Chapter 28 Day Two of Training, Lorian
DAY TWO OF TRAINING, LORIAN
The Celestial Spire Shrine is located in the deepest level of the hotel, where few staff members have ever been permitted. Twelve pedestals arranged in a perfect circle support holographic representations of the Imperial goddesses, their ethereal forms rotating slowly in the dim light.
I wait in the center of the shrine, dressed in ceremonial robes that mark me as a child of the Empire despite my Reima Two citizenship. The floor beneath my feet bears the silver goddess silhouette against twelve starbursts, with the motto “Through Devotion, We Ascend” inscribed in Imperial script.
When the doors seal behind Eve with a soft pneumatic hiss, she stops just inside the threshold. I allow her a minute to adjust to the atmosphere of otherworldly reverence. Then she bows quickly as if she just remembered what she’s doing here.
“Stand up straight and let me see you. I know my brother left you wanting yesterday,” I say without preamble.
“Rafe believes in precise measurements and technological control. He thinks arousal can be quantified and managed like any other resource. But I think he’s wrong, especially when it comes to humans. ”
I step closer to her and run the back of my hand over her right cheek. “Ah, but still, my brother made an impression on you.” I watch as both of her pale cheeks become flushed. “You enjoyed his direct training.”
“Yes, Sovereign.”
“Hopefully, you’ll enjoy mine more,” I say.
“Welcome to my sanctuary. This is where I commune with the divine and seek absolution. Tell me, Eve, when did you last make a confession? That’s what it’s called in your human religion, right?
Although I can’t always count on galactic information on Earth to be correct. ”
“Yes, Sovereign... it's been years. But, begging your pardon, I don’t think it would count to… confess to alien gods.”
“Of course you don’t understand. Here, confession is about understanding the beauty of what your human religion calls sin.
” I move closer, watching her pupils dilate.
“Your god offers salvation through suffering.” I run a hand down her back.
“Stand completely still for me.” I wait until she does and then I say nothing.
I just step back and observe this beautiful little human woman before me.
Then, silently, I run a hand down the side of her arm, just barely caressing the side of one of her breasts over her uniform before following her body, down past her waist and the curve of her hips.
Eve’s human figure is divine.
“You know, it’s only when we sin that we really know who we are and see others clearly. There’s a language written on a person's skin when they sin.” I watch as she processes that thought. Then, I command her, “Remove your clothing.”
“I... what?” she says on instinct and then adds, “Sovereign.”
How sweet this is going to be, I think and then say, “You heard me. Place your garments on the altar of the goddess of transformation.” I gesture to one of the pedestals. “She oversees all changes, voluntary and otherwise.”
Eve hesitates, her gaze following my finger to the goddess whose holo-form glows with serene indifference. Then her hands move slowly to the top of her tunic, and she begins unbuttoning it, one by one, each click echoing in the shrine.
Rafe’s little gift reveals itself at last. A bra designed not to protect her modesty but to display her nipples as if they were jewels, erect peaks framed in delicate fabric. “My brother’s new modified clothing for you. I can’t say I would have ordered it, but I enjoy the way it looks.”
Her skin heats under my gaze, and she fumbles, pulling the bra down, then lays it across the goddess’s altar. I relish the way she tries to cover herself with crossed arms until I snap, “Hands at your sides.”
Reluctantly, she obeys.
Her breasts are round and heavy, capped with dark pink nipples hard from the cool shrine air. My eyes linger on the faint shimmer of gooseflesh across her skin and the tremble in her thighs as she fights the urge to shield herself again.
“Do you feel it? The goddesses are evaluating you.”
She doesn’t answer me, but I let the silence stretch, so she can feel the weight of her nakedness beneath my gaze, and the cold indifference of the goddess’s holographic jeweled eyes.
I come up behind her and reach around for the Venus Lock, my fingers finding the hidden release mechanism through the springy hair that only humans have.
