Chapter 29

~Calea~

The girl before her couldn't have been older than nineteen. Her brown, fawn-like eyes gave her the innocence and youthfulness that would stay with her long after her fifties.

"Lyra, was it?" Calea asks as she picks at her fruit. The girl tucks her natural red hair behind her ear. "Yes, ma'am." Calea's smile twitches, and she sighs, "You are queen. You don't address me as ma'am. I am your priestess." She corrects.

Lyra double-blinks, "Yes, of course." Lyra pauses, sighs sharply, and looks down at her breakfast plate. "Um, is it normal to bleed after you consummate a marriage?" Calea's stomach coils in on itself. "Depends. Were you a virgin?" Calea wasn't stupid. Young women like Lyra had urges for young men with solid muscles and thick beards. Browen had none of those things, a beard maybe, but his muscles lacked. Virgins were more prone to bleeding, depending on how harsh their partners were. And Calea didn't want to consider how Browen must have treated the girl.