The Princess In A ‘Prince’ Disguise (Beasts of Wrath and Madness #1)

6. WHAT YOU ARE

Chapter six

WHAT YOU ARE

Emeriel was at a loss for words. His wide eyes stared at Livia in shock and disbelief, as if the older woman had suddenly grown a second head.

"I do not want this," he blurted out, voice rising with panic. "I do not want any part of it."

"We cannot choose to be a syren, Emeriel," Madam Livia said firmly. "Many human females have tried to become one over the centuries, even doing extreme things, but it simply does not work that way." She paused, her voice softening. "There are countless females who would give anything to be in your position right now."

"But I do not want it!" Emeriel exclaimed, springing up from his seat, unable to sit still. He paced the length of the room anxiously. "Let them have it. I do not care. I do not want to be a syren, a bondmate, or anything else!"

Livia looked at him silently, her expression saying more than words ever could.

Running a shaky hand through his ponytail, Emeriel stopped and turned to face her, his chest rising and falling with rapid breaths. His voice trembled as he asked, "So, that horrible, painful experience I had last night… That was called a heat?"

"A mini-heat," Madam Livia corrected, folding her hands neatly in her lap.

"A mini- what ?" Emeriel’s jaw dropped, his eyes nearly popping out of his head. "It gets worse than that !?"

"I cannot say for sure, Emeriel," Madam Livia released a deep breath. "I am not a syren, nor do I know any syrens. I do not know if the symptoms get worse during a full heat. But I can tell you how lucky you were to only experience a mini-heat last night."

Emeriel stared at her as if she had completely lost her mind.

"Lucky?" he asked incredulously. "You think that was lucky ?"

"If it had been a full heat, Emeriel," she said slowly, "it would not have stopped on its own."

Emeriel’s stomach churned, but he forced himself to listen, his fingers gripping the back of a nearby chair for support.

"In a full heat, you would have needed to be mounted by a Urekai male. Not just once, but repeatedly. He would need to knot you, again and again, until your heat calmed.” Madam Livia told him. “And when your womb descended, he would need to release inside it while your body locked him in. That, my dear, is how heat sex works. You may need to look it up in the library for more details. But one thing is certain—a full heat cannot end without multiple rounds of heat sex, and self-pleasure does not help."

A marathon of heat sex? Mounted? Knotted? Release into my womb?

Emeriel’s knees gave out, and he collapsed into the nearest chair, his face pale.

It all sounded like something out of the terrifying stories told to scare children under the moonlight.

For a moment, he thought he saw pity in Livia's eyes, but he couldn't be sure. He wasn’t sure of anything anymore.

"Do you now understand why I said it would be nearly impossible to keep pretending to be male?" Madam Livia stood, gathering her herb bag. "While I feel for you, I do not play favorites. You will be treated like every other slave and expected to work just as hard."

The older woman looked at her. "You may have hidden your gender, but your beauty cannot be concealed. These lustful masters will notice you sooner or later. What if one of them finds out your secret? Also, you will be required to bathe in the river like everyone else. What will you do then?"

Emeriel's skin crawled with discomfort.

Of course, he had already known this; it was no different from all he knew about the lives of slaves and commoners. But hearing it so clearly now made his situation feel all the more real.

Tears welled in his eyes. He wanted Aekeira. He needed his sister.

A knock sounded at the door. "Mistress Livia? Your presence is requested in Blackstone," a soldier announced loudly.

"I will come shortly. Thank you," Madam Livia replied. The sound of footsteps faded.

"What is Blackstone?" Emeriel asked.

"Grand Lord Vladya's domain. He rules the western clans, and his home is located in the western region of this citadel," Livia explained. Then, in a quieter tone, she added, "I wonder why he wants to see me."

Emeriel wiped his eyes, swallowing tightly. "Do you think it’s about my sister?"

"You may go now. I have already told Slavemaster Gaine that you will work in the cellar for now. The soldiers will come for you soon."

