Cruel Union (Brutal Universe #1)

5. Aurora

5

AURORA

“ I can’t believe this. It must be a nightmare. It must.”

I shoved my hair back from my forehead as I paced back and forth in my bedroom, trying to think what to do—how to get out of this disastrous marriage I was soon to be thrust into.

“ Oh , my Lady Aurora !” My maid, Pansy , stood in the doorway wringing her hands. “ Surely it can’t be so,” she protested, looking up at me with disbelief. “ Surely you can’t really be expected to marry that…that Brute !”

“ I am— I have no choice.” I said grimly. “ Goddess of Mercy , I can’t believe it’s come to this! Marrying the enemy.”

I came to a stop in front of the antique oval mirror that used to be my mother’s. It was one of the few things I had left of her and I cherished it deeply. I had been only sixteen when she died. Well , at least she hadn’t lived to see me sell myself to a Brutal Enforcer .

The silvery surface of the old mirror showed a woman with long, wavy, honey-brown hair and dark brown eyes that looked black sometimes, when I was upset. Well , I was certainly upset now—not that I could do anything about it.

I wondered as I stared at my reflection, why Slade would want me for his wife. By the standards of my own people, I was well past my prime—too old to attract a man. And I wasn’t slender either. I had a full figure with heavy breasts and “childbearing hips”—not that I had ever expected to bear any children.

Now you will, whispered a little voice in my head. He admitted he’s going to take every opportunity to try and get you pregnant! You’ll have to take that huge shaft of his inside yourself and let him thrust and pump and fill you with his seed until your belly swells with his child!

The very thought made me feel hot and cold all over.

“ Goddess of Mercy , what if he really does it? What if he gets me pregnant?” I asked my reflection.

“ He wants to get you pregnant?” Pansy’s red, worried face was suddenly in the mirror behind me. “ He actually said that?”

“ What he actually said was that he wants to…to ‘breed’ me.” I could barely get the words out. “ Oh , Pansy —what am I going to do?”

Her face grew grim.

“ I think I know a way, my Lady .”

“ You do?” I turned to her. “ A way to get me out of this?”

“ Well …no,” she admitted. “ But I do know a way to keep you from getting pregnant. It’s a great secret, though! You must never tell anyone about it!”

“ What is it?” I asked.

“ A certain herb you can take,” she told me. “ My older sister gave it to me. She gets it from an off-worlder—a traveling salesman who comes every month or so. He calls it the ‘baby-stopper’ herb. She started buying it after her sixth baby—she just can’t have anymore, she says. It’s too hard on her.”

I stared at her in surprise. I had heard of things that could stop a baby—“birth control” it was called. But such things were forbidden in our little kingdom. It had been decided long ago that we needed all the citizens we could get in L’Crist , therefore it was a woman’s duty to bear as many children as possible. Anyone trying to keep from having babies could be sentenced to a long prison sentence—or even death! So what Pansy was offering me was deeply illegal and also very dangerous.

I didn’t hesitate.

“ Give it to me,” I said, holding out my hand. “ Please , Pansy !”

I thought I could bear having the huge Enforcer’s shaft stretching my cunny but the idea of his baby stretching my belly was too much. Besides , I couldn’t stand the thought of having a baby and then giving it up for someone else to raise—especially a murderous, cold-blooded Brute like Slade .

Pansy ran to the servant’s quarters and came back moments later. She had a tiny tray of pills that had the days of the week stamped on each little compartment.

“ Here —this is all I have,” she told me. “ It’s enough for a month, anyway.”

“ Only a month?” I looked down at the little tray and opened one of the compartments. The pill inside was filled with bright green powder which I supposed must be the baby-stopper herb.

“ Once you use that up, maybe you can make an excuse to come back home for more,” she told me. “ I’ll ask my sister to buy extra from the salesman. But you must keep it a secret and never tell anyone!” Her eyes grew wide. “ My sister says that if a man finds out you’re trying to stop his baby from taking root inside you, he’ll fly into a rage!”

“ Especially if he’s specifically trying to get you pregnant,” I murmured. “ Yes , I understand, Pansy . I won’t say a word to anyone, I swear it.”

“ Thank you, my Lady .” She nodded and pressed my hand. “ Now just you hide those real good in your luggage. Take one every morning when you wake and the herb will protect your womb and keep his seed from taking root.”

I gave her a quick, tight hug.

“ Thank you, Pansy !”

“ Anything for you, my Lady .” When our hug ended, her eyes were bright with tears. “ I’m just so sorry you have to sacrifice yourself for us this way.”

“ Don’t tell anyone,” I cautioned her. “ The people wouldn’t trust my brother anymore if they knew he gambled away the tribute money.”

“ No , I won’t.” She sniffed and swiped at her eyes. “ There now, we’d better get you packed! Your new husband will be calling for you soon.”

Husband . My new husband. I felt a chill run down my back as I considered what was about to happen. By tonight, I would lose my virtue. I couldn’t help thinking of Slade’s words,

“ I want you under me,” he had said. “ I want to fill you with my shaft and my seed— I want to breed you.”

Goddess of Mercy , how could I go through with this?

But then I thought of Pansy and all the people I loved being rounded up and sent to the mines to be worked to death. Or my brother—as foolish and short-sighted as he was—being minced up to grow clones that looked exactly like him but were five times stupider, if that was even possible.

I couldn’t let any of that happen. I had to do what was best for my kingdom and if that meant sacrificing myself to Slade’s dark lusts for six months, well…what else could I do?

I tucked the little tray of pills into the lining of my luggage and started packing. I might have to submit to his lusts, but I wouldn’t have his baby, I told myself.

That I would never do.