Chapter 40 Today, Eve
TODAY, EVE
Blood. Of course, there's blood.
I stare at the red stain spreading across the pristine white of my underwear, my body's monthly shark attack.
The Sovereigns are expecting me at the trainers’ gathering in ten minutes. I don’t have time for this.
My abdomen cramps as if to emphasize exactly how unprepared I am for this. Of all the days, why did it have to be today? Because of the Venus Lock and the twenty-five hour day on the Spire, my period has been erratic. In fact, so much so, this is the first time I’ve bled since I’ve been here.
I search frantically through my suite for the device Dr. Veil gave me. A small disc that's supposed to handle this exact situation. Where did I put it? My hands shake as I rifle through drawers, check under the bed, and even search the bathroom again. Nothing.
Another cramp doubles me over. I can't show up like this. Not to a gathering where I'm supposed to represent the Spire’s interests as their human liaison. I need to be on my A-game. These trainers are equivalent to 19th-century slave holders.
I admit defeat and decide I either have to go to the medical center and get another one or free bleed everywhere. I don’t even want to think about how the latter would go over.
I change quickly into fresh underwear and my formal uniform, then half run through the Spire's corridors. Staff members glance at me curiously as I pass but say nothing. By the time I reach the medical center, I’m sweating.
Dr. Veil looks up from her desk as I burst in. "Eve? What's wrong?"
"My period started. I lost the device you gave me. I need... that thing.”
Understanding crosses her face. "Come with me."
She leads me to a private examination room and gestures for me to remove my lower garments. "Is everything okay?"
“I’m supposed to be meeting the trainers with the Sovereigns right now.”
“This won't take long." She produces a machine that looks like something from a nightmare, made of chrome and glass with tubes and a collection chamber. "The extractor will remove the menstrual tissue and blood. We preserve it for the stem cells."
"I'm already late," I say as she positions the device.
"This is more important than punctuality." She activates the machine. "Your genetic material is valuable. I will make a note of it for the Sovereigns, and they will understand.”
The doctor hooks me up to the machine. The sensation is strange, uncomfortable but not painful. Like a reverse pressure, pulling rather than pushing. I watch the collection chamber fill with dark red blood; my body's monthly cycle contained and catalogued.
"There," Dr. Veil says after a few minutes. "All done. You'll be comfortable for the rest of the evening."
"Thank you."
She watches me dress, then pauses at a cabinet. "While you're here..." She opens it and removes a small vial of clear oil. "Take this."
"What is it?"
"Something that might help." Her expression is neutral. "If the trainers expect you to... interact with their humans. One drop on your fingers before contact with another human will ease their suffering and yours."
“You don’t mean… kill them, do you?”
“No,” she looks at me shocked. “I mean, it will bring them down from the edge of orgasm where their trainers like to keep them. I think you’re familiar with the sensation.”
“Why didn’t you give this to me weeks ago?”
“The Sovereigns forbid it.”
“Why give it to me now?”
“Because they’re so focused on the Grand Championships, they aren’t going to monitor us like they usually do. Now I think you’re already late.”
I stare at the vial. Huck from Terra Ka had mentioned something similar in his message when he contacted me a few hours ago. An agent that would dissipate arousal. But I assumed he would give it to me.
Is it only a coincidence that the doctor is giving it to me now? Is she also helping Terra Ka? Regardless of whether she is formerly aligned with them or not, it doesn’t matter; she’s still helping, and if Terra Ka has a formal secret handshake, they certainly haven’t shared it with me.
"Thank you," I say, putting the vial in my pocket and then running towards the Starlit Atrium.
The gathering is in full swing by the time I arrive. The space glows with bioluminescent fixtures that respond to movement, creating pools of light and shadow. Trainers cluster in groups, and their human competitors are displayed like obedient pets beside them.
I spot Rafe first, his short black hair catching the light as he converses with a trainer whose scales shimmer jade green. Lorian stands nearby, watching something with great interest.
As I approach, I see what has captured their attention.
The trainer from Callix Prime, Marath, has two humans at her feet.
Both are nude except for decorative chains that connect their collars to their ankles, forcing them to remain on all fours.
