Amelia glared at Octavius with abject disgust. She hated him so much she could barely keep herself from strangling him the only thing that kept her from doing just that was the knowledge that he was the king to her success. She just needed to get pregnant to accomplish her goal. Time and again she went to the temple to make requests for a child, she visited the goddess of fertility, Willa, and for years her prayers went unanswered. She was getting impatient!
She looked over at Octavius who had his back turned to her after another failed attempt to make love to her. It would be so easy to just drive a knife through his heart in this position but she wasn't stupid. Festus would carve her heart out if she fell out of the line of their contract. He wanted Octavius alive and healthy and sane for when he would strike. In a huff, Amelia took the tunic she had dropped on the floor and slipped it on to cover her naked body. Was she not a woman beautiful enough to arose a king?
<Due to her lack of sleep the previous night Cleopoda nodded off as the camels pulled the carriage. She tried the best she could to stay awake but the gentle rocking of the camels on now even ground made her eyes droop and it made her regret not getting any sleep at night. She had stayed away to make sure the Saade didn't do anything untoward to her. His behavior surprised her, he was not by any means friendly, he still made snide remarks about Camelorn but so far his behaviour towards her made her question his reasons for forcefully taking her out of the palace. She knew what a harem was, knew what he had suggested the other time when he paid for Zenas' body but he was yet to claim her physically. She didn't quite trust him, why trouble oneself to pay for a human without making use of their services? Not that she had any services to offer, she barely knew what much of what Zenas did to please his patrons. Perhaps the Saade would make up his mind about her at Amire. F
She sat by the carriage while a maid attended to her wounds. It was hours after the sand storm and she had woken up bleeding and bruised to see that night had fallen. It was dead in the middle of the night, a fire was burning to give light as the servants went about their duties. The maid taking care of her dabbed gently at her cut and applied something cool on them. She could barely smile at the maid or thank her for her kind, not because of the wounds that marred her face but because the Saade was standing over her glowering. She could not look at him, he was shaking with rage. "My soldier is dead! Dead because of you!" He shouted Camelornian for the seventh time. "Look at what you have done to him!" He bellowed. She refused to look, the last time she did the contents of her belly and poured through her mouth. "Look at him you whore!" He shouted. He roughly pushed the maid taking care of her aside and slapped her hard across the face. Her eyes f
There was a small feast to celebrate the return of Saade Melak to his home. Cleopoda was led in with his hand guiding her stiff back. There were some people dressed in the rich clothes peculiar to the Saades of Amire but before Cleopoda could follow the man to the main room where the party held in favour of his return she was directed to a different passage. The interior of the house was nicely done too, no armours were sitting on statues as in the palace at Camelorn but there were flags and coat of arms that pledged loyalty to Amire loyalty. There was a rich smell of spice that permeated every breathing space in the hall. It was foreign but pleasing. The servants who were leading her spoke quietly. She wondered where they took her and why she was not allowed to join the Saade in his receiving room with especially since his arrival was being celebrated. She couldn't help but wonder what his plans were for her if he did not want her in his presence now. As she h
After picking at dinner she could barely taste Cleopoda set her tray of food aside and drew the wooden box Saade Malek had given to her. Earlier on after crying her eyes out, she had opened the box to find the small jar with the stopper, it contained some sweet-smelling perfume which she sniffed. The thought of dabbing some on herself to please the Saade disgusted her and made her want to retch but she forced herself to do it. If she was to survive after all she would have to play by the rules. From the box she removed a seamless tunic-like dress, it had no arms to put her hands through only two strings of rope that she was supposed to tie together. Putting the dress on left very little to the imagination, it was see-through, highlighting every single inch of her skin, rubbing against her small breasts. Her fingers itched to tear it off, rip it in pieces and throw it in the crumbling fireplace in her room. There was a scarf which she wrapped around her head, it was a black scarf tha
True to his words the Saade hired a groomer for her. An old woman who suddenly took interest in Cleopoda the very moment she saw her and not for herself but her body. She administered the most carnal lessons to the young girl and without being abashed, showed appreciation and interest in the girl's body. And of course, for every favour the woman, Adla, did for her Cleopoda was expected to pay back, without the knowledge of the Saade of course. For one year she was taught how to please another's body, how to walk seductively, how to speak in the language of the Amires. For the first quarter of the year after she healed from the injuries she sustained from the Saade's intrusion she was given body -beauty treatments according to the orders of Saade Malek. She resisted violently, cried in her new hoarse voice, and cursed at the gods and the Saade and his wife and his daughter and the people of Amire all together. Her stubbornness was met with harsh beatings from Ad
