Healing the Broken Read online

“I’ll let the sides of my robe fall over you,” he told her, placing the other diamond studded band and admiring the effect. Her nipples glittered like rainbow ice when she moved. He might never have been much for nipple jewelry before, but their time on Alquon Ultrea was turning him into quite a connoisseur—as long as the jewelry was on Sarah, anyway. “That should hide our, um, activity,” he told her.

  “I hope you’re right.” She bit her lip in that way she had when she was worried about something.

  “Everything will be fine.” Sazar tried to sound reassuring but to be honest, he wasn’t completely certain about the security of their position.

  “But what if it isn’t?” Sarah persisted. “What if you have to, you know, breed me for real?”

  “I won’t do that to you,” Sazar said fiercely. “I told you, it’s completely out of the question.”

  “But what if there’s no other way?”

  “Sarah…” He cupped her cheek, meeting her worried hazel eyes with his own. “I won’t do that to you, Ladara,” he murmured. “Won’t take your virginity that way—I swear it.”

  “All right.” She nodded. “Thank you, Sazar.”

  “Are you two almost ready?” Chandra had apparently gotten bored of watching and re-watching the orgy video. “We really need to get going.”

  “We’re ready.” Sazar tugged lightly on Sarah’s new breast chain, making her moan softly. “Aren’t we, Sarah?”

  “As we’ll ever be, I guess.” She gave that defiant little tilt of her chin he loved so well. “Let’s go.”

  Sazar put a protective arm around her and ushered her out of the guest quarters, vowing to himself to protect his little human from everything and everyone. To keep her safe and at all costs.

  She’s going to remain a virgin, he told himself firmly. I won’t take her purity no matter what else happens. She’ll stay intact.

  It was a vow to himself and to Sarah. He intended to keep it.

  Chapter Nineteen

  The palace was resplendent, glowing with golden light and filled with the upper crust of Alquon Ultrea, who had been given invitations to the Breeding Ball. According to Chandra, only the best of the best were invited and everyone they saw was of the noblest and purest blood.

  “All of the Alquons here have the blood of the past Lord Magnates in their family trees,” she explained to Sarah as they strolled up the golden path leading to the vast front double doors. “And for this one night, we are all paired together by the purity of our blood, with only the purest males breeding the purest females in hopes of producing even purer children. Only in this way can we remove the taint of the genetic modification we were forced to take so many years ago when our world was first covered in water.”

  “But…what’s so wrong with your modification?” Sarah asked. She motioned at Chandra’s dainty, barely-there gill slits and the slight webbing between her fingers. “It seems practical to me. And don’t you enjoy being able to live in the water as well as in a dry environment?”

  “Children enjoy playing in the water,” Chandra said. “And some of us with more…extreme modifications find it more comfortable. Lemesh, who made your clothing, far prefers the depths to the bright lights of Idd. But most of us just wish to get back to the way we were before we were modified. Also, water messes up your hair.” She tossed her own kelpy ringlets with a little sniff.

  Suddenly a well dressed Alquon nobleman with perfectly coiffed green hair strolled up to them. His gill slits were more prominent than most of those in attendance although it looked to Sarah like maybe he’d applied some kind of makeup to try and minimize them.

  “Hello, darling,” he said to Chandra and gave her an affectionate kiss on the cheek.

  “Oh, Kendro! Darling!” Chandra threw her arms around his neck and kissed him back enthusiastically. “This is my pair partner, Kendro,” she said when she finally pulled away. “And Kendro, these are the Kindred diplomat, Commander Sazar, and his female, Sarah I’ve been telling you so much about.”

  “Very pleased to meet you.” Kendro nodded politely. “I’m glad to finally meet the people who have been monopolizing my beautiful pair partner these last two days.”

  “Chandra has been invaluable to us,” Sazar said seriously. “She’s both considerate and knowledgeable. Forgive us for taking so much of her time.”

  “Oh, Kendro is just teasing you.” Chandra slapped her pair partner lightly on the chest. “I’ll see you after the breeding, darling. Who are you paired with, anyway?”

  “Natalan Tangoo.” Kendro made a face. “Her blood is a whole sixteenth less pure than mine. So common! I don’t know how I’ll bear it!”

  “Now, darling…” Chandra shook a slim finger in his face. “Every little drop of purer blood helps, you know. So breed her well and do your best to give her a big belly.”

  He sighed dejectedly. “You know I will. Are you paired with Jakkob again?”

  It was Chandra’s turn to make a face. “Yes and you know he’s so stuffy and proud just because he’s directly related to The Lord Magnate and has some of the purest blood in Idd. He acts like he’s doing me a favor every time he puts his shaft inside me!”

  “But think if you conceive,” Kendo exclaimed. “Our child will be one of the purest in all of Idd! You have to do your best too, Chandra. Let him breed you more than once if he will.”

  “I’ll try to convince him but Jakkob is notoriously stingy with his seed.” She sighed. “Well look, darling—I really must dash. I need to get Commander Sazar and Sarah here set up with a good centralized breeding couch and show them the ropes before I go find Jakkob.”

  “All right. Happy breeding—I’ll see you after.” Kendro kissed her casually on the lips and waved as he walked off in another direction.

  Sarah could hardly believe what she’d just seen. And as Chandra stopped to speak to another Alquon noble she looked up at Sazar.

  “Correct me if I’m wrong,” she murmured. “But…aren’t pair partners like husband and wife?”

  “I believe so, yes,” he said in a low voice.

  “But then…did I just hear them making plans to…to have sex with other people? Right in front of each other?”

  “It appeared so.” Sazar shrugged. “Such a thing would never be permissible in a Kindred society but I have been on missions to polyamorous cultures before.”

  “But how can they just…just plan to have sex with other people and then agree to meet later like it’s no big deal?” Sarah exclaimed. Even in the Compound such a thing would have been frowned on and punished severely. The only male a woman was supposed to sleep with was her husband—after Father Caleb was done with her, of course.

  “Oh, do our breeding customs upset you?” Chandra asked and Sarah realized with embarrassment that the Alquon girl had heard everything she’d said.

  “They just…surprise me, that’s all,” she said quickly.

  “Well believe me, it’s not always pleasant to be bred by another male.” Chandra pouted prettily. “But we do whatever we must to purify our bloodlines. And of course, The Lord Magnate has the purest bloodline of all—that’s why it’s such a great honor to be bred by him.” She sighed, as though remembering something lovely. “I had only just come of age the year he bred me at the ball. I was so excited.”

  “I’m…sure you were,” Sarah said as neutrally as she could though the idea of being “bred” by The Lord Magnate still made her skin crawl.

  They entered the vast double doors along with a few other nobles and Sarah was surprised to see there was a new addition to the gold and marble entry hall.

  An enormous fish bowl—bigger than a dump truck—was placed right in the center of the foyer. It was filled with pale green water that shimmered in the golden light. An enormous, shiny black lump sat like a mountain right in the middle of it.

  “Oh look—they brought the grike inside this year!” Chandra exclaimed.

  “The grike?” Sazar frowned and Sarah felt a stab of curiosity herse