SPARTA
DIPLOMATIC ENVOY APARTMENTS
Karun staggered under the third slap from his mother. This one connected solidly enough and with sufficient anger fueled strength to drive him backwards several steps. He did not defend himself, did not react with his own anger at being slapped in front of everyone. Part of him knew he was wrong to have done this is this way… and the other part was stunned that his mother did not know what he had announced. Nor it seemed did anyone else in the room with them now.
"How long?" Jalersi hissed with savage anger. "How long have you known this?"
Karun lifted his head slowly to look at her. He had seen his mother this angry at him only one other time in his life and that had been after he had lied to her about forcing a female to submit to him. He had been sixteen years old, and that had cost him ten lashes from the whip she used to discipline them as they grew.