Cleopoda rolled over on her bed the moment the Saade went out of the room. She had pretended to sleep during the night. Not that she had anything on her mind, she just could not sleep even though she was sore and tired. She glanced at the blue skirt with slits at both sides and its matching top made of a light material that hid nothing at all. Saade Malek had made her wear it the previous night and asked that she danced for him which she did. Adla had taught her to dance while she had been learning the act of pleasuring. According to Adla dancing was also a seductive act and she was to perfect it if she wanted to please the Saade. So she had danced for him and he was so pleased by her performance that he had asked her to undress slowly without ripping her clothes off her. She picked the clothes and folded them on the bedside table, the eunuchs would come in to pick them for washing. As she was about to go into the washroom there was a knock on her door that stopped her
For the rest day and the next Cleopoda did as the Saade wanted. Adla came in with choices of clothes to wear all of which she tried on in front of the woman, turning this way and that according to how Adla wanted The woman smiled, pleased with her work on Cleopoda and stood up from the bed. "You, my dear, are a born queen." She cupped the side of her face and kissed her. "Please the Saade tomorrow so that he will pay me in full." Cleopoda cleaned the kiss off as soon as she was gone. She snorted. A born queen. Little did Adla know that she was indeed intended to be born a queen. Intended but rejected. She sat back on her bed after slipping off the dress. The celebration was tonight and she needed to rest before then because it was going to be a long night. Ajun came to visit for a short time when he was free and she let him fall asleep on her bed but then he had to go when a eunuch called for him to resume his duties. After that, she lai
The home of Saade Rekujn was just as similar to that of Saade Malek. Some guards stood beside the entrance, some paraded along the length of the Saade's compound, there were servants to welcome the arriving Saades and usher them to the receiving room. As soon as Saade Malek's carriage stopped Youzuf opened the flaps and stepped down then nodded at the servants that greeted him. Saade Malek stepped down from the carriage and rose a brow when Youzuf reached to help Cleopoda down. Cleopoda hid a smile at the lack of subtleness at the man's interest in her. It made her amazed that men and women had one thing in common, one thing they could not deny: The desires of their own bodies. She took hold of the side of the carriage and jumped down, took the arm of the Saade and allowed him to lead her inside. There were beautiful decorations all over the place that had taken the servants hours to put together. Almost unsurprisingly, the Saades who arrived came with co
I have now come to the end of book one of my Cursed by the gods series. It has been a long journey I'm not gonna lie. I lost commitment along the way of writing this book, lost inspiration, even changed the plan I initially had for it. I am really glad that I got to finish it and if you stayed till the end I just want to say thank you for even choosing this book in the first place. I will start with the second book as soon as possible and do my best to make that one better. I hope I have been able to tell you a good story dear readers and once again I thank you for reading Cursed by the gods. Thank you.
Octavius stepped back at the sight of the change that came over the brother whom he thought he knew. "What do you mean Angus? Don't do anything stupid I beg you by the gods." Angus laughed as he reached into his robe. "I am not doing anything stupid. This is something that should have been done a long time ago. I am doing the gods a favor. I am doing Camelorn a favor by saving then from the one person who has caused many troubles on them." Octavius kept his eyes locked on Angus' and as soon as his hand came out from behind his robe he knew there was no use fighting. Angus thought of everything. In his hand was a dagger with a golden liquid covering it. It was the Mekai. The one liquid that was known to kill gods and make them wandering souls. "You really want to do this?" Angus approached him. From the corner of his eyes tears fell from Octavius eyes. He knew this was the end, knew this was all his life was coming to and in that last mom
Cleopoda ran hastily down the hall, her legs barely touched the ground as she ran. She feared that one of the people in the library knew she had been there and may come for her. Tears threatened to blind her as she went. Who would believe that Uncle Angus took so many years to plan his own brother's downfall? The same Uncle Angus who loved her when no one else did, the same one who brother food to her when she was younger, the same one who risked war with an enemy nation to see that she was brought back home. How can the man in the library be the same Uncle Angus? Some part of her was glad that Father would be stripped of his power as King of Camelorn, the other part of her heart broke for him. He loved his brother very much yet that brother planned for years on how best to take his kingdom away from him. She felt sad for him but her anger at his treatment of her over these years threatened to overcome her pity for him. Uncle Angus even knew of Amelia's infidel
