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Jade nodded, picking up on the intensity of his words.
There was something Ardol wasn’t telling her. Her heart hurt.
But I trusted him.
Loved him.
Still do.
ARDOL WAS SEETHING as he finished his meal. His father had spoken nonstop and had not once asked about his work or his wife, married life, their plans, their friends...
But this is how it’s always been. Father talks, and we listen and only ask questions when we need to. Jade is handling this better than I am. Quiet, demure, charming—a showpiece in her bridal jewels and that shimmering blue dress that makes her eyes sing.
“Ardol, your Queen is a compliment to her species, but she must be tired. Perhaps you should take her to your suite to spend the rest of the day.”
“Perhaps I should rest until tea, Father. I piloted the shuttle all the way from Lynx-One, through a hyper jump, as well.”
“There are eight Regents coming for tea!”
“And I want to be rested and sharp to answer them flawlessly,” Ardol gave his father a smug smile as if he knew exactly what he was doing. “We don’t want an incident where the future District Lord says something unpalatable, do we?”
“Hmm. you’re gaining wisdom, Ardol. You used to think you could talk your way through anything, fix it all with a flash of your fangs and your ridiculous poof of fur. Handsome, but not so endowed with brains.”
“Ah. It will delight you to see how well he solves the most challenging logistical situations, Lord Arcai,” Jade said in a small, sweet voice. “His fine business skills must have come through your training.”
“They certainly didn’t come through his mother!” The elder Leopardine laughed as if he’d just made an excellent joke.
“Come, my Queen.” Ardol kept his smile in place concealing the blood that was boiling through his system. “I’m exhausted, and I’m sure you are, too. We’ll see you well before tea, Father.”
“I’M GOING TO HAVE TO leave the planet.” Ardol shut the door and put his paws to his temples.
“What? Why?” Jade was spinning slowly in the center of his suite, her eyes as wide as saucers. “This is just... like an ordinary room? All the rooms are like this?”
Ardol shrugged and looked around at the expensive media center, the bed that could sleep six Felids (a King and his wives, in the old days before that would be considered unseemly and indecent), the massive polished stone tub, and the small terrace with an impressive garden. “My father’s room is much nicer. I’ve never been in one of my siblings' rooms. We have common areas downstairs for that, like the dining room.”
“Wow. Okay. That’s different. Not what I expected.” Jade opened the door to his entertainment room and staggered back. “I thought that was a closet!”
“No, no. The closets are over there.” Ardol sank down on the bed in misery. He had thought he would be so happy to return home. To soak in the luxury and make the staff wait on him paw and tail. Now, all he could see was that this was a very elaborate doll’s house—and he was the doll. Worse—Jade was an “accessory.”
Worst of all—that’s how I saw her, too.
“Ardol?” Jade rushed to him when he flopped back on the bed with a groan, both paws now covering his eyes.
“Did you hear my father? That joke about my mother? I barely remember her, Jade. I only saw her at meals and family functions. Did you hear how he spoke about me? About you?” A low growl echoed in the still room. “Mostly how he spoke about you...”
“Easy does it.” Jade ran her hands down his chest, scratching her nails lightly over the fur just above his belt. “He could have said a lot worse about me.”
He thinks a lot worse of her. I can’t say that. “How did you stay so calm?”
Jade laid down on her back, eyes wide and staring at the fresco on his ceiling—Bastet and Anubis Greeting the Souls of the Righteous, by Khamir.
“Men used to pay money to call me a whore, a slut, to put all their weight on me, and fuck me as hard as they could.”
Ardol sat up, his breakfast working speedily back to his throat. “What?”
“Some men. Not all. Some men like to humiliate people because it makes them feel good. They get off on it. When your father treats me like trash or like I’m just not there, I shut my brain off. I’ve had practice. Lots of practice.”
He swallowed convulsively, pulling his wife into his arms and pressing his paw to the back of her head.
