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A knock on the door caused my eyes to flutter open. I shoved the blanket off my body and got out of bed. Who could it be? Surely Lady Aneli understood that Prince Zamire and I were barely friends. A dull ache still flared in my heart, hurt and betrayal not doing much to get rid of it. Zamire deceived me, his act of a simple lord seeping under my skin. But no. Forget lord, Zamire was a freaking prince who was betrothed to an ice queen who ordered the death of my sister. Worst of all, Nina was now a member of the Rema Estate’s harem, which meant that Aneli could possibly finish the job. It was unfortunate that Nina, Karen, and I were placed in separate cottages. It wasn’t like we could watch out for each other.
The door opened and Lord Rema himself entered, followed by Aneli. I stiffened, having a terrible feeling that this visit was going to be unpleasant. The father and daughter pair were dressed in simple clothing, a silk shirt and pants for the lord, and a black cotton dress for his spoiled daughter. Lady Aneli’s eyes were puffy, her blonde hair up in a crooked ponytail.
“Good morning, Lord Rema. Can I offer you anything to eat or drink?” I asked in flawless Nerth, Neretha’s language, aiming to be hospitable. If I was going to toss questions at the pair, I needed to be pleasant. Maybe then, they would give me information.
“What did you say to him?” Aneli shouted. Her father shot an annoyed look at her.
“Why are you blaming Jade? You were the one who disobeyed me. You heard what the prince said. He wants a submissive wife.” Of course Zamire would want a wife that was docile. Why suffer the inconvenience of having a bride that would challenge Neretha’s stifling laws?
“She said something against me,” Aneli accused.
“I didn’t even know you existed until you confronted me,” I said in defense of myself.
“Ignore my daughter. She’s only supposed to listen,” Lord Rema snapped. Aneli scowled, but she crossed her arms and stayed quiet.
“Is Nina okay?” My question caught Lord Rema off guard. But I was desperate to hear news about my sister.
“She’s afraid, but healthy. I can’t believe that Aneli thought to harm another woman. The king is thinking of punishing her. But I’m sure that our prince will protect her. Despite the fact that he broke the betrothal, he cares deeply for Aneli. They were a love match.” Rage suddenly slammed into me, so sharply that I staggered back a step. Hell, no! There was no way Zamire could be invested in protecting someone so vile. He would never betray me by daring to have feelings for her. That scum actually touched what belonged to me. I scowled, my hands beginning to burn up. Aneli needed to pay for touching my...
“Jade, are you all right?” Lord Rema inquired. His voice chased away the blinding rage, leaving me feeling concerned. I wasn’t the “so angry I can take off your head” kind of woman. What was happening to me?
“I’m fine,” I rasped out, collapsing onto the bed. My legs were weak, and it wasn’t as if Lord Rema would have a problem with me staying seated.
“Are you sure? We have a physician on site who can examine you,” he offered. I was pretty sure that my Hyndroyl crystal was beginning to influence my moods. The Nerethians valued the Hyndroyl crystal, which meant that I wasn’t going to part with it any time soon
“I’m fine,” I assured him.
“For my own curiosity, Jade, I need you to tell me about every interaction you had with Prince Zamire in detail.” Great, the head of this stupid harem was going to make me relive every confusing moment with him? Fine.
“It wasn’t interesting. We had a deal, I would feed him and he would bring me books,” I replied.
“Why did you have to feed him? We have a wonderful chef,” Lord Rema boasted. Awkward much?
“He said that he didn’t like the food. He—”
“You’re lying,” Aneli cried. “Zamire always has seconds at dinner. Why did he really come here?”
“I told you, for the food. Why else would he come?” I asked.
Lord Rema rubbed his face. “Jade, was he inappropriate with you?” His words held a sharpness that made the room frigid.
“No. I’m telling you the truth,” I pleaded.
“I know. You feel betrayed by the prince. I’m guessing that he never told you who he actually was.” His response caused alarms to ring in my head.
“How do you know?”
Aneli laughed. “Father is an empath. Go on, Father, tell her that we see through her lies.”
