“We don’t know.” Melisa says.
My eyes don’t leave the silent watcher, but Paoli doesn’t seem like she wants to offer the information.
“We can talk while we work,” Melisa says before guiding me to the polished oak wardrobe with carved images of spear-wielding giants on the doors.
I look around the room and find a sparkling white outfit hanging next to a wardrobe covered in diamonds. The presence of the stones makes my skin itch. It almost looks like?—
“A snow pixie?” I say, turning around. It sounds like a prettier version of the nickname the late First Prince Keksej usedfor me,tiny flea.
Melisa nods. “He ordered it just for you. Now you get to be his adorable little toy.”
Paoli gives me an apologetic look, then moves her hands rapidly at Abi.
“She wants to know if you can get in the water,” Abi says quickly. Her voice is gentler this time. “Melisa told us you had… issues.”
I ignore the question and look at Paoli, who is expertly avoiding my gaze. It’s not that she won’t speak. It’s that she can’t.
“Did they… ?” I gesture at my tongue, hoping that I wasn’t being too candid.
She nods and opens her mouth, revealing an empty stump at the back of her throat. She makes a sound, and I am stunned.
Tongue removal happened to hundreds of slaves, but Paoli isn’t a disgruntled man. She’s a beautiful woman.
“I’m sorry,” I say, truly meaning it.
She shakes her head and presses a hand to her chest.
I want to ask how it happened, but instead, I gather all my strength and courage and use it to fuel me as I strip off my clothes and get into the tub.
The giants used us for all we were worth. They scarred our backs, our faces, our necks, our tongues, and our hearts. They gifted us to those we never should’ve belonged to.
We just wanted choices. Choices over our bodies and our own lives.
That was all Teo had given me.
I need to find a way for them to have that freedom as well.
While Melisa is washing my hair, Abi shaves my legs with a sharp knife and Paoli polishes my nails.
The touches don’t feel begrudging; they are kind—understanding.
When I meet Abi’s gaze, she pats my knee.
“Try not to move. I don’t want to cut you,” she says.
“Everything you said earlier—You are going to come with us tonight, yes?” I ask.
She worries her lower lip and then nods. Paoli nods, too.
I lean forward, heart racing as they drop their ministrations.
I look back at Melisa. “And you?”
She stares at me without responding. Melisa can joke about coming all she’d like, but I want to hear her say she’d like to come.
“Eneko wouldn’t like it,” she says.
I grit my teeth. Is this the same woman who told me how angry she was days ago? I take her hand.
