“She will not allow Ciara to be harmed,” Bane soothed his Brothers. “We will merely be ufortable


    until she is satisfied.”


    We took the time to inspect the cave thoroughly. A hole in the back was for waste, we’d already found


    the water we could drink or use to wash with. The nkets would provide minimal bedding on the hard,


    cold floor.


    “Guess this is why she told us not to insert Ciara’s plug,” Evan said staring at the bleak interior.


    Not Like any of us would be thinking about sex while we were here. This ce was going to be


    ufortable and trying. Nu-reeh would make sure of our difort.


    Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org.


    I felt guilty, my face was chilly, but not the rest of me. Evan had bundled me in my long blue dress and,


    not one, but three brown outeryers. I’d been dressed very warmly for this excursion.


    “She instructed us to,” Damien said patting my shoulder.


    The men had me dressed in so manyyers I’d be warm even at night. They had not understood the


    directive at first, now it made more sense.


    We walked to the opening of the cave and found there was a sizable width before the drop off. It would


    be a near impossible feat to climb safely down, though. The men inspected the length of the shelf,


    counting their steps. It was perhaps a fifteen hundred steps each way. They found a pile ofrge rocks


    at one end.


    I remembered my time in Nu-reeh’s care and knew what the rocks were for. Christof had done a simr


    chore when he was first brought to the mountains.


    “They aren’t for Ciara, I’m sure,” Evan said. “I am quite certain we will have a chore every day,


    Brothers.”


    Ang’s Library


    Moving the rocks was boring, repetitive work. The men hated the sorting room, this would be so much


    worse. At Least with the sorting room there was a point to the moving of the ore.


    The sun was low but there was still some daylight left. The men took that as a sign they should start.


    The rocks were obviously not intended for me. I just paced with the men and attempted to entertain


    them. I sang and told stories, anything to make the work more bearable.


    I tried to enjoy the beautiful mountains, but that only went so far. The wind was cold and the men felt


    the chill even through their jackets. It got worse as the sun dipped Lower in the sky. The mountains


    were not a ce they enjoyed.


    I wasn’t silent until the huge shadow passed overhead. Nu-reeh dropped in front of us and we all stared


    at her. She dropped a small, wrapped container on the ground and red at us.


    “Do you know why you are here?” she asked.


    “We disobeyed, Mistress,” we said as a group.


    She exined to us our faults in detail. The men had used the plug when she had told them not to. I


    had gotten in a fight and then allowed myself to be injured. We had all refused healing when it was


    initially offered.


    “You had no right to make any of those choices,” she exined cooly.


    “You are mine. The breeder is mine. I want the vessel protected even at the expense of a life of one of


    my own. She will make many more for me, as long as she is healthy. You did not pay enough attention


    to her safety. In addition, never refuse the Healers and treat her as I wish, do you understand me?”


    “Yes, Mistress.”


    “This is for the ve only,” she said pointing to the small Lump on the ground.