They were not bonded by blood, but at that very moment, and for the following hour, Kareen acted like a mother to Aria. As the young concubine was silently weeping, she caressed her hair gently, waiting for her to calm down.

She couldn’t speak for a long while. Her throat felt hoarse. Aria had heard too much in those few sentences. Phetra had cruelly reminded her how terrible it could be. That woman had a similar status to hers, that of a concubine, yet Phetra had gotten rid ...