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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Visla

Another two days passed by and I kept hearing about how the strange Sanjit was going around introducing herself to people.

I didn’t know about her referring to me as her friend, but if she wanted to conduct a business transaction that was the least I would do.

Right before dinner, I went to the castle. The maid Xenra, who’d I’d know for the last ten years, stepped aside and let me inside. She told me that I could go ahead as she had to run to grab something from the stove. I took a moment to visit my old room, which had been cleaned out and now appeared to be used a storage room.

I thought I heard Sanjit’s voice down the hall, so I closed the door and followed the sound of it. The sound was coming from a room used to shelve journals and logs. I pushed the door open and was surprised to see Zorfov and Sanjit in the room. But I was wrong. The room wasn’t a library of logs at all. It seemed that someone had turned it into a bedroom.

I gasped the moment I saw Sanjit’s naked body. It was odd that Zorfov was standing there with her, fully-clothed. His forehead peppered with sweat. Zorfov cleared his throat and exited the room without a word.

Sanjit, on the other hand, didn’t seem surprised or embarrassed.

She turned around with her bare front on full display. She brushed her hair from her face and smiled. “Hi. What a surprise.”

“I’m sorry. This used to be the closet where they kept logs.”

“It’s not anymore. Khol says it’s mine now,” she said. “Did you come to look at the logs?”

“No. I was coming to talk about your mating armband.”

“This means you’ve agreed?” She walked up toward me and didn’t even bother getting dressed. Her translucent scales and lithe muscles flexed as she moved toward me. Her breasts and trimmed vagina were on full display. Like a lot of other Aurrakians, she wasn’t shy about being in the nude in front of strangers.

“I…yes…I’ll make the piece,” I said.

“Great. We’ll talk about payment as soon as Khol gets back.”

“Why must we wait until Khol gets back? What does he have to do with this?”

“He’s king. I’m sure he’ll want to approve of what I wear to an official mating union.” She shrugged. “And his brother would agree, of course.”

“I visit the streams tomorrow where I retrieve the gems. Do you happen to have a color in mind?”

“The bluest of blues, of course,” she chimed.

I frowned. “Of course,” I repeated.

She pursed her lips together. “I was just getting dressed after a bit of…um…meditation. You can stay for a bit if you like.”

I started backing out of the room. “No, I actually just stopped by to speak with you about the piece you wanted. We’ll talk again when Ghid and Khol return,” I said.

I ran out of the room and castle.