Once Takri reached his new quarters in the royal wing of the palace, he stripped off his boots and clothing, throwing them in a pile on the floor next to his bed. Exhausted from the last three days, he fell onto the mattress and into a deep sleep filled with nightmares.
It seemed as if all those who were hurt under his care came to accuse him. He stood in the fog of the aspen forest again with Lod, pale from loss of blood, bone shards still protruding from his leg. Jacu recoiled in fear from the sound of a burning woman singing a lullaby as her skin blistered and cracked. Her skull, filled with fire, was carried by a raptor into the desert. There, Zayaan crawled in the sand of the training ground after being baptized in boiling water, his skin blistering like the old woman's. And finally, Lilua's empty eyes as she was married to the strigoi-viu, the bodies of their people burning in a heap behind her.
He awoke in a sweat. Someone was in the room with him. A fire now crackled in the fireplace, casting odd shadows about the chamber walls. He looked around for his clothes next to the bed, but they were gone. He pulled the sheets about his naked form and peered into the darkness. A small figure lay curled in front of the fire, her head resting on her outstretched arm. Takri got up to examine his intruder.
Yelena. The wine maiden from the night before the hunt. What is she doing here?
She stirred in her sleep, opening one eye. As soon as she recognized Takri, she sat bolt upright and bowed her head as a sign of respect. "My Lord Prince Takri, I... The fire was warm and lulled me to sleep. I beg your forgiveness."
"Yelena, why are you here?"
"Mahleck has given me to serve as your body slave. He knew you took interest in me at the feast." She kept her eyes downcast as she addressed her new master. "This is a great honor for me, my Lord Prince."
"Body slave? What is a body slave?" asked Takri.
"I am to attend to all your physical needs, my Lord Prince. I am to dress you, bathe you, and warm your bed should you desire it. My body belongs to you." There was no emotion behind her words, only a hint of fear just below the surface.
"What if I don't desire it?"
"Then they will send me back to serve the Swarm in the camps, for I will be unworthy of serving a Prince." Her voice shook.
Takri walked back to the bed where he sat down heavily, running his hands through his hair. How was he supposed to deal with this? With her? Every time he was given someone to care for they ended up hurt, or dead.
"Yelena, I do not need or want a body slave. But I do not want you sent to serve the men in the camps. You are not my servant. You are not my slave. You are an Adyllian woman, and you deserve to be treated as a descendant of the Goddess."
"Do not speak like this, my Lord and Prince. We will both be killed," she whispered, as if the walls could hear them speak. "I exist only to serve the God-Emperor. All else is sacrilege."
"Can we strike a deal, Yelena?" asked Takri. "We both need to survive. I do not desire you in my bed. I do not need you to dress me. I do not need you to bathe me. But we both need to live. To all outside of these walls, you will be my body slave. But inside this room we are both equals. No one needs to know of our arrangement. It will keep us both safe."
"Do I displease you?" asked Yelena. "Or do you prefer men to warm your bed? There are boys who serve as body slaves, but it is only done in secrecy. If it becomes known, you will be put to death. For a man to be penetrated as a woman is grievous sin in the land of the Locust."
"No, no. Yelena. I do not desire anyone to serve me as you describe, man or woman. You do not displease me."
"I must assist you in some way. They will become suspicious," said Yelena.
"You may fetch me water for bathing, and food, and clean my clothing and boots. But I will not have a woman or man share my bed who is beholden to me. Do you understand?" said Takri.
"Yes, my Lord and Prince."
"In this room, my name is Takri. You must keep this between the two of us, Yelena. Otherwise, they will kill us both. Me for respecting the old ways, and you for simply being associated with me. I will do my best to keep you safe. But I have failed everyone else, and I may fail you as well."
"I will serve you until that day, or until the day the blood of the Goddess destroys the destroyer," said Yelena, suddenly sounding less like a groveling slave and more like a true noble-born woman of Adyll.
Takri looked up with surprise at the young woman seated in front of the fire. She was looking directly in his eyes for the first time since he had seen her in the throne room.
"We have heard the prophecy even inside the court of women. We pray that the words of the oracle are true. Some say the dead danced in the flames that consumed her. Did you see it? Is it true?"
"The Zora spoke the words of the Goddess through the fire. The dead spoke with the same voice as they danced, Yelena," said Takri. "The Goddess Aaysha lives."