The device deactivates with a soft chime, and I lift it away from her body.
“You’re in a holy place now, the goddesses don’t bind what they are here to judge. ”
Eve gasps. “How did you… Sovereign?”
“It's not difficult to remove if you know the proper sequence,” I explain, setting the device aside. “And, of course, you can’t properly sin for me with that inhibiting your loss of control.”
The flush spreads down her throat and across her chest. No doubt she’s fantasizing about finally getting the release Rafe wouldn’t give her yesterday.
“Stand in the center of the circle,” I say and get my neural paddle from its place on the wall. I show it to her, dramatically.
Her eyes widen as they fix on the paddle. “What’s that?”
“Pain amplification technology.” I run my finger along its edge, and the conductors glow briefly. “One stroke from this will hurt in ways your human nervous system isn't designed to process.”
“Sovereign, I thought you said pleasure was the sin.”
“But, Eve, don’t you know you can’t have pleasure without pain?”
“Please, Sovereign. I suffered from the Venus Lock last night and this morning.”
“Suffered,” I mock her. “Suffered while you leisurely gave my brother an erotic show washing his come from your breasts this morning? Suffered with the Hallo root the doctor gave you? No Eve, today you will learn from the goddesses what real suffering feels like. Brace yourself, human.”
“Please, no, Sovereign.”
I circle her again, letting her feel my presence behind her, beside her. She’s trembling, and it’s delicious.
“If you answer my questions incorrectly, you will be paddled.” I tap the paddle against my palm; the soft sound is somehow menacing in this sacred space.
“Now let’s begin our first training session.
Hands at your sides, feet apart,” I instruct.
“Good human. Let's start with something simple. Where are most humans bought?”
“From Gala Station at auction.”
“Correct. Now touch yourself. Slow circles.”
She looks at me shocked.
I crack the paddle against her ass. “Do I need to repeat myself?”
“No, Sovereign,” she says, as her fingers find her clit. They move hesitantly at first, brushing over her furry folds with a shaky uncertainty. But the moment she truly touches herself, her head falls back with a stifled gasp.
“Good,” I say. “Open those brown eyes and look at me. I’m the one giving you this.”
Her eyes open and lock with mine as her breath grows ragged, the sounds falling from her lips somewhere between sobs and moans.
“Now stop.”
When she doesn’t stop caressing her clit, I raise the paddle and smack her hard across her ass, making her scream. The sound is so loud it echoes off the shrine's walls, probably carrying all the way up to my brother's office levels above.
“At Gala Station, what sells for the highest price—a fertile womb or the cock of a proven stud?”
“The womb, Sovereign. Because… because it means future profit.”
I stroke her cheek with the paddle’s cool edge. “Very good. You learn quickly when your cunt is on the line. Touch yourself again with small circles.”
Her hand immediately shoots between her legs, and she relaxes into a rhythm on her way to release.
“Stop,” I say, raising the paddle.
Her hand freezes and comes back to her side.
“Next question. During the Grand Championships, which pets are chosen to be showcased during the opening ceremonies ,and how long does the event last?”
She swallows. “The VIPs vote before the event based on images, Sovereign. The event lasts for two hours.”
I bring the paddle down sharply across the back of her thigh, and she cries out, the sound ringing sweetly against the goddesses’ statues. “Three hours is the baseline for the event. Next question: what do trainers do when a pet refuses to speak Imperial at the Grand Championships?”
Her voice shakes. “They… they use restraints to keep their mouths shut.”
I smirk. “Restraints are for animals. A trainer uses a neural bit. It makes the jaw clench until the tongue begs to be used.” I gesture to her sex. “Now touch yourself. Slow circles. Don’t get too excited; we’ve only just begun.”
Her fingers swiftly find their way between her legs on a mission, and I savor watching ecstasy transform her face as she responds with desperate hunger to her own touch.
