She needed another human. If whoever bought her—she still suspected Tinette—had bought someone else as well, she wouldn’t be in need of companionship. Even her worst enemy would be better than no one at all.
A sudden hunger pang tripped her. She pitched forward with a startled yelp. Nausic swept his arm beneath her legs and settled her against his side rather than put her back on her feet.
“That’s enough,” he said. “You haven’t eaten. You and King Bekion may be at odds with one another but he won’t overlook it if you hurt yourself or make yourself sick.”
She sighed but didn’t argue.
Nausic carried her back and left her in Furielle’s care. Unlike Nausic, Furielle had no issues being curious. Once inside the bathroom with the door closed, she asked in an urgent voice, “What happened?”
“With?” Starling pretended not to understand.
“Bekion, you little half-tall. Don’t act obtuse with me. Something happened between you two. That’s why you’re avoiding each other.”
Starling moved the sponge over her arm as she debated telling Furielle the truth. She vetoed the idea. Rois hadn’t told anyone and neither had Bekion. Starling wouldn’t be the weak link, even if pets couldn’t bear witness against their owners.
She said, “He made derogatory remarks about me and Earth. I’m pissed at him. Until he apologizes, I don’t want to see him.”
Furielle’s excited look fell. She rolled her eyes with an annoyed huff. “That’s it? All this drama over that?”
“Well, forgive me for being sensitive about the place of my birth. You and him and none of you know anything about Earth. I’d thank you not to talk about it at all.” She scrubbed her skin harder. It hadn’t been a total lie. Bekion’s mention of bestiality was derogatory to her and all humans. She simply failed to mention the part about almost having sex.
Furielle made a disgusted noise and left the bathroom.
That ended Starling’s conversation. She sighed. She really needed a companion, preferably from Earth. If not for the illegality, she would suggest it to Bekion.
After her shower and a quick bite to eat, Starling had nothing to do. She didn’t feel like messing with the tablet translation. Even after working at it for so long, she had a lot left. Her heart wasn’t in it today.
She said, “Nausic, let’s go wander around the garden.”
“After you.” Nausic opened the outer chamber door and followed her out.
She knew the way to the garden by heart. She visited it regularly when not with Bekion. In her time living on Panagiota, she had seen almost the entire palace. The few areas she hadn’t visited belonged to Tinette and Kuruk, which meant she didn’t ever need to see them.
Happily, their paths hadn’t crossed since that one morning. Bekion or Nausic probably made sure to keep Starling out of Tinette’s and Kuruk’s ways.
“I shall wait here.” Nausic stopped between a set of large stone pillars.
Starling continued walking, letting the beauty around her guide her steps.
The middle of the palace housed a large open-air garden. Actually, the palace seemed to have been built around the garden. Beyond flowers and a lake, large trees sprung up and dwarfed the building surrounding them.
The first time Starling saw them she had worried the trees might present a security risk as either a hiding spot or as a way for people to access the restricted floors of the palace.
Nausic had taken her to the upper levels and shown her the force barrier. Only the first floor had access to the garden. All the other floors, though they looked open, had the force barrier to keep people from falling and from attempting a security breach.
The force barrier was some sort of energy-based wall that looked like nothing and felt like glass. Even knowing it was there, she stayed well away from the edge.
Something heavy thudded in the grass behind Starling. She turned to see who else enjoyed the garden. Panagiota’s palace boasted many visiting nobles who liked to dance attendance on Bekion in hope of gaining favors. A few guests toured the garden. Striking up a conversation with them was futile. Starling knew from past experience the guests felt it beneath them to speak with a pet.
Thinking the word made her angry again. A heavy striking noise distracted her before she could get too heated. She turned in a circle but didn’t see what made the noise or from where the noise originated.
A rustling in the bushes at the base of the trees gave her a clue. She peered into the dark shadows of the branches. Maybe it was Panagiota’s version of a squirrel. She’d never seen any animals inhabiting the garden but she hadn’t been looking for them either.
