Chapter 67 The Conjugal Visit, Eve
THE CONJUGAL VISIT, EVE
It’s been twelve months since the trial. Twelve months since Tribune Jin Kol stood in that courtroom with satisfaction he didn't bother to hide and watched me choose slavery over hard labor. And today, he’s coming for my first annual review with Rafe and Lorian.
And to my shame, I’m both excited and scared about what’s to come. To see them again will be like Orpheus visiting Eurydice in the Underworld, but Jin Kol, like Hades, will make sure nothing is pleasurable today. I will be used and abused by the men I love the most in the galaxy.
The transport's arrival breaks our usual morning routine. And now we are in the grand entrance to the Obsidian Palace, waiting. Autumn and I are kneeling like ornamental statues. Waiting to move and come to life when our masters say we can.
"Try not to embarrass me," Gai says, adjusting his formal robes. "Tribune Jin Kol has very specific ideas about proper protocol, and the last thing I need is him filing a negative report about any of us."
I keep my eyes down and my hands clasped behind my neck.
Minutes pass and nothing happens. We wait. It feels like an eternity until finally the doors open and our visitors walk in through the main entryway.
"Tribune Jin Kol of the Intergalactic Court," the house system announces with artificial ceremony. I know this is on purpose, Gai has his staff announce important people he really cares about. “Accompanied by Sovereign Directors Rafe and Shadow Sovereign Lorian of the Ascendant Alliance. Welcome."
When I see them, my heart stops, then races.
Then, stops again. I haven't seen Rafe and Lorian since they sent me here, when I had to be dragged away, and I have to fight every instinct in my body to keep from running to them and throwing myself into their arms, despite the fact that they are the ones who sent me here. But I know they did it because they didn’t think they could protect me.
"Welcome," Gai says to our visitors. " I trust the journey was uneventful?"
"Adequate," Jin Kol says. "I assume the prisoner is prepared for inspection?"
"Of course. Eve, present yourself to the IGC representative."
I rise and will my legs not to shake. I keep my gaze fixed on my reflection in the black stone floor polished to perfection.
Gai went over the rules of these visits with me: no eye contact unless ordered, no speaking unless questioned, no resistance to any command, and most importantly, no spark of humanity unless specifically requested.
"The prisoner appears healthy," Jin Kol observes. "Weight maintained at optimal parameters. Muscle tone is acceptable. No visible marking from daily use. Commander Gai, you've done well with basic maintenance of your sons’ prisoner."
"I only have followed the Ascendant Alliance's care instructions; diet, exercise, grooming—all to specification,” he says, and I’m almost sure that’s a lie. I doubt Rafe and Lorian gave him any instructions except not to fuck me.
"Excellent,” Jin Kol says. “Though I note in the behavioral logs several concerning incidents."
He's enjoying this. The pause. The way Rafe and Lorian tense behind him. The way I hold my breath and try not to tremble.
"Minor adjustment issues," Gai says smoothly. "Nothing outside normal parameters for humans almost directly from Earth.”
"Hmm." Jin Kol makes a note on his tablet, the stylus clicking against the screen. "Eve, look at me."
I raise my eyes slowly, past his pristine IGC uniform to his face.
He's smiling. The thin, satisfied smile of a man who loves his work. He gave me that same smile at the Grand Championships.
I do my best to keep my face blank. I don’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing all of this hurts like someone is skinning me alive.
"Now look at your owners."
I turn my gaze to Rafe and Lorian, and then everything inside me cracks.
Tears begin to run down my cheeks, but I can’t do anything to stop them.
I feel their warm splashes hit my breasts on their way down my body.
My lovers are thinner than before. Both of them.
And shadows like bruises are under both sets of silver eyes.
Rafe's usual perfect control seems held together by will alone, and Lorian looks ready to tear Jin Kol apart with his bare hands.
And I immediately feel stupid for ever thinking that my love for them was unrequited.
"My father has taken care of the prisoner adequately," Rafe says, each word precise and empty.
"More than adequately," Gai replies, and I see a look pass between Rafe and his father that I can’t read. It’s not hostility, but something more like empathy.
Then Gai continues, "Eve is learning her place beautifully. She hardly speaks anymore unless spoken to. And her Imperial is coming along nicely.”
