The vole nodded in response, matching the wolfess’ grin with his own. “The team Valentin sent to retrieve him just returned with the news; he and Inika retrieved the Baron’s horse from the Jazinsk border, along with a spear that Chelin identified as his. They found no sign of young Erik, but forward spotters said they saw a wagon, heavily escorted, headed towards Krolik. Short of word from Baron Jazinsk himself, I would say that we have as much proof as we need, Regent.”

Miss Datsia smiled. “Good, that will make his tale all the stronger.” She sighed and walked to the table, then leaned against it with both paws. “The barony is safe, for the moment, but we still have much to do.”

Mister Valentin nodded in response. “Agreed. I’ll go tell the guard to stand down.” He crossed his arms and turned to the vole. “Chelin won’t be in any state to ride. Dion, go get ready. I know you’ve just returned, but we need to get the Regent’s offer of peace to the Jazinskis before—”

“Cancel that,” The elder wolfess interrupted. “Dion, head to the border and begin the advance as we discussed.” She reached over to one of the many sheafs of paper, then pulled one free and tapped on it with a clawtip. “Keep your pace slow; you won’t be leading veterans this time. I don’t care if you take a week to get to Krolik. Just keep your casualties down until you’re at the city gates. You’re going to need as many spears as you can get inside the walls to deal with their—”

The lynx turned to Miss Datsia with an incredulous stare. “What? You said once Erik was gone that you’d negotiate peace with Jazinsk!”

Deterikh’s captain turned to Mister Valentin, her expression level. “Your point being?”

The sergeant-at-arms narrowed his eyes. “I said I would help you get the throne out from under Erik’s temper. I didn’t say I would help you use it to start a war.”

Miss Datsia’s tone didn’t change, faintly amused and patronizing. “Valentin, you’re a good soldier, but you just don’t have the guile necessary to make a good leader. The Jazinskis declared war on us. They’re hungry from a year of poor crops, so their troops will be weak. They’ve taken Erik into custody, so we have a martyr for the cause. If there’s a better time to expand our borders, I can’t imagine it.”

“So.” Mister Valentin scowled and crossed his arms. “Are you saying all of this… this was just to grab a piece of Jazinsk?”

Miss Datsia’s ears flattened and her tail bristled. “Of course not!” she snapped. “My goal was, and will always be, to ensure the well-being and future of the barony. Every ruler takes that oath. I saw a chance to solve two of her biggest problems at once, and with your help, we solved them.”

The lynx paused for a few seconds, then asked too lightly, “What problems do you mean?”

“Oh, come now, Valentin,” Mister Dion interjected. “Don’t play at being the innocent; that wide-eyed look of confusion doesn’t become you.”

The wolfess favored Mister Valentin with a patronizing smile. “The Jazinskis have been a thorn in Deterikh’s side for over a generation. The southern Ezustia Range is ours by right—”

“Oh, Great Family,” Mister Valentine groaned, putting a paw over his muzzle. “We lost those mines twenty years ago!”

“We gave them away twenty years ago!” Miss Datsia snarled in response, passion showing in her voice since she first heard my master had been captured. “My brother’s second-worst mistake on the throne.”

Mister Valentin’s ears flattened against his head. “Oh, and what was his first, falling in love?”

Miss Datsia turned sharply away from the table. “Valentin!” As soon as she snapped, she drew in a deep breath and visibly composed herself, then held out her paws placatingly. “Please. Do you think me that heartless? Melka and I were never close, but I don’t resent Wilik for loving her. No, it’s what he did afterwards that was unconscionable.”

The lynx was unimpressed. “You mean giving her a son.”

“I mean taking an unimaginable risk with the barony, staking her future on that….” She glanced down at the fist she’d raised in front of her and lowered her arm back to her side. “That unstable whelp.”

“That ‘unstable whelp’ was my friend,” Mister Valentin retorted.

“Oh, of course he was!” Mister Dion laughed. “That was why you stabbed him in the back.”

The sergeant-at-arms rounded on his accuser, one finger pointing accusingly. His fist shook. “Don’t push me, Dion.”

Mister Dion leaned back against the wall, unphased. “Or else… what, precisely?”

“Just…” Mister Valentin stood still for a moment, then turned away, dropping his arms as he slumped. “Don’t.”

“Oh, poor Valentin,” The vole cooed around a smug smile. “Having an attack of conscience? Life is so much easier without one. Still, isn’t it a bit late to grow one? You did volunteer to help with this.”

Mister Valentin tensed but his voice remained weary. “I haven’t forgotten what I agreed to do. I also haven’t forgotten why.”

Miss Datsia stepped towards the lynx and put her paw on his shoulder. “Valentin, you’ve said it yourself. He didn’t have the mettle he needed to be baron.”

Mister Valentin didn’t raise his head or his voice. “You mean he wasn’t ready to go to war with the Jazinskis.”

“I mean he would’ve given into every demand made of him, then lashed out blindly with twelve times the strength he needed.” Miss Datsia’s tone was gentle but firm. She waved her free paw in my direction. “You saw what he did with just his fists. Imagine if he’d had an army at his disposal.”

The lynx turned to look at Miss Datsia, then followed her arm. His eyes met mine, and for the first time since he entered the room, he seemed to see me. “Listen, Datsia… maybe he’d have been fine if he’d actually been allowed to be the baron. I don’t think you ever gave him that chance.”

Miss Datsia shook her head in response. “No, I never did. It wouldn’t have been worth the risk to the barony.”

“And fighting the Jazinskis’ war is?” Mister Valentin asked in response. His eyes remained on mine, weary at the corners but still faintly smiling.

The wolfess’ ears flattened against her head. “Yes, I think it is.” She looked at me, and she smiled again, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “About that slave, though. Dion, as much as your suggestion appalled me, I must admit it worked beautifully. My congratulations to you for that. You have your orders.”

The vole snapped to attention and nodded sharply. “Regent.” Then he turned and walked out of the parlor.

Miss Datsia waited until the door had closed behind her envoy, then turned to face her sergeant-at-arms. “Valentin, Erik was your friend, and I understand that, but your loyalty must be to the office, not the holder of that office. You understand that, correct?”

The lynx’s expression hardened. “I do, yes.”

“Good.” Miss Datsia chuckled mirthlessly and walked over to the door. “You did what was necessary, and you played your part well. Now I need you to help me fill in the last few holes. We need to dispose of that slave.”

My blood ran cold at Miss Datsia’s words, and Mister Valentin’s eyes went wide. “But… Taneh had nothing to do with this!”

The wolfess gave an exaggerated sigh. “I’m aware of that, but again, it’s too much a risk. What if someone compels it to talk? I don’t like it either, but it’s the only way.”

The sergeant-at-arms’ paws went out, pads up, pleading. “Listen, Datsia, it doesn’t have to be like this. I’ll take em to Aura’s, have eir memory wiped. Ey doesn’t—”

“That’s not good enough!” Barony Deterikh’s regent barked. She sighed again, forcing her ears upright. “It’s still too risky, Valentin. Everything we’ve done will be for nothing if word gets out of what happened. The only way to ensure success is to silence anyone who would speak out. We can’t have it running around the keep, and we can’t sell it. That only leaves one option. Can I count on you to finish this… Captain?”

Mister Valentin’s eyes closed, and my blood froze solid when next he spoke. “Yes… Baroness.”

It took some effort—and a fair bit of pain—to get my legs over the side of the bed, but soon I had my hinds on the floor and my paws on the edge of the mattress. Everything spasmed as I pushed myself upright, but I managed to put my weight on my legs without them collapsing. The first steps were difficult; it felt as if things inside me were moving that had no business being able to do so. I wrapped my arms around my waist, though, and I focused on making one step, then another, slowly turning a circle about the room. I felt myself favoring my left leg, which was little surprise; that side had taken the brunt of my master’s kicks.

Once I knew I could walk without toppling, I gathered my chains as best as I could to keep them from swinging and limped carefully to the door. Mister Valentin had left it open, and the witchlights in the parlor remained uncovered. Unfurled scrolls and other sheets of papers lay strewn about the main table, with half-empty teacups around its edges. Plates sat stacked on a wooden plank at one end, still covered in scraps. At the other, the baron’s teapot held a few last cold dregs. One of the chairs sat on its side, another on its back. From the state of the room, the formal council had gone about as poorly as my master’s mood had.

It hurt to bend, to move even the relatively light chairs, but the need to feel useful even in my master’s absence moved me to straighten the room. What made it difficult, though, was the paintings that hung on the walls. From their vantage point on high, six generations of barons past stared down upon me as I did my best to tidy the parlor, righting furniture and gathering cups. I couldn’t bring myself to meet their gaze as I worked, and the longer I walked around, the more uncomfortable I became. My master’s father, Wilik, stood in the last frame. Unlike the portrait in the bedroom, he stood alone in this picture, dressed in full regalia. Painted in his prime, his fur held only a few patches of white, and he stood as straight as the spear at his side. His eyes were the same gold as his son’s, large and bright, with hints of weariness at the corners, as of a soldier who had seen one battle too many. The line of his muzzle was flat, his ears erect; it was hard not to read his expression as a scowl, disapproving and disappointed.

