"Not now, Amie," Livia said curtly, pushing past her toward the greenhouse. Although Emeriel was not assigned there, Livia hoped he might be found there, nonetheless.

"I k-know where Prince Emeriel is!" Amie shouted.

Livia whirled around, shocked to the core. Amie could only sob, her body wracked with silent tears.

"What do you know, Amie?" Livia probed, concerned.

The girl continued weeping, her hands trembling as she wiped her tears. Livia was beginning to sense that whatever transpired was far graver than a lost slave boy. "Amie," she called gently, "If you know something, you have to tell me."

"I'm s-so sorry. I shouldn't have done that." Amie sobbed. "But I needed to save myself. He would h-hurt me so b-bad, Madam Livia. So bad."

Livia glanced behind her, dismissing the Urekai maids. Once they had departed, she focused her attention back on Amie. "What did you do, Amie?"

And so, the tale tumbled out, raw and broken. Amie recounted everything from the beginning, starting with Master Boris approaching her, to her desperate act of betrayal to save herself from his cruelty.

Livia listened, her stomach churning with each horrifying detail. By the time Amie finished, a cold dread had settled in Livia’s gut.

"I'm so so sorry, Madam Livia!" Amie wailed, collapsing to her knees. "I deserve to die! I shouldn't have done that. A friend does not do that to another."

Livia knelt beside her, ignoring the sting of damp earth on her knees. "Apologies can wait, Amie. Come, we need to find him."

Boris’s hands cupped the girl’s breasts, feeling their weight before squeezing them repeatedly. A groan escaped his lips. "Thegrand lords need to hear of this. They must know one small human is in the fortress, making a fool out of them.”

"Please, don't tell," Emeriel pleaded, her face pale.

"Do you know what happens to those who lie or deceive the lords, Emeriel?" Boris kneaded those soft, firm breasts. "You cannot comprehend the extent of Lord Vladya and Lord Ottai's disdain for such acts. They execute Urekai for those transgressions, let alone a human."

His other hand roamed across her supple body. "And Lord Zaiper?" Boris snorted. "It would be preferable for you to place a knife to your own neck the instant he discovers your deceit."

The girl felt good, and Boris hadn't even done anything yet. She was like a blooming flower. An uncharted territory. "Perhaps I should inform Lord Zaiper before telling the Court. It would be fun, don’t you think?"

"No, please. I will do anything," she sounded resigned, defeated. "Anything."

Boris smiled. "I shall keep your secret, but only if you become my whore. You shall obey my every command, or I shall stand before the Grand High Court and reveal your secrets. You will meet me in this barn whenever I call. You will spread your legs for me, whenever and however I want it. Do you understand?"

The girl was weeping softly now, but she gave a nod in response.

Boris lowered his head, taking one nipple into his mouth. The girl cried out and shoved at his head. "No!"

Boris forced his hand between her legs, parted those soft, creamy thighs, and shoved a finger inside her.

Emeriel cried out in pain, squirming under his touch.

"Hold still!" he barked, and she complied. Boris kept his finger there, even as her entrance clenched around his invasive digit, trying to keep him out.

"Gods, have you never had anything there before?" he murmured, his eyes glazed over. “That's snugger than anything I've ever been in before—and I've been in a lot, by the way—and it’s merely a finger." His dick dripped precum, aching within the confines of his shorts. "You're going to feel so good on my dick."

"Emeriel!?"

Master Boris froze, his heightened hearing catching the distant call. "Someone's calling you. An older woman. Who the hell is that?" He pulled back, his frustration mounting.

Emeriel opened her mouth to scream, but Boris clamped a hand over it. "Don't you dare," he hissed. "I will kill you before she gets here. Who is it?"

"It's probably Madam Livia," Emeriel mumbled through his fingers, a defiant spark in her eyes. "The head maid."

"Why would she be looking for you?” Boris lowered his hand. “Do you think Amie told her? That wretched whore, I'm going to kill her. “

"No, I do not think it is Amie. Grand Lord Vladya may be looking for me."