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Darcy stared at Garmon blankly. “What?”
The guard shifted on his feet in the vestibule of the kitse and met her gaze. “I am to escort you to the medic for an exam.”
When Nikol left this morning to visit the Majad, he hadn’t mentioned anything about a medical check. “There’s nothing wrong with me.”
Not anything physical. Emotionally, she was turning into a wreck because of her feelings for Nikol.
“I do not question my orders.”
Blowing out a breath, Darcy glanced behind him into the empty corridor. “Fine. Where’s Tseju?”
Garmon’s gaze narrowed. Probably not used to being questioned. “He stepped away but will return if you’re thinking of doing something.”
Unease crept in. Had Nikol shared the truth with him? No one had suspected anything more than she’d decided to return to the kitse on her own when Tseju took too long to get back to her. Thinking of the way Nikol had played her body the night of the incident, Darcy decided he wouldn’t have told anyone. His fear expressed had been genuine.
“Alright. I’ll let the others know,” she turned to inform Cecilee but Garmon grasped her arm below the elbow and pulled her through the door.
“You are trying to delay.”
Darcy tugged against his hold but he dragged her steadily along. Finally, she gave in. She’d talk to Nikol later about his heavy handed behavior and not take it out on a guard who was only doing his job.
The medical room was a location Darcy recalled distinctly, so her brow creased when Garmon turned in a different direction. “Hey! Wait, this isn’t right.”
His brown eyes glowered at her from his taller height. “You have been trouble since you arrived.”
Darcy stumbled to a halt and gaped. The stoic Marenian had abandoned his mild demeanor to stare at her with dislike. She licked her lips to wet her suddenly dry mouth. “I think I want to go back. I’ll go to the medic when Nikol returns from seeing the Majad.”
Indecision flashed over his face before his lips thinned. “Nikol should have disciplined you longer the other night. Your screams were delicious.”
Staggering back, Darcy couldn’t believe what he’d said. He was referencing the night Nikol had made her orgasm repeatedly. Shoulders back, she forced herself to remain calm. “Take me back. Now.”
His nostrils flared and his eyes hardened to chips of rock. Fear trickled down her spine as Darcy glanced around frantically. Even if there was someone about, they wouldn’t come to her aid. She folded her hands together in front of her and inhaled softly. Nikol had implied he’d only be gone for a day, which meant she needed to follow through on her promise to stay safe and not do anything to put herself in harms way.
“Let’s go.” Garmon stood back and gestured toward the way they’d come.
Her breath shuddered out on an exhale. Safe. She had to stay safe. Lowering her head and with a watchful eye on his every move, Darcy retraced her steps to Nikol’s section of the house.
No one stopped or spoke to them in the hall, but she was hyper-aware of the ceiling cameras recording their every step. They were almost to the kitse, safety within reach, when a large Marenian stopped in front of Darcy and blocked her path.
“The Earth female,” Brax stated in a gruff voice.
If terror had a sound, Darcy made it when she raised her eyes to meet his. Garmon stood to her left and crossed his arms over his chest, head cocked to the side to observe.
Okay, okay. This wasn’t a problem. Garmon wouldn’t let anyone harm her. Darcy breathed deeply and lowered her gaze back to the floor. Her heart raced and her pulse pounded but she sealed her mouth shut.
When Brax leaned toward her, Darcy held still, sweat dampening her palms. He sniffed at her hair and groaned. The sound was purely sexual. Darcy’s breathing became jerky and she couldn’t form a single word.
“Where is your master, tutanis?”
Her mouth opened and closed but no sound came out.
“I’m taking her back to the kitse,” Garmon said and Darcy almost wilted on the spot. She’d thought he was going to leave her in Brax’s care.
Brax trailed his finger down the side of her face and lifted Darcy’s head. He grinned when their gazes connected. “I’m sure Nikol would be displeased to see her out. Especially after he corrected her so vividly downstairs in the atrium. Perhaps she needs a stronger hand?”
He released her face and pinched her nipple. Darcy flinched and grabbed the offended bud. Curses were on the tip of her tongue but she recalled the last incident. She searched Garmon’s face and saw no help. She wouldn’t strike Brax but she wasn’t going to stand around and let him assault her. She took off running down the hall.
Brax’s laughed roared behind her and Garmon called out. “Wait!”
Ignoring them, Darcy sped for the refuge of the kitse. Blinded by her pace, she ran into a solid wall. Hands gripped her arms and she looked up into Tseju’s befuddled face. She glanced around gasping. She’d made it. “Tseju. Thank goodness.”
“Why are you—”
“Good, you caught her.” Garmon came up behind them, his breath winded.
