CHAPTER 167: HER NEW HOME

{Music Recommendation: Carry You ~ Ruelle & Fleurie}

By the time the sun kissed the earth’s horizon, Percy was puffing for air. His lungs burned, his waist ached, and his heels...

His heels. Percy groaned as he writhed on the rough ground. He could barely sit up or even say a word. His voice was lost from screaming and begging for his life to be spared by these barbarians.

It was the only word Percy could think of as they threw him from one side of the court to the other despite his wailing screams. In their defense, they needed to make him tough.

"Please... I am only a servant, and I don’t need strength."

Percy’s plea fell on deaf— more like ears that refused to listen to his words. It took Percy the fourth count to stop keeping record of how many times he threw up or even lost consciousness, and every time he opened his eyes, the men who were after his life stood above, staring down at him and cheering him to stand again.

After so many lost counts of near-death experiences, Percy finally found his freedom, but it came with a cost. His body was no longer his own.

"Mm," Percy groaned. He turned to his side. His whole body was hot and stiff. Percy had a lot of curses to rain on the men who did this to him, but not an ounce of strength to do that. It was a lot of attacks with no damages.

"Time for the hot bath."

Percy licked his lips; he could really use the hot bath, but he wasn’t able to sta—

"Let’s take the young man with us!" The giant man among them grabbed Percy from the ground and slung him over his shoulder.

Percy moved his lips, "Please, not again..."

"Don’t worry, little man, no more training. Now we soak inside the hottest bath in the estate," the burly man assured Percy. "He is one wussy, this one."

Percy didn’t feel shame when the men started laughing; he was, in fact, grateful that they were not going to throw him around like a rag of old clothes. Instead, the man holding him walked steadily ahead.

"We are here!"

Percy didn’t need to be told. The moment they entered the general bathhouse, his senses became alert— the vapor, the strong smell of sweat, the dripping of water, and the satisfied grunts of men when the water hit the spot.

If Percy could, he would reach for an extra-large bath and dump his entire body into it, soaking it for a very long time. As if reading Percy’s mind, the man got to the bath and dropped him inside it with a loud splash.

"Uhmm," Percy moaned. The numbness he felt earlier vanished only for a second, which he used to get rid of his entire clothes before soaking properly inside the water.

It was like a hot spring was brought under a roof. It was clean, refreshing, and just perfect for the body.

"Isn’t it good?" the men asked Percy, and he gave them a thumbs-up.

"That’s it! We men need something like this after a tough day before we retire to the arms of our women. You know? Women love it when you have the warm scent of spring."

Another man raised his hand, "My wife loves it when I’m covered in sweat and looking all rough. She is one wild one."

"But you love her, don’t ya?"

The man hit his chest proudly, "I’d kill a king for her," he boasted, causing the other men to laugh at it.

Percy found himself laughing too. He listened as the other men spoke proudly of their women, some their wives, others the women they wooed. It was a relaxing session.

Just men, shedding out heat and the day’s stress while speaking about their loved ones. It wasn’t so bad after all. What he thought would kill him ended up being rewarding.

"We have ale in the store; we can celebrate with it tonight. We have another brother."

When all eyes fell on Percy, he cleared his throat, trying to smile while at the same time not blush.

"You’re now one of us." One of them grabbed Percy’s shoulder and shook him. "We fight together, bathe together, eat and celebrate as one... so even in the face of death, we regret nothing. A life shared with brothers is the greatest gift... and Master Rhane has given it to us."

Percy could see it, the gratitude in the eyes of these men. He didn’t know how they had met Rhane, but the men were willing to give their lives for him. It didn’t matter to them when they would die, as long as it was for Rhane. A few nights ago, they lost some of their men while fighting the council, but it didn’t look like it. These men still acted like it was just another day.

It made Percy wonder how many others they’d lost and how they coped with the loss.

"We drink until the cockerel croaks!" the giant man cheered.

Another sucked his teeth, "It’s crows! Have you not been reading the books Master Rhane gave to us? You know Master Kali can be pardoned but not us!" he scolded, and others laughed again.

