Orelia was sobbing. “Please, don’t do this!”
“Fucking hell, you’ve got a nice set of tits on you.” A jade hand roughly squeezed her breast, and she twisted in his grip.
“Stop it!” No matter how she moved, she couldn’t get any distance from them.
The orange one squeezed her other breast. They took their time fondling her, watching her cry.
The tall guard grabbed her face. “What’s the matter? You don’t like that?”
They both chuckled, and Orelia closed her eyes, bawling as the men took turns squeezing her buttocks, her breasts, skimming their fingers over her vulva, and saying foul, disgusting things in her ears.
Her mind went to the shore of Goldbottom Bay and how it had felt to see it for the first time. She pictured the ships, the way the light flickered off the water, and the joy inside her as she’d taken it all in.
One of the guards smacked her on the backside, pulling her from the memory. “Hell of an ass. You’ll fetch a good price.”
She opened her eyes and watched the orange batalin open the wardrobe while the other continued holding her hostage.
Orelia wept as a sheer dress like the one Arielle and Tara wore was forced onto her body. The guard ran both straps over her shoulders, letting the fabric fall down her front before cinching a gold rope around her waist.
When he was done dressing her, the scarf was pulled from her hair. Orelia’s wavy, auburn locks fell just past her shoulders, and the front pieces got stuck on her tears.
The jade guard smacked her on the cheek, and she yelped through the sting.
“Stop fucking crying. Unless you want Doyle to punish you more.”
They stepped away, and she wiped at her face, frozen in place. This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be. All the years she’d stayed off her back at Beron’s for naught now.
The orange batalin gathered her clothes off the floor and smelled her underwear before tucking the pile under his arm. “Let’s go,” he said.
Nearly every part of her body was exposed. The straps weren’t wide enough, or sturdy enough, to support her frame. Her full breasts were barely covered, and her nipples poked through the thin fabric. She couldn’t see the back but knew most of her was on display.
Orelia slowly walked to the door with her arms shielding her chest.
“That won’t do.” They each grabbed an arm and pinned them to her sides as they walked her down the hall.
Orelia sucked on her lip and tried to steady herself. Doyle would surely beat her, or worse, if she came out a crying mess. The burn behind her eyes receded, but the nerves still rattled her breaths.
She should have never left the inn.
Vade was probably deep inside the barmaid, oblivious to Orelia’s situation. She’d never wished more for the searing pain of their binding spell to activate so he’d know she was gone.
The giant marble horse came into view, this time, free of any riders. The guards left her in the middle of the noisy room, and multiple girls came forward with bowls of gold paint. Curious eyes fell on her, workers and customers alike. A weathered-skinned ren made a kissing sound at her, and she tried to hide her disgust.
Arielle appeared before her. A splotch of purple sat under her right eye, the cosmetics not fully covering the bruise that had already formed. She dipped her fingers into her bowl of paint and met Orelia’s concerned gaze. “It’s okay. He’s hit me harder.”
“Hold out your arms,” two pleasure girls she didn’t know said.
Orelia did as instructed, trying not to tremble.
Arielle smoothed the paint on her right arm in long strokes. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered through a fake smile.
Orelia glanced at the guards watching her and mimicked the girl’s grin. “I’m sorry you got in trouble because of me.”
Arielle began painting Orelia’s shoulder. “He can go fuck himself.”
Orelia admired her resolve and wished she had even a fraction of it. She’d always admired Teegan for the same reason. Everyone thought humans to be the weaker species, and there was a time in her ignorant youth that she did too. The truth was anyone could be resilient.
The girls she didn’t know painted her legs and hips, whispering to one another.
