Chosen J.C. Owens

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bastard had made his life a living hell since his arrival so long ago, and the dislike
Mikon had mentioned was perilously closer to hatred. An emotion he had to keep well
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guarded from Janizar. He shuddered. If the god should ever discover how his Chosen
felt about the boy&
Janizar had never bothered with Satarin s thoughts or emotions. In fact, Satarin was
quite sure the god thought of his Imar as no more than a convenient puppet, someone
who smoothed his way among the people and whose body was his to command. The
rest of it hardly mattered.
His lips curled in brief rebellion, but the anger soon died, the futility of it having
been made fully clear over the centuries.
Satarin was a slave to his god and always would be.
Still, this new Kei held promise and the faintest degree of hope something Satarin
and the Jemas Masaari had had far too little of in the last six hundred years.
A faint curl of regret rose, his empathy always strong and present. The young man
held no true memory of his past and this would be hard for any person to accept.
He wished&
His heart hardened. There was nothing to be done about it. His people came first,
and always would.
* * * * *
It seemed a long time later before Mikon heard a sound at the far wall and a small
section of the metal slid back, revealing a tray of food. He approached cautiously, but
the tray remained, tempting.
He snatched it out of the small space, wary of the section closing upon his hands,
but it was some moments after the tray left before it closed once more.
Placing the tray on the ornate table, Mikon devoured the food with single-minded
absorption, ravenous. He had no idea how long it had been since his last meal, but it felt
forever, and he could not seem to get enough into his belly to satisfy the fear of not
receiving more. It was, perhaps, a sign of his loss of control. He had no ability to do
anything here, not even find food or water. It only pushed his inner panic higher. This
imprisonment, short as it had been, was already driving him slightly mad. Never had
he felt so helpless or so at the mercy of another being.
After eating, he paced restlessly, exploring every corner of the vast room. He found
a door leading to a bathroom, which was huge in its own right, a vast sunken tub taking
up most of the room. He looked at it longingly, but felt too uncomfortable to be able to
envision stripping away his meager barrier of cloth.
He longed to be clean, to scrub away every vestige of touch that Janizar had
bestowed upon him, but for the moment, he felt too exposed and vulnerable.
It had occurred to him that if Janizar were the brain of the ship, did that also mean
he had access to every part of it, whenever he wished?
His skin itched just thinking about it. Was he being watched even now? But that
was what gods did, was it not? They were capable of watching over their people from
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anywhere, and this particular one seemed to have an unhealthy obsession with
Mikon Kei.
Mikon swore, long and loudly, hoping he was scandalizing Janizar enough that he
would cease watching or listening.
Finally, worn out, he lay down on the vast bed, grudgingly admiring its incredible
softness. He had never felt anything like this in his life and it was pleasantly sensuous
to float upon it.
He fought sleep for some time, then submitted at last, curling into the covers, and
letting his weary body finally relax from the tension that seemed to have become a
permanent part of him.
He woke to fingers tracing his face, outlining every feature with gentle fascination.
Mikon froze. Only one being would touch him in such a manner.
His breathing turned harsh and shallow, everything in him longing to jerk away
from the unwelcome intrusion, but aware that this god held power over him, especially
the power to sunder him from Jakob.
If he submitted, would Janizar be more likely to accede to his wishes?
Mikon blinked, opening his eyes and focusing on the broad, dark chest in front of
him, feeling his body tighten in rejection as he realized that Janizar was already naked
and obviously very willing.
A low chuckle shook that chest. You sleep so deeply, my love. I could have taken
you all unaware. Perhaps that would have been best. You seem still to retain problems
with your memory. And this anger you have shown anger to others before but never
toward me. I will not condone this, Kei. If you wish favors, you will curb your tongue
and show proper humility to your master. Is that clear? The voice had lost its humor
and now held only firm chastisement.
Mikon clenched his fists, trying to control his anger. The most important thing was
seeing Jakob. His pride was worth little in comparison to that.
I am not as I was master. He almost choked on the word, wondering how in the
hells he was going to be able to do this. Nothing in him had ever been submissive. He
did not even know how to pretend such a thing.
We shall have to see to that. Perhaps we can do something with your memory,
erase everything that has happened to you since your soul was lost.
Mikon jerked back, unable to retain any form of meekness in the face of such
atrocious arrogance. He would have rolled from the bed if a powerful arm had not
banded across his chest, pinning him to face cold, silver eyes.
I am your god, Kei. Remember that if nothing else. You will obey.
Mikon sucked in several deep breaths, using all his will to stay in control of himself,
if nothing else.
Will you let me see my brother? He was amazed that his tone was as even and
cool as it was.
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Janizar was silent for long moments, his fingers never ceasing their exploration of
Mikon s face, then down to his chest, pushing away the cover that was wrapped around
him.
Your brother is more even tempered than you, I have seen. Perhaps he would have
a positive impact upon you, help you get yourself under control. He frowned a little, a
faint crease of perfect brows. I will consider allowing you to see him, but only if your
behavior improves markedly.
Silver eyes met Mikon s defiant ones and it was Mikon who looked away at last,
unable to keep up his brave front. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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