Academy for Courting Curses - Tara West Page 0,81

it’s done before the banquet tomorrow night, where you will be presented to the lesser nobility with the other zetas.”

“A zeta!” Kyria shook with rage. “But I’m an alpha. You can’t strip me of my rank.”

“I just did.” A wicked grin cracked the lines around her mouth. “And I will demote you to omega if you keep giving me lip.”

Kyria gritted her teeth against the half dozen insults forming on her tongue.

Jade tightened her hold on her elbow, grinding her nails into her skin. “Don’t,” she whispered. “Think of your parents.”

Melandris flashed a mocking smile. “Do you have anything else to say?”

“No, Your Grace.” Jade was right, damn her. As her parents’ only living child, she wouldn’t be able to stomach the look of shame in their eyes if she married beneath her station.

“Are you sure?” Melandris asked in a sing-song tone. “I would love to make you a fishmonger’s bride.” She thoughtfully tapped her chin. “Or maybe I’ll wed you to a slave trader.”

Kyria balled her hands into fists.

“Hmm, I touched a nerve.” She let out a grating laugh. “Slave trader it is.” She strutted across the bridge that led to the stairs, her laughter echoing off the stones.

Kyria had to work hard to unclench her jaw. “I hate that woman.”

“Calm down,” Jade said, rubbing her back. “She can’t marry you to a slave trader. Even she’s aware of the influence of your brother’s legacy.”

Shaking off her friend, she stormed to the stairs. “I hope she does marry me to a slaver, so I can slit his throat while he sleeps.”

* * *

Tired and sore, Kyria dragged herself into the chamber she shared with Jade, thankful for the steaming tub of water and tall goblet of wine waiting for her. If only she could wash the stench of piss and vinegar from her memory. Throwing a pilfered pile of clothes on the bed, she greeted Jade with a soft kiss.

“How are you?” Jade asked, untying Kyria’s belt.

“Exhausted.” Kyria felt a sense of detached numbness as Jade’s fingers skimmed her firm breasts when she pulled down the thin straps of her tunic.

Jade whispered, “I know how I can make you feel better.”

Brushing off her friend, she let her dress pool at her feet. “I’m not in the mood.” She stepped into the tub, sinking into the water with a groan.

Jade leaned over her with a sponge, sliding it across her abdomen, her heavy breasts brushing Kyria’s arm. “Are you sure?” she cooed, dipping the sponge lower. Jade’s pale skin was an erotic contrast to Kyria’s olive complexion and the dark thatch of curls between her thighs.

Loathe though she was to deny an opportunity to have her friend’s deft fingers ease her tension, she gently pried the sponge from Jade’s hands.

Ignoring Jade’s pout, she made quick work of cleaning and drying herself and then sat on the edge of the four-poster bed they shared. It was piled so high with pillows, she suspected she’d get lost in silk and feathers if she fell backward. She slipped into the coarse servant’s robe she’d stolen from the supply room and reached for her day sandals, brown leather monstrosities that looked like something the Dragon Defenders had worn when visiting her parents’ home. Her brother had had a pair almost exactly like them. How she loved them, though Melandris had threatened to burn her “hideous flippers” on several occasions.

Jade planted hands on her hips. “What are you doing?”

She refused to look Jade in the eyes. “Going out,” she answered evenly, lacing leather straps.

“Where?”

Heaving a sigh, Kyria looked up at her friend. “I have to find out the fate of the child.”

Jade pinched her lips together, color flushing her pale cheeks and racing like wildfire all the way to her strawberry roots. “Do you want to be demoted to omega?”

Twisting her long, dark hair in a bun, she secured it with a few thick pins. “I don’t give a damn.” That wasn’t true, but the child’s fate was more important than her bride price. Besides, Jade was right. Melandris wouldn’t dare demote the twin sister of their nation’s most revered fallen hero. Such an insult would cause scandal, and Melandris wouldn’t want the slightest blemish to smear her temple’s good name.

“Curse you.” Jade aggressively stripped off her nightgown.

“What are you doing?”

“What does it look like? I’m going with you.”

She’d hoped Jade would accompany her, but fear gnawed her gut. “I don’t want you to get in trouble on my account.” Kyria could handle Melandris’s punishments,