A cellar slave? It was not ideal, but it could have been worse. "Thank you, Madam Livia, for everything," Emeriel said softly, standing to leave.

"Emeriel?"

He turned back, looking at her. "Yes, Madam?"

Livia hesitated. "I would not hold out hope regarding Aekeira."

When she said nothing more, tears once again sprang to Emeriel's eyes, and he let out a quiet sob. He had dreaded the thought, refusing to entertain it. But deep down, he knew he had been fooling himself.

Emeriel walked unsteadily back to his chambers and locked the door. Falling to the floor, he wept bitterly.

Three days passed, and Emeriel was moved to the slave quarters in the southern wing.

The room he was given was small and bare, with only a tiny bed in one corner.

Thankfully, Madam Livia had managed to get him clothes that covered his whole body, sparing him from the revealing attire other slaves wore.

As the evening fell, marking his first day as a cellar slave, Emeriel tightened the chest-binds around his chest and put on his work clothes. He tied his hair into a ponytail.

He hadn’t heard anything about Aekeira. Hadn’t seen his sister.

Whenever he tried to ask Madam Livia, she would change the subject.

Emeriel refused to believe his sister was dead and her body discarded. At least during the day.

But at night, he would curl up on his cold bed and cry himself to sleep. Every single time.

Emeriel had seen Grand Lord Vladya and Grand Lord Ottai, but not the one called Grand Lord Zaiper. Whenever his name was mentioned, the Urekai maids and human slaves would all look terrified. Every single one of them.

"He is the worst of all the grand lords," The slave girl, Amie, had whispered to him the day before, her eyes wide as she looked around to make sure no one was listening and the hallway was empty. "Lord Ottai can be sweet when he wants to be, and Lord Vladya is very scary. But like Lord Ottai, he is fair and just in his leadership. But Lord Zaiper?”

Amie had glanced around again. “He is a monster. His slaves die every day. Some starve, others are tortured for fun, and some are even raped to death. His slavemasters are the worst, and Lord Zaiper does not care. He does not even see us as human."

Emeriel's eyes had widened to the root of his hair. “This lord is worse than Lord Vladya?"

"Actually, Grand Lord Vladya is not that bad," Amie had stated firmly. "When it comes to ruling and running the kingdom, he is as fair as you could hope from a Urekai lord. He just hates humans. He never holds back when dealing with humans. Compared to Lord Zaiper, though, he is an angel." The younger girl had paused. "Stay away from Lord Zaiper at all costs."

A knock broke into Emeriel's thoughts as Amie poked her head through the door, her smile bright.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked cheerfully.

Emeriel nodded and followed her outside.

Boris, the Urekai slavemaster, watched Emeriel’s every move with the sharp gaze of a hawk stalking its prey in the deepest parts of an ancient forest.

Emeriel felt deeply uneasy as he placed bottles of wine into a wooden barrel. He was so uncomfortable that he almost dropped a bottle in a moment of panic.

Luckily, his reflexes saved him, catching it just in time.

A good thing too, because breaking a wine bottle would mean fifteen lashes from the burning whip—and two nights in the dungeon, according to Master Gaine, the second Urekai slavemaster.

Pull yourself together, Emeriel! Do not look at him. Stop glancing his way!

Picking up another bottle of red wine, Emeriel carefully placed it in the barrel with the others on the lower level.

"Two white wines and a perry for the twins at table four," Amie said as she walked up to him. She was one of the slaves serving drinks to the many customers at the tavern.

"Coming right up," Emeriel said quickly. He prepared the order and handed it to Amie, who took the bottles and rushed off.

Glancing at Master Boris again, Emeriel noticed his creepy eyes were now following Amie instead.

Those watchful eyes were far too unsettling.

"She is awake, my lord," Livia had informed Grand Lord Vladya on the military grounds of Blackstone.

Now, he was on his way back to his quarters.

