Page 37 of Mortal Desires

“Are you joking?” she shout-whispered.

“It’s part of the ritual.”

She whistled. “I mean, people around here are really into orgies don’t get me wrong, but a full party just to watch? That sounds excessive.”

I nodded. Yes, it sounded horrifying too. I wasn’t a virgin, but I wasn’t so experienced that I wanted a full royal court judging my technique.

“How’s his…” She tugged at me again and we walked.

“What?”

“Our lords… you know,” she whispered. “Horns, beastly legs—is his ding-dong different?”

I practically swallowed my tongue. It looked similar, but bigger than anything I’ve ever seen and sometimes I caught a glimpse of something along the side but I couldn’t quite see. I was too far, though, and too proud to ask.

“It’s good,” I lied.

“Oh god…” she giggled. “Maybe I should find someone to get it on with too.”

“Wander in any room.” I pointed to an open door and of course, a man was lazily leaning on the wall and another man was blowing him. The man getting the blow job saw was watching and winked.

“Literally any room.”

We moved along, not wanting them to think we were joining in.

“Yeah, you know I only had one boyfriend before I died.”

I gasped, “What?”

“Calm down, I don’t have all my memories. But I’m getting weird details sometimes.” She wiggled her nose. “I remembered the other day I loved pepperoni pizza. What a stupid thing to remember, right? Why wouldn’t I like pizza?”

She shrugged and I gave her a one-armed hug. “Well, tell me everything you remember. Even the silly things. I want to know everything.”

I left Penny later after she promised she was all right. I was worried but I had to remember that she never belonged to the surface. Her spirit only dwelled for that long because Vicious was manipulating me. Now, she was in the right place, with other spirits living eternal life.

Still, it was hard not to worry. I was the only one who saw her, the only person who could share that strange life with her.

When I was back in my room, Bessie and Olivia were waiting for me, their faces stretched in a smile that made me uneasy.

“What’s happening?” I asked, closing the door behind me.

“Our lord sent the dress for tomorrow’s festivities,” Olivia replied.

She looked giddy. Olivia never looked giddy.

I ignored the reverence on the way she called Vicious ‘our lord’ and focused on the big box right in the middle of the bed.

When I agreed to marry Vicious I knew life wouldn’t be easy. He promised to torture me and while I expected more pulling nails and eating scorpions and less masturbation, he was doing just that.

Torturing me.

“Do you want to open it?” Olivia asked, and I nodded.

Straight away she grabbed the lid and tossed it away, revealing a black dress.

My fingers touched the soft fabric, and I breathed out… slowly. It was folded neatly, showcasing the design covering the chest. Intricate thin bands came out from the corset creating a pattern up to the neckline, it looked almost like beautiful, well-crafted armor.

“Here…” Olivia took it upon herself to show me the whole thing, unfolding it and holding it up in front of her.

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