I flinched as I met the portrait’s stare, then lowered my eyes again. “I’m sorry, sir,” I said aloud, addressing my master’s father. “I never knew you, or what you thought of your son, but I can only hope that he’s made you proud.” I swallowed heavily, feeling at once like a fool and a fraud. I hadn’t prayed since my father died, and I didn’t even know if I had permission to speak, but I felt the need to help, somehow. “I don’t know if the Great Family listens to you, sir, but my master… your son… is in a great deal of trouble. He’s probably scared, and lost, and….” I drew in a deep breath and let it out. “I know I’m just a slave, and I have no right to ask, but if you could ask Oshka to protect him until he’s home, sir, it would mean a lot to me.”

“One good thing about the dead,” Mister Dion intoned behind me, “is that they have very little to say.” I spun, ears flattening against my head, to see the vole, dressed in a loose cotton shirt and trousers, leaning against the doorframe. A mace hung from a heavy leather belt around his waist, with a scabbard tucked against the other hip. Bandages encircled his lower left leg. “It makes them better company than brash young slaves who speak altogether too much.”

I blushed, my chest tight. All of my resolve to stand up to the unctuous envoy melted in the hot embarrassment of being called on my misbehavior. “Yes, sir.” My paws shook and I felt a knot in the pit of my stomach.

The envoy smiled and limped into the room. “Much, much better. Have you seen Valentin about? I have news for him.”

My heart skipped a beat. Could my prayers have been answered? “Has my master returned?”

The vole’s ears rose and his eyes shone. “Well, his horse has, at least.” At that, the pit in my stomach yawned wide and my blood ran cold, but Mister Dion continued, heedless of my expression. “Most regrettably, it seems as though the Jazinski have accepted his quite generous offer to exchange himself for a temporary truce.” He doffed his cap and held it to his chest. “A young martyr for his country. His sacrifice will be remembered.”

My jaw rose and fell for several moments, but no sound escaped me. An invisible paw held my chest in a death-grip. I finally managed to whisper, “Is he…?” I couldn’t bring myself to finish.

“Oh, no, no,” the vole replied, still smiling. “They won’t just kill him. They’ll want a full trial, to make an example of him as a warning to others.” He snickered. “What better way to deter others who would spoil their harvests and corrupt their citizens?”

My eyes went wide; the envoy’s words were a jumble in my ears. “Spoil their… but he had—” I stopped and blinked. “Corrupt, sir?”

Mister Dion let out a chuckle. “Oh, my, my, such delicious innocence.” He motioned towards me with his paw. “Just imagine what Baron Jazinsk had to say when he learned of what our teenaged tyrant had done to a Jazinski slave, to say nothing of what he then did with em. And in the middle of court, no less. Scandalous.” His paw went to his muzzle in mock embarrassment.

The implications of the envoy’s statements hit me like a blow to the chest, and my knees went weak. I dropped heavily into one of the chairs I’d just righted. “You… lied to them. None of that is true.”

“None of it?” The vole clucked his tongue as he limped over to the table. “I’d say a fair bit of it is. More than enough to make the rest seem plausible.” He leered as he approached, one paw at the hilt of his short sword. “You were quite lovely at the end of his leash.”

My stomach twisted; his stare felt greasy. My voice rose in a plaintive wail. “But you brought me here! You were the—”

“—the one who took you to Aura’s, on the baron’s orders,” Mister Dion interrupted, his voice oozing smug amusement. “Yes, I was.” He took hold of my chains in his free paw. I tried to shove him away, but without fingers I could only push on his wrists, which made him laugh. “I really must compliment you, Stannis. You’ve played your part in this beautifully, even if you didn’t know it.”

At the mention of the name, the world went grey at the edges of my vision and a chill settled into my paws and hinds. It was as if the sun had risen in my mind, burning away the fog that had settled over my memory. I sank back against the back of the chair and lifted my mutilated paws before my eyes to stare at them. “You… did this to me. All of it.” I looked up at Mister Dion, voice hollow. “Why?”

The vole shrugged. “Would the truth please you? Because I wanted to do it. Because I enjoyed it. Because I could. Do you need more reason than that? You’ll have to ask the others.”

“The others?” I dropped my paws back to my lap, then flinched as they neared my waist. I didn’t want to think about what else had been done to me.

Mister Dion nodded, his grin spreading. “When they arrive, I’ll let them—oh, good, good, they’re here.” Miss Datsia stepped through the doorway, dressed in a tan jacket and dark green skirt, similarly armed to the envoy. Mister Valentin followed close behind her, in a button-down shirt and cotton pants, carrying a spear loosely in his paws. I tried to catch his gaze, but his face was a glass-eyed mask. The longer I stared at him, the deeper my heart sank into the pit of my stomach.

The sergeant-at-arms turned to Mister Dion with a yawn, having given no sign of even seeing me in the room. “You said you had news?”

“Oh, yes, yes.” Dion nodded to the lynx, then turned to Miss Datsia. “Your nephew is in Jazinski custody. As of roughly six hours ago, you are Regent of Barony Deterikh.”

The lynx’s paws were cool where they touched me, and his fingers were gentle, almost delicate, as he turned my head to inspect the results of my master’s rage. I tried to speak, to explain that I had provoked my master into it, but my muzzle refused to open, pain lancing up the side of my head when I tried. Mister Valentin shook his head in response, laying a finger across his lips. “Don’t speak, pet; you’re hurt.” He smiled slightly. “So’s he, but we’ll take care of both of you.”

Without giving me time to wonder what he meant, Mister Valentin shifted onto one hind, then put a paw on my shoulder. “I’m going to get you onto the bed. Hold still, Taneh, this is going to hurt.” With that warning, he gingerly raised me to a sitting position, then lifted me into the air. Pain shot through me as I felt things inside me move when they shouldn’t, but only a few whimpers escaped me as the lynx carried me to my master’s bed and laid me upon it. Blood immediately soaked into my master’s pillow, but Mister Valentin just chuckled. “Good. Good pet,” the sergeant-at-arms crooned softly as he stroked between my ears with a paw. “That was rough, I know, but you did well. Iladin will be here soon; he’ll know what to do with you.”

I lifted a paw to Mister Valentin’s, then ran my stubby digits down his arm; it was the only gesture of thanks I could make for his kindness. The sergeant-at-arms took it in his fingers and squeezed gently, then rubbed his pads against the fur of my palm. “Listen, Taneh, you’ve been a good pet.” he said softly. “You’ve just been through something very rough, but it’s over now. He won’t ever hurt you again.”

I choked back a sob, but not from the lynx’s words or my injuries. In my mind’s eye, my master’s face loomed large, his lips locked in a snarl and tears streaming down his cheeks as his fists rose for the final blow. Remembering him that way, he seemed less like Baron Deterikh, and more like a wounded animal fighting for his life. I wanted to speak, but my muzzle wouldn’t let me. I struggled to sit up, tried to force it open enough to explain, but the pain was too great, and I collapsed back against the bed, fighting back tears.

“Easy, easy, pet.” Mister Valentin soothed. I heard the door to my master’s room bang, then two sets of hurried steps. A heavy-set wolf in a loose-fitting top and drawstring pants stepped into the light, carrying a pack on his shoulders. Behind him walked an elderly raccoon wearing a jacket thrown over a nightgown. The sergeant-at-arms rose and bowed. “Master Iladin, thank you for coming out at this hour.” He nodded to the guard. “Chelin, thank you; I’ll manage from here.”

While the wolf dropped his pack and left the room, Master Iladin approached the bed, fumbling in his jacket. He pulled out a pair of spectacles and pinched them to the bridge of his muzzle. “So maybe you’ll tell me what happened here.” He leaned in and squinted at me; his spectacles made his amber eyes look huge.

Mister Valentin crossed his arms over his chest. “Maybe you’ll tell me; you’re the one that pronounced the baron fit for the throne.”

The sage rose stiffly at that and turned to the sergeant-at-arms. “Erik did this? Wilik’s son?” The lynx nodded, and Master Iladin turned back to me with a sniff, his eyes going even wider. “I can’t believe it. There’s nothing in his charts suggesting this kind of fury!” He leaned in close and squinted, then brought one bony paw up to my muzzle and carefully turned it, making me moan.

“Listen, Iladin, charts or no, that’s Erik’s work.” Mister Valentin’s shook his head as he talked, his ears splayed. “He came crying to me with blood on his paws. I found his pet here in the floor, in that condition. I picked em up and put em in the bed.”