"Although the medical reports indicate regular emotional episodes," Jin Kol notes, scrolling through his tablet with obvious relish. "Crying—as we see now. Sleep disturbances. Night terrors calling out for her owners."
"As I said, these are all minor adjustment issues. She adores her masters, and to be separated from them is difficult for a human,” Gai retorts. “But she always returns to the baseline."
"Fine. I will make a note for review next year. Now, as you all know, by the terms of Eve’s sentencing, in an effort to ensure continued compliance and reinforce the owner-property dynamic, the prisoner will be dominated by her owners both physically and sexually."
"The private chambers for the conjugal visit are prepared," Gai says.
"First, the prisoner will choose," Jin Kol says. "As specified in subsection 54-B of the criminal property management code. Eve, you may select the order of activities. Conjugal privileges first, or corrective measures?"
The entryway begins to spin. I feel everyone’s eyes on me, waiting for my answer.
They’re making me choose?
What fresh new alien hell is this? Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, do I want to be publicly fucked or publicly beaten first?
"I..." My voice cracks from emotion. "I choose the conjugal visit first, Tribune."
Jin Kol's stylus clicks against his tablet. "Noted. The prisoner chooses intimacy before punishment. No surprise given you’re human. You must be desperate for sex given Commander Gai hasn’t touched you.
I’m surprised you’ve been able to stand here without showing us all your needy little slit and begging for it. ” Another click.
Then, looking at Lorian and Rafe, Jin Kol says, "You have one hour. I'll monitor you from the observation room. Remember, adequate enthusiasm is required, or your prisoner will lose marks on the behavioral assessment, which will add to the number of lashes she receives during her punishment."
“Understood,” Lorian says as if it’s a curse word.
Gai and the housekeeper lead us through the obsidian corridors to the guest wing and then to an elegant room with a large bed with black sheets, and minimal furniture.
I can’t see any cameras, but I have no doubt they are all here to catch every look of humiliation and every sound I make as my alien owners use me to prove that I am their property.
The door closes with a soft click that feels much louder than it should.
We all three stand frozen. The air between us is charged with everything we can't say as we are all too aware that Jin Kol is watching and listening to everything.
I want to throw myself into their arms, but for some reason, I can’t.
Rafe breaks the silence and our distance. He comes to me in two long strides and pulls me against him so hard my ribs protest. "Eve. I want to—”
I breathe him in. He smells like expensive soap, petrichor, and himself. He smells familiar. Safe. But his large grey hands shake as he checks my body for any kind of damage or changes.
“I’m fine,” I say in Imperial.
Rafe closes his eyes like I have wounded him. Then he opens them again and puts his thumb under my chin, and I look up at him. His silver eyes search mine. “Say something else because I know you’re far from fine.”
“I missed you both terribly. I don’t want to be here anymore. I want to return to the Spire. I’ll do anything to come back with you. Please.”
Rafe shakes his head.
I can’t help it. I begin to cry in earnest. “Please, I can’t stay here. I can’t do this. It’s too much. Take me with you.”
Lorian comes up from behind me, and they both hold me together, and I continue sobbing in their arms.
“We want you with us,” Lorian says. “But we can’t right now. We have to keep you safe, and here you are safe. You have to trust us, Eve.”
This makes me suddenly irate. I push back and look up at them hovering over me, encapsulating my small body between theirs, and yell, “Because I’m human. Because I’m your pet, you won’t tell me?! You won’t even tell me why you’re punishing me by leaving me here?”
They hold me tighter between them, not letting me go. Rafe kisses my head and says, “Yes. That’s it.” But I can tell by his tone, that’s not all of it, not even close.
Lorian’s hands frame my face with reverent care, intertwined with Rafe’s. "We're sorry. We're so sorry, Eve. But you must trust us now.”
“I don’t have a choice, do I?”
“No,” Lorian says, and his voice betrays his unhappiness.
We are all in so much pain.
Rafe turns me and lifts me up into his arms and kisses each one of my cheeks. “I want to kiss all of this sadness away.”
“We miss you every second of every day,” Lorian adds, hugging me from behind, his hot breath against my neck. And for a second, I forget where we are and who is watching, and I allow myself to enjoy this, their touch, and allow this all to seem perfect, even if it’s only a momentary fantasy.
The three of us together again.