Free Shattered Stars by Viola Grace Page B

filled her plate
from the selections that Dk’ket brought in.
    She stared down
at the meal and blinked. Neither of her companions were eating. The
two sat and chatted while she ate dinner. They had their hands with
the fingertips touching on the table, and now and then, there was a
power flare. Mero was giving Szriata power.
    When Hannah
finished her meal, she sipped at her water, listening to them speak
about crop rotations, supply runs and personnel.
    She had a
question about that. “So, is everyone you employ a
bondservant?”
    Szriata smiled.
“Of course.”
    Mero chuckled.
“When they buy out their bonds, they are free to leave. We even
offer transport to any world they wish outside of the Hmrain
Dominion.”
    Hannah had a
flicker of hope before it was crushed by a sober expression on
Mero’s face. “Not you, Hannah. You fall into a unique
category.”
    She nodded.
“Right.”
    Subdued, she
finished her water and waited with her hands in her lap. Her
muscles ached from the workout with the dance class.
    She kept quiet
during their conversation until Szriata asked to be shown the
gardens.
    Hannah blinked
and looked up, realizing that she was the one the woman had asked.
“Oh. Certainly. Please, come with me.”
    She nodded to
Mero, and he took her water glass, sipping in the exact spot she
had. When he ran his tongue around the rim of the glass where her
lip print was, she felt a shiver go through her.
    Szriata was
smiling gently at her in understanding. She held out her hand, and
Hannah took it.
    Hannah was
supposed to be showing Szriata the gardens, but it seemed that she
had a good grasp of where they were.
    “So, Szriata,
why have you lured me out here?”
    Her instructor
laughed. “I did wish to see the gardens, but I really wanted to
talk to you.”
    They entered
the curves of the hedge maze and walked slowly through the green
and violet of the living pathway.
    “What did you
want to talk about?”
    “Mero.”
    She twisted her
lips. “Ah.”
    “He has great
affection for you, but he fears that you cling to him out of
obligation.”
    Hannah cocked
her head. “Why is that a concern? My bond was purchased for more
than I could make in four lifetimes. I cleave to him because it is
my job.”
    Szriata nodded.
“I was afraid of that. What would it take to remove the pressure of
the obligation?”
    “Well, as I am
aware that I am his by bond, I suppose a temporary cessation of sex
might be something that would allow me to analyze how I feel about
things.”
    Szriata
frowned. “Does he feed from you often?”
    “If you mean
sex, about three times a day.”
    Szriata stopped
in place and stared at her by the light of the moons. “How are you
still conscious?”
    Hannah blinked.
“Um, because as soon as it is over, I want to do it again. I don’t
tire of pleasure. I mean, it tires me out, but I sleep, and once I
have rested, I am fine.”
    “Well, that
explains a few things, not the least of which is why you are so
valuable to him.”
    Hannah got
suspicious. “How often should he need to feed?”
    “Every thirty
days or so. What was your rating?”
    “Close to three
hundred.”
    Szriata smiled
slowly. “Are there men of your species in the bond program?”
    “Probably. One
even made it into the sexual servant auction.”
    The other
Hmrain rubbed her hands together. “That is definitely a good thing
to know.”
    “Szriata?”
    “Yes?”
    “Why are you
here?”
    “Well, I am
nearby, a dance master and I run a school for young freewomen.”
    Hannah smiled.
“It sounds like fun.”
    “It can be.
Teaching economics to young ladies can be trying at times. I was
glad of the break.”
    “Is that what
your world does? Education?”
    Szriata smiled
brightly. “Education and aphrodisiacs. We keep them very separate
for obvious reasons.”
    Hannah laughed,
and the conversation turned to the art of teaching young ladies how
to pour tea without flashing elbow. It was definitely one of the
more innocent