Master Iladin sniffed again, then rose and walked to the pack that Chelin dropped. “It’s completely unimaginable, though. I checked his charts myself. Twice!” He pulled out vials and jars, as well as a roll of white cloth. “Marek’s completely occluded by Oshka in House Mora, Zofia’s in Vira, yes I know that Gyuli is in Tsarka and not Krol where I’d have rather seen it, but… well, from here it’s conjecture without my maps.” He waved a paw dismissively and returned to the bed. “My point is that my pronouncement at the time was sound. I’m as surprised by this turn as you are.”

The lynx waved a paw dismissively. “You’ll have time for your charts tomorrow. Tonight I need to know if you can help the baron’s pet. Ey’s my responsibility.”

“I already am,” the sage replied. He took a seat near the edge of the bed. “The physical, I can fix; the rest….” He began sprinkling the powders on my muzzle; they stung at first, making me whimper, but the pain did begin to ease afterwards. He forced my jaws apart enough to pour the liquid past my lips. It tasted dank and sour, and I started to gag, but he put a paw over my lips. “Hold that as long as you can, then swallow; it will soften the bones and let me work.”

With that admonition, I settled back against my master’s bed and counted in my head, trying not to spit out the foul-tasting brew. With my muzzle full, I could only breathe through my nose, filling my nostrils with the moldy smell. It began to trickle down my throat, and I struggled not to gag. By sixteen, though, I could no longer hold back, and I pitched forward. Mister Valentin caught my shoulder, but I choked down the potion with a cough. Before I could lie back, though, the sage’s other paw caught the underside of my muzzle and gently eased it forward. I felt a twinge of pain, but nothing like the agony of before as he carefully worked my jaws apart.

As soon as Master Iladin’s fingers were free of my muzzle, I stretched it open in a yawn, which made Mister Valentin smile. “That’s a good sign.”

Master Iladin nodded. “It’s a step. He’s likely got cracked ribs and those clawmarks are deep.” He added another sprinkling of powders to my cheek, then gently pressed the cloth down over them. “Have him hold that there; it will stop the bleeding and take away some of the pain. “I’ll want to go home and fetch a few things. In the meantime, he should sleep if he can.”

“It’s ‘ey,’” Mister Valentin corrected with a chuckle, “but yes, ey should. Listen, Iladin, thank you again for coming so quickly. Will ey make it to morning?”

The sage nodded again with a sniff. “Assuming you can keep em from moving, yes. I’ll want to do some fine work on eir muzzle, and ey’ll be weak for a few days, but ey’ll survive.”

The sergeant-at-arms sagged forward at that, then put a paw gently on the top of my head. “You gave me quite a scare, pet. Now, I just need to follow up with Erik, make sure he’s—” A knock at the door interrupted him, and the lynx turned. “Oh, good, you’re… not Erik. Chelin, where’s the baron?”

The stocky wolf from before shook his head, leaning against the door frame. “His mount was gone when I returned, sir, as was my spear.” He wheezed softly as he spoke. “The outer gatekeepers said they saw him riding westward, back towards Jazinsk.”

Mister Valentin stood, struck dumb as if poleaxed. “He… oh, Great Family.” He gripped his muzzle in his paws. “Wake Inika and your two best archers. Wear out as many horses as you need, but get him back. I don’t care if you have to kill his mount to do it; if he reaches the front, he’s a dead man.”

Breathe, Taneh, I reminded myself, forcing myself up onto my knees. My heart pounded in my chest and blood pulsed in my temples. Find the lights. Locate the lights inside, the lights all around you. My chest rose and fell raggedly, air whistling in my muzzle. Just a pet, just an animal. What happens to you is your master’s responsibility. Yours is to serve, to do as you’re told. I closed my eyes and lowered my head. One… two… I drew in a shuddering breath, then slumped forward. By six, I felt my shoulders relaxing. At nine, my paws were no longer shaking. On twelve, I inhaled deeply, then released, focused on the dancing, flickering lights. Twelve lights.

Thirteen… fourteen… No more flickering motes appeared, but I continued to count as if they could, sinking further into myself. Soon I had forgotten how many lights there were, and began counting them again, and again. My heart stilled and my breathing eased. In and out, over and over. The sky continued to darken outside the meager windows, and the room sank into shadow. The mattress beneath me began to fade, as did the walls around. Only the lights remained. Twelve lights, and I, flickering as I let myself sink away from awareness. Breathe, relax, and obey. I was ready.

A loud bang pulled me mostly out of my reverie. I opened my eyes to see my master, backlit by the witchlights in the parlor, the door against the wall. His face was a mask, with his ears flat against his head and his tail brushed out behind him. He stood rigidly at attention, though his stiff formal jacket hung limply on him as if wilted. His eyes met mine, then looked me over, his upper lip curling. “So much for following orders.”

It took me a moment to think back to the last words he had said to me, before sending me to his room. As soon as I remembered them, though, I came fully awake, my ears reddening sharply. “Sir.” I ducked my head and moved my paws to between my legs, but the guilt I’d pushed aside before came back to me. My muzzle went dry when I tried to swallow. “I was, sir, but I…” I bit my lip.

My master dropped onto the edge of the bed and pressed the pads of his paws to his eyes. “Forget it. It doesn’t matter. None of it matters.”

I put my paws back on my knees. “I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t think I could, but I was so eager, and I—”

“I said forget it, pet,” my master repeated. Then, a moment later, he leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees. “I thought you needed help with that, or have you been lying to me?” He sneered the word “help,” glaring down the length of his muzzle.

“No, sir!” I blurted. “I just… I don’t know how it happened, sir.” My voice wavered and I lowered my gaze. “I… I disappointed you, sir.”

The baron fell back against his bed with a groan. “I’m getting quite used to disappointment. You’re just one more source.”

The words hit with me the force of a slap. “I’m sorry, sir,” I whimpered. “Please, allow me to make it up to you.”

I started to rise, reaching out for the waist of his pants, when suddenly the baron was on his hinds again. “Stop!” His paw rose in a backswing, and I cringed, lifting my paws to shield my muzzle, but he pressed his fingerpads to his forehead. “Great Family, don’t you ever stop? I swear, you’re as bad as Datsia! I can pleasure myself, thank you! I don’t need your help. I don’t even want your help!” He spat the last at me, clutching his head in his paws.

I ducked my head and swallowed hard. “Did the council go well, sir?” I asked timidly, hoping to change the subject.

The baron was silent for several seconds. “Barony Jazinsk has rendered their decision.” My master’s voice was completely hollow. “A state of aggression exists between them and Barony Deterikh, for crimes against nature.”

I hung my head; the tension I had pushed aside came home in full force. My chest seized; the air inside me felt like lead. “You couldn’t stop it?”

The next moment, stars sparked to life on the side of my face. I tumbled to my side, clutching at my muzzle, too shocked for a few moments to realize how much pain I was in. “Damn you!” the baron howled. “Comets and dust on the lot of you!” The kick that followed landed in the middle of my chest, sending me flat to the floor, gasping for breath. “I’m sick of it! All of it! I’m sick of all of you!”

I fought to get air back inside of me. “Master, I—”

The baron stomped down on my stomach, dropping his full weight onto me, making me gag and cramping my chest. “Great Family, will you just stop!” Another kick slammed into my side, knocking what little wind I had recovered back out of me again. “You keep pushing and pushing and you don’t stop!” His voice rose to a shout with every blow, adding his anger to its force. “Is this what you wanted? Is it? Answer me!” His toeclaws gouged at my cheek when his hind hit me again. “I’m never good enough for you or I’m never wise enough or strong enough or blessed enough and I’m sick of it! All I want is just to be left alone and you just won’t stop!”

This was no corporal punishment; this was a beating, merciless and savage. His words struck my ears as he kicked me over and over, head and chest and legs. “I’m sick of being told what to do! All of you! You, and Datsia, and Valentin! This is my barony! Mine! I’ll do what I want! Whatever I want! However I want! I’m sick of you making all the rules and telling me I’m not good enough! Sick, do you hear me! Answer me, damn you!” Blood poured from my cheek and pain blistered all over my arms and chest. I opened my muzzle to cry, to beg, to say anything that would make the pain stop, but my master wasn’t listening; he was too busy screaming as he rose back to his hinds.

The baron dropped to his knees, bringing his elbow down on my chest. I tried to scream, but there was no air in my lungs. I clutched my arms to my chest, struggling to breathe, and then the baron drew back, his fists clenched together. “I’ve had enough!” His paws slammed square into my muzzle, and I heard more than felt the crunch beneath them. My entire head went cold and fire crawled under my skin. Copper coated my tongue. I tried to open my jaw, but something caught and pain split my head, bringing tears to my eyes. A low whimper was the only sound I could make, accompanied by feebly batting at my master’s arm.

