Carnal Sacrifice Read Free

chestnut-colored locks, and fell straighter and more fine, nearly to her waist. Laela had
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    Carnal Sacrifice
    always thought her a pretty woman, but quiet and prim—not the norm for a single  woman in Caralon where, so long as you were not of royalty, you could live whatever  lifestyle you pleased, having a different man in your bed every night if you chose. She’d  never seen Aris with   any   man and was surprised the young teacher had been selected to  play this particular role in Laela’s life. “You are to be my Orienter, Aris?”
    Aris smiled thinly, looking slightly uncomfortable. “I, too, was shocked when your  mother asked me, but she reminded me that you and I have always gotten on well and  that this is key for your Orientation.”
    “True enough.” But even so, it seemed this might be awkward. Up to now, Laela  had been bubbling with excitement at the prospect of learning from her Orienter about  what happened between a man and a woman—the sensations in her breasts and  between her thighs, the way she rubbed herself there sometimes and reached the most  spectacular summit of pleasure. Now, however, such enthusiasm was difficult to  fathom.
    “Shall we begin?” Aris asked.
    Laela nodded, though her mind still swam with worries. How could she embrace  this particular royal marriage ritual given the man she was expected to marry?
    “Very well then,” Aris said, and stepped back out into the corridor to start carrying  in charts and lists and drawings similar to those Laela was familiar with from their  lessons in language and geography.
    “Take a seat on the bed, Laela,” her teacher instructed as she took up her pointer—a  long, smooth stick carved from cherry wood that she always used during lessons—and  aimed it toward the first word in a list of many. Aris had never been one to waste a  moment of time in class, and this was no exception, as she dove right into her lesson.
    “Sex,” she said. “Sex is the common term for what happens between a man and  woman.” She drew the pointer slightly down to the next word. “This is also called  fucking. To fuck is to have sex.” Again, the pointer moved lower. “Cunt is one name for  your—”
    “Wait,” Laela injected. “Stop.”
    Aris looked up, clearly taken aback at having the lesson interrupted. “What is it?”
    Laela swallowed. She knew she must somehow get past this, but how? “Aris, my  father has condemned me to marriage with…an old man. The idea of being physical  with him in any way makes me feel ill.” As if echoing her words, her stomach churned  at the thought.
    As Aris came to join her on the bed, her eyes softened—Laela recognized the look  as the same one of sympathy her mother and sisters had imparted. Aris stayed silent for  a moment, then said, “Perhaps you will take a lover outside of marriage if you so dare.  Some women in arranged marriages do.”
    That thought filled Laela with simultaneous hope and fear.

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    Lacey Alexander
    “And if not, when Ogran dies, you can take   many   lovers. You will be free, and still  young and beautiful enough to indulge in any man you desire.”
    “That’s what everyone says. But in the meantime, how am I to learn the ways of the  marriage bed when my stomach shrivels with every thought of the man I am to wed?”
    Aris appeared deep in thought for a moment, until she finally looked up at Laela  with a speculative smile. “Think of someone else. During our lessons. And afterward,  whenever you need to.”
    “Someone else? Who?”
    Aris’ green eyes widened at the prospect. “Is there some handsome man you’ve seen or know who you might wish to be close to? Who might make your body tingle with arousal when you are near him?”
    Laela turned the question over in her head. The first male to come to mind was  Donnell, of her father’s fortress, who had once been smitten with Maven. Sometimes when Donnell looked at her, the