Page 24 of A Ballad of Beasts and Brothers

"But I'm a princess, I should – "

"You're a woman, first and foremost." Eris grabs the tome, flips it open, and lands on a sketch of a man sitting on the edge of a mattress with a woman sitting on top of his lap. One of her nipples is in his mouth, while his hands grip her ass, and her head is thrown back in elation. "You have needs and feelings and desires. There is nothing wrong with that."

I open my mouth to say something, anything, in response, but nothing comes out.

"And there is certainly nothing wrong with thinking of Atlas in that way." Her comment makes me choke on my own saliva and I start coughing loudly. Eris gently pats my back, glancing around the room to see if any of the scribes come to fuss at us for the noise I'm making, but fortunately, none of them poke their heads around the corner and I'm able to get my coughing fits under control.

"Eris, I don't think of him…" My attempts to deny that I've thought of him in that way die on the tip of my tongue, because I know she knows the truth. "These damn hands," I grumble. "I need to figure out how to control them from glowing."

Eris giggles. "When Nyx told me about you two yesterday, I was so jealous I wasn't there to witness it. Nyx has all the damn fun."

"What am I supposed to do?" I rub the heels of my palms across my eyes.

"About your hands glowing or the fact you want to bone Atlas?"

I snap my head up to meet her mischievous grin. "Eris Talay!" I laugh, completely caught off guard. "You have a filthy mouth."

"It tends to happen once you've lived with the brothers long enough," she shrugs, as a smile tugs across her face. "Now, I know we came here to look at history tomes, but I think this is more important." She slips out of her seat.

"Where are you going?"

"To grab more books," she says flippantly as she makes her way back down the row and snags a few more books. She quickly makes her way back with a stack of six new volumes and drops them on our table. Her blue eyes are dancing in delight. "Now, the fun begins."

For the next thirty minutes, Eris and I look through the sketches and read countless descriptions of sexual acts. Some of the images make me blush, but some of them defy all sense of logic. I don't know how some people can get into certain positions and still find it pleasurable. I'm completely lost in these books until I hear footsteps approaching fast. When Eris and I glance up from our reading material we see Nyx pass by before doubling back, having caught sight of us. There's a panic in his eyes that makes my heart skip a beat.

"Is something wrong?" I ask, hoping he isn't bearing bad news.

"I stop to talk to someone for one second and when I turn around you two are missing." He removes the worn toothpick from his mouth and replaces it with a fresh one. "I've spent the last twenty minutes looking all over this place for you. Do you know what would have happened to me, if I had to tell Atlas and Finn I lost you?" he shudders.

"Well, if you hadn't been so enamored with that blonde scribe, then maybe you wouldn't be panicking right now," Eris shoots back, flipping to the next page of the book in front of her.

Nyx waves a hand in the air. "We aren't here to attack Nyx. The point is…" He catches a glimpse of one of the graphic pictures and lets his gaze wander across our table. "Are those…" his eyes widen in amusement. "Are those sex books?"

"We were originally looking for books on the Celestials but got distracted," Eris winks at me and I can't help the nervous giggle that escapes my lips.

"You got distracted? By penis pictures?"

Eris swats at him and he dodges her flimsy attack. "How about you say that a little bit louder, Nyx, I don't think everyone in Calmara heard you."

Nyx makes his way to the opposite side of the table, flips a chair around and straddles it before he starts skimming through one of the books and laughs. "Listen, if you want to know about sex, just ask."

"Ask who?" I look at him. "You?"

He presses a hand to his chest. "You wound me, Kitarni. Yes, me."

I quirk an eyebrow and set my tome down to give him my full and undivided attention. "And why would we ask you?"

"I happen to be very good at two things." He ticks off two fingers as he says, "Fighting and pleasing women. So, ask your questions."

I crinkle my nose, side-eyeing Eris beside me. "Wouldn't that be weird?"

Nyx throws his arms up wide. "Why would it be weird? Sex is a natural part of life." The grin that snakes across his face screams of wickedness. "And you should know by now that I don't get embarrassed easily."

I take a moment to consider his offer and decide to take him up on it, but before I can ask a question, he holds up a hand to silence me.

"But I swear to the Father, if you ask me any sex related questions about my brothers, I'll flip this table and walk out."

Eris roots her elbows to the desk and leans forward. "What happened to not being embarrassed easily?" she teases.

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