Several seconds passed while I waited for the next blow, but it never came. “Great Family.” The words left my master’s muzzle in a low, awful whisper. “I—” He rose to his hinds, blood dripping from his claws. The fur on one of his hinds glistened. His voice shook, his eyes wide, staring down at me. “Taneh, I—” I heard one hindfall, then another, as he backed away. “Oh, Koshki, I’m sorry, I’m… I’m so sorry, I… V—Valentin!” Then the wolf turned, crying out for his sergeant-at-arms, while I clutched my shattered world in my paws and tried not to exist.

I bowed my head, blushing; the skin where his paw landed felt warm, as did my cheeks. “Yes, sir.” I carefully carried the tea and servings, then gingerly lowered its lip to the edge of the table and extracted my paws from beneath. The porcelain pot slid and the cups clattered, but I was able to set it down without dropping it. “Will you have any need of me before then?”

My master grinned. “No time for that, I fear, pet. Tonight will run long, so you’ll just have to wait.” He approached from behind and put his arms around me, pressing himself against my back. “Eager, ready, and sadly, quite alone.” His claws sought out my nipples and pinched them, making me gasp, my chains rattling as I shivered. “You’ll be able to hear Valentin and I in the next room, and no doubt your mind will be thinking of all the ways you could keep us… entertained… but you’ll have to wait in the bedroom until we’re done, and I have no idea how late we’ll be planning.” Stoked by the slap, the fires within me caught at his words, growing into a burning need. I braced my paws against the table and pressed myself against my master’s chest and thighs, his thickening sheath making a visible tent within his pants. I rubbed myself against it, panting quietly as he continued to torment me with his words.

“No words, pet. Not a sound once you’re in the bedroom. You’ll have to be silent while you wait, or else you might disturb us. No, no, you’ll have to be as still as you can, as long as you can. Free to touch, to stroke, to caress… but not to finish, or even to beg for release.” He slid one of his paws down my chest, dragging his claws through my fur, setting my nerves alight. He cupped my sex in his fingers, and reflexively I tried to rock my hips, but he held me fast, growling in my ear. “I said silent, pet, and still. You’ll just have to make do with thinking about all the ways I might pleasure you later, all the ways you might please for some satisfaction… if I have time. I might not. I might just… leave you on your mat and come to bed. It will likely be a very late night, and you’ll—”

I cried out in arousal, unable to hold myself back, but my master just tightened his grip around me, grabbing the chains at my collar and tugging them for emphasis. His shaft, rock-hard through his pants, pressed against my rump, teasing me through the thin fabric. “—just have to wait until my pleasure to have yours. Is that understood… pet?”

I opened my muzzle to try to accept, but then closed it quickly and gave the barest nod of my head. My chest was heaving and the flame inside of me had become a aching need, one that every touch and every word made worse. His pads burned where they touched. Despite my shivering, though, I did my best to hold perfectly still, as I’d been told, blushing from eartip to tail and quivering with desire.

My master withdrew his paws and stepped away. “Good. Very good.” Then his paws were at my shoulders, spinning me to face him. His muzzle found mine, and his tongue wasted no time in pressing between my lips. He moaned into me, and I echoed his passion, wrapping my arms around his waist and entwining his tongue with mine. He coaxed mine into his muzzle and suckled on it, then thrust his own back into me, exploring me from within. Soft whimpers escaped him as we kissed, and he hugged me tightly to his chest. I sank into his arms, lost in his scent, in the feel of my master against me, in my own need for him.

“Are the two of you quite finished?” Mister Valentin called from the door.

Chastened, my master withdrew suddenly. “I think so,” he said with a faint chuckle. He gave my muzzle a final lick, then hooked a finger under my chin and lifted my gaze to his. He smiled at me, his golden eyes aglow with tenderness and desire, and I felt something very unlike the passion of earlier. It was warm and it filled me, but it lacked urgency; it felt like a glow, deep in my chest. I did my best to smile back, but my cheeks reddened and I quietly lowered my eyes again. “Go on,” my master murmured. “Off to the bedroom with you. Valentin and I have work to do.”

I nodded once, then turned and shuffled as quietly as I could to the short hall to my master’s bedchambers, holding my chains taut to keep them from rattling. Once the door was closed behind me, I dropped to my knees and put my paws between my legs. I knew I was only making my frustration worse, but I was so enflamed that, even despite my orders, I couldn’t keep my paws away from myself. Dozens of images flashed through my head as I rubbed and caressed myself, from kneeling beneath the table as my master worked and licking at his sheath; to my master and Mister Valentin taking me in the middle of the table, one between my legs and the other in my muzzle.

I bit down on my lip to silence my cries and slid two digits into my sex, pressing my nethers against my wrist. My hips bucked, reflexively, as I imagined my master beneath me, lying back with his paws behind his head, a beatific smile on his muzzle as I worked to bring him to release within me. A low whine escaped me and I caught my breath, but each time I stopped, the ache and emptiness inside me grew. It was a cycle I knew all too well, needing another’s touch to release it, and yet for all that my frustrations swelled inside me, I found myself eager for them, eager to need, eager to serve. This is my place. This is my life, not a person. Not even a proper animal. Just my master’s pet, to use as he wished. Just a plaything for others’ enjoyment. Just—

Something within me shifted, some vital element, and I rubbed frantically, urgently, over my sex with my useless forepaws, clamping down on my lips with my teeth. Stars sparkled behind my tightly-clenched eyelids as I followed that thought. Just a slave, just a toy, just a thing to be used. Not a person, not any more. Never had been, never wanted to be. This is what I always wanted, this life, serving my master, being his pet. I choked down my cry, tasting blood as my body spasmed, lightning flashing through me as it had during the ritual. I collapsed onto the mat, my entire body shaking from the strength of my release.

I lay still for some time after that, sprawled on my back, trying to breathe and recover my strength. Guilt flickered inside of me, having disobeyed my orders, and yet I had trouble feeling it. The thoughts themselves were too strong to ignore, too powerful to protest. It felt like an admission too long in the making, a purging of secrets, at least to myself. Despite the sticky mess in my fur and the exhaustion, I felt… clean. Happy.

The door slammed open, and Mister Valentin’s head thrust into the opening, snapping about this way and that. “Taneh, where—Matska’s grace!” As I scrambled up onto my knees and dropped my gaze, the sergeant-at-arms walked into the room, ignoring me completely. “It smells like a brothel in here; when’s the last time he aired out his room?” He strode past me to his wardrobe and rummaged through it, then extracted a formal shirt and jacket. Turning, he hurried back to the door.

I lifted my head and risked a question. “Sir? What’s going on?”

The lynx paused, briefly, without turning to face me. “Dion’s just returned from Jazinsk; the baron’s called a formal council and a rider’s been sent to tell Datsia. Sorry, you’re probably on your own tonight.” Then he left, and with him so did my all of my joy.

My master grinned and waved dismissively. “It’s what I told em to do.” He shoved the door closed behind him as he approached, then sat on the edge of the table to look down at me, drops of the sergeant-at-arms’ release slicking my fur. “Did he seem appreciative?”

I lowered my head, but not before letting my master see my smile. I licked at my muzzle, dabbing at a patch of drying desire on my chin with my tongue. “Yes, sir.”

The baron’s paw touched the back of my head and stroked my ears. “Good pet.” Turning his attention to Valentin, he let out a chuckle. “Over here, though? I’d have thought one of the couches would be more comfortable.”

The lynx let go of my shoulder and grabbed for his leggings. “It wasn’t expected.” He hastily tugged them upwards, then straightened his shirt. “Shouldn’t you still be at court? Sir?”

Even before the grumble was out of his throat, my master’s fingers tensed against my ears, which made me whimper slightly. He hastily pulled his paw away, then walked towards the back of the room. “Likely,” he admitted as he walked. “I’d just had enough of hearing people comment on Taneh, and eir absence, around the edges of my conversations.” He sighed and dropped heavily onto a seat. “You were right, it turns out. It won’t be a trend any time soon. Pity, that.” His claws snapped together loudly. “Taneh, heel. So, what is it you don’t understand?”

The lynx followed as I scrambled over to kneel in front of my master, putting my head in his lap as I had for his sergeant-at-arms a moment ago. “What motivates someone to do something like… that.” He dropped onto the other end of the baron’s couch. “Ey explained it, but it still makes little enough sense.” He held up a paw. “I asked.”

The baron’s paw, warm and gentle, stroked the back of my neck and shoulders. “It’s simple, really. Do you remember your squireship?”

The lynx chuffed irritably. “I remember envying the common troops; they got to sleep at night.”

“Fair,” the baron chuckled in response. “So, consider. I know Aunt Datsia trained you herself; did she ever deliberately try to trick you? Give you instructions you couldn’t possibly follow, hoping to make you fail?”

