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She left me and I waited in my corner too afraid to move

When she returned with Boraxis, I finally found the courage to stand

Boraxis frowned as he helped ht, my lady?"

I nodded numbly "Where is Acheron?" I asked the ain I saw the bed that was still aze, I followed her to a door

When she opened it, Acheron was inside, kneeling on a hard pad that had rough bu him pain The inner room was so tiny, that I knew it had been built for no other purpose than to be a punishment for him He was naked, his body bruised and bloodied His wristbands had been joined together behind his back, but what captured my attention most was the bottoms of his feet

They were blackened by bruises

Now I understood the sound I&039;d heard What better place to punish soed? No one would see the bottoently as we could, the overseer and I took hie strap buckled around his head As the e barbed ball underneath his tongue There was fresh blood leaking froed as she pulled it away and he hissed in pain

"Put me back," he said between his clenched teeth as theyou out of here"

Still he kept his teeth firmly clenched "I&039;m forbidden to leave, my lady Ever Please, you ht them"

My heart broke at his words What had they done to him that he was too terrified to even attempt to leave?

He tried to return to his torture room, but I cut him off and forced him back

"I won&039;t let the you home"

He looked at me as if the as alien to him "I have to stay here," he insisted "It&039;s not safe for nored him and turned toward the maid "Where are his clothes?"

"He doesn&039;t have any, my lady He doesn&039;t need any for what they use him for"

I winced at her words

"So be it" I wrapped him in my cloak and with Boraxis&039;s help, we took him from the house even while Acheron protested every step of the way My legs and hands were shaking in fear that ould be discovered any moment by Estes or one of his servants

Luckily the h the house and out to the street

Somehoe ot up on top to ride with the driver while Acheron and I rode inside Alone

Together

I didn&039;t really breathe again until Estes&039;s house had faded and ere outside the city walls, across the bridge and on the road that would eventually take us to the docks

Acheron sat in the corner, looking outside through the s

His eyes were dead Lifeless As if he&039;d seen one horror too many

"Do you need a doctor?" I asked

He shook his head no

I wanted to soothe and co on this earth could do that

We rode in coe The driver changed horses while we entered a small home to wait I rented a room from an older woman so that we could wash and rest in peace

Boraxis soht Acheron clothes They were soh in texture, but he didn&039;t complain He merely took them and dressed himself inside the rented room

I noticed Acheron had a limp as he came out of the room to where I waited in the narrow hallway My heart ached at the thought of his walking on his bruised feet and yet he still said no words of complaint

"Come, Acheron, we should eat while we can"

Panic flared in his eyes It was instantly followed by a look of resignation

"What&039;s wrong?" I asked

He didn&039;t respond He merely pulled the cowl of his cloak over his head as if to shield himself from the world With his head held low and his ar room below

I headed for a table in the back, near the hearth

"Who do I have to pay for the food?" Acheron asked quietly, his face completely shielded by his cowl

I looked up at him with a frown "You have money?"

He looked as baffled by my question as I was by his

"If he can&039;t work, he can&039;t eat He hasn&039;t earned his food this day" My stomach shrank as I reht I wanted him to

"I will pay for our food, Acheron, with ed even more at my heart

I sat down Acheron ht, just behind ?"

"Forgive me, my lady I meant no offense to you" He scooted back on his knees several asted, I turned around to stare at him "Why are you on the floor?"

He looked immediately disappointed "I shall wait for you in the roo his arry? I was told you hadn&039;t eaten"

"I ary," he said siain he knelt on the floor

What was he doing? "Acheron, why are you on the floor and not sitting at the table with"Whores don&039;t sit at tables with decent people"

His voice was steady as if he werethat had been said so often it no longer had any h ue verbally, but I could see the denial in his pale, swirling eyes

I reached out to touch his face He stiffened ever so slightly

I dropped my hand "Come," I said softly "Sit at the table with me"

He did as I told him, but looked terribly uncomfortable, as if he feared someone would wrench him up by his hair at any moment Over and over, he pulled at the cowl as if to protect himself

It was then I realized the second way to punish someone when you didn&039;t want any visible marks The head How many times had they wrenched his hair?

A servant came to take our orders

"What would you like, Acheron?"

"My will is your will, Idika"

Idika An Atlantean word that a slave used for his owner

"Have you no preference?"

He shook his head

I ordered our food and watched hiaze on the floor, his arht sight of soe in his lanced up at ain with his jaw clenched

"I&039;m your sister, Acheron, you , I returned to inal question "What is in your ly parted his lips The entire line down the center of his tongue was pierced and studded with sht I&039;d never seen anything like it in

Acheron closed his mouth and by the way hethe balls against the roof of his mouth "Erotiki sfairi"

"I don&039;t understand that ter to those I service"

I couldn&039;t have been more surprised had he slappedthat was taboo in the world I knew

"Do they hurt?" I couldn&039;t believe I was asking this question

He shook his head "I just have to be careful not to let them strike my teeth lest they break them"

So that hy he kept his jaw clenched when he spoke

"It&039;s a wonder you can speak at all"

"No one pays a whore to use his tongue to speak, Idika"

"You are not a whore!" Several heads turned,me realize I had spoken louder than I meant to

My cheeks burned, but there was no embarrassment on Acheron&039;s face Hebetter

"You are a prince, Acheron A prince"

"Then why did you throw me out?"

His question startled me Not just the words themselves, but the heartfelt pain in his voice as he spoke them

"What do you mean?"

"Idikos told me as said by all of you"

Idikos The masculine form of the word a slave used for his owner

"Do you mean Estes?"

He nodded

"He is your uncle, not your idikos"

"One doesn&039;t argue with a whip or scold, "

I sed at his words No, I guess they didn&039;t "What did he tell you?"

"The king wanted me dead I live only because the son he loves will die if I die"

"That&039;s not true Father said he sent you away because he was afraid someone would try to hurt you You are his heir"

Acheron kept his gaze on the floor "Idikos says that I am an embarrassment to my fa sent ood for one thing"

I didn&039;t need hi was "He lied to you" My heart broke with the weight of the truth "Just as he&039;s been lying to me and to Father He told us that you were healthy and happy Well-schooled"

He laughed bitterly at that "I am well-schooled, Idika Believe me, I&039;m the best at what they trained me to do"

How could he find huht food to us As I started to eat, I noticed Acheron hadn&039;t er in his eyes

"Eat," I told hiiven me my portion, my lady"

"What do you mean?"

"You eat, and if I please you while you dine, you will determine how much food I&039;m to have"

"Please me howno wait Don&039;t answer that I&039;estured to his platter and cup "All of that is yours You may eat as much or as little as you like"

He looked at it hesitantly, then glanced to the floor behind me

It was then I understood why he&039;d knelt there "You nor or rodent

He nodded "If I&039;," he said softly "Idikos will sometimes feed me from his hand"

My appetite left me at his words

"Eat in peace, little brother," I said,from my unshed tears "Eat asto settle my stomach and watched hiain it struck me holy he ate How meticulously he moved