What stumbled out of the bushes wasn’t a forest-dwelling animal. It was like no animal she had ever seen before. Starling stared in frozen terror. The hunched thing shambled on two feet toward her. When it got too close, she snapped out of her stupor and backed away.
The thing’s mouth opened into a crooked grin. Bunched teeth showed in its oversized head. Its eyes were too close together and its nose was crooked, as though it had been broken several times.
“Purdy,” it said.
Starling barely understood it as speech. The thing spoke the garbled word with its tongue lolling out of its mouth. It even drooled a little.
“Purdy. Purdy.”
It reached for her and Starling did the only thing that made sense. She screamed.
* * * * *
Bekion clasped his hands behind his back as he walked. “I am glad your trip went well, Lady Idruc.”
The woman beside him beamed and flashed a winning smile. She even moved closer to him. “I, as well. I love visiting your palace, Your Majesty. How is your charming mother?”
“Well.”
He didn’t want to think about Tinette. Partial blame lay with her for Bekion’s present predicament with Starling. Thinking his pretty pet’s name made him want to sigh. He didn’t. Such an action was unbecoming a king.
So many times that morning he had wanted to summon her. This prolonged absence from his side constituted a first since owning her. He didn’t like it. What’s more, he didn’t like that he didn’t like it.
Lady Idruc said, “I couldn’t help but stop by your beautiful garden before presenting myself to Your Majesty properly. The Panagiota palace garden is breathtaking.”
“I understand your lapse, Lady Idruc. The garden is stunning. I too felt like visiting its calm before returning to the throne room.”
“Perhaps it is a bit of fate that we ran into each other here then.”
Bekion doubted that. He visited one of two places during times he called recess—his chambers or the garden. Everyone in the palace knew that. Lately he had visited the garden more and more because Starling preferred it. She liked being in the open.
His every thought went back to Starling.
Lady Idruc said, “You seem distracted, Your Majesty. Perhaps I am interrupting your musings?”
Bekion would have answered but a frantic scream rent the air. He recognized the voice immediately. “Starling.”
He and his guards ran the rest of the way to the garden, following the sound. They found Starling beating her fists against a human male who tried his best to copulate with her despite her struggles.
Bekion saw red. He moved forward to add his fists to Starling’s but another’s intervention stopped him.
Nausic joined the struggle. He grabbed the male’s scruff and pulled.
The male resisted.
Nausic bit out, “Release her!”
The male dropped his hold and went limp.
Nausic tossed him aside.
The male hit the ground with a pained cry and rolled.
Lady Idruc, who had followed Bekion and his guards, yelled, “Be careful with my pet, you oaf.” The woman rushed to fawn over her pet, making sure he wasn’t hurt.
“Purdy hurt me,” the male said in his thick voice.
“Your Majesty, I must complain about the ill treatment of my pet a
t that…” She trailed off when she looked at Starling. “Why, she’s lovely.”
“Yes, she is,” Bekion ground out, kneeling before Starling. She clung to him, her whole body quaking. The shaking intensified his anger “As for your complaint, it holds no substance since my pet is bleeding and yours is fine.”
He pulled away from Starling’s grip so he could touch the thin thread of blood that wound its way from her hairline to her chin. A minor injury the nanites would fix soon but enough to make Bekion want to beat Lady Idruc and her pet.
Lady Idruc said, “Obviously she isn’t as strong as my Ladrow. He is quite a prize specimen. He won best in breed and best in show at the last pet competition.”
“Of what? Freaks?” Starling yelled then pointed at Ladrow. “What is that thing?”
“A human,” Bekion said softly.
“Bullshit! That thing isn’t human.”
He turned her chin so she looked from Ladrow to him. “Besides your forehead, are you hurt anywhere else?”
Starling moved her hands over herself quickly then shook her head. “No.”
“Good.”