Mister Valentin groaned. “Often. Eventually I just learned to tell when she was giving an order she expected me to follow and when she was trying to trap me.” His paw touched my shoulder. “I still can’t always tell with Dion. That’s why I still don’t trust him. Speaking of which, Erik, when he gets back….”

“Yes?” The wolf’s petting paused. “What is it?”

The sergeant-at-arms paused, then shook his head. “No, nothing. Listen, we need to be ready for whatever he reports. I still want to go over that plan with you later tonight.”

“Oh, of course,” my master replied. “In the meantime, though, I was answering your question.” He leaned back on the couch. “Imagine for a moment that the whole world, and every single person in it, made you feel as you did when you were most confused. Imagine never knowing if what you’re doing is what you’re supposed to be doing. Imagine doubting everything you did, because you could have done something else. Imagine never having the assurance that you’re actually doing what’s right.”

Mister Valentin leaned forward. “No, I can’t say I’ve ever felt that way.” His voice was unusually quiet. “But I think I can imagine how someone who did might feel.”

My master smiled and shifted in his seat, his paws on his belt. He lifted his rump, then tugged down his own leggings. Patting his thigh, he wiggled a finger at me. “Forward. Lick.” Without waiting for more instruction, I did as commanded, leaning against the baron’s upper legs and sliding my tongue beneath his sheath, caressing the wolf’s sensitive orbs as I had the lynx before. He let out a groan and scratched the base of my ears with his claws. “This is easy. This is simple. This is an order to be followed. Following it becomes its own reward, that having made eir owner happy. If you behave well, you’re rewarded; if you don’t, you’re punished. You know what to do. You know what your role is.”

The lynx was quiet for a few moments after that. “Listen, Erik… it sounds like you’ve got a good idea of what slaves like Taneh want.” There was a silence after that, and then a paw on my side. “Ey was quite good earlier. Good training.” I blushed at the compliment, but my attentions were on my master’s sheath, the scent of his musk and the taste of his fur. His shaft was starting to respond to my attentions, and I shifted my focus there, drawing a fresh groan out of him.

“Ey’s a good pet, yes,” my master agreed. “Very well-behaved.” Hearing them talk about me as if I weren’t there was starting to inflame my needs again, and I squirmed between my master’s legs, whimpering softly as I licked. “Hear that sound?” My master chuckled, stroking a paw up along my ear. “Ey’s eager. Ey needs a bit of regular release, or else ey gets cranky. Care to assist, Valentin?”

“Assist?” The lynx sounded startled, but then chuckled in return. “If the baron wishes it, though I don’t think I’m ready for more.”

That made the baron laugh. “Ey’s quite good at that, yes.” His paw tapped my shoulder. “Taneh, up. One knee on the couch, rump down.” Reluctantly, I pulled my muzzle from my master’s groin long enough to rise from the ground, then quickly returned to my previous work once in position. In the position my master indicated, my sex was easily within Mister Valentin’s reach. “Just pet em,” my master said. “Ey’ll do the rest.”

Mister Valentin chuffed again, but there was humor in his voice as well as nervousness when he spoke. “Just… part of owning a pet, I suppose. Feeding, grooming, keeping them healthy.” I whimpered softly at his words, eagerly sucking my master’s shaft as the lynx’s fingers stroked over my sex. My tail twitched, and I began to rock my hips, pressing back against his fingers. He wasn’t as skilled as my master, but he was still encouraging. He parted my sex and caressed gently between them. “Ey is quite an eager pet, isn’t ey?”

My master panted a laugh. “Usually. Ey’s always glad for the touch, the chance to be intimate. I don’t think Taneh can take care of eirself; ey needs a little help from others for that, so ey’s always glad to earn your release, aren’t you, pet?”

I whimpered again, squinting my eyes. Part of me still wanted to rebel against the words, but with my muzzle around my master’s shaft and my tail in the air, rocking back against Mister Valentin’s fingers, I knew I was in no position to do so. “Yes sir,” I mumbled around the wolf’s shaft, caressing it eagerly with my tongue. With the lynx working his fingers between my paws and my master’s scent in my muzzle, it was hard to focus on anything else.

“Good pet,” my master crooned. “When you’ve given me mine, you may have yours. Fair, Valentin?”

The lynx laughed. “Ey will have earned it by that point, I think.” His fingers grew more insistent, pressing against the opening between my legs, but as I tried to rock back, he withdrew his paw. “Once the baron says it’s okay, Taneh.”

I whined in response and threw myself into my efforts, trying to narrow my thoughts down to my master’s shaft. My thighs ached, wishing to be filled, and it was easy to imagine Mister Valentin behind me, pressing himself against my legs, taking me as I suckled. I let out a moan, letting the images play out in my mind as I caressed the wolf’s flesh with my tongue. His panting quickly turned to whines as he tensed under my attention, before he let out a howl and pulled my muzzle down onto his cock, filling me with his seed. I pressed my lips to his shaft, shuddering in anticipation as I swallowed his offering.

Several seconds passed, during which my master did little more than pant and recover from his release. He slumped back against the back of the couch and moaned softly. “Oh, pet… you’ve done very well. Valentin, please?”

“Of course, sir,” the lynx replied. He slid one, then a second finger into me, drawing a moan out of me as he teased my nethers. “Ey’s done well, served eir master, and deserves a reward. This is how you’re supposed to treat good pets, isn’t it, sir?” His thumb slipped between my lips, caressing the sensitive flesh there. I bucked my hips, whimpering around my master’s still-hard shaft as I rocked myself back and forth, pushing myself closer to release. Mister Valentin’s movements were still a bit awkward, but he was gentle and insistent and before long I was panting as heavily as my master had under my efforts.

Mister Valentin wrapped his other paw around my tail and tugged, once, making me jump, then said quietly, “Now, pet.”

That was the only encouragement I needed. Tensing from eartip to toe, I gripped his fingers within me, feeling something give way inside. A flood of heat and warmth washed through me, and I cried out against my master’s cock, paws shaking as I tried to support myself as I released. A second wave passed in the wake of the first, and I sagged into my master’s lap, moaning weakly into my master’s sheath. My muscles trembled, and everywhere I felt warm and eager. Despite my climax, I felt ready for another, even as I closed my eyes and tried to curl up on the couch.

“You were right, Erik,” the lynx said as he rose, wiping his paws together. “Ey is pretty easy to understand when you explain it that way. You should go clean yourself and get back to court. I’ll see you here after supper so we can work up that plan.”

“Hunh?” My master lifted his head, then sagged back against the couch. “Yes, of course. Court. Up, pet.” He tapped me on the shoulder.

As I slid off of the couch and stood beside my master, the lynx waved and walked to the door. “I’ll have someone send fresh linens. I suspect you’ll need them.”

If my master noticed my growing discomfort, he did his best not to show it, but it was obvious that he, too, could hear the amusement of those around him. All the way from the baths to the main hall, he’d walked with his head high and a smile on his muzzle, visibly eager for the event. When the guard posted at the door had announced his arrival, all eyes had turned, and for several minutes, the baron strode about the room as if he owned it, eagerly greeting familiar faces and subtly showing off his latest acquisition. His mood began to fall rapidly, though, as conversations paused as he approached, as silences lingered upon his departure, and as the occasional giggle followed in his wake.

“Baron?” A voice cut through the crowd, quiet but close, intended for few ears. Valentin, dressed in a tunic over his chain shirt and leggings, leaned down and placed his muzzle close to my master’s ear. “Might I have a few words?”

My master rolled his eyes and turned to his sergeant-at-arms. “Is it urgent? I should be talking with my people.”

The lynx looked this way and that, then turned back to the baron. “It is, sir, and bring your… pet.”

The baron grumbled in response, but he tugged down the hem of his dress shirt and motioned for the lynx to lead. Valentin nodded and turned, gesturing towards one of the side doors, whence came a trickle of pages carrying fresh offerings for the crowd. Holding open the door, he bowed his head as the baron and I walked past him into the kitchen, then stepped through the door and let it close behind him. As soon as it shut, though, his demeanor changed; his shoulders stooped and his head bowed. “Idiot.”

My master drew himself up sharply as if he’d been stuck. “What?”

The lynx turned to face his lord, but his frown showed anything but obedience. He waved a paw in my direction. “That’s about the worst thing you could’ve done right now, you realize.”

“What?” the baron repeated. He turned to me, his eyes wide, while I hung my head and cringed, my ears flat against my skull. “What’s wrong with em?”

Valentin closed his eyes and put one paw to the bridge of his muzzle. “Erik, listen to me. I’m sure this sounded like a good idea back in your room, but people are starting to talk, and not in a good way. Your mind’s not where it needs to be.”

My master scowled back at his sergeant-at-arms. “Are you saying I’m not paying attention?”

“No,” the lynx snapped in response. “I’m saying that you’re paying attention to all the wrong things. Namely, your new toy, and not your barony. Koshki’s luck that Baron Jazinsk wasn’t at court waiting for an audience with you! How do you think talks would have gone then?”

