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PROLOGUE

‘WE HEAR THAT your Prince,’ said Lady Jokaste, ‘keeps his own harem These slaves will please any traditionalist, but I have asked Adrastus to prepare soift for your Prince froh, as it were’

‘His Majesty has already been so generous,’ said Councillor Guion, the Ambassador of Vere

They strolled the length of the viewing gallery Guion had dined on rape leaves, the noon-day heat fanned away froenerously willing to admit that this barbaric country had its charms The food was rustic but the slaves were impeccable: faultlessly obedient and trained to efface and anticipate, nothing like the spoiled pets at the court of Vere

The gallery was decorated by two dozen slaves on display All were either naked or barely clad in transparent silks Around their necks, the slaves wore gold collars decorated with rubies and tanzanite and on their wrists golden wrist-cuffs These were purely orna submissiveness

They were to be a gift froenerous gift The gold alone orth a small fortune, while the slaves were surely some of the finest in Akielos Privately, Guion had already earmarked one of the palace slaves for his personal use, a demure youth with a beautifully slender waist and heavily lashed dark eyes

As they reached the far end of the gallery, Adrastus, the Keeper of the Royal Slaves, bowed sharply, the heels of his laced brown leather boots drawing together

‘Ah Here we are,’ said Lady Jokaste, s

They proceeded into an antechamber, and Guion’s eyes widened

Bound and under heavy guard was a male slave unlike any Guion had ever seen

Powerfullythe trinket-chains that adorned the other slaves in the gallery His restraints were real His wrists were lashed behind his back and his legs and torso were bound with thick cords Despite this, the force of his body looked only barely contained His dark eyes flashed furiously above the gag, and if you looked closely at the expensive cords that bound his torso and legs you could see the red weals where he had fought, hard, against his restraints

Guion’s pulse sped up, an alh? This slave waslike the twenty-four tame kittens who lined the hall The sheer power of his body was barely held in check

Guion looked at Adrastus, as hanging back, as though the slave’s presence made him nervous