Page 106 of The Duke and the Disciple

“It’s an orgy, Aesylt.”

Aesylt stopped dancing. She untangled herself from him in disbelief, dropping her voice into a hissing whisper. “You want to take me to anorgy?”

“Two nights from now, yes.”

She squeezed her eyes closed to control the competing emotions and sensations. The sweat, the stench, the din of laughter, and the pitch of the music. Pieter’s presence, close, constant, and waiting. An orgy. Multiple partners was on the battlefield level, but she and Rahn had dismissed it out of hand because there was no one they could trust enough to bring in. And the thought of her scholar touching another woman was unreasonably painful. But it was, of everything on the list, the most forbidden. The least expected. And Pieter was not wrong; the Reliquary would be astounded the cohort was willing to go so far.

How many ways did she imagine telling him to fuck off in those precious seconds? And why did none of them make it to her lips? “You attend these Revelries yourself?”

“I attended the last one here in Wulfsgate, and I’ve been to others across the realm. They’re not unique, but they are uniquely private. Only an existing member can invite new initiates, though don’t let that word upset you too much. This would be one night... one night of experimentation in a safe setting, where you could doanythingyou desire, with as many men or women as you desire to be with.”

“The scholar would... He’d never agree.” She closed her eyes when the room started spinning from the opposing forces of past and present. WherehadRahn gone? Nyssa was giggling in a huddle of young women her age.

“Then come alone. Or with me.” He chuckled. “Now, I’m not suggesting the two of us engage in anything illicit together. We’re practically family. But I’m happy to be your safe and experienced guide into the sordid netherworld of sex clubs.” He tilted his head and regarded her with an unsettlingly gentle look. “I wouldn’t let anything happen to you, Aes. And I would not make this offer at all if I believed it was dangerous for you. There are few true rules of Revelry and they are this: respect the levels, respect the individual, and consent is given freely or not at all. You don’t want to know what happens to those who overstep, but they are enough to prevent anyone from daring to. This particular club hasn’t had an incident in over three years. Before that, seven.”

Aesylt glanced behind her, causing the floor to rise. “I’m tired of dancing” was all she got out before she stumbled across the stones, aiming for the refreshment table. She planted her hands on its smooth cloth, breathing through her nose, and moved sideways until she was at the end, where she could hide behind a pillar to gather her bearings.

She poured herself a mug of mead. Her hands shook as she cupped it in both hands and lifted it to her mouth. Some of it spilled out the side and trailed down her chin, but the more she drank, the better she felt. The competing voices, sounds, and scents blended into the background, her only awareness her pounding heart, which was finally beginning to slow.

An orgy. Pieter had probably been building to this offer all along, and she’d walked right into it. But as much as it burned her to realize that she’d been such an easy mark, his offer had awakened something in her—a certain competitiveness, a call to rise to any challenge and emerge victorious. It was the same perseverance that had made her so determined to embark on the curricula with Rahn to begin with, and she’d proven to herself shecouldhandle it. Perhaps sometimes her heart got in the way, but it was nothing she couldn’t manage. She had her notes to work such complications out.

She brought the mug back to her mouth and finished the drink. The world normalized again. Voices filtered in. The music returned. She closed her eyes and told herself,One more minute and then you must go back out there. You must be a gracious guest.

Shrill giggles appeared from the other side of the pillar. “Nyssa, you are a devil, making her wear that dress!”

Aesylt froze. She didn’t recognize the voice, but the young woman was clearly talking about her.

“I heard some men saying they weren’t aware Lord Dereham was bringing the kitchen maids to the ball.” Another unfamiliar voice.

“I think she looks lovely in it,” Nyssa quipped.

The other girls burst into laughter. “You do not! What a rascal you are, Nyssa.”

“You’re doing her a kindness, even inviting her. I wouldn’t let that feral wulf near my family.”

“She’s notferal,” Nyssa retorted.

“She’s amurderer,Nyssa. She slaughtered the king’s men.”

“Cooked and ate them too, so I hear.”

Nyssa groaned. “Only fools repeat foolish rumors.”

“Then lost her damn mind. I heard her brother sent her here because he was afraid of what she might do. That she might... you know.”

Aesylt clapped both hands over her mouth to keep from screaming. Every inch of progress she’d made in calming herself was immediately undone. She was ripped back to the Nok Mora, the heft of the spear leaving her hand in a hurl of rage. The cries she sounded to the heavens after she took down two men with the bow. There were more, Fezzan had said, so many more, but it was a mercy to not remember them. The kyschun had offered to help her restore what had been lost, but she could think of nothing worse than being forced to relive every detail of that night, over and over and over.

“What, Katlyn? That she mightwhat?” Nyssa demanded, exasperated. “I advise you to tread carefully with what you say next. Aesylt is a guest of my family, and her brother is one of my father’s greatest allies.”

“Guardians, Nyssa, we meant no offense.”

“And I’ll mean no offense when I cut off your tongue for wagging it too hard, Asa.” Nyssa made a shudderyharrumph.“Where did my beautiful scholar run off to anyway?”

Aesylt, head between her legs, panted and braced until she heard their giggles trail away.

With her eyes stinging, she climbed to her feet and slinked toward the east exit, praying no one stopped her before she’d made it somewhere safe to collapse.

Rahn had been subtly watchingAesylt all night. He’d seen her shying away from the festivities with Imryll on the far side of the room, as well as when Pieter led her onto the ballroom floor. And he’d certainly noticed when she’d rushed away in distress.

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