“Have you touched her?”
His expression hardens. “Of course I haven’t. She’s yours and Rafe’s. I know your plans, even if I think you’re unworthy fools. But I wouldnever dishonor my sons’ claim. If you want to throw your lives away seeing this human woman as an equal, I’m not going to stand in your way.”
Relief tastes bitter on my tongue.
“And I will admit this, Eve is different. She’s clever, not like Autumn at all. So, I will say it now; you were right. A human can be sentient because I’m seeing it with my own eyes. Eve learned the rules in three days. It’s clear she understands everything going on around her, even with her limited Imperial, which is improving by the day. Sometimes I even think it’s wrong to keep her like this, but then I remind myself of what she did and that she’s a prisoner, not a pet.”
The words echo in my mind.She’s a prisoner, not a pet.
“We will return for the IGC visit only.”
My father shakes his head. “That’s risky.”
“It’s for the best…” I trail off, not knowing how to continue. Not wanting to say that if I see her now, I will either take her from my childhood home or not leave there myself. Neither option helps Eve or this situation.
My father just looks at me through the screen, waiting.
“I know Rafe already mentioned it, but she must be drugged when we come. I don’t want her to feel what is going to happen. It’s too much to bear.”
“I’ll tell you what I told your brother. That’s illegal, and if you knew anything about Eve, she would tell you that you need to suffer right along with her. And that’s the whole point of these visits. Did you really think you were just going to run off with your human after she committed such a crime and not bear any consequences? The whole point of these visits is to punish all three of you. Furthermore, I won’t jeopardize Autumn being taken from me over some sex and some lashes from the whip. Both of which Eve is no stranger to from either you or Rafe.”
He's not wrong, but it’s the last thing I want to do, only because it dehumanizes Eve even more.
“I suggest you see us before then, but if you can’t, rest assured Eve will be ready for her IGC visit. The real question will be, if you and Rafe will be ready for it.”
My father’s face disappears, and the comm-room dims after the call ends. My reflection stares back at me from the black screen, and my hands move before I can stop them, sliding across the security console. Within seconds, the cameras inside our childhood home come online one by one, and I see Eve.
I watch for hours as she moves through the halls naked except for our collar, her bare feet silent on the black stone. The dark fur between her thighs and under her arms glints faintly under the house lights.
My father has her running small tasks, fetching, kneeling, learning Imperial phrases, but she’s doing them with precision, head high even when he smacks her when she hesitates.
Every time his hand connects with her thighs, a heat rises in me, and I grip the edge of the console.
I could go down there right now. But before I can put that plan into action, I receive a message from Rafe.
The schedule is set. Zira expects us both to be there in twenty minutes.
Don’t make her wait.
I close the feeds. Eve’s image shrinks to a thumbnail and then vanishes. Rafe is right. Zira is the biggerpicture.
I reply:
I will be there.
Good. Then stop watching Eve. We need you to be clear-headed.
I grind my teeth.
Clear enough.
I lean back in my chair. The taste of my father’s words is still on my tongue.
She’s a prisoner, not a pet.
More than anything, I want to take Eve away from all of this, even if just for one night. But I can’t do that. It’s too risky, and it won’t fit the narrative that Rafe and I are carefully trying to build.
65