Three days had passed, and the girl had not regained consciousness. Grand Lord Vladya had started to doubt if she ever would.

He had considered ordering his soldiers to dispose of her body, but he refrained. Instead, he instructed his healer to care for her and had Livia watch closely.

The girl held answers to questions Vladya desperately needed. Answers to the questions that disturbed his mind.

As he entered his quarters, the maids bowed to him, and the soldiers escorted him to the chamber where the girl was being kept. They opened the door, and Vladya stepped inside.

"Wait outside," he ordered, and the soldiers closed the door behind him.

Aekeira watched the male figure step into the room. This was the second time she had been in his presence, and this time, they were alone.

Grand Lord Vladya terrified her deeply.

Her body still ached, though the pain was not as severe as it had been that dreadful night. The herbs had provided some relief, but they had not completely erased the pain.

Aekeira bowed her head slightly. "My lord."

"You have finally decided to rejoin the living. I was beginning to wonder if you ever would."

"I did not think I would, my lord," she replied truthfully, meeting his eyes. "Where is my brother? Is he well?"

"I ask the questions here, human princess. Not you," Grand Lord Vladya said coldly. "How did you manage to survive being mounted by his beast? Honestly, I did not expect you to live through it."

Aekeira clenched her fists tightly. By the gods of light, she hated this man. She hated all of them.

"I do not understand what you mean, my lord," she retorted. Her tone was sharp, and Aekeira realized she was glaring at him.

Grand Lord Vladya's cold, gray-yellow eyes locked onto hers. "Allow me to rephrase the question. This time, give me a response that satisfies me, or I will summon the nearest slavemaster to strip you and give you thirty lashes. Do you understand?"

Aekeira believed him. The hint of rebellion in her vanished as her heart raced. "Yes, my lord."

"Good. Now, tell me everything that happened from the moment you entered the forbidden chambers."

Aekeira recounted the events in detail, stumbling over her words a few times as she tried to distance herself from the horrible memory as much as possible.

"I lost consciousness several times. I thought I would die. Truly, I do not know how I survived," she finished.

Grand Lord Vladya studied her intently, and Aekeira made sure to look innocent. To look as if she were not hiding anything.

"Do not celebrate just yet," Lord Vladya said at last. "Rest well and take your medicines, for in five nights, our people will celebrate the moonlight festival. On that night, you will return to the forbidden chambers."

What...? Aekeira’s blood ran cold.

Just when she had begun to hope for survival, this man shattered it. Tears sprang in her eyes.

"Surely, you do not mean that," she whispered.

"I assure you, I never say what I do not mean," he replied calmly. "But do not worry; I am not completely heartless. The healer will attend to your needs, providing you with the necessary treatments and herbs."

Those chilling eyes met hers. "But, make no mistake, your duty remain the same. Whether you choose to return to the forbidden chambers or send your dear little brother in your stead is of no concern to me. But one thing is certain, one of you will be there."

To hell with the consequences.

"You have no soul," Aekeira spat, venom dripping from her tone. "A manifestation of the devil himself."

"Compliments, slave princess. Compliments." There was no remorse or anger in his eyes, only indifference.

He stood and turned to leave, glancing over his shoulder. "Until we meet again, human princess. If we meet again."

As the door closed behind him, tears streamed down Aekeira's face.

By the gods of light, she had never cried easily. Not for anything. And she refused to start now—not because of a male like him.

Her body ached as if she had been immersed in boiling water overnight.

The area between her legs was raw and bruised, and the thought of being mounted by the beast again made her feel she might die.

But she would rather go back herself than allow Emeriel to be sent there.

Especially because the king’s beast wanted Emeriel.

It may have mounted Aekeira, but it was Emeriel's scent it was hungry for.

Why? Aekeira had no idea.

Nevertheless, she would do everything within her power to keep her sister away from that chamber.

Even if it meant being raped to death by a feral beast.