Chapter 40

Daylight speared through the window curtains but brought no warmth to the room. Dust particles caught in the beam of light making it almost a physical presence. Amelai had woken alone, her eyes crusted, her throat and chest tight, her body aching, and the slime of Rikash s seed between her legs. The bed carried his scent in it, and the animalist scent of sex and sweat. Amelia did not want to face the day. She could hear Rikash s voice in the living room, and she knew that he would hear her is she left the bed and would probably return to the bed. It would be unbearable if she had to take him into her body again so soon after he had hurt her. But she also knew that it was inevitable. She did not want to continue to lay in a bed rancid from him. She rose and stripped off the sheets, bundling them near the door. If he saw that the bed was unmade, he would be distracted bringing her clean to remake it, and she would buy a little more time. With the curtains open, she could see t