The baron took a half-step backwards, folding his arms across his chest. “He’d probably have asked to borrow em for the evening.”

“Oshka defend us,” Valentin swore, pressing with his fingerpads against the bridge of his muzzle. “That flippancy is going to cost you more than your title.” He groaned and leaned back against the wall, rubbing at his muzzle. “Erik, listen to me. We’ve known each other, what, going on six summers now?”

My master chuckled hollowly. “Long enough. Yes, I’ve been distracted, but not by Taneh, to be sure.” He waved a paw at the door leading out to the main hall. “You’ve been in the planning sessions. Datsia’s trying to break me, I swear to the Family.”

“Stop it, Erik.” The sergeant-at-arms said wearily. “You can’t blame Datsia for this one. Bringing him to court was a mistake, and you know it.”

“It’s ‘em,’” the baron huffed. “And no, it wasn’t a mistake; it was a gamble.” My master sighed. “You’re right, it didn’t work as I’d hoped, but—”

“But what? What were you trying to do?” Valentin sighed, then held up his paws, pads out. “No, I’m sorry, sir, I interrupted. Please, I’m curious. What did you hope would happen?” The lynx went silent, his eyes fixed on my master’s, who turned from his sergeant-at-arms, to me, and back again. He opened his muzzle to speak, then closed it, at which point Valentin shook his head. “As I thought. You didn’t know. You just acted.” The lynx shook his head, then put a paw on my master’s shoulder. “Listen, Erik, it’s not just your new plaything, and it’s not even Datsia. I know you try not to listen to gossip, but—” He stopped himself sharply, then lowered his voice. “There are people starting to say you’re not fit for the throne.”

My master’s retort was instant. “Who says?”

“Erik, it doesn’t matter who said it.” Valentin visibly struggled to keep his voice down. “What matters is that it’s being said, and not just in private. Let’s face it, Erik. You weren’t exactly born under the best stars, and given your mother—”

“Oh, by all that’s—” The baron growled. “I’m quite sick of people thinking there’s something wrong with me because of her! I’ve been checked by every physic in the barony. Iladin himself said I was fine!”

Valentin vaguely gestured to the door. “Yes, well, Iladin’s been wrong at least once before in his life, I’m sure. Listen, Erik. I don’t doubt you, but you can’t just say you’re the baron and then do whatever you’d like. You have to at least act the part until you’ve proven yourself. Your father was a good ruler because he waited until people were ready before he asked them to follow him into new territory. I don’t doubt he loved your mother, but he was Baron Deterikh for years before he was her husband, and more before he was your father. A year into your reign, you’re asking people to trust…” He sighed. “There’s no other way to say it. You’re asking them to trust an untested half-breed at a time when they’re worried their neighbors are going to attack them, and you’re too busy showing off your new pleasureslave to talk to anyone for more than a few minutes!”

Throughout his sergeant-at-arms’ speech, my master’s eyes grew harder, his posture growing more rigid. He held stock-still for a few minutes. He raised one paw, clenched in a fist, but then sagged back against the wall and covered his eyes with it. “Okay, yes. I am focused on Taneh and not Barony Jazinsk, but that’s because Datsia seems convinced that we’re already at war and every time I try to say we should talk with Jazinsk, she accuses me of being a whelp and of not being half the man my father was!”

Valentin chuckled darkly. “Datsia might be right; your father would’ve hit anyone who talked to him like that.” He held out his paws again in supplication. “You’re right, I’m sorry, poor timing. Listen, Datsia’s focused on military force, yes, but that’s because she’s Captain Deterikh; meanwhile, you’re not thinking about the military at all. I know you’d rather talk your way out of this, but we need to be ready in case that fails.” He put his paws on my master’s shoulders. “I think of you as a brother, Erik, but you’ve got to start taking this threat seriously!”

My master turned his head, his eyes closed. “If you want to take it so seriously, why don’t you be baron, then?”

The sergeant-at-arms shook his head. “Nobody would follow me; I don’t have six generations of founders’ blood in me. Listen, after court, I’ll help you work out what needs to be done, but you’ve got to start at least pretending to listen to Datsia. After supper, your quarters. I’ll deflect what I can of Datsia’s glory and we’ll come up with a plan that satisfies her without declaring battle lines. In the meantime…” He motioned towards me, making me flinch. “You should get back out there and listen to your people. I’ll take em back to your room.”

My master chuckled and stepped over to the door. “Fine. And be my guest while you’re there, but be gentle. Ey bruises easily.”

The lynx looked down at me, then back at the baron; his eyes were wide and his ears flat. “I couldn’t possibly.”

“Of course you can,” the baron said with a grin. “Think of it as payment for lessons taught. “He leaned over and kissed my forehead. “Do show Valentin a good time, pet. He’s earned it.”

I blushed. “Yes, master.” Then he was gone, back to court while his sergeant-at-arms led me away.

After that, he lay beside me, his muzzle resting on my shoulder. One of his arms was beneath my head; the other paw rested on my stomach. The blankets lay in a tangle, half-discarded, across my legs. At some point afterwards, I knew I had slept, but the shift from that dreamlike state to unconsciousness and back to awareness after was hazy, and untangling the memories from the dreams seemed unnecessary. I was in my master’s arms. I was safe. Beyond that, all was details I could leave to him.

Still half-asleep, I rolled onto my side to press my back to my master’s chest; his sheath nestled against my rump. The air held a faint chill, and I tried to drag the blanket up with my hinds, but as I reached for it with one forepaw, the baron yawned and hugged me from behind. “Good morning, pet.” He sat up enough to grab the cover, then pulled it up over us. Snuggling again against my back, his muzzle brushed the back of my head, and then his tongue slid along one of my ears, making me squirm and giggle. “Awake for real, this time?”

“Yes, master,” I murmured in reply, eyes closing. “At least, I think so.”

The baron nodded, then licked the back of my other ear, making me whimper. “You were quite good last night, pet. A bit inquisitive, perhaps.”

My ears flushed at that. “I’m sorry about that, master.”

My master clucked his tongue. “It’s fine; I asked you to be. I’m curious where you heard my mother’s name, though. I’m guessing Aura mentioned it.”

I shook my head in response. “Not at first, master; it was Mister Dion who brought her up; Miss Aura seemed reluctant to discuss her.”

My master sighed. “Old feuds, back to haunt us. Some days I wish the past would just leave me be.”

I rolled over to face the baron, resting my head on his shoulder. “Master?”

“It’s nothing.” The baron held quiet for a moment, then sighed. “So it’s not nothing, but it’s old history.” He motioned to the portrait on the wall. “My mother was Baron Jazinsk’s daughter. Their marriage was meant to end a war, but they ended up falling in love instead.” The wolf chuckled dryly. “Now I’m trying to do it again.”

I blinked; his words reminded me of him having said the same the night before, but that wasn’t possible. I swallowed and risked a sensitive question. “So she adopted you, but then who is—”

The baron growled at that and his eyes hardened, making me cringe. “No, pet,” my master said a tight voice. “I said she was my mother, and I meant it.”

I quickly ducked my head. “I’m sorry, master.”

“It’s a fair assumption,” the baron conceded. “Normally, it’s not possible. Aura and her husband fixed that, but… Mother was never really well after that. She died when I was five.”

I lowered my gaze. “I’m sorry, master.” Inside, though, my mind was spinning. Suddenly much of what Aura had hinted came together.

The baron grinned. “Forgiven, though you have been quite talkative this morning.” One paw touched the top of my head. “I’ve a much better use for that muzzle of yours.”

Despite my embarrassment—or perhaps because of it—I felt a rush of heat between my legs at the thought. “Yes, master.” As he lightly pushed, I nuzzled my way down his chest and stomach, nibbling at his fur. His sheath was already full, the skin tightening, with his shaft beginning to poke out from its opening. I put my muzzle to its tip and kissed it, then pressed one paw against its base, stroking over the sensitive sac and the tender orbs within with my pads. It took little coaxing to draw it fully from its home, and I slid my lips down around him, caressing him inside my muzzle with my tongue.

The baron let out a wistful moan. “Oh, Matska but you’re good at that. That’s much better than all those words.” His hips began to roll, slowly pumping himself further into my throat. “You don’t need to worry about the state of affairs; you just need to please your master.”

I moaned softly in response, pressing my nosepad into the fur of his groin, letting his sweet and heavy musk fill my senses. I closed my eyes and sunk into my task, sucking eagerly, caressing his sheath with my pads, stroking the loose skin over the sensitive base of his shaft. My own thighs began to tingle in response, then to ache as I listening to his eager whimpers. His paws rested on the back of my head and he began to pump himself into my muzzle, giving me opportunity to lick the length of his shaft as he pulled away from me, then circle the tip as he prepared to thrust again. One of my paws drifted to between my legs, but all I could do was inflame my own need, urging myself to please my master that much more.

