should be less excited to spend himself in a woman than in his own hand, no matter how many times he's jerked off already."
I'd heard plenty of this when Camellia had decided to start choosing, but I nodded obediently now.
Grandmother, rather than appearing pleased, narrowed her eyes at me. "I have concerns, Bryony."
"You did not like my choices?"
"I do not like your complacency," Grandmother bit out, and I stiffened. "Your mother, your sister, and I were all but tearing down the doors to get to the men on the days of our choosing. You looked bored in the great hall, and now you look…well, certainly not inspired. Perhaps I was wrong to let you wait so long."
Perhaps she was. Perhaps I should've gotten this over with years ago like Camellia. I thought I would change, that I would grow into my Hunger, and instead it never came despite all my waiting.
I stood from my chair and brushed the crumbs from my skirt, striding to the door without waiting for my Grandmother.
"Perhaps you should give up playing chaperone if it disappoints you," I said. "I can manage the next part on my own. I do know what to look for in my lovers."
"Of course you do, I've trained you," Grandmother snapped back, but her smile was on at last. "Very well, go and manage the thing. We'll take your sheets in the morning."
I spun away and pushed the doors open, ignoring the sick swoop in my stomach at the reminder.
Choosing was only the first step, but that cold dinner was the last reprieve I'd get. I must cut down my list, meet the men remaining, and then…
And then soil my sheets with them, so that the palace may boast of the princess inherit's Hunger.
I stormed my way through the halls, my steps thunderous on the marble, bouncing from pillar to pillar as if I were being chased. I could offer myself not one moment to think if I was going to see this through. I would take my grandmother's advice and choose the most virile of the men, in a wide variety, and then I would…
You'll fuck them. Just say it. Think it. Whatever you have to do. Prove you are worthy to take the throne.
The men were waiting, slightly more dressed than before while having a meal in the dining hall. My grandmother's favorite advisor was waiting for me by the door, a hawkish woman named Isolde, who I'd once caught sucking the cock of one of my mother's harem and who'd seemed mildly nervous around me ever since. As she should be. Touching a Chosen was forbidden to anyone but his mistress.
"Your Highness," Isolde said, dipping into a low curtsey at my arrival.
"Begin with the royals and nobles," I said in lieu of a greeting.
Isolde nodded, and her head remained ducked as she led me to the head of the table.
"Prince Dmitri of Quintaine," Isolde said as we stood by a very handsome young man with a stare that fastened to me and a lovely swoop of dark hair. "He ranks a five."
Ah, pity. Fives were the worst on the scale, small and not very girthy. Whoever had designed the rankings had decided it was better to place the worst in the middle and mix the rest up in a complicated code, so as to confuse the numbers and not to bruise the feelings of the men too much.
"Under two minutes, and remained uninspired," Isolde murmured.
So good looks weren't everything then. "Dismiss him," I answered softly.
Isolde crossed his name off her list. There were twenty nobles in total, and I realized they seemed to be a generally uninspired lot according to our statistics. Based on the criteria of penis size, stamina, and refractory period, only five so far met Grandmother's standards, and I'd happily dismissed the rest. We reached the last of the nobles, and I wondered if I could break my own promise to please Grandmother and simply keep him for aesthetics.
He was beautiful in an artful way. His shoulders were strikingly broad, and he remained bare-chested at the table, revealing an exquisite collection of tattoos on his tan body, done as carefully as paintings. His hair was sleek and black, and he was obviously from the Menarry Isles, with dark eyes and full lips.
"Prince Thao of the Menarry Isles, rank three." Three was good, nice and middle of the range. He might be long, or girthy, or average. Nothing too much or too little. An everyday cock