Hours later, they were still waiting when the king’s guards came to the bedroom
and took Danika. They said the king requested her presence.
Danika’s heart was in her throat as she followed them. She told Sally that she’d be
back, and Sally nodded wholeheartedly. As they walked, Danika wondered why the
king might be calling her, her heart still in her throat. But as they rounded a corner at
the king’s quarters, the sight before them explained why.
Karandy was kneeling in front of the king. King Lucien stood tall, several feet
away, with his hands behind his back, two guards standing behind him. They walked
closer and stopped.
Danika’s body was shaking inside, but she remained cool and collected outside.
She went down on her knees. “You called me, Master,” she whispered.
His eyes bored into her. “This slave trainer here said that he has made no sexual
advances toward you. He said that you’ve been throwing yourself at him at every turn.
You have been trying to lure him into your bed.” He let the words hang around them.
Danika’s heart beat faster. “Is that true?” he asked at last.
“No, Master,” she gulped out. She could practically feel Karandy’s deadly glare on
her body.
“How can you defend yourself?”
It was on Danika’s lips to tell him that Sally was there with her on some of the
days the slave trainer approached her. But she couldn’t bring herself to call Sally’s
name. She would never do anything that would further endanger Sally. “No, my king.
I have no defense.”
Silence ensued. Danika bit the inside of her cheek. Worry clawed at her.
“Look at me, Danika.” The command was curt.
She raised her eyes from the ground and her eyes met the king’s. She dropped her
guard and let him see the stark truth in her eyes.
Karandy would deal with her after this-especially if he went unpunished.
Danika was nervous. She couldn’t read the king. She didn’t know what was going
through his head.
King Lucien cocked his head to the side. “The red handprint on your face
yesterday. That was him. Am I wrong?”
“You aren’t, my king.” Hope flared inside her.
Shit. Karandy felt like kicking himself. He knew he should not have slapped her
where it was so damn visible yesterday, but he’d wanted her so much he could not
control himself. He had lied, telling the king he never laid hands on her, but he’d
forgotten about the goddamn slap. Fear gripped him.
Slowly, King Lucien walked closer to Danika. He was so close to her that only a
few inches separated them. Then he bent down to become eye level with her.
Memories rose inside Danika of last night when he did the same thing. And then
the memories of what happened afterward. Her cheeks flushed as he continued to
stare at her, his eyes scrutinizing her. He was so close Danika breathed him in. King
Lucien had a unique aroma to him that she was becoming familiar with, the same
scent that surrounded her last night-that clung to her body even after she left his bed.
She cut off the gasp that rose to her throat when he raised his hand and ran it across
her cheek. “The mark isn’t faded, though. I can still see traces of it,” he said as he ran
his fingers up and down her cheek. A shiver worked down her body, and she would
have sworn that she saw his eyes flare with desire for a minute. Lucien blinked, and it
was gone.
“Karandy?” King Lucien didn’t take his eyes off Danika when he spoke so calmly.
“Yes, m-my king.” His voice wasn’t so confident anymore.
“Did you hit her last noonday?”
Silence. No answer.
King Lucien pulled back then. Danika suddenly felt bereft. She blinked several
times to clear the strange feeling.
“Guards?” He didn’t raise his voice. He never had to.
“Yes, Your Majesty!?” both answered at the same time.
“Take him to the dungeon. Send for Doseh, the Master of Justice. Give this slave
trainer twenty strokes of the whip for assaulting the king’s slave, twenty more strokes
for trespassing on the king’s property, and ten strokes for lying to the king.”
What!? Fear, horror, and panic became one inside Karandy.
The shock of the sentence was like a lightning strike to him. He lay on the ground
and started pleading his case to the king. He never expected that much punishment-
especially since the slave in question was Cone’s daughter. King Cone’s daughter,
dammit! He never expected his king to punish him this much for touching the whore.
He pleaded and pleaded, but the guards took him away.
King Lucien told Danika to rise before he turned and started walking back to his
chambers. Danika was so shocked, she was speechless. She never expected a severe
punishment for her case. As she rose, happiness coursed through her.
The slave trainer glared at her while they dragged him away. She lifted her chin.
When she walked out of there, she saw Sally sitting in a corner, waiting for her to
come to take them for a walk.
Danika stopped and watched her with a smile on her face. There were bandages on
most parts of her body that the long slave wear wasn’t covering, but it didn’t seem to
matter to Sally.
She waved at every palace guard and maid that waved at her. She smiled back at
them. Just then, Sally’s eyes found Danika’s, and she beamed at her.
“My princess.” Her voice was hoarse from all the screaming yesterday.
Danika pushed the guilt down and instead let the smile remain on her face as she
walked closer to Sally, who asked her what the summons was all about. She told Sally
everything, and it made Sally ecstatic. At least that lustful slave trainer would be
punished.
“Wait here for me. Let me hurry to our room and get the book we’ll read when we
take a stroll,” Danika said as she started walking away.
Sally called out to her.
She turned. “Yes, Sally?”
Sally’s gray eyes looked into hers, and then a wild smile split her lips in two. “The
day is suddenly looking so bright, my princess.”
Danika’s eyes watered. “You’re the only person brightening up the day, Sally. You
make the day so beautiful.”