“Iris,” he confirms, standing and stopping in front of me. Bowing his head, he says, “Sire.” He continues his routine, hovering over a small basin, and begins to wash his hands.

His chambers are as barren as his heart, a wooden bed, desk, basin, and bookcases. The minimalist space reflects his commitment to The Trade as his sole identity and interest. “Aster has two very interested lords. It is a pity.”

My back muscles bunch. "Who?"

"You know I cannot say,” he states.

"She is out.” I widen my stance and remember a time when I was eager to be an emotionless warlord like my father. How very unlike him I am when my thoughts and passions bubble away in my veins like molten lava. “Her thighs are scarred. She has been through too much to be a Silk Girl.”

"I'm not going to ask how you know such things.”

"I will not repeat myself. She is out.”

He smiles wirily and looks up from his hands, meeting my gaze in the small brass-framed mirror. "Shall I leave now to inform the other lords they are required to start immediately? We have missed a night waiting for you to finalise your decision.” His brows weave, and I know this is it. “I will ensure there will be no crossovers. You will start with Iris tonight. This is your first time making an heir. Let me explain how it works.” He turns to face me. “Usually, a Guard would monitor the comings and goings, to ensure only one lord is inside The Circle at any time, but over the next five nights, I will stand at the door. You will go first. Do her well.”

I sneer. "She'll be limping by the time I'm through with her. You'll have an heir this season."

“We will have an heir. Make it happen, Sire."

Teeth grinding, I turn to walk back through the door, when his words slice through me, halting my step.

"I shall send Aster to a new placement."

I talk to the open door, my blood roars, ready for what he might say next. Clenching my fists at my sides, I say, "She is mine. I will do whatever I want with her.”

I hear his dark chuckle. “You would keep Meaningful Purpose from her? It is all she has known. She will not take this well. Let me reassign her to a lord with less… standards.”

“No.”

"If you want to fuck that girl, Sire. You need to treat her in the appropriate manner. As a Silk Girl,” he states smoothly, reading me too fucking well. I loathe his intuitions, not that I have managed to hide my interest in Aster well. “She is a breeder. She will get pregnant easily. If you want to fuck her at leisure not Purpose, we will need to remove all the parts that may bring you an unauthorised heir... you understand?"

I see black.

I don’t intend to fuck her.

I want to keep her pure, safe.

My last piece of humanity.

Perfectly intact.

But his threat digs at the grave of my darkest memory, and my weakness. I want to. There is no doubt that I want to fuck her and if I do…

He will cut her open.

Pull out her womb.

Leave her broken.

Just like my sister.

Hatred and disdain creep into my vision like phantoms finding my humanity and choking it. I do not dare turn around.

I lower my voice, deepen it. “If you touch a hair on her head, I will drag your spine from your torso by your skull.”

Without another word, I storm away from his chamber. The Guards I pass flatten themselves to the brick walls as I violently shake, visibly fighting to control my anger.

If he didn’t know I cared for her before, he sure as hell knows now.

OceanofPDF.com

Chapter Eleven

Aster

Silk Girl Vows:

For The Cradle, I will be proud of every pregnancy no less than I am my own.

“Rome,” I whisper as I come to, the warmth of his gaze still a tangible memory. He makes me feel as though I can be myself. A Silk Girl and Aster. A flower and a person with my own little differences. I adore what he is, and I adore what I am when he looks at me.

Like he’s going to choose me.

I blink my eyes open to the back of the veil. I slide it down to my neck and look around the dim room. Orange light spills from the ornamental fire— a first-light indicator. Yellow is crown-light. Red is last-light. It’s how I know what time of day it is in this room. The sun’s brilliance is filtered heavily with the haze, it is only direct enough at crown-light for us to truly mark the time of day.

In the Silk House, we also had the colour codes. I’ve become conditioned to them without knowing.

He didn’t come last night.

That’s fine.

Pouting my disappointment, I sit up and instantly see something strange floating on the closed door. At first, my breath catches, and I think it’s a person. Then I realise it’s a black dress hanging on the silvery hook.

Sliding the golden sheet to the side, I rub my eyes until they focus. I walk to the dress and run my fingers down the line of black lace buttons sewn vertically down the centre.

It’s for me to wear today. Growing up in the Silk Aviary meant waking to many dresses hung on the backs of doors.

I ready myself, wash and dress in the mournful black outfit, and walk from my room into The Circle.

Instantly, I’m stilled by the sight of the five Watchers, standing in a line with their hands clasped together, their expressions sombre and serious, and their pleated trousers and neat shirts also black.

The other Silk Girls stand quietly opposite their Watcher, so I head to Paisley and stop in front of her.

“What’s going on?” I ask, peering down the line.

“We were just waiting for you,” Ana’s Watcher says.

“We have some terrible news to share,” Paisley offers, sadness curling her lips down.

“And such awful timing for you,” Blossom’s Watcher adds sweetly, shaking her head in slow sorrowful waves.

Iris’s Watcher, the tallest of all of us, the broadest, too, steps forward from the others. “I am afraid that Lord Darwin of the Half-tower has passed. He has returned to The Crust. He is at peace. Today we mourn for him in black like our ancestors have done for thousands of years.”

Ana covers her gasp.

“I know.” Iris’s Watcher takes a big breath in. “I want you all to rest assured that even though this is a tragedy we do not wish to take away from the living and what they experience.”

The blood in the banquet hall.

“What you girls are doing for The Cradle will remain our priority and yours,” she goes on. “So, please remember how important you are. Especially now when you have them inside you. You are expected to eat all your breakfast, even though, I know grief can affect hunger, you will need extra nutrients after last night. Please focus on your bodies and help them bloom.”

Wait. What did she say?

I feel the blood drain from my cheeks. I whip my eyes up to Paisley, and she looks evasively at the floor between us, avoiding my stare of pure scrutiny and dread.

“Paisley?” I whisper, too quiet for the others to hear.

Daisy’s Watcher starts talking. “During breakfast, each girl will be taken to Master Cairo for inspection. Your first night with a lord can leave pain and discomfort and any tenderness needs to be treated immediately.

“After your visit with Master Cairo, we will organise a mineral bath and massage for you should your body ache. Anything we can do to help for tonight.”

As my stomach sinks with the weight of envy, the nasty unseemly monster, it hits me— I presumed that he chose me. That last night was his way of showing me that he had chosen me to be his Silk Girl, but it was an apology and nothing more.