Cleopoda ran down the length of the hall looking for Angus. It was amazing what one declaration from the mouth of a prince could do. Since Uncle Angus made that declaration of her royalty in the morning the servants had treated her with a little more dignity even though they were still wary of her.She wasn't used to having any servant look at her with anything besides disdain, as though she was a common thing stuck to the bottom of their sandals, and curiosity. Now some even bowed slightly. Even Demeris seemed to acknowledge her presence when she stopped in the kitchen for some food for Ajun.As she walked the length of the hall ignoring the soldiers who stood guard she looked from side to side hoping to catch a glimpse of her beloved uncle. She was just about to give up searching for him when she heard his voice coming from the library. She stopped in her tracks listened to be sure it was indeed Uncle Angus. Sure enough, it was he.The door of the
Octavius raised his hands to silence the people who only yelled more, pumping their fists in the air as they shouted. Octavius looked helplessly at the angry faces as they demanded that he open the gates so they can destroy the temple or do something about their predicament. They spoke simultaneously and loudly that he could not hear a single word.Taking a deep breath he raised his voice high above the din. "People of Camelorn what is it you want?"The replied all at once. Octavius' ears hurt at their shouts. He took another breath and shouted louder."I can not hear what you all are saying and as such can not respond to your complaints. If you may please chose someone to speak for everyone."It was an impossible task. They were an angry mob and everyone wanted to represent the crowd. After much time had been wasted with much pushing and fighting the people finally chose a certain merchant who held a little girl in his arms. He held her
Even before the day started Octavius already knew it would be a day he would dread. It started with Asterah visiting him, draining even ounce of his strength before the day even began. How the goddess could never be satisfied with sex he would never know. He was glad that he was able to please her this time. But as soon as she left him and he heard the knock on the door he knew his bad day was about to get worse.It was Angus who knocked. He wore a light tunic and over it was his royal robe of dark blue with the coat of arms of Camelorn sewn below its shoulder."Brother," Octavius greeted, doing his best to sound formal and regal. "You look well."Angus entered the room."You look terrible," he chuckled. Octavius laughed too but in his heart, he knew that he was indeed a miserable man. He picked himself from his bed and drew his robe around his shoulders with a show of confidence."Any news from Amire?" He asked Angus."Much news. They w
Cleopoda looked at a sleeping Ajun at the foot of her bed. The palace was quiet at this time of the morning, it was just before dawn but she was already awake. In fact, she couldn't sleep throughout the night because her mind was troubled. Since her return to the palace a week ago there had been changes. The servants were still the same as ever, eyeing her curiously and wondering why she should be allowed to live in the palace but there was a bit of respect for her too because Uncle Angus had commanded that she should be treated like royalty. She still had to cover her head and eyes when moving about the palace, especially when she had to go to the kitchen or the washrooms to hide the allure that drew people to her. But these things weren't troubling her, what was the fact that she had seen someone who didn't belong in the palace creeping around. Her surprise at seeing him there had held her rooted to the ground especially when she had seen from whose room he was coming from.
Days after they left the Summer Palace to Camelorn the tension was still high in the atmosphere. The talk and fear of war increased drastically and words of it were whispered from soldier to soldier and servant to servant. Cleopoda remained in her room because Angus told her to. She knew he feared that if she ever ran into her father, Octavius in the halls he would send her back to the temple or someplace where he may never find her again. Father never visited her and neither did his new wife, Amelia and it hurt her but by now she was used to his lack of concern for her. She wanted nothing more than to see Mama Remin and Strukus, maybe even pay a visit to Zenas at the temple if he was still there but she was to remain within the walls of the room Angus had the servants prepare for her. She shared her room with Ajun who did nothing more than to eat and sleep and read the books Angus sent to her through the servants, they were folklore with sketched pictures. The boy barely had storie
"What have you done Angus! I sent you to Amire to congratulate our new comrade and you went to stare up trouble! The king of Amire has sent messengers promising war." He turned hateful eyes to her and glared at her with so much venom that made her want to sink to the ground and die. "And what is this cursed child doing here in my palace?!" Shocked Angus moved to shield Cleopoda from his brother's hateful glare. He had not expected Octavius to be here. He had planned to hide out here and plan the next way to let his brother know he brought back his daughter. "What are you doing here, Octavius? I thought you were at the palace in Camelorn" "Angus answer my question, I did not come here to trade petty words with you. What is this cursed child doing here?" There was no way he could distract his brother decided to be blunt. "Your child!" "Not my child! I did not birth evil. How dare you bring her here? Do you not know she possesses ev