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A Kiss Of Shadows :: Гамильтон Лорел
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"Why notmake this deal with other more powerful sidhe women?"
"The women of Prince Cel's Guard have him to have sex with, and unlike the queen, Cel keeps them busy."
"When I left, some of the women were beginning to refuse Cel's bed."
Sholto smiled happily. "The movement has become quite popular."
I raised eyebrows. "Are you saying that Cel's little harem is turning him down?"
"More and more of them." Sholto still looked pleased.
"Then why not make this invitation to one of them? They're all more powerful than I am."
"Perhaps it's what you said earlier, Meredith. None of them would understand me as you do."
"I think you underestimate them. But what could Cel possibly be doing to them that's making them leave him in droves? The queen herself is a sexual sadist, but her guardsmen would crawl over broken glass to bed her. What is Cel offering that is worse than that?" I didn't expect an answer, but I couldn't even begin to think of anything that bad.
The smile faded from Sholto's face. "The queen did that once," he said.
"What?" I asked, frowning.
"Made one of us strip and crawl over broken glass. If he made it without showing pain, then she'd fuck him."
I blinked. I'd heard worse, hell, I'd seen worse. But part of me wanted to know who it was, so I asked, "Who was it?"
He shook his head. "We of the Guard have sworn to keep the humiliations among ourselves. Our pride, if not our bodies, survives the better for it." His eyes looked lost again.
Again, I wondered what Cel could be doing that was worse than the queen's games. "Why not make this offer to a more powerful sidhe woman who isn't a member of the Prince's Guard?" I asked.
He gave a faint smile. "There are women at court who are not members of the Prince's Guard, Meredith. They would not touch me before I joined the Guard. They fear bringing more perverse creatures into the world." He laughed, and it had a wild sound to it, almost like crying. It hurt to hear it. "That's what the queen calls me, her 'perverse creature'—sometimes, simply 'creature. In a few centuries I will be like Frost and her Darkness. I will be her Creature." He gave that painful laugh again. "I will risk much to keep that from happening."
"Does she really need the sluagh's backing that much, so much that she'd give up my death, give up punishing us for going against her strictest taboo?" I shook my head. "No, Sholto, she can't let this stand. If we find a way around her celibacy taboo, then others will try. It will be like the first crack in a dam.
"Why notmake this deal with other more powerful sidhe women?"
"The women of Prince Cel's Guard have him to have sex with, and unlike the queen, Cel keeps them busy."
"When I left, some of the women were beginning to refuse Cel's bed."
Sholto smiled happily. "The movement has become quite popular."
I raised eyebrows. "Are you saying that Cel's little harem is turning him down?"
"More and more of them." Sholto still looked pleased.
"Then why not make this invitation to one of them? They're all more powerful than I am."
"Perhaps it's what you said earlier, Meredith. None of them would understand me as you do."
"I think you underestimate them. But what could Cel possibly be doing to them that's making them leave him in droves? The queen herself is a sexual sadist, but her guardsmen would crawl over broken glass to bed her. What is Cel offering that is worse than that?" I didn't expect an answer, but I couldn't even begin to think of anything that bad.
The smile faded from Sholto's face. "The queen did that once," he said.
"What?" I asked, frowning.
"Made one of us strip and crawl over broken glass. If he made it without showing pain, then she'd fuck him."
I blinked. I'd heard worse, hell, I'd seen worse. But part of me wanted to know who it was, so I asked, "Who was it?"
He shook his head. "We of the Guard have sworn to keep the humiliations among ourselves. Our pride, if not our bodies, survives the better for it." His eyes looked lost again.
Again, I wondered what Cel could be doing that was worse than the queen's games. "Why not make this offer to a more powerful sidhe woman who isn't a member of the Prince's Guard?" I asked.
He gave a faint smile. "There are women at court who are not members of the Prince's Guard, Meredith. They would not touch me before I joined the Guard. They fear bringing more perverse creatures into the world." He laughed, and it had a wild sound to it, almost like crying. It hurt to hear it. "That's what the queen calls me, her 'perverse creature'—sometimes, simply 'creature. In a few centuries I will be like Frost and her Darkness. I will be her Creature." He gave that painful laugh again. "I will risk much to keep that from happening."
"Does she really need the sluagh's backing that much, so much that she'd give up my death, give up punishing us for going against her strictest taboo?" I shook my head. "No, Sholto, she can't let this stand. If we find a way around her celibacy taboo, then others will try. It will be like the first crack in a dam.