Without waiting for their permission, Cassandra turned her heels and started walking away, trying to repress all of her feelings against that woman. Krai was following from up close, but the dragon’s red eyes never left the princesses.
“You were right, you know.”
Cassandra stopped, turning to her. What did she possibly mean by that? What was she right about? As she was trying to find the answer, Phetra’s icy smirk chilled her to the bone. The Princess was obviously enjoying this, and maybe for the first time in a long while, Cassandra felt truly scared.
“Five hundred and six.”
Cassandra was lost. What was she… But after a few seconds, the young concubine understood and all the blood left her face. Princess Kiuna was looking down, with something like shame painted all over her face. But Phetra was thrilled.
“She died after the five hundred and sixth.”
Cassandra felt so sick and disgusted, she thought she was going to collapse. That woman was so… wretched! She had…really…
“You know, it was almost exciting. Waiting to see when she would finally die. I took a normal whip, of course, and counted. Each. One. My. Self.”
She had said those last words so slowly like she was savoring them. For Cassandra, it was too much. She stepped back, turned, and walked away as fast as she could.
Phetra was evil. Pure evil. How…how could one be so inhumane as to… do that to another human being? And enjoy it? And take the time to count… She almost ran to the Imperial Concubine’s quarters, much to Krai’s concern. The Dragon was staring at her, curious about her behavior, trying to get her attention with soft growls, but the young concubine wouldn’t stop. She kept going, trembling, trying to get there faster. No, the truth was, what she truly wanted was to get away from Phetra.
When she arrived there, trembling and almost out of breath, the Imperial Concubine got up, frowning.
“You little…Why are you running? What is it, child? What would cause you to put my grandchild’s safety in danger like this?”
Cassandra tried to catch her breath, shaking her head. She walked up to her, almost falling on her knees at the Imperial Concubine’s side. Kareen frowned and caressed her hair, unhappy.
“Tell me, Cassandra.”
They were not bonded by blood, but at that very moment, and for the following hour, Kareen acted like a mother to Cassandra. As the young concubine was silently weeping, she caressed her hair gently, waiting for her to calm down.
She couldn’t speak for a long while. Her throat felt hoarse. Cassandra had heard too much in those few sentences. Phetra had cruelly reminded her how terrible it could be. That woman had a similar status to hers, that of a concubine, yet Phetra had gotten rid of her so easily. This was the power of an Imperial Princess.
“How did you do it?” she whispered. “How did you survive among them?”
“You mean among those privileged brats and hungry bitches? A lot of willpower and trusting no one but my own blood. Remember my words, Cassandra. No one gets to such a position with clean hands. Even myself.”
“I…I know but….”
“Cassandra, look at me. Now.”
Her order was clear. The young concubine had no choice but to look up, with tears in her eyes. Kareen’s stare was fiercer than ever. She took Cassandra’s face between her long fingers.
“Listen to this old woman, pretty flower. I grew up among merchants. Before I was ten, I knew how to lie, bargain, and steal. How to exploit the weak and be on the stronger end of the deal. My mentor took me inside this place when I was twelve. Not because he wanted to teach me, but because he was a snake, a snake who wanted to take advantage of a child that was smarter than he was. I was even smarter than he thought and made sure the Emperor knew, too. I did not expect that stubborn old man would take a liking to me, but I knew how wretched all of his women were.”
“I would have been terrified…if he had other women than me. Even just one.”
Cassandra shivered. In a way, she had been lucky to be picked by Kairen. When she was still a slave, she had seen how such jealousy could tear families apart, burn houses, and leave women homeless in the streets, even with their children. The minister she had served had kicked away two of his women to please the newer one, and Cassandra remembered all of the children Kareen had lost.
“Imagine walking in a room full of hungry tigers,” whispered Kareen. “Only one master is holding all of their leashes, so you can’t help but get a few scratches getting to him.”
“You lost children,” said Cassandra. “I don’t know what I’d do if I lost this baby.”
At that moment, the Imperial Concubine’s smile got even scarier than Phetra’s earlier.
“When that happens, you become something much more dangerous than those tigers, Cassandra. Trust me. You become a two-headed monster that won’t ever return to its original self again. I don’t forget and I don’t forgive. All his women know that. It’s exactly why they all fear me more.”
“I don’t want to become like you.”
The woman chuckled, caressing her cheek.