Darcy twisted behind Tseju’s broad back, seeking a fraction of a barrier between them. Garmon pointed at her. “She ran off. We were to go to the medic center.”
Tseju twisted about and scowled. “Nikol was not pleased the last time.”
“Yes, I know, but—”
Tseju cut her off. “I will not let you risk yourself unnecessarily.”
Her heart sank each time he spoke. “It wasn’t like that. I wasn’t doing anything.”
“I will let you handle it, Tseju. You are better with the tutanis.” Garmon resumed his spot to the side of the doors leading into Nikol’s suite.
“I will take her for punishment if you stand guard.”
Garmon met Darcy’s gaze then nodded. “Yes.”
“No, Tseju. Please don’t. You don’t understand,” Darcy spoke quickly.
His face was firm in its resolve. “You were warned what would happen if you wandered without guard again. Nikol has been clear in his instructions.”
Darcy’s chest twisted in fear. Cecilee came out of the kitse. “What is happening?”
“Ceci—”
“The Earth woman broke protocol,” Tseju answered and reached for Darcy’s arm as she tried to dart inside. If she could get in, they couldn’t enter.
Cecilee twisted her fingers together and bounced on her feet, worry clear in her gaze. “Please. Allow her to remain with us. Nikol can deal with her.”
“Return to the kitse, honorable tutanis,” Tseju said gently.
When Cecilee refused and tried to free Darcy from his hold. Tseju signaled Garmon, who came and placed a restraining hand on Cecilee’s shoulder. “You will not interfere.”
Darcy didn’t know what to do or say to stop whatever punishment he thought she deserved. What if he took her to Lothar? A surge of terror blasted through Darcy and she fought Tseju harder. Nikol warned her away from the man who was his father. He’d been explicit in what Lothar would do if he got his hands on her. She kicked and scratched but Garmon locked Cecilee inside the kitse and Tseju threw Darcy over his shoulder and carried her off.
She bit her lip to hold in screams of alarm. No one would aid her. Where was Nikol? He was supposed to protect her. She’d kept her promise. Why wasn’t he here to stop this?
Tseju took several twists and turned in the halls until Darcy didn’t recognize this side of the household. He knocked on a closed door and it opened immediately. The burly Marenian who answered had a scarred face and black horns to match his evil black eyes.
“What is this, Tseju?”
“She is to be punished. She was caught violating her master’s rules.”
***
“Who does she belong to?” the whip master asked.
Something warned Tseju to err on the side of caution. He frowned at the crying slave woman from Earth. “It doesn’t matter. What is the proper punishment, Serasin?”
Serasin grunted and stepped back to let them in. “Whipping.”
He slid a drawer open beneath the dresser along one wall, displaying whips in varying sizes. “Select one of these based on what you want her pain level to be to reinforce the error of her ways. Twenty lashes is the typical minimum.”
Tseju hesitated, wondering for the first time if his actions were correct. Though he didn’t say so, the strange tutanis seemed to have garnered a small measure of affection from Nikol. He stiffened. Failure wasn’t an option and he didn’t want Nikol to take his anger out on him again. This was the correct thing to do.
Nikol made it clear when he spanked her for all to see that she was not excluded from the rules he’d imposed. Rules were to be followed for the safety of the tutanis and the Earth woman had broken them.
He eyed the implements of punishment then glanced at the tutanis. He had not taken her size into account. Marenian females were of a larger stature. The Earth woman was fragile in comparison. He still didn’t know how Nikol sex shared without breaking her.
“Ten with that one.” He pointed to what looked like the smallest whip. Surely she could withstand that. It was a simple common punishment, after all.
“Ten?!” Serasin was shocked.
Tseju stood by his decision. “She’s not built along the lines of our women.”
“Fine,” Serasin muttered under his breath and grabbed the woman from Tseju to lead her to a hook suspended from the ceiling. Darcy twisted about, her gaze seeking Tseju in desperation.
“Don’t do this. You’re making a mistake.”
He remained stoic through her pleas though doubt began to niggle at his gut. Serasin restrained her arms above her head on the hook and ripped the shellam covering her lower half away. Tseju flinched but held his silence.
Serasin hummed in pleasure. “Her coloring holds true throughout.”
A red flush stained the whip master’s cheeks and the front of his pants tented with arousal. Tseju clenched his fingers, missing whatever he whispered in the Earth woman’s ears. She cringed and cried out in denial. Whatever it was caused her to pale and resume her frantic struggle.
“Stop! Please don’t do this,” she sobbed.
With a dark laugh, Serasin crudely cupped her mound.
“Stop.” Tseju straightened from his pose against the wall. “She is not yours. She may be a tutanis but she is in a kitse and belongs to another. You can’t touch without permission.”