It took little enough for the baron to begin panting, then growling eagerly as he neared release. His knot thickened in my paws as I caressed it, rubbing it tenderly with my pads to coax soft whines from my master’s muzzle. His paws held me against his shaft, instinctively trying to press himself into me, and I struggled to keep my teeth clear of his sensitive flesh as his movements became more insistent, less controlled. Soon, his fingers clenched at the bases of my ears, and with a groan he thrust himself forward, filling my muzzle with his musky seed. He jerked a few more times, his body shaking, and then he slumped against the bed while I eagerly suckled the last of his gift from his shaft and swallowed hungrily.

The baron let out a growl. “Oh, Taneh… such an eager plaything.” He sagged against me, hugging me to his groin, then tensed. “Hold… very still, pet.”

I mmphed in confusion, his shaft still within my muzzle, but I did as he said, and he let out a sigh, filling my muzzle with bitter, salty urine. Startled, I started to gag, but then swallowed reflexively as his paws kept me from pulling away and he did nothing to stop the flow. Some of the salty water leaked from the corners of my muzzle, but I did my best to keep up with him, gulping as he let go of his bladder into my muzzle, marking me inside and out.

“That’s it, eager little pet,” my master growled as I swallowed. “Take it all.”

The salt and bitterness burned my throat and, at points, I thought I would lose control, but I managed to swallow until he was down to drops, then coughed as he withdrew his shaft from my muzzle. As in the garden in front of Miss Aura’s, thinking of what I had just done made my cheeks flush, but it only made the ache between my legs that much stronger. Just an animal, Taneh, I thought to myself, doing whatever you’re told to do.

The baron rose to his kneels, his shaft slick with my saliva and his own fluids. He wiped at the corner of my muzzle with his thumb, then clucked his tongue with a grin. “You’ve missed a bit. Ah well; that will come with practice. I can’t expect you to be perfect on the first try, merely very good.” He reached over and scratched behind my ears. “You’re such a good pet. Eager, well-trained, and responsive.”

“Thank you, master,” was all I could say. I burned from eartip to thigh, but pressing my paws together against my nethers only made the need worse. I wanted to beg for release, but I’d already said too much this morning.

My master laughed and rose from the bed, then grabbed his uniform from the wardrobe. “Fetch towels from the linen room,” he said, “then follow me to the baths. We both smell a bit too much of sex this morning for court, and I’m eager to see how you handle yourself in front of an audience.”

I rose from the bed, then froze. “Y… yes, master.”

The baron’s laughter grew, then swatted me on the rump with one paw as he grabbed a robe in the other. “That’s perfect. I’m sure Aunt Datsia won’t approve, but I’m the baron, not she. If I have my slave beside me at court, I’m quite sure everyone will be bringing theirs before long.”

Once, and only once, did he came to the room with eyes of fire and his tail stiff behind him. On that night, I learned what Mister Dion had meant by the baron’s temper. I don’t know what Miss Datsia said or did to infuriate him, but he wasted little time on taking it out on me, driving himself into me as if he were stabbing me, wordlessly snarling as he took me, then pushing me off of him when he was done. He didn’t banish me to my mattress in words that night, but I spent it curled on the floor anyway, curled in a ball, hurt in ways that transcended mere pain.

Sensing my master’s exhaustion, I stepped over to the bed as soon I could get into the room. “I’ll prepare your bed, master,” I said as I drew back the covers, slipping my paws beneath the top edge of the blanket.

The wolf stopped, his eyes wide and unblinking for a moment, and it appeared it would be another difficult night, but then he lowered his gaze and sighed. “I’m tired, but I don’t think I could sleep. My thoughts are a jumble.”

Surprised by his words, I lifted my head, still not quite meeting his eyes with mine, but my ears went up in curiosity. “Master?”

He laughed again, a hollow chuckle devoid of mirth. “It’s nothing I should be burdening you with.” He paused, then perked slightly, and a warmer smile crossed his muzzle. “Rise, Taneh. Help me out of this.”

I nodded and started helping my master undress, but he held out his paw when we reached his briefs. “No, I just want to wear something that’s not a uniform for a while.” He motioned back towards the wardrobe. “Find a plain tunic or shirt in there, and some pants.” He sat on the edge of the bed as I went looking. “Troops and training and readiness… I don’t see how my father dealt with this.”

“Master?” I turned, holding a roughspun, cream-colored shirt and loose-fitting pants between my paws.

Baron Deterikh shook his head again. “No, never mind.” He lifted his head, smiling wearily, and suddenly he looked much older than I despite his youth. “Thank you.” He took the clothes from me and shrugged into them. “Follow me, Taneh.”

I hesitated a moment. “Master? My leash?”

My master grinned, a faint spark in his eyes. “Are you planning on running?”

I swallowed hard at that. “No, master.”

The wolf laughed, then turned and left without another word, and I hastened to follow. Without the markings of nobility, few turned to look at Baron Deterikh as he passed, though a few did still recognize him—or his slave, I thought with a blush—and bow as he passed. The hallways of the castle were mostly quiet as we walked, with only a few guards patrolling to notice as he led me through the stone passages to a spiral staircase. “This way, but carefully.” The steps were narrow, even for his hinds, and so I had to walk carefully, relying on my master for balance.

As the baron pushed open the door at the top of the stairs, a fresh rush of summer air swirled down the stairs, filling the stairwell with the scent of warm rain. Outside, the air was clear, a deep and vivid blue, speckled with stars. Matska and Oshka were still early in the sky, while little Koshki was racing ahead as always, halfway across the sky. Even more stunning than the stars, though, was the view of Baris. I had never seen a city from this angle, and Deterikh’s capital was larger than any city to which I’d been before. Witchlights twinkled like fireflies in some of the windows, and in the streets at the larger intersections. The city square was thick with wagons, and more motes danced there. It was as if the sky had been reflected, in some small measure, in the streets below.

The baron must have caught my stunned expression, because he barked a laugh and stepped forward. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it? I come up here to remind myself why I put up with all of Datsia’s fretting and fussing. This is what I’m protecting.” He gestured out across the skyline, embracing all of Baris in a sweep of his arm, then tilted his head back and breathed in deeply. “Ah, good. A little light rain will do the crops some—what was that?”

“I am ready,” I repeated, my eyes closed. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, feeling the leaden warmth that quickly settled into my bones. The scent of rain tickled my memory, but then vanished behind the vast white fog that lingered in my mind and faded. “Master.”

“Taneh?” My master’s voice seemed far away, disturbed but curious. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, master,” I slurred softly. Each breath left me a little more relaxed, though I was quite focused on his voice and the lights dancing about be. Twelve lights. Thirteen. Fourteen.

A paw landed lightly on my shoulder. “What… is going on?”

I shook my head. “You spoke the words, master. I am ready.”

“Ready?” My master hesitated. “For what?”

I took a deep breath, then let it out. Five. Six. “Anything, master. This is the state Miss Aura taught me, to let her do what she did.”

“Oh.” The baron was quiet for a few moments after that. “You mean to change you?”

I nodded. Three. Four. “Yes, master.”

“I see.” Another pause from the baron. “How do you feel?”

“Aroused, master. Relaxed.” The lights flickered and spun around me as the words passed through me. “Curious, master. I have many questions, but I have been trained to keep my tongue to myself. I am trained to do as I was told, and I do it very well.”

“Open your eyes, Taneh.” I did so to see the baron staring intently into my eyes. “What questions do you have? Answer my question, pet; that’s an order.”

“Yes, master.” I nodded again, then drew in a deep breath and let go, sinking into relaxation. “You act as if you didn’t know about this; why didn’t Mister Dion tell you about this? Who is Melka? Why does Miss Datsia upset you so?” I opened my muzzle to ask another question, but the baron held up a paw in front of my face.

Before answering, he turned away and folded his arms across his chest. “I’ll take those in reverse order. The last isn’t a question I should answer, but I’m quite tired of doing what she tells me to do. Barony Jazinsk’s swelling its military, and it’s nearly harvest season. Right on the heels of the worst winter they’ve had in years, they’re pulling people out of their fields and putting swords in their paws. I’ve invited Baron Jazinsk for an emergency meeting to negotiate eye to eye, but there’s no word if they’ll answer. The middle is easy; Melka was my mother. You’ve seen her portrait, standing beside Father in my room. The first…” He turned back to me. “I can’t answer, but when Dion returns from Barony Jazinsk, I plan to ask him that myself. Now, a question for you. What did I say that put you in this state?’

I hesitated, trying to determine if I could say it myself, and what it would do if I did. It seemed safe to chance it. “Little light,” I said, followed immediately with a fresh wave of warmth and heaviness. “I am ready,” I murmured shortly afterwards.