She gasped a second later. “My necklace. Where’s my necklace?” She looked around, turning in place. “Where’s my necklace?” Her voice took on an almost frantic quality.
Rois stepped forward, holding out the amber-emerald. “Here, Lady Starling. The clasp is broken.”
She snatched it from him and clutched it to her chest.
Bekion nodded to Rois in thanks. The man returned the nod and backed away.
Lady Idruc said, “See? There was no harm done. Ladrow simply has an eye for beautiful females. He likes copulating with them. He is a top breeder, you know, King Bekion. Perhaps we should speak of a union between your pet and mine. Their offspring would surely win every pet show the galaxy over.”
Ladrow grinned in his lopsided manner and moved forward. “Purdy. Sex with purdy.”
Starling screamed and jumped into Bekion’s arms. He stood, moving her out of Ladrow’s reach. “Lady Idruc, control your pet or I shall have it done for you.”
Bekion’s guards stepped forward, ready to make good on his threat before he commanded it.
The woman pulled her pet up short and snapped a leash onto the collar around his neck. Ladrow tugged at the leash and made whining noises. “Purdy. Want purdy.”
“Hush, my sweet,” Lady Idruc cooed. She ran her hand over his head a few times and that seemed to calm the male. “As I was saying—”
Starling snapped, “Lady, I’ll kill myself before I would let that thing touch me again.”
“She’s very eloquent. One of your servants is teaching her naughty things to say but at least her speech is clear,” Lady Idruc said in a thoughtful manner. “I wonder if all humans from Earth are that way. ’Tis a shame harvesting from Earth and buying from poachers is illegal.”
Bekion wondered why the woman didn’t understand the seriousness of Starling’s words. “Lady Idruc, our meeting will have to wait until I deal with my pet’s agitation.”
He couldn’t wait to be away from her. She was oblivious to Starling’s upset and disinterest in Ladrow. The latter made him happy. He didn’t want to think about Starling in the arms of another man.
Furielle awaited them in Bekion’s chambers. Bekion assumed one of the guards had alerted her to the altercation.
“I want a bath,” Starling said upon seeing the woman.
Bekion nodded when Furielle looked at him.
The woman stepped forward to help Starling undress but Starling backed away. “Hold on a second, Furielle. I need to speak to Bekion. Get out for a few minutes.”
Furielle left after confirming the command with Bekion. He faced Starling and confronted her anger. That surprised him. “The ordeal is over, little Starling. I know it upset you but you needn’t worry about going through it again.”
She pointed toward the door. “Is that what you see when you look at me?”
“I’m sorry?”
“That thing is the reason you think I’m not fit to sleep with you, right? That’s the reason you see me as an animal and not a person, right?”
“I don’t see you as an animal. I see no similarities between you and Lady Idruc’s pet.”
“Except we’re both human and not worthy of being thought of as sentient beings.”
“Why are you angry with me?”
She pulled back in obvious shock. “After everything you said to me last night, you have the nerve to ask me that?”
Bekion had almost forgotten about last night. This attack couldn’t have come at a more inopportune time. It emphasized his earlier words, making him feel the sting again. He knew Starling must feel the same. No, worse. “Starling—”
“That thing is deformed due to generations of inbreeding, yet you think we’re alike. I have measurable intelligence. My speech is intelligible. The only difference between me and someone like,” she twirled her hand in the air in a thinking motion, “like Furielle is our size.”
Did she choose Furielle’s name at random or had she found out about their brief liaison? Had Furielle told Starling of that encounter? Why?
Starling said, “It must be nice to get laid whenever you want. Having a captive audience probably makes it even better.”
She must have heard the girl Vieve sent him last night. Since he’d made no noise, she wouldn’t have heard him. He’d found the interlude more trying than satisfying. Telling Starling that wouldn’t make the present situation any better. In fact, it might make it worse, if she believed him at all.
