Page 95 of What Fury Brings
She narrowed her eyes. “What did you have in mind?”
What he said was ridiculous, but if he could actually do it, she couldn’t imagine anyone not being impressed.
“Can I trust you?” she asked.
“In this? Yes.”
“Swear on something that matters.”
“I swear on the life of my little sister. There is no trick here.”
Olerra blinked. “You have a sister?”
“Yes, Emorra is the youngest. My brothers and I work very hardto ensure our father’s attention doesn’t stray to her. She doesn’t get brought up often, and we keep her out of the public eye.”
“What do you mean?”
They were talking more, so much more that Sanos hadn’t realized when he’d slipped just now. It wasn’t that he was keeping things from her, aside from his identity. It was that he didn’t like to address the violence in his life.
He must have been silent for a while, because Olerra reached out to touch his arm. “You don’t have to tell me,” she said. “But if you want to, I will listen.”
He kept his voice neutral. “My father is a violent man. He has creative ways to keep us in line.”
“He beats you?” she asked.
“Regularly and under the guise of torture training.”
“Where?” She was looking him all over, as though remembering what he looked like naked. The lack of repeated scars. Just those of typical training.
“Our backs mostly. He has a cane he likes to use. It doesn’t break the skin.” Gods, he felt so exposed. So ashamed by this secret.
“And he does this to your sister?”
“Not in many years. We… make sure to keep his attention.”
Olerra said nothing. She was staring off in the distance. Did she believe him? That was perhaps his worst fear. That she would dismiss his words.
“Do any of your brothers take after him?” she finally asked.
Why did she want to know? “No. We all detest him. We do not prey on others for sport.”
She bit her full lower lip in thought. “Let’s head home for the day. You are distracted and should go to bed early. You will need to practice your routine before the party.”
He nodded.
She was silent on the trek back to the palace from the training grounds. The eunuchs followed at a distance. Sanos left her to her thoughts.
They had a quiet dinner together, and then the evening routine was the same. Sanos was chained to the bed, just as he always was, and she walked in wearing skimpy nightclothes to bid him good night.
She strode forward until she was nearly touching the bed. Her eyes met his. “I want you to know that your father will never lay a hand on you again. Not while I have air to breathe. I swear it on my mother’s ashes.”
His heart hurt. There was something about the way she was looking at him, not with pity, but with protectiveness.
He swallowed. “I believe you.”
She nodded once, and then that usual silence filled the room. Ydra had told him that she was waiting for him to instigate something. He grew excited by the thought, but he’d been thinking about this for days. About what he wanted.
He said, “I will not ask for intimacy from you until I am allowed to do so without chains. I loved it when you touched me, but I want to touch you, too.”