The male has been modified with scales along his spine that match his owner's coloring, and the female's hair has been replaced with flexible tendrils that move independently so that she looks something like Medusa.
"Ah, Eve," Rafe says. "You're late."
"My apologies, Sovereigns. There was a medical matter that required my immediate attention."
Lorian's eyes shift to me. "Nothing serious, I trust?"
"No, Sovereign. Simply female concerns."
Marath's tongue flicks out, tasting the air. "Is this the human you've elevated to liaison? How progressive of the Spire."
"Eve is unique among her kind," Rafe says. "She has a higher IQ than most Imperials."
"Then perhaps she can explain why this one," Marath nudges the male pet with her tail, "refuses to perform properly. He orgasmed too quickly during yesterday's demonstration. If he does that in front of the judges, it will lose me points. I’m worried he’s defective."
"Different stimulation techniques work better for different individuals," I say. "Perhaps a lighter touch would help maintain control."
Marath laughs. "A lighter touch? How delightfully na?ve you are. Shall I demonstrate proper technique?" She coils her scaled tail around the male's cock.
He gasps but doesn't cry out; I assume he’s been trained too well for that.
I watch with horror as she increases the pressure slowly, like a snake suffocating its prey.
It’s deeply unsettling to see green scales against such delicate human skin.
It makes my stomach turn, and I have to fight to keep my expression neutral.
I quickly glance at Rafe and Lorian, Are they enjoying this?
But I’m reassured when their expressions are just as blank as I hope my own is.
“You see? He almost just orgasmed again. It’s too soon.” Marath pulls hard on his penis to hurt him, and he screams out in pain. Then she looks at me with her serpent eyes. "Perhaps you'd like to try? I'm curious what an elevated human knows about managing her own kind."
The challenge in her voice is clear. Around us, other trainers have noticed our conversation. And now they're all watching, waiting to see if I'll accept or decline. I make eye contact with the Sovereigns. Their expressions give nothing away.
What do I do? Do they really want me to jack-off this man here in front of all of these people?
I survey the crowd of trainers surrounding me and feel pressure to perform. I put one hand in my pocket as if it’s a nervous habit and manage to get one drop of Dr. Veil’s medicine on my finger. Then I say, as confidently as I can, "Of course. I’d love to demonstrate.”
Inwardly I’m thinking, How hard can it be? Men do it all the time.
I kneel beside the man. He’s bound, cock hard and angry looking, straining against the air as if the act of being alive is already too much for him. His blue eyes meet mine. As one human to another, I want to tell him I’m trying to help him, but I can’t say the words out loud.
I’ve never touched a man before, not like this, and certainly not with an audience.
I don’t even know how to begin, but I take a deep breath and will myself to do it.
I reach out and carefully press my finger to the head of his cock.
He jerks, hips rising, and for a second I think I’ve ruined him.
But the compound does its work, and the tension in his thighs ease.
I stroke his length slowly. Carefully. Just the crown and then just the shaft. Nothing more. I’m clumsy, but I keep going, because something in his face shifts. His eyes soften, and his breathing becomes even.
“You’re alright,” I whisper. I don’t even know if he can understand me; not everyone speaks English. But maybe I’m just saying it for myself.
His trainer says, “Interesting. He hasn’t come.
Normally he spends himself in under a minute.
Are you mocking me, human, or did you stumble onto something useful?
Since you’ve started, you’ll finish. Bring him to climax, and we’ll count his strokes.
If you’ve truly steadied him, he should last longer than before. ”
Heat scorches my face, but I can’t refuse now, so I nod and close my hand around his cock again.
I’m too soft at first, then too rough. My fingers slip where I think they shouldn’t.
I know nothing of technique, nothing of what men actually want.
Yet the man groans and bucks under my touch, responding to me all the same.
All the while I’m wondering if he actually will be able to come with my bad technique and the medicine. We might be here all day.
The trainer notices. “Look at that awkward grip. Humans must rut each other like this, fumbling like clueless animals. No wonder Earth stock is so easily aroused by our touch.”
I keep my hand moving, embarrassed for myself and for the man.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, how did I get here?
Each stroke is counted aloud.
“Eight… nine… ten….”