She said, “I shouldn’t have backed down when you threatened to take away my clothes. Parading around naked might actually get me laid by someone who doesn’t care that I’m human.”
Bekion asked between clenched teeth, “If you are so desperate for sexual partners, perhaps I should agree to Lady Idruc’s suggestion and couple you with Ladrow?”
“You do and you won’t have to worry about assassins because I’ll be the one who kills you in your sleep.”
He believed her. The threat was serious and so was she. He backed down—figuratively and literally. He sat on the bed with a long, tired sigh. “I have no intention of giving you to Lady Idruc’s pet, Starling. I wouldn’t do that to you.”
“And you have no intention of sleeping with me either.”
“No.”
“Then why do I have to stay in your room? Give me a room of my own or let me sleep with Nausic. That would make his job easier.”
Though said in an offhand, innocent manner, her words reignited the full force of Bekion’s anger. “Your place is in my room.”
“Your closet, you mean.”
“You put yourself there.”
“I wouldn’t want to tempt you into bestiality.”
He pushed to his feet and stalked toward the door. “You’ll remain in my chambers until Lady Idruc and her pet leave tomorrow.”
“Whatever.”
He turned back but regretted it. Starling stood in her panties and nothing else. She’d stripped off her dress while his back was turned. He swallowed, trying to wet his suddenly dry throat.
Starling glanced at him. “Did you want something?”
Bekion turned his back once more and left the room. “Furielle, see to her,” he barked as he passed the woman.
Starling yelled something in her mother language. Bekion started to face her but Rois yanked him to the side. He felt the wind of a small vase speeding past his cheek. It crashed into the wall exactly where his head would have been if Rois hadn’t moved him. Bekion glared at Rois for laughing, which the man tried to cover with a coughing fit.
Bekion and Starling needed distance so they could both calm down. The recess he called had ended five minutes ago, so he headed for the throne room. He didn’t have to explain his tardiness to anyone. But he hated setting a bad example.
“She has a strong arm,” Rois said, amusement still coloring his voice. “She threw that vase from the inn
er chamber doorway. It had some speed on it too. I almost didn’t get to you in time.”
“Silence, Rois.”
The man bowed and then slowed so he walked two paces behind Bekion.
Putting his anger aside, Bekion couldn’t help but agree with Rois. Starling did have a strong arm. Power like that shouldn’t exist in such a small frame.
Starling possessed other powers.
How had one small human female come to mean so much to him in only two months’ time? She actually made him feel guilt when he chanced upsetting her. That had never happened to him before. One woman was the same as the next to him. Yet Starling proved the exception.
The tutors who practically raised him had warned Bekion of one day meeting a woman who would make him care for her more than his duty and his crown. They cautioned, such a woman would be dangerous. At the time, he had laughed off their words of warning as silly musings from old men.
Now he wished they had predicted a jattikan woman putting him through such tortures.
Chapter Ten
Starling punched her pillow several times before picking it up and slamming it against her bed a few times. That didn’t vent her spleen enough. She wanted Bekion to come back so she could throw more things at his head.
If she could get Rois and the other guards to leave the room, one of the projectiles might hit. She had been her baseball team’s ace pitcher all through high school, her specialty being the fastball. She planned to crack open Bekion’s skull the next time she threw something at him.
Every time she thought about her run-in with Ladrow, her anger came back full force. Bekion really saw her that way. All of the jattikans saw her that way. Despite her looking and acting nothing like Ladrow, they automatically put Starling in the same category. It pissed her off.
“Lady Starling?” Nausic stood in the closet doorway with a worried expression.
“Get out.” She threw the pillow at him. Lacking proper aerodynamics, the pillow didn’t make it and hit the floor with a soft plop. That added to her anger.
She yelled, “I’m nothing but some dumb animal to you. Leave me alone to wallow in my own filth.” She faced the corner and said in a normal voice, “I don’t even know why I bother talking. You all act like you can’t understand me anyway.”
Pet's Pleasure Page 14