Page 2 of Mastering their Maiden
The fence surrounding our village was made of tall, withering logs we put up decades ago to keep the Skepna out. They used to come in droves, but now, their numbers had withered to a few dozen. I supposed I should thank the Kavari for that since they did keep them away from the village. But their good deeds were wiped out by their multitude of other sins. Women stolen away like livestock and taken to their city for God only knew what.
If I was honest, the gods didn’t have to tell me what they did because I knew. I knew because the barracks I slept in were right next to the quarters that housed Kavari soldiers, and nearly every night I had to stuff cotton in my ears to drown out the grunts, moans, and slapping of skin that drifted into my window. I’d been moved to this house when I turned nineteen last fall as it was the place where maidens were ‘readied’ to be examined and eventually claimed by a Kavari squadron. ‘Readied’ meaning I was forced to listen to their obscene exploits in hopes it would stir something inside me.
All it stirred up was a desire for vengeance, and the knowledge that the Kavari were just as simple as human men. A peek of ass or a flash of my breasts was often enough to distract the guards and get me out of trouble sometimes.
Sometimes. But not today. There was no one at the fence to greet me, so I changed and got right in line for my morning rations.
But no sooner had I taken my spot in the queue when a heavy, wrinkled hand grabbed my arm and dragged me toward the center of the square, reminding me the Kavari weren’t the only threat I had to deal with here.
I glowered up at Elder Hoval, his round, dark eyes narrowed and fixed on the stocks as he stalked with me in tow. He was making a fuss on purpose. The dramatics always drew attention and gave him a chance to vilify me.
“What did I do this time?” My voice was light, but Hoval snarled like a beast as he shoved me toward Elder Micah.
“What you need to be asking is why we shouldn’t drag you to the sept and show you what happens to girls who willfully defy our laws!” Hoval’s gruff voice was laced with lust and anger. The two mixed together into a grating sound that made my skin crawl. Disgusting as the noises from the Kavari barracks were, I’d take days in their bunker over a minute in that sept with this man.
“I haven’t willfully defied anything,” I snapped, ripping my arms out of Micah’s hold and pausing to glare at him. To think, at one point, I’d thought this man might offer some solace after Esme left. He was Daya’s father, and Daya had been Esme’s friend. But I soon learned he was as cruel as the others. He’d all but sold his own daughter to the Kavari for a bite of power when Elder Hoval wouldn’t ever give him more than a lick.
“You ventured outside our walls,” Hoval barked. “I saw you with a basket of supplies and—”
“Are we not allowed by the gate anymore? That basket was a gift from passing merchants. Am I forbidden from accepting gifts now?”
Both Elders stilled, eyes narrowing, very aware every person in the village was listening. The gate, even though it was under heavy Kavari guard, was free for us to wander through. No one aside from me dared venture more than a few feet beyond it for fear of the Skepna, but it was a space where we could bask in the fresh air of the forest. The Kavari ensured it stayed safe. A place they could converse with women who were in a good mood because they felt at ease.
Taking that away would cause trouble. Trouble the Elders couldn’t afford. Trouble that would make the Kavari look merciful because they’d want to keep it open.
Painting them in any sort of bright light wasn’t on my agenda, but I’d say whatever I needed to keep myself out of that sept.
“Unless you can find a reason to punish me, I’ll be off to get my rations.”
I went to stalk past Hoval, but he grabbed my arm and whirled me around. His face came so close to mine I could smell his sour breath. “I know you’ve been out in the forest. Sneaking around, bringing in food you don’t share with the rest of us. You are a selfish, spoiled girl who thinks she’s some sort of savior—”
“It’s easy to be a savior when you’re a convenient villain,” I hissed. “You deny food to your most vulnerable people. You use it to control children and their mothers so you can keep some semblance of power!”
I shoved Hoval’s arm off my shoulder, sneering at him before I turned to the other Elders watching. “Now, unless you have some charge to levy against me, I’d like to get my rations and return—”
“You won’t be returning to your barracks just yet, Aria. Your insolence must be punished.”
Hoval jerked his head, and Micah grabbed me, hauling me away from the square toward Hoval’s house and the sept behind it. I dug my feet into the ground, twisting violently, wishing I’d kept the dagger on my hip. Elder Toral was watching from beside a market stall, and he came forward, eyebrows rising and a cruel smile curling his lips as he grabbed hold of my flailing legs. I was saved from being dragged much farther when a sharp voice echoed from the front of the gate, causing the men to release me.
“Elder Micah, Elder Toral, you know disciplinary measures must be run by one of us before acted upon. What is her crime?”
I righted myself and stalked away from the Elder, and away from my supposed savior. Toral ducked his head in acknowledgement, but Micah remained defiant. As did Hoval, who approached like he wasn’t going up against a man two and half feet taller and roughly thirty years younger. He glared up at the brute, who narrowed his dark amber eyes before turning to me, recognition making my whole body tense when he curled his lips.
Kaiden.
“Ah. Aria. What has she done this time?”
His voice was like leather. Deep and smooth, with a slightly rough edge to it. He spoke like this—my behavior—was expected. Like he’d anticipated I’d need to be punished at some point and had simply been waiting for the opportunity. I sneered in his direction when he smirked at me, then turned my back to avoid his lustful gaze.
Kaiden was the leader of the Kavari squadron currently occupying our village. He carried himself with an arrogance that made me fantasize about setting up a trap for him to stumble into. Perhaps an injury or a scar to his beautiful face would humble him, but I doubted it.
He had reason for his arrogance if I was honest. The man was so beautiful, many of the women here wondered if he’d been kissed by the gods directly. Long, honey-colored hair with thick braids laced into strands. Smooth gold skin darkened by hours in the sun. Bright amber eyes, broad cheekbones. A square jaw covered in soft stubble and full lips always set in a pout. I understood why several of the girls in my barracks stared at him, and at the two men always at his side. Zander and Umber, the former full of dark menace and unhinged strength, the latter light, airy, and softer somehow. Umber had the height and build of his Kavari brothers, but his eyes were different. Darker. Molten copper instead of bright gold.
Human looking.
“She’s snuck out again.” Hoval narrowed his accusing eyes at me. “One of the matrons saw her carrying a basket of fruit and bread into the barracks, and no merchants have been by she could have taken it from.”
“There were merchants by late last night.”
