It finally clickedwhere he knew her from. Lucien remembered the girl clearly. It
had been the day he strode to Danika and collared her as his. The day they took back
their lands and Mombana’s lands, too. He also remembered vividly giving orders to
place the girl in a good home to work.
“Is there anything I can do for you, Sally?” Lucien asked, staring down at the girl.
“Please, Your Highness. I want to w-work here.” She placed her palms together
and rubbed them vigorously in desperate pleas. “Please grant my request; please,
Your Highness!”
Lucien scowled. “Do they treat you wrong? Your new home?”
“No, no, no.” She shook her head vigorously. “They’re the kindest of people, my
lord.”
“I’m afraid that I don’t understand you.”
“I want to be a p-palace slave, my king.”
He cocked his head to the side. “Why? You’re helping now. Why would you want
to be a slave again?”
“It’s wh-what I’ve been all my life, Your Majesty! Please let me be a palace slave!
Please! I’ll do anything. Please!” she pleaded passionately.
Lucien wasn’t stupid. He knew the girl wanted to be close to her former mistress-
wanted to be with her. He turned and stared at Chad, who had a little smile on his
face, before Lucien dipped his head in acknowledgment.
Chad did the same for him. Always did the same. But he wasn’t sure if he wanted
to do such favors for Danika.
He didn’t want to do her such favors, period.
Lucien stared at the girl without saying a word for many seconds. “You’re no
longer a slave, Sally. Why don’t you try living a normal life first?”
Tears filled Sally’s eyes when she saw that her request was about to be denied. She
forgot to kneel and lay down on the ground, her hands clamped together.
“Please, my king! Please!” She shook her head and began crying harder. “I don’t
want to live normally.”
Her princess was probably having a very hard time there alone. Princess Danika
was proud and royal, and people must hate her because of her father. Sally was
worried sick, thinking about how her princess was coping without her. She always did
the smallest of things for her so happily, and she always made her smile. Was her
princess still alive?
“Oh, please, Your Highness! Please!” Sally sobbed.
Lucien turned away. “Go home, Sally. Go and live a normal life.”
Three hours later, Danika was working in the mines again. She did her best to
avoid Karandy or taking personal instructions from him-especially staying alone
with him.
She did what the others did. When they hit the ground with hammers, she did the
same. She cleared the sand when they cleared the sand. When they swept, she swept.
Of course, she didn’t blend in. She easily stood out in a crowd of slaves because
the bearing of a princess surrounded her like an invisible cloak. Her shoulders held
high. Her chin lifted. Not a single smile on her beautiful face. Her blonde hair was not
dirty but sparkling and shining, well-arranged. Her uniform was well-pressed.
Danika wished Sally was there-Sally, who made Danika smile always. Sally, who
would tell her stories.
Another hour passed, and Danika heard hurried footsteps in front of the tunnel.
“Where’s the king’s slave?”
Danika dropped the broomstick when she heard Baski’s voice. In measured steps,
she walked out of the tunnel.
“The king will require your presence in five minutes. Do not keep him waiting,”
she said in that usual curt tone and walked away.
Danika started following when Karandy called her. “See me for a minute, Slave.”
She didn’t want to. She wanted to hurry after Baski. But she also did not want
another punishment or slap from the slave trainer. So, Danika followed Karandy to
the little quarters where he stayed to oversee work at the mines. She was happy that it
was an open space, but he got her to a dark corner.
“What about what we discussed?” he growled maliciously.
“What we discussed?” Danika repeated, feigning ignorance.
“About you letting me fuck you whenever or however I want,” he said bluntly.
“Oh, that? I haven’t had the chance to think about it, and you said I should think
about it.” She bit her lips. “Can I get another chance to think about it?”
Anger darkened Karandy’s eyes. His hand shot out, and he grabbed her hair and
yanked it, forcing her closer to him.
“Do you think me a fool?” he asked angrily.
Danika just stared at him.
He snaked his hand into her underthings, trying to touch her womanhood. When he
caressed her, she showed no reaction. Instead, she bit the insides of her cheeks in
revulsion.
Say nothing. Do nothing.
He yanked her hair harder, and she only glared at him defiantly.
“I’ll deal with you if you don’t give me what I want, you whore,” he snarled.
“I said I’ll think about it,” Danika answered simply.
Karandy let go of her in frustration when he didn’t get the reaction he wanted from
her. He already took a risk when he slapped her yesterday. No one touched a king’s
slave without authorization from the king. The king’s slaves were special and required
special treatment.
Karandy had prepared himself to be summoned by the king to explain the hand
imprint on her cheek. He’d prepared himself for the lies he’d tell about how stubborn
and superior Danika was being and he had to handle her.
Of course, he was prepared to finish his pleading with the fact that she hadn’t been
introduced as a king’s slave the previous day. Thankfully, the king hated her too much
to care about the hand imprint. But now, he fisted his hands to keep from smacking
her. She was now introduced, and if the king summoned him, he would be severely
punished.
“I’ll need an answer tomorrow, Danika! You’d better give me a positive response!”
He whirled around and started out in anger, trying to hide his heavy arousal from
view.
Guess he’d have to find a dirty random slave to fuck. The true one he wanted to
sample remained out of reach. Well, only for that day!