Page 63 of Of Monsters Of Kings

King See’s reply stole back my focus. “I hate them for it, of course.”

“She can’t even look at me, nor you. You will never know the pleasures of her flesh, where your princes might. How is that for an impossibility, brother king? Will you watch them together then?”

King See answered, “Many impossible things have happened since she arrived, Take, so I will explore my possibility to have her. I suspect there are vast pleasures to be had of one such as her.”

Chapter Fourteen

I was ill-prepared for the creativities of an immortal being

The climb up See’s spiral staircase was awful.

As I ascended the seventeen flights to reach the king’s chamber, I felt every bit of my embarrassment over last night’s ball affair.

But did my mortification originate from the fear I’d felt in Take’s presence? Was it due to the way See and Take had conversed about me as if speaking of a rare jewel? Perhaps embarrassment stung me because of the way See’s princes had carried me from Take’s castle. Whatever the origin, many unspoken things seemed to exist between me and the seeing king tonight that weren’t there two nights ago. He’d made his intention to woo me clear during my last visit, but something changed between us last night, yet the change offered nothing tangible to inspect and turn over either.

I felt dread. I felt anticipation. I recalled the reverberating thud in my chest and my relief when See arrived.

One more flight of stairs.

I wrapped my black woolen coat tight about my body. I’d had to physically rip the woolen coat from Valetise after realizing the full extent—or lack thereof—of the clothing she’d laid out for me. King See had bargained a night to look upon me, and he really would look upon me. I didn’t care about the sexuality of the garment. In fact, if he were looking at my daylight body in this garment, I might’ve felt excited. I only cared that he’d see the monster of me tonight.

My patches.

My stitches.

Hardly anything was covered, and King See would view me as I still couldn’t bear to view myself. This exchange felt too much. This felt… significant and terrible, as if I were showing him a book half-written or a painting merely outlined.

I arrived at the top landing.

The king sat on his throne of bones. I could see the blur of him in the streaming moonlight.

“Lady Perantiqua,” he said without delay. “You have come to uphold your end of our bargain.”

I clutched my coat tighter. “Yes.”

“Was King Take’s one-fifth snuffing share returned to you?”

“It was, yes. Thank you.”

“Why do you thank me?”

“Because I don’t know how the ball might’ve gone if you hadn’t come.”

“I would imagine that King Take might’ve lost some interest in you, more the fool him. My coming has ensured he will plague you through the ages. You should not thank me. You should berate my headstrong decision to storm his castle.”

I nestled my chin inside the wool coat, though the air was warm enough. “Even so, I was glad when you arrived. I’m… mortified over the whole affair.”

“Why so?”

“I cannot figure, sir. Perhaps because I was the topic at hand. Perhaps due to the sincerity of your romancing words. Perhaps because I inconvenienced you, or because of what we do tonight.”

He hummed. “What will we do tonight, Perantiqua?”

“I will let you look at me all night long,” I mumbled.

“This saddens you?”

“Sadness is not the chief emotion, sir. Mostly I feel unsettled at the idea of you seeing my body.” I leaned against the wall, still clutching my coat tight.

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