Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 76857 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76857 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Something about the shift in my demeanor brought Cyderial to purr. “It would be my pleasure. We could visit Mrs. Hyun and, afterward, tour the city. If you’re interested, I can make reservations for dinner someplace special.”
“At a restaurant?” Like the ones I saw by the reservoir, where couples ate together and conversed under glittering lights?
A social gathering location and relaxing experience after a day’s work.
But I would not go. I already gathered my long hair to drape it over my shoulders, to hide my breasts from his sight. Yet such a trick would not be enough. Not in public.
“Will you provide me with appropriate clothing?” It was a fair question. Beyond the fact that the silky fabric draping my skin was obscene, it was also soiled. I’d be mortified if my mother saw me in such a state.
Green eyes glittering, he smirked, “That gown is only for my private view, and I would be unhappy if anyone else ever saw you dressed this way.”
Easy access in an indecent dress—his confirmation of my suspicion only annoyed me.
Chuckling, he winked. “Please do not blame me for enjoying your body draped in silk. You are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen. And before you get too angry, that particular fabric is supposed to help cool the sensitive skin of a female in heat. There were some altruistic motives behind my choice for you.”
That he could be so easy when I was so anxious gave him an advantage I envied. “I want regular clothing now.”
He may have nodded in agreement, yet still he warned, “Cake first, then I will show you what I have collected for your use. You can wear whatever you wish. But take heed, any other fabric might not feel comfortable against your skin until I have satiated your needs.”
Hot, yet much cooler than before his kiss, I was willing to take my chances.
He set a slice before me and urged me to eat. Fork in hand, I took a bite of perfect cake.
It really was delicious, not that I had a basis for comparison, but the flavor felt floral and soft. Something to be savored and not rushed for the sake of decent clothing.
Enjoying his own taste, the general offered a compliment to the baker. “Your birth mother is very talented. Many humans accept the payout for selling their offspring to the academy and waste it on frivolous foolishness. She invested it into a business that is very popular in her quadrant of the city, from what I understand.”
Clenching my fist around my fork, I snarled, “She didn’t sell me.”
Sardonic flash in his eyes, Cyderial disagreed. “The contract humans commit to is very clear, the terms generous if the human can birth a healthy hybrid and keep it alive until the age of five. It is a bill of sale, cashed in when the exchange is made.”
What a horrible way to view the woman who loved me. Angry, I ground my teeth. “That wasn’t what it was like. She was a good mother.”
He took a bite of cake he did not deserve. “I don’t want to subtract from your memory of this human. But she birthed you with no intention of keeping you. Once her burden of seeing to your care was over, she built a human family from the profits gained by your sale.”
We were eating a cake she made, and he was making my mother sound like a monster.
Angry enough to bristle, to snap out a warning drum, I said, “She made this cake, because she cares about me.” Reaching for his slice, I snatched the plate right out from under him. “If you cannot respect that, you don’t get to eat it.”
Unmoved by my temper, he dared look at me with compassion—as if I were some delusional child. “I wish to gently prepare you for what you will find outside the academy. You are not human, and the population will not treat you as one. Some will see you only as cannon fodder they are entitled to throw into danger to preserve their sense of safety. Others will covet your beauty. Many human men will see you only as a sexual object. There is some respect for our kind, but it often gets swallowed up in their sense of the exotic. Humans need us to survive; therefore, we are tolerated. You can’t trust them. Love them if you want, but remember that you were sold, trained, and expected to die for human benefit. Many will just want to know when you’re going to breed more hybrids so they don’t have to do it anymore.”
This male was supposed to be my mate and had failed me so far on every score. “I am warning you to stop speaking!”
My threats were nothing to a man of his stature. “I’d rather you be angry with me now than heartbroken later. It can be very shocking for academy students to leave the safety of their kind for the heart of a corrupt human city.”