The baron’s eyes shone. “Interesting. Very interesting.” His scent and the lay of his pants suggested more than mere interest. “And… how do you feel now?”

I smiled. “Relaxed, master, and aroused.”

The baron put a paw again on my shoulder and pulled me after him. “Well, little light, let’s go do something about that.”

After meals, Miss Datsia—, the captain of Deterikh’s military, insisted on at least a full hour of the baron’s time along with Mister Valentin, the sergeant-at-arms that had greeted Aura at the gate. During those discussions, my presence was quite clearly not welcome. If the two of them weren’t waiting for my master when he returned from the main hall, then they were close on his heels, arriving not long after we did, and the elder wolf, at least, made it quite obvious that once she was in the room, I had better not be. At first, she insisted that I be sent completely out of the baron’s chambers, but thankfully my master put rest to that idea. Her suggestion that Dion watch me for that time met with similar resistance, and so they agreed that I would be sent to my master’s bedroom while they talked in the parlor. Neither seemed completely happy with that arrangement, but it was far better than the alternatives.

I spent the time that they talked, kneeling on my mat and breathing quietly, trying to focus my attentions on the lights, and not on the muffled voices in the parlor. It had taken my master little enough time to adjust to having a personal slave. Inside of a week, a simple mattress, filled with straw and covered with a cotton sheet, lay on the floor near the baron’s bed, along with a thin blanket. It was the space I was to occupy when my master was not in the room, and to which he sent me if he wished to sleep alone. As much as having something defined as mine was an odd sort of comfort, as my cushion at the Blue Moon had been, it quickly became its own source of embarrassment and frustration. Sleeping in my bed meant not sleeping in my master’s, drifting to sleep surrounded by his scent.

Tonight, when the door opened, my master stepped far enough inside to snap his fingers and motion for me to follow, then turned around again and headed back into the parlor. I rose from my bed and hurried to heel. In the baron’s parlor, papers and maps lay scattered across the table, along with pieces of a tea service. The lynx, in a loose cotton shirt and leather leggings, had brought a chair over to one of the couches. He grinned as I entered, but the corners of his eyes narrowed. “Taneh.”

Before I could reply, my master dropped heavily beside his sergeant, then snapped his fingers and motioned to the floor before his hinds. Without a word, I dropped to my knees in place and took one of his hinds in my paws, caressing it with my pads. I did give the lynx a bow of my head once positioned, but otherwise I remained quiet, focusing my attentions back on the baron.

The lynx chuckled. “You’ve gotten used to that fast.”

My master lifted his head and turned. “Hmm?”

“Him.” The sergeant-at-arms motioned to me with a paw. “Having a slave.”

The baron groaned softly. “It’s ‘em,’ Valentin; I’ve told you that before.”

The lynx rolled his eyes and stood. “I’m sorry, you’re right. It’s hard to remember. I’m not used to hearing it. Why did Aura use it anyway?”

“Well, ey’s certainly no ‘he,’” my master chuckled, making me blush. “Stand up, pet, and let Valentin see you.”

Mister Valentin held out a paw, pads out, pouring tea with the other. “Don’t bother, I saw when Aura brought em. Dion was like a whelp with a new kite.” He grinned, then stirred honey into the cups. “Or maybe a new doll.”

I flushed harder, but as I started to rise, my master held out a paw. “No need, pet. Stay seated. Keep up what you’re doing.” I nodded and resumed massaging his hind; the baron responded by leaning against the back of the couch and groaning again. “Great Family, those are sore.” He rolled his head to the side. “You should let em have a chance at yours.”

“Oh, I couldn’t,” the lynx protested as he walked back to the couch. “My hinds might as well be hooves from all the callouses.” He sat back in the chair and passed the baron a cup, then sipped from his own. “Such is the life of a soldier. Besides, he seems content enough to deal with yours.” He stopped, then held up a paw. “Ey, sorry.”

The baron smiled and accepted the cup in one paw, then reached down and toussled the fur between my ears with the other. “Ey enjoys the attention. If I were in eir position, I probably would, too; I know ey spends most of the day alone in the bedroom. I’ve taken em with me to dinner a few times, but—”

“You didn’t!” Mister Valentin sat upright in his chair, his eyes wide. “Datsia will be livid if she finds out!”

My master shrugged, still grinning. “She probably already knows, but she hasn’t said anything to me yet. Besides, what’s she going to say?” He sipped the tea from his mug, then scrunched up his muzzle. “Ugh, cold.” He sipped at it again, then set the cup to his side. “Really, what can she say about it?”

The lynx sat forward in his chair, his elbows on his knees. “Listen, Erik, it’s not about Datsia.” He sighed. “It’s about what happens if something happens to em, if ey overhears something important. It’s why Datsia doesn’t want em in the room when we’re talking strategy. You just don’t bring other people to those kinds of places.”

“But Taneh’s not a person; that’s the whole point of a slave.” My master grinned and stroked my ears, making my cheeks flush darker. “Ey’s no more a person than my horse is, in the eyes of the crown.” He looked down at me. “Are you, pet?”

The sudden question caught me by surprise. I opened my muzzle, then closed it again, unsure how to answer. Some days, I felt more like a person than others. I resented the time I spent alone in the room. I looked at what Miss Aura had done to my paws with shame. I thought about my time at the Blue Moon and in Dion’s “care” with frustration and disgust. I felt indignant and angry at all that had happened to me since walking into the Slavers’ Guild all those months ago. And yet, for all that, I made no attempts to change anything. Aside from my one thought of running, before I’d even been sold, it simply never occurred to me that I could or should try to seek my freedom. This was the life I had chosen.

I shook my head and closed my eyes. “No, master.” My voice seemed very small when I spoke.

The baron’s smile widened and his ears perked at my words, but Mister Valentin merely groaned. “Erik, it’s not even about what ey thinks ey is. It’s… no, never mind. Listen, do me a favor and don’t tell Datsia. Okay? She’s pushing you hard enough as it is.”

That brought a fresh growl from my master, who pulled away his hind and extended the other. “Don’t remind me. She’s trying to break me, I know she is. She’s obsessed with turning everyone in Baris into a soldier, and the whole of the Barony if she thinks she can get away with it.”

The lynx shifted in his chair. “Listen, Erik….” He trailed off there, staring into his teacup for several moments before continuing. “She’s just trying to protect the barony. You understand that, right?”

My master cocked his head to the side. “What?”

Mister Valentin rose and walked back to the table, speaking as he went. “I just want to make sure you understand that this isn’t her against you, or even me against you. We’re all trying to do what we think is right for Baris and Deterikh. We’re all working towards the same goals.”

“And drafting half of Baris is the right way to achieve it?” the baron scoffed. “I won’t have it, not until I’ve had a chance to talk with Baron Jazinsk. I swear to the Family, if Dion isn’t less than half a day’s ride ahead of their carriage, I’ll go there myself.”

The lynx shook his head quickly. “That’s a bad idea, Erik. If it’s really as tense as the reports suggest, then you’re putting yourself in too much risk. And Baron Jazinsk probably won’t be coming here, for the same reason. Hopefully he’ll send his envoy, but I wouldn’t even count on that.” He shrugged and picked up the teapot, then set it down again with a sigh. “Empty. Just as well, though.”

The baron held out his cup. “Finish mine; I’ve had too many pots as it is.” After Mister Valentin took it and sat back down, my master sat up and withdrew his hind, then patted the couch beside him. I rose onto it, then lay down with my head in his lap, and he began to stroke my fur and tousle the chains between my wrists and collar. “If anyone could persuade them to send someone, it’d be Dion; he’s got a golden tongue.”

Baris’ sargeant-at-arms shifted again in his seat. “Yeah, listen, Erik, I wouldn’t put too much stock in Dion’s talents. He’s good at what he does, but… well, he’s just one person, and Jazinsk has a lot of hungry and grumbling muzzles.”

“Valentin, what are you trying to say?” My master turned to the lynx, his fingers tense agianst my shoulder. “Don’t tell me you’re on Datsia’s side.”

Mister Valentin’s smile was gentle, almost sad. “I’m on Barony Deterikh’s side, Erik, the same as you and she, both. Listen, It’s getting late, and I’ve got drill at dawn.” He drained the cup, then walked to the table and set it down. He chuckled softly. “Do you remember when we could afford to be whelps, the both of us?”

My master sighed. “I don’t think I’ve ever really had the chance. Not since Mother died.” He looked up at his sergeant-at-arms. “Valentin?”

The lynx stopped by the door. “Yes?”

“If…” My master stopped, then tried again. “If war is inevitable, and something happens, I’d rather you succeed me.”

Mister Valentin hesitated, then smiled. “Nothing like that is going to happen. We won’t let it, any of us. Goodnight, Erik.” Then he was gone, leaving my master and I alone in the parlor.