Jutting my chin upwards, I met the High Priestess’s gaze, her eyes were impossibly eerie as they swirled in her contempt. It was clear she hated this, that Griffin was skirting the laws in a way she hadn’t found a route to fix…yet. That having aSacredCherished claimed by two men was not at all what she wanted.
“Free yourself from the earthly confines.” The High Priestess rushed forward away from the Iron Mother, towards me as I stood lamely near the door, her priests holding Griffin and Julian on each side of me.
The High Priestess ripped the robe from my body, throwing it across the room in the direction of Drago who watched it all play out from his throne.
If I were the Raven from the Facility days, I would have cowered, I would have fallen to my knees and attempted to cover my body.
But I had changed, and I didn’t flinch even as I heard Julian’s grunt of pain, even as Griffin attempted to break from his constraints, even as every eye in the room moved to my form; my men, the priests, Troy, Drago, the High Priestess, and Drago’s masked guards who stood at attention along the wall. All of their eyes were pinpricks across my skin, causing goosebumps to form in their wake.
The Priestess lifted her pinkie, trailing it across the tops of my breasts, gliding it just above my skin, all the way to my navel. She flattened her hand over the skin there, simply hovering.
I didn’t move. Didn’t react. Allowing her to do whatever the fuck it was she was doing. Her familiar sickly-sweet scent clinging to her, burning my nostrils on each inhale.
“A Cherished woman. A soul sent from above. A child in her womb.Sacred.Two men to take claim of her.” She bent forward inhaling loudly before whispering into my ear. “It’s not too late to escape this. To free yourself of a life with the lesser.” And then she was rising, straightening her spine, and staring down her nose at me.
The lesser?
Does she mean the men?
Surprise worked its way through my system, but I dispelled it, offering her a shake of my head and narrowing my eyes.
The expression she relayed to me was clear.
Disappointment.
Her hand planted on my stomach. The shock of her freezing skin against my belly was immediate, but it was nothing compared to the sudden sensation of bees buzzing inside of it uncomfortably.
Stepping back, I opened my mouth to speak but Griffin beat me to it. “It is time, let us complete the ceremony.”
The High Priestess’s cheeks tinged red, her lips flattening into a line, her ghostly eyes alight in her rage. “I see. Yes, let us.” She waved her hands. “I will leave this in the King’s dutiful hands.” And then she was rushing from the room, her cloak billowing out around her.
Her sudden absence left me reeling, but the loudcrack!of grating metal drew my attention.
Drago was off of his throne now. He was at the end of the metal chamber, opening the hatch. “It is time to begin. The cameras are in place. As is typical, there will not be audio but the entire ceremony will be witnessed as your claim comes to fruition.” His gaze was firmly planted on my breasts, his eyes slowly drawing upwards.
And I could see in their depths he was considering going off script.
It was what I needed to push past my fear of the contraption. I jerked forward, one shaky leg after the other, until I stood inside the chamber.
The metal seed was larger than I expected, spacious enough to stand fully upright and reach my arms toward its curved ceiling. The air was warmer within. Nearly the entire space was taken up by a tall oversized bed draped in gold-trimmed pillows. Hibiscuses were embroidered across the pillows and sheets, even woven into the tapestries that hung along the sides.
Griffin was thrust in next, Julian stumbling after him. We both shifted to steady him before he fell. There was just enough room for the three of us to stand shoulder to shoulder, but nowhere to move…unless we climbed onto the bed.
Drago gave me one last longing stare before the creakechoed again as he pulled the hatch down, effectively sealing us inside.
“Will you lay on the bed for us please Raven?” Griffin asked gently. “We need to strip, and this space is cramped.”
His voice wassoft,kind. It was clear he wanted me to be comfortable…as much as was possible given our circumstances.
Instead of answering, I stepped to adhere to his request, but a challenge presented itself. The bed came up to my hips.
Rough hot fingers landed on my skin, helped to lift me onto it before I even had to ask.
Flipping over, I met Julian’s gaze as he remained frozen at the foot of the bed, his eyes unfocused.
“Knock out of it,” Griffin griped, unbuttoning his shirt. He allowed it to fall to the ground, showcasing his tattoos, sturdy shoulders, and rippling muscles. The scars and healed wounds. The tapestry of his life. He found me staring and offered a quirk of his lips but didn’t comment.
Julian was next, dropping his shirt, the glint of his nipple piercings on full display.