“Daughter, she’s telling you the truth. Perhaps Zamire lied to get into Jade’s good graces,” Lord Rema suggested.
“But why?” Lady Aneli cried.
“Jade, it’s obvious that my daughter isn’t going to cease her complaints until you are removed from our estate. So, you’ll be the woman that my knights will compete to win. I need you to dress in your best garment. A guard will fetch you in a couple of hours,” he announced. Aneli’s smug smile gave me the chills.
“I... Can... Nina...” Dammit, I couldn’t put together an actual sentence. Knights were going to compete for me.
“You’re sisters will be at the event. Don’t you fear, Jade. You’ll be able to say goodbye,” Lord Rema assured me. “Let’s take our leave, Aneli, Jade needs time to prepare.” It took everything I had not to slug that sexist control freak. Oh yes, let us leave so Jade can get ready. She’s nothing more than property to sell off. One way or another, I would find a way to show Nerethian males that women weren’t only valuable because they had the capability to give birth. I supposed that today wasn’t going to be that day.
The lord exited the cottage, his daughter shooting me a smug smile before following her father.
I dressed in a purple gown and slippers, uncaring that my gown wasn’t silver. Lord Rema couldn’t be bothered to provide me materials, so I was wearing what I owned. My dark hair was placed in a simple updo that consisted of a couple of braids that ended with a puff on the back of my head. Makeup wasn’t provided, so I went bare faced. No one bothered to knock the second time. The door flew open and Tuskin, the guard that escorted me on my first trip to the cottages, stood in the doorway beside Gabar, the guard that attacked Seli. My heart froze, the hatred in Gabar’s beady eyes nearly giving me a heart attack.
“Follow me,” Tuskin ordered.
“Not with him around,” I blurted out, wanting to hide under the bed. I wasn’t stupid enough to be at Gabar’s mercy.
“Jade, if you refuse, you’ll receive a light punishment,” Tuskin warned. Crap. I couldn’t alert the lord and lady that the punishment didn’t affect me. Instead, I came up with a compromise.
“I’ll follow Gabar, and Tuskin can walk behind me,” I said.
“You’re just a female, do what you’re told,” Gabar hissed.
“You’re just a lonely guard, why don’t you do what you’re told?” I’d read up on enough history to know that a female of a harem could order around a simple estate guard.
“Just do what she says, Gabar. We’re going to be late,” Tuskin said. Gaber scowled and began walking. I followed him, sweat clinging to me as the Nerethian sun beat down on me. Ugh, this region only had one temperature, scorching. We stopped at the cottage beside me, and I braced myself as Gabar fetched Sili. The Nerethian woman rushed over to my side as if I could provide her protection. Gabar chuckled under his breath.
“Hi,” Seli squeaked out.
“Hi,” I said, trying to force myself to be patient. The inner Sheena I sometimes channeled hungered to cuss her out for lying. But I kept my mouth shut and followed Gabar as we collected the women of our harem as we walked. Nina and Karen were the last to join us. Nina happily stood on my other side, her brown eyes filled with worry. She wore the jumpsuit I sewed for her, while Karen opted for a lightweight silver day dress. The veteran members of the harem had yet to introduce themselves. They were tall, slender, with raven-colored hair. The only difference between them was that one had violet eyes while the other’s eyes were a lime green color. Man, that color was striking, to say the least. I wanted to speak to my sister, but was afraid to be overheard. Seli was clearly untrustworthy, so I shut my mouth and allowed Gaber to lead us to an area that was halfway between the castle. There were a couple of rows of elevated seats that were protected by a dome shaped roof that was held up by beams. The seating faced a stone platform that was five feet off the ground, and the size of an Olympic-sized pool. Gaber led us to the first row, and one by one the ladies of the harem sat. I managed to snag a seat between Karen and Nina. Thankfully, Gabar and Tuskin left after their duty to us was completed.
“Why does that guard hate you?” Karen asked, gesturing at Gabar.
“Because I beat him up. He was trying to force himself on someone,” I said. A jolt suddenly went through my body, making me feel unsettled. A second later, Prince Zamire appeared with two gold-clad guards at his back.
