Page 4 of Creatures of War

“Go in and get cleaned.” Tanja reached over and squeezed my shoulder. “I’ll see you later.”

She turned to leave me there.

“Wait,” I said, getting her attention. “Any tips?”

Tanja pursed her lips, her gaze going back to the door. “Enjoy yourself. Relax. And listen. I mean it, Rayna. Pay attention and listen.” She tapped her ear and then walked away, leaving me to stare after her.

The doors opened, and two servants dressed in white stepped out. They were hunched with frizzy, gray hair. They looked so frail that I worried holding the door would hurt them.

“Come in,” one of them said in an ancient-sounding voice that matched her appearance. “We must prepare.”

“Prepare for what?” I asked, eyeing the entrance way. I couldn’t see much, the inside too dim to know what was going on. Shadows seemed to dance around, and for a moment, I wondered if I was about to walk into some kind of sacrificial ritual.

“The cleansing of your body and mind,” the other woman said, her voice just as scratchy. “Come, you are late, and time is short.”

I slowly walked up the steps, trying to keep the two old women in view. They only waited, expressions blank. Inside was dark, only lit by candles. Others were inside, but none paid attention to me.

“Hurry, child. Time is running short and we have much work to do.” The woman on my right said.

She looked me over slowly, her nose curling, the expression only adding to the wrinkles filling her face. She didn’t look impressed about my outfit at all. I looked down, noting the simple dress that Tanja had given me before seeing the king. It at least hid the fact that my pants had been torn, leaving my pussy out in the open for all to see.

As soon as I stepped inside, the air changed, felt different. Magic flurried through the air, brushing against me lightly, as if testing me out.

“Strip everything down and get into the robe. Toss your clothes in the garbage,” another older woman said, coming over with folded clothes. “You will not be needing those garments ever again.”

She shoved the soft fabric into my arms and herded me off to the side. I changed quickly, trying my best to not look at the others. They were already in robes that seemed to cascade down their length, molding to their bodies and accentuating their curves.

A woman came through another set of doors. She was old too, beautiful and with hair so red that it seemed to blaze as it captured the candles around her. Another rider. I wondered who her dragon counterpart was to have such red hair like that.

“The rest of you will now enter the chamber to be washed. Both mind and soul shall be cleansed today, so release all that you hold onto. No grudges exist here. No past. You are all of the same status as riders. Your past does not matter here, only what you can do for us in the future. Cleanse yourself of all negativity and judgment.”

She stepped back, motioning us through. Everyone in the room slowly moved through the doors. We were a small group of eight but dressed similarly in white robes. Once we were inside the warm, steamy room, others waited. As we approached, they motioned for one of us to follow them, leading us deeper into the room.

The room was more well-lit than the one we’d just left but still dim. The air was hot and muggy, a large circular pool before us with a massive statue of a dragon in the middle with water pouring out of its mouth. Smaller circular pools were attached to the larger one, and it seemed each of us was brought to one of those. The small pools themselves were only a few feet apart as they went around the bigger one.

I followed my guide until she had me stop in front of one of the smaller pools, and I turned to face the dragon in the middle. I got a side view of the creature and had to admit that even the stone statue was breathtaking. I could practically see the power in the dragon by the way it stood on its hind legs with his head held high and wings spread out behind him. He looked ready to blow fire, except it was a waterfall that came out of his mouth.

No one dared to speak, but it was clear by the way they too glanced around that they were nervous. I was also. Frankly, this was creepy. Not as creepy as the king but still creepy, like I was signing up for some kind of deep, dark religious sector buried in secrets and shadows.

What exactly was I getting myself into?

My guide reached around and carefully removed my robe, leaving me standing there naked with the other seven riders. Hotness creeped up my neck and filled my face. I had never been this naked before so many people before. The magic in the air seemed to intensify as I was nudged to move into the pool of water.

The water was warm, almost soothing. I released a small sigh as I stepped further into the pool, letting the water surround me up to my waist. After traveling for so long without a proper bath, I was indulging in pure bliss. It would have been perfect if it were just me and my guys here.

Water moved from behind me, and I realized the old rider was also getting in the water with me. Still nothing was said as something made a soft thud against the stone floor. I looked, seeing a bucket full of bathing items—soaps, scrubs, hair products. It was all there, ready to be used.

My guide grabbed one of the scrubs, poured a bunch of soap on it, and then began washing my back. I grimaced at how hard she scrubbed. The others were in the same situation, working hard not to look at each other as complete strangers washed our bodies.

I bit my lip as she began scrubbing my ass and only sighed when she finally moved on to my arms. Instead of having me turn around, she moved around me, scrubbing at my breasts, my stomach, and down further.

I grimaced as she scrubbed at my most intimate places, blinking back tears as discomfort practically overwhelmed me.

My emotions were strong enough to set the guys off and I could hear them in my head, but I felt tongue-tied, unable to respond to them like I wanted.

‘Rayna, answer us right fucking now before we tear this building apart.’

I gasped at the violence in Philit’s voice. He would too. I could feel he was about to if I didn’t give him an answer he could accept.

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