and engaged in when the women first entered the solar had quickly devolved into lewd gossip and speculation regarding their host and his carnal talents.

“Oh, I remember a fine night three summers ago. I rode him all night long and into the next morning.”

“With or without a saddle?”

The women around Ildiko laughed. A few exchanged knowing smirks, as if they shared a common knowledge of the “morning ride.” Others wore blushes or displayed narrow-eyed stares of envy.

Ildiko was among those who blushed. She didn’t suffer from false modesty, only a desire not to learn the details of Lord Pangion’s prowess in the bedchamber. Or the well room. Or the stables. Or the pastures. Holy gods, was it any wonder Serovek of High Salure had earned the title of Beladine Stallion?

“All night?” another woman chimed in. “That should have made you good and bow-legged.”

More tittering laughter that abruptly changed to gasps when a third woman said “Plenty of men can sustain a good gallop over a long ride. His lordship’s weakness isn’t what’s between a woman’s thighs but between her teeth.”

“Nooo,” someone else said. “I heard he’s far too big—”

“Oh, he’s a mouthful all right.”

More admiring laughter followed, and Ildiko did her best to maintain a bland expression and hide behind her wine goblet. She would never be able to look at Serovek the same way again after this conversation.

Beladine noblewomen were no different from Gauri noblewomen when it came to gossip, and they were just as quick to swap stories of bedroom conquests as their male counterparts. Much of Ildiko’s education about what went on between the sheets had come not only from overhearing servants’ gossip but from such talk in the solars. She hadn’t been a complete innocent when she married Brishen, but her first lover had been as untried as she. Most of what she knew had been gleaned from gatherings like these where the talk was forthcoming, competitive and often lurid.

She waited for the inevitable and tried not to cringe when one of the women turned to her with an inquisitive gleam in her eye. “Do the Kai—”

Ildiko offered a tight smile and cut her off mid-sentence. “I’m reticent by nature, Lady Bladuza, and not at ease discussing such matters. I must beg your understanding if I remain silent on the subject.”

Lady Bladuza’s expression soured, and she put her back to Ildiko in an obvious show of affront. The others didn’t follow suit. Their scrutiny, by contrast, only sharpened. Ildiko gripped her chair arm with one hand in an effort not to squirm in her seat.

“I don’t see how it’s even possible for a Kai to suck a prick without bloodshed,” one woman said.

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