Quell Read Online Free Page A

while I can’t be as cruel, I don’t find any issue with him being treated to the same words that he whispered into my ear.”
    Kreatha’s lips tightened. “I am beginning to think that my youngest sibling is a vindictive little shit.”
    “I am thinking that he is going to be taught a lesson.” Amylia raised her teacup in a toast.
     

Chapter Four
     
     
    Thrameon lasted less than an hour in the machine. He was begging and whimpering as the machine aroused him for the third time, with his own hateful words being whispered into his ear via the headset.
    Amylia sat in the corner. There were no bets, no giggling, no jeers. Kreatha’s mate was taking her place in the observation duties. Seeing her brother jerked off by a computer wasn’t her idea of a useful afternoon.
    Artruo spoke softly. “You really looked after Kreatha?”
    “Yes and no. She is a strong woman. I just gave all of the prisoners under my care the same respect that I would to anyone else I worked with. They were not there under their own will and some were violent. I kept them calm and helped them talk out their defenses.”
    “And you nulled their powers.”
    “Of course. Several of the ladies there were homicidal and not discriminating about it. Stopping them from using their powers was in my job description.”
    Thrameon whimpered as the machine whirred into life again. “Please! Stop! I beg of you. I am sorry!”
    He had been expressing his regret since he had begun, but the tears running down his face indicated his sincerity.
    Artruo got to his feet. “Do you wish it to stop?”
    Amylia nodded. “It can stop. He is begging. It can stop.”
    Artruo shut the machine down and opened it, letting Thrameon free.
    Thrameon crawled out of the machine and rolled to the floor. He crept forward until he was kneeling in front of her. “For what I have done, I should be castrated. I do not deserve your mercy.”
    She touched his head, lifting his chin with her fingers until he met her gaze. “This isn’t mercy; it is compassion. I would not wish to give another what I felt. Take it as a lesson and try to keep to the same philosophy. Pain does not need to bring more pain; it can bring understanding.” She paused and gave him a cold look. “Or you can just be a dick. It is your choice.”
    Artruo laughed. “You have been given a reprieve, now get up and get dressed.”
    He was still fixated on Amylia’s face. “I may go?”
    “You may go. Put some ice on your groin. It will help.”
    Thrameon blinked and gave her a small smile. “I am at your service whenever you require it.”
    “Fine. Go. Do whatever it is your sister orders you to. I am not quite myself yet.” With a wince, she got to her feet and left the research bay.
    Artruo came with her, and she smiled at his protective attitude. Once he saw Kreatha and her laughing together, his loyalties had aligned with her in seconds.
    “What will you do on Rohul? Do you have plans?”
    She smiled slightly. “I have no idea. My skills are not really commercial, so I will have to find a way to make my living.”
    “Have you considered ruling one of the provinces?”
    She stopped and he paused, turning back with a smile on his broad face.
    “I can’t step into a position of authority on a world I don’t understand. That is arrogant, not to mention stupid. All your female rulers have to have certain genetic traits, do they not?” She took a few steps toward him.
    He waited and shrugged. “There is some leeway in the requirements. You need to be a fertile female, you must have the ability to rule, and of course, you must have a psychic power. I believe that you meet all three of those criteria. Think about it. There is always room for another competent queen.”
    Amylia didn’t ask why her. There were few women who met those criteria on Rohul. It was what made Kreatha so precious.
    The Preskiat had settled on Rohul after centuries of war on their own world. With their original home in ruins,