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As soon as Sogetai let him down onto the Radnashiri’s deck Anat dropped to his hands and knees, the bundle of jewelry awkward beneath his chest.
This was a victory celebration; he knew his role.
Time to pay.
For his face, his survival, his hope of seeing his brothers again, his lost psyker gifts, his Prosperine birth, his XV geneseed. If he had forgotten anything, they would surely remind him.
He forced his legs wider apart—sometimes it hurt less, and if he acted the whore they might laugh instead of beating his place into him—and bowed his head, in the hope they wouldn’t notice his tears. (But they would. They always wanted to see his face.)
He could feel unarmored hands on his head and shoulder—did Sogetai mean to stroke him while the others took their pleasure, as if that could be a comfort? But when he looked up, his tear-blurred eye saw not Sogetai but Temechi, still in armor but for his gauntlets and helm.
“Let’s get you some proper clothes,” Temechi said, and helped him to his feet.
Anat stood there, clinging to Temechi’s hand, feeling as if the ship had lurched under them. He tried to speak and found he had no breath left, so he nodded.
This was a victory celebration; he knew his role.
Time to pay.
For his face, his survival, his hope of seeing his brothers again, his lost psyker gifts, his Prosperine birth, his XV geneseed. If he had forgotten anything, they would surely remind him.
He forced his legs wider apart—sometimes it hurt less, and if he acted the whore they might laugh instead of beating his place into him—and bowed his head, in the hope they wouldn’t notice his tears. (But they would. They always wanted to see his face.)
He could feel unarmored hands on his head and shoulder—did Sogetai mean to stroke him while the others took their pleasure, as if that could be a comfort? But when he looked up, his tear-blurred eye saw not Sogetai but Temechi, still in armor but for his gauntlets and helm.
“Let’s get you some proper clothes,” Temechi said, and helped him to his feet.
Anat stood there, clinging to Temechi’s hand, feeling as if the ship had lurched under them. He tried to speak and found he had no breath left, so he nodded.
