Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 125077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
My jaw had gone slack. I closed my mouth and swallowed hard, my thoughts whirling in my head, desperately looking for a branch—a twig—of the version of the world tree I apparently had somewhere inside me… something that I could hold onto, to tie me back to the man, the Herra I loved, and the mission he had given me.
“So,” Leo Marmareus continued, his tone softening a bit, “I’m going to decide what we talk about, and at the moment I’d like to talk about your kidnapping by the traffickers who sold you to Beaumont.”
I blinked, and I took a deep breath. Abruptly, I felt a strange calm settle over me, as if I had found the connection I sought, and Yggdrasil itself was steadying my nerves. I took another breath and began to speak.
“It… it was at a party,” I said, letting my voice tremble slightly. “Off campus, in this old warehouse. Camille and I, we… we’d never met before that night.”
I paused, lowering my eyes as if overcome with shame. When I looked back up at Leo Marmareus, I saw that he had taken a handheld out of his jacket pocket. His brows knit slightly as he looked down at it, and then back up at me. When our eyes made contact, he spoke, his voice neutral, telling me nothing at all about how my story had come across so far.
“Go on.”
“We were both so drunk,” I continued, the lies flowing more easily now. “I don’t even remember how much we’d had. But we got to talking, and…” I trailed off, biting my lip.
“Go on,” Marmareus prompted, his voice softer now, but insistent.
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to meet his gaze. “We told each other we were virgins,” I whispered, letting my cheeks flush with embarrassment. “And we… we dared each other to get laid. God, it sounds so stupid now.”
As I spoke, I found that I could access the pretended feelings with surprising ease. The shame, the regret—it all felt so real. To my dismay, though, I also felt myself getting even more aroused as I recounted the fictional events.
“What happened next?” Marmareus asked, his eyes never leaving my face.
“We found these boys,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “We didn’t even know their names. They took us to this corner of the warehouse where… where lots of people were having sex.”
I paused, taking a shuddering breath.
“They… they… you know…”
I felt my cheeks redden as if I were recounting something that had actually happened to me—to the modest but horny virgin I’d been only the previous week. I lowered my voice to an embarrassed whisper.
“They, you know, fucked us on these old mattresses. It was all happening so fast, I could barely process it.”
The man’s expression remained neutral, but I saw his fingers twitch slightly at his side. “How did it feel?” he asked, his voice low and intense.
I closed my eyes, pretending to recall the invented memory. “It felt… shameful,” I said, opening my eyes to look at him. “When the alcohol started to wear off, I realized what we’d done. I felt so dirty, so used.”
As I spoke, I could feel my arousal growing, much to my horror. My nipples hardened, and I felt the warmth building between my legs. I prayed the Guard agent wouldn’t notice, but part of me knew he probably already had.
“What happened then?” he pressed, taking a step closer.
CHAPTER 35
Mary
I had to crane my neck to look up at him. My hands balled into fists atop my thighs and I took a shaky breath, not needing to pretend my inner conflict and my effort to steady myself before continuing.
“We… we fell asleep for a while after that. I’m not sure how long. Maybe an hour? Two? It was hard to tell.”
I let my voice quaver, as if reliving the trauma—and again finding that I was reliving it, despite it never having happened. Had something about my training as a völva given me some ability to inhabit my cover this way?
“Then these men… they shook us awake. Rough hands, grabbing at us. I was so disoriented, still half-drunk. I remember Camille crying out in French.”
I paused, watching Marmareus’ face carefully. His expression remained impassive, but I sensed an intensity in his gaze that told me he was hanging on my every word. I pressed on.
“They bundled us outside. The cold air hit me like a slap. I remember thinking I should scream, but my throat felt so dry. They shoved us into a van—one of those big white ones with no windows in the back.” I shuddered, the motion barely feigned at all. “They gagged us with those things with the rubber balls. The smell was awful… it made me want to gag. Then they put a hood over my head. Everything went dark.”