“Stop.” I watch as her fingers freeze and she moves her hand away. “Next question: in the Bond Breaker, a champion must choose between treasure and their chained partner. Do you know what happens to the one not chosen?”
Her eyes glisten. “They die, Sovereign.”
I just look at her and she at me. I don’t say anything. I circle her and then lean in close, purposefully breathing against her ear, as I run the paddle down the side of her breast. Then I back away.
Confusion is written across her face.
“How long to humans abducted from Earth live in captivity?”
“As long as they’re useful.”
“Usefulness is negotiable. But still, stroke yourself again and faster this time.” I watch as her fingers make small, fast, and frantic circles over her clit. “Good human. Let those clever fingers explore the wetness Rafe denied you.”
She brings her other hand up to her large breasts to pinch one of her nipples.
“Stop,” I command just as she’s on the verge of release.
Her body trembles. Goddesses, she’s peerless.
“You haven't earned completion yet, and I didn’t tell you you could touch yourself anywhere else.” I paddle the breast she was holding, and she lets out a moan.
“Please, Sovereign. Let me come.”
“Oh, Eve. Some would say you begging me for release is just a sign that you should have more than a Venus Lock, but a collar around your neck.”
“No, Sovereign, I swear my desire is unique and is my own. I own it. The only difference between you and me, according to biology, is the color of our skin. Please, allow me to orgasm.”
I circle behind her, paddle in hand, savoring her desperation. My cock aches, but this is not about my release. It’s about her and about reminding her who decides when it happens.
“You beg prettily, but the goddesses are not yet convinced. Answer one last question. Answer it well, and perhaps you will be granted mercy.”
Her whole body tightens, caught between hope and dread.
“What does it mean,” I whisper in her ear, “when a human kneels naked in the arena with a collar around their throat?”
Silent tears spill down her cheeks when she realizes she won’t say what I require of her. “It means… it means they are slaves.”
“Wrong.”
The paddle cracks across her ass, sharp and unforgiving. She cries out, jerking forward, and with the movement she buries her fingers inside herself.
“Get your fingers away from your clit.” I paddle her ass again, harder now, and red rises to the surface. “It means they have found their purpose,” I say to gauge her reaction.
“Please, Sovereign—please, let me come.”
“You chose not to answer the question honestly, Eve. You must do better.” I grip her wrist and yank her hand away from her cunt again.
She screams in frustration and her whole body convulses from the denied climax.
“Becoming a human pet is the opposite of finding purpose. It is slavery!” she screams. “And you not only condone it. You profit from it. And I,” a shudder runs through her body, “I, now, profit from it too as your employee.”
Yes, my broken angel from Earth. This is what I wanted to hear.
I circle her. “You’re not all together correct.
I don’t like the Championships, but it’s a means to an end.
It’s exposure. If the galaxy must gorge itself on human suffering, I want it watching while it eats and I want it to fucking choke on what it enjoys.
” I take a step closer. “You don’t dismantle monsters by starving them.
Now, we aren’t done here, not even close.
Count,” I command, raising the paddle again.
“One!” she sobs as it lands across her thigh.
“Two!” when I strike her breast.
“Three!” I smack her ass hard then I drop the paddle, grip her chin, and force her tear-streaked face up to mine. “You will learn that suffering is sacred. That denial is devotion. And when you finally do come, it will be because I command it, not because you beg for it.”
Her whole body shakes with unsatisfied need. “Yes, Sovereign.”
I release her, watching her slump to the cold floor of the shrine.
“Tomorrow you will have a session with both of us together. The goddesses are finished intervening today,” I tell her as I retrieve the Venus Lock and snap it back into place between her wet thighs; the device seals with a hiss that makes her shudder.
“Restraints only matter when they’re needed.
Get dressed and return to your rooms,” I say, as I walk away wondering if she’s going to figure out that I left the Venus Lock open, meaning she thinks she’ll be able to orgasm with the companion interface in her room.
Will she still obey us or give in to her human desires?