It was really easy to bring smiles to their faces, these men. Percy smiled. And how they all sounded like Kali when she showed her rogue side.

"Ehm," Percy raised his hand, and everyone turned to look at him. "About Kal—" the men growled.

"I mean Master Kali..." they smiled.

Percy swallowed subtly before he continued. "Why does she act the way she does... I mean... like she’s not a woman?" Percy spoke very slowly so his words wouldn’t sound like an insult.

"The Scourge’s Lover?" one of them chuckled. "If one lived the life she used to... they’d be monsters and not humans."

The bath became silent, as if a heavy topic had just been raised. Everyone bowed their heads, staring at blank space.

Percy tilted his head; he itched to hear more, but the men refused to speak. "What hap—"

"Our dear Master Kali... just when she was a girl... when she was a girl... those animals..."

"Shush!" one of the men silenced the other. "We won’t speak of our master. Don’t you all know that?"

The rest nodded in unison, now chattering away instead of focusing on the momentary sadness.

Percy noticed the shift. For some strange reason, he felt like he knew little of what they were about to say, but he just blocked his mind from thinking about it.

"Later tonight we are going to have a celebration! Every man get ready to drink until dawn!"

As the men began leaving the bathhouse, the one who had wanted to reply to Percy stopped.

"Many have fallen for her beauty... but she isn’t for us men. Pain has made her different... broken something in her; now it is her new home. The only man she has softness for is her brother. Let it go. Falling for her is a death sentence."

The man patted Percy twice on the shoulder before leaving the bathhouse. Left alone in the bath, Percy’s mind went over the man’s words.

"Tch... why is he saying that to me?" he muttered. "Who said I am falling in love with her? I’d be losing my mind if I fall in love with that crazy woman."

Done with bathing, Percy stood up and walked over to grab a towel. The door opened, and someone stepped in.

Percy’s time stopped when he saw Kali walking toward him. He was too frozen to scream and too embarrassed to hide, so he just stood in place.

Kali, who had a towel over her shoulder, didn’t say a word. She walked past him with her eyes forward.

"They didn’t tell you that I use the bath alone?" she asked nonchalantly. Getting close to Percy, she gave him a quick glance, then walked away.

Percy’s face burned red with shame. He wished a portal only he could see would appear, and he would disappear from the earth forever.

But that would be the Creator being kind if such a thing happened. Getting a grasp of reality, Percy grabbed the nearest towel.

"How could you walk in—" he turned around again and shut his eyes closed.

Kali was sitting inside the unused bath, naked and unbothered, her head resting on the brim and her eyes closed.

"You shouldn’t be doing this..." Percy murmured. "This is crossing the line... you’re a woman... you shouldn’t let me see you, and I am a man..." His voice trailed. It felt like his words were water poured on rock.

’Many have fallen for her beauty... but she isn’t for us men. Pain has made her different... broken something in her; now it is her new home.’

The man’s words resounded again at the back of Percy’s mind, and he nodded to himself. There was no need preaching to someone like Kali. Whatever had happened to her had changed her forever.

Grabbing his clothes and wrapping his body with a towel, Percy decided to leave the woman alone.

"I am not a woman, Percy," Kali remarked coldly.

Percy turned. This time, he kept his eyes on her face.

"Women are soft and undefiled. I am neither of those... don’t worry, you’ll get used to this... but if it makes you uncomfortable, after training I use this bath when everyone leaves. They should have told you tha—"

"I don’t like it!" Even Percy was startled by his own voice but he continued.

"I don’t want you to act like it’s normal when it’s not. And who said you’re not a woman? You have a really small face and tiny nose. Your neck is small too, and your eyes... they are beautiful... you have a thin waist and fit in my arm, and you..." Percy blinked, realizing he’d been sprouting a lot of rubbish. He bowed and disappeared through the door.

Kali’s wet palm trembled on her nose, then her neck and her naked waist. And she smiled.

Twice in a day, a man had made her smile.