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Erienne, princess of the powerful Samaria, is faced with one of the most dreaded situations of all time: an arranged marriage. Bound by a blood oath, she marries her unwilling groom. As circumstances shift out of her favor, Erienn...
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WHEN AZRIEL AWOKE, SHE WAS SURE SHE WAS IN HEAVEN.
That thought only lasted a few seconds. She realized, very quickly, that she was still in incredible pain. Blind. And, she seemed to splayed awkwardly on a hard surface.
"My god, what is this?" she heard. She felt cold metal touch her stomach.
"It looks like a woman. Who could've beat her like this?"
"Probably one of ours. You know Gerard is a foul beast. I wouldn't put it past him to force himself upon one. He likes getting rough."
"Let's take her to the infirmary then. We'll have to let her go once she's healthy enough to talk. And can't talk about Gerard." Azriel had the sense she was being lifted.
"Are you just going to carry her into the palace like that? Cover her or something! She's naked." Azriel could feel something dry and rough being thrown on her and wrapped crudely around her body. Then she had the feeling one had when being lifted. Her head hung upside down, she figured she was draped over a soldier's shoulder. Azriel didn't know if it was the rush of blood or the pulsating pain, but it didn't matter.
Her consciousness drifted away. Azriel was convinced it would never return.
***
"Why do you want to work in the infirmary?" Janileese asked her friend. They were attending to the concubines at the bath. After administering salt scrubs and massages the first batch of women in the harem didn't demand anything the else for the rest of the hour. The servant girls were grateful.
"You haven't heard the rumors?" Aria asked. Janileese shook her head.
"What rumors?" Aria took two very quick glances both ways and lowered her eyes, indicating she was going to reveal something that should be handled with discretion.
"Darcy told me she was attending to third quarter of the harem the other night, where the mistresses reside. Apparently the king granted one of the girls from the Selection her own apartments. And, Aria's eyes glowed at this, she's a commoner."
Janileese smiled with pride. It was she who had spotted the girl's commoner accent first. And it was she who had sure she saw the king first. Now, it looked like she was the favorite.
"What does that have to do with infirmary?"
"Well, Darcy was attending close to where the commoner was residing. All of sudden, she and a group of other girls are commanded by Master Reeke to leave immediately. They tried to explain that it was their duty to clean their at that hour, but he wouldn't hear of it. You know how nasty that man can be. They left, but not before seeing what looked like all of the girl from the Selection going down that hallway. Darcy swears she heard screaming, but when she pointed it out to the guards, they didn't move. And now, Darcy's friend says no can find her."