There were rules to be followed. The woman was not available for Serasin to touch her so freely without first receiving approval from Nikol. Serasin stepped away with an annoyed snarl. Tseju didn’t care. He relaxed back along the wall. “I’ll observe the punishment and take her back when its done.”
Serasin glowered and Tseju realized the whip master had hoped he’d leave to take advantage. His lips firmed. Nikol entrusted him and he would do his role well despite being unsure and new to this aspect of it.
Serasin spun her around, so her back was to Tseju. The whipping started slow and Tseju immediately regretted his decision to stay. The whip master didn’t appear to use more force than necessary, but the woman was screaming by the fifth strike, her voice hoarse and her body soaked in sweat.
Neat strips of red lined her back as Serasin continued at a steady pace. By ten she wasn’t screaming anymore. She wasn’t making any noise at all as she hung limply from the hook.
“Done.” Serasin spat on the floor stained with splatters of the Earth woman’s blood and lowered the whip. He’d barely worked up a sweat. “Take her. I have to clean down the room and prepare it for another.”
Swallowing past the tightness in his throat, Tseju approached from the back. Her body shivered and twitched as if in residual effect but when he shifted to her front, her eyes were closed.
Red hair clung to her cheeks in clumps and her chest rose and fell with each jagged breath through her parted lips. Something pierced Tseju’s chest. An unaccustomed feeling. Remorse?
He undid the restraints, waving Serasin off when he offered to help. Tseju gathered her carefully in his arms. Even unconscious, she moaned and whimpered. What had he done?
Tseju managed to toss her shellam over her bottom half and carried her out. He returned to Nikol’s section of the house. No one he passed gave him a second thought. Punishing a misbehaving tutanis was common. How many times had he watched something similar except the Marenian female usually walked under own steam?
Another twinge of regret seared his gut. Despite knowing he’d followed protocol why did he have this sense he’d done something drastically wrong? Dread coiled inside of him. Tseju traced his steps back to the kitse and stopped at the locked door. Garmon glanced down at the woman in Tseju’s arms dispassionately.
Garmon turned his gaze away and opened the door for him. Cecilee was the first to note his return and there reflected in her onyx gaze was the sadness curdling within Tseju’s belly. Her hand flew to cover her mouth as she saw the tutanis hanging limply in his arms.
More remorse flared through him. He’d done nothing wrong, his mind insisted. He’d followed procedure. Tseju shoved his feelings aside to keep from showing his concern for this woman who had always given a smile freely to him.
“Show me her alcove,” he ordered.
Cecilee nodded, tears glistening in her dark eyes. As Tseju followed her hurried steps, the gazes of the other tutanis turned their way. They gasped, and in a rippling tide, they all began to cry. Low mournful wails he wanted to ignore.
Weren’t they supposed to be pleased? Excited that this younger, more beautiful member in their kitse was brought low? Everyone knew females fought for an exalted position. Yet they did not behave as he expected. No gloating. Only horror and grief.
Tseju didn’t understand. Nikol’s kitse consisted of Lothar’s cast offs, older tutanis with gray in their hair.
Each one cried as if her heart was torn. Two hugged one another and broke into loud sobs. One crumpled to the floor on her knees but Cecilee despite the trembles in her shoulders continued to move forward.
A lump lodged in Tseju’s throat as they walked beyond each alcove only to stop in front of the only one with a drawn black curtain. Cecilee whipped it back and Tseju gasped. Not small like the other alcoves he was used to seeing used by tutanis but a massive space with a bed taking up every inch of the area with thick pillows and the softest furs piled high.
“What is this?” he demanded as fear beat like a drum in his chest. It was clear this was where Nikol slept.
Cecilee sniffed and pointed at the bed. “Put her there.”
Having no choice, he walked to the side and lowered the Earth woman gently on her front. She cried out and curled into a ball. The feeling of growing dread spread.
Cecilee came by his side and carefully swiped the limp hair back from Darcy’s face as she murmured, “She is to be First Placement.”
Horror over what he’d done struck anew. First Placement wasn’t to be touched by any. Her punishment and correction were her master’s responsibility alone to address. Tseju stumbled back. “She didn’t say...I would not...”
He wouldn’t have enforced the rules when Garmon said she’d run off again.
“It has not been announced.” Cecilee shook her head, tone somber. “She doesn’t understand our ways and will surely blame Nikol for this.”
Tseju swallowed thickly and made his voice harsh. “Clean and bandage her.”
It was all he could think to say. When Nikol returned, Tseju’s life would be forfeit and it would be well deserved. How could he have gotten it so wrong? He’d seen with his own eyes Nikol’s fascination with this particular tutanis.