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❝You're not taking me to bed. Ever.❞
❝...Who said it had to be on a bed?❞
A disgraced immortal and a legendary folk hero are desperate to locate a blacksmith who can break the enchanted handcuffs that...
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The ritual cave was deeper and wider than any stone stadium constructed within the empire, and the sheer scale nearly took Sunkanmi's breath away. Graven columns lined the seemingly endless hall, painstakingly carved from the earth and polished by hand until the black rock gleamed.
It took Sunkanmi several seconds to place the material before realizing it was obsidian, a natural glass found around Mount Ivai on Salas Isle, prized for its supposedly mythical properties and divine beauty.
Three hundred purple-clad cultists gathered around a lake of thorny brambles thicker than sheep's wool. The centerpiece of this mass was a gnarled, thinly-veined tree that stretched wretchedly to the rock ceiling like a peasant for a gold coin.
The trunk was thrice as wide and knobby as a giant's leg and the stench emanating from the rotting blossoms would've sent a skunk running for its mother.
On the highest branch, a single black fruit hung from its stem like a fat bat. The view was neither appetizing nor inviting.
Standing beside Glean and Xosa on an outcropping, Sunkanmi watched several elders lather a man in a loincloth with various tinctures and ointments.
"That's Tovar," Glean explained. "First of his name and maybe the last if he keeps this up. He's been itching to attempt the rite for a few months now, but always backs out before the washing. I guess your arrival sparked a fire in him, m'lady."
Tovar stretched his fine, glistening muscles and flexed his pectorals, apparently for Xosa's benefit. A group of cultists, possibly Tovar's friends and family, cheered him on from the sidelines. Sunkanmi wasn't close enough to hear their encouragement, but judging by the nasty looks they threw her way it wasn't hard to guess what they were saying.
"This is for you, M'Lord!" Tovar beat his chest and thrust his pelvis. "I will prove myself worthy of your hand and strong enough to share your mighty flame! We will sup on the sweetest of pears in our union bed! I will earn your love! I will become what you deserve! Just watch!"
Unable to help herself, Sunkanmi hid her laughter behind her palm and wretched from second-hand embarrassment.
Xosa merely raised his eyebrows, mystified at the shameless display. This was too much, even for him.
