by Sarah Hawke
“Not seriously,” the bodyguard said. “A few scrapes, but nothing some salve won’t cure.”
“There’s no need for that,” Master said with a dismissive wave. His hand glowed again as he touched the other man’s arm. At first I thought Larric might pull away—his face twitched in discomfort or maybe even disgust—but his face quickly became an unreadable stone wall again. Master pulled away after a few seconds and nodded. “That should handle the worst of it.”
“Thank you, Your Excellency.”
“Thank you,” Master said as he clapped the younger man on the shoulder. “You have served me well yet again—you’ve served the entire Empire. If anything had happened to her…”
“I understand,” Larric murmured. His eyes flicked over to mine, and for the span of a few heartbeats I wondered if he might reveal that he’d learned my dark secret. But then he looked away and the moment passed.
“What happened with Verne, anyway?” Master asked. “You’re back earlier than I’d expected.”
Larric’s cheek twitched. “He agreed to aid us with all the supplies he can spare. All he asked in return was the promise of protection once the war is over. He wants us to move his people to Stormcrest.”
“That’s all?” Master asked, eyebrow cocked. “He didn’t ask for sovereigns or slaves or anything else?”
“No. He was unexpectedly cooperative. Suspiciously so, in my opinion.”
“Well, I learned long ago never to argue with good fortune,” Master said with a smile. He didn’t look at me either, though I assumed he realized that I had been the one to make Verne so amicable. “Besides, I always knew you wouldn’t let me down.”
“Warrior’s luck, I’m sure,” Larric murmured. “Now if you don’t mind, Your Excellency, I would like to return to the barracks.”
“Of course, but you deserve to be rewarded.” Master glanced back over to me and eyed me up and down. “Go inside and have the handmaidens clean you up. Once they’re finished, go and meet Larric in his quarters. You’ll be serving him this evening.”
I blinked. “Master…?”
“He saved your life,” he replied with a shrug. “This is the least you can do to repay him.”
“That…won’t be necessary, my lord,” Larric said gingerly. “I’ll need some time to coordinate with the rest of the men—”
“You can do that later,” Master interrupted. “You’ve earned a respite. My father always made sure to reward excellence, and so will I. She is yours for the night—do whatever you wish with her. I have some arrangements to make…”
The bodyguard looked at me again, and I wondered if he noticed the newfound terror behind my green eyes. “Thank you again, my lord,” he said. “I’ll be certain to make the most of it.”
Chapter Six
The house servants drew a bath for me the instant I shuffled back into the mansion, and as I melted into the tub I closed in my eyes and prayed to the Triad that all of this had simply been a bad dream. They didn’t respond, of course, nor did the long-forgotten gods of my people when I dared whisper their name. I felt more vulnerable than when I’d been standing at the auction block at Stormcrest. And worse, for the first time in as long as I could remember, I felt completely and utterly alone.
Even Master seemed to have abandoned me. All I really wanted was to collapse in his arms and curl up into his bed…but instead it appeared I would be spending the evening with the man who had looked upon me with disgust even before he knew what I really was. Now…now I didn’t know what Larric would do. I didn’t understand why he hadn’t told Master that he’d learned my secret, just like I didn’t understand why he hadn’t turned me over to the Covenant. If nothing else, perhaps tonight I would have the opportunity to find out.
Or perhaps he would simply change his mind and kill me himself.
With that grim thought looming over me, I did my best to relax as the handmaidens slipped inside and scrubbed me clean. Sharela stopped by a few minutes later, and I actually thought she was going to faint when she first saw the tattered remnants of my dress. She spent the better part of ten minutes scolding me as she salvaged as many of the encrusted gemstones as she could, but by the time the handmaidens had finished she seemed to have gotten the worst of it out of her system.
“Here, you can wear this,” she grumbled as she picked out a long, silvery dress that was easily the most modest outfit I’d seen since arriving in Sanctum. “It’s simple and sturdy, and I doubt a soldier has enough taste to care what you’re wearing anyway. I’m sure he’ll have you bent over a table before he can get his bloody armor off.”
She had me slide the dress on almost before the other women had even finished drying me off, and after a few minor adjustments it fit comfortably enough. Normally she would have paraded me back in front of Master to make sure he was happy with her work, but of course tonight he didn’t really care. He had made that abundantly clear earlier, and every time I thought about it I had to fight back the urge to break down into tears.
Sharela pushed me out the mansion door not long after, and a few minutes later I was back in the barracks area of the courtyard. The house guards watched me approach like a pack of sabre cats stalking a wounded gazelle, but I knew they wouldn’t risk Master’s ire by touching me. After a few awkward seconds one of them nodded towards a door on the far side of the building, and I sheepishly made my way over and paused in front of it.
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and reminded myself that Larric had already passed on the opportunity to turn me over to the Covenant once, and there was no reason to expect that now, just a few hours later, would be any different. And if all he wanted was sex…well, I could oblige him easily enough. I really did owe him my life, after all, and he was a handsome, athletic man. There were certainly far worse potential fates than spending a night with him inside me.
Or so I told myself. As I reached out to knock on the door, I realized belatedly how odd that thought would have seemed to me even just a few days ago. I had always been intimidated by Larric…and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t pretend the thought of spending a night with him wasn’t anything less than terrifying.
“Enter,” his voice called after I knocked. I stepped inside and shut the door behind me. His quarters were quite a bit larger than they looked from the outside. A wall separated the room from the rest of the barracks, and he had space for a kitchen and dining table, a wide storage area, and even a cozy upstairs nook complete with a bed and assorted furniture. Larric himself was standing near the armor rack on the far wall polishing his breastplate. He appeared to have just stepped out of the bath, and all he was wearing was a pair of simple trousers. Having never seen the upper part of his body without armor before, I almost didn’t recognize him…but his back and arms were every bit as taut and chiseled as I’d imagined.
For a long, agonizing couple of moments he seemed content to ignore me, and when I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. I had no idea what to say. He clearly knew I was there, and he just as clearly didn’t seem to care. So I stood there in silence for what felt like half the night as he continued wiping the cleaning rag across his armor.
“I couldn’t understand it at first,” he said once he finally finished. “Avenari are rare enough in Stormcrest, but in Sanctum even minor nobles own at least one of your kind. It made no sense why Kristoff believed you could spread your legs enough to win him an army.” Larric hung the breastplate on the rack and then turned to face me, his pale blue eyes as cold and terrifying as ever. “But it was never about the sex, was it? It was about the Aether. It was about worming your way into the minds of his enemies and getting leverage on them one dirty little secret at a time.”
Again I started to speak, and again I thought the better of it. Larric grunted and tossed aside the rag before taking a swig from his wineglass.
“How did he find out what you were, anyway?” he asked. “The Covenant has spent centuries trying to develop a technique to reliably ide
ntify Unbound, but they’ve never figured it out.”
“I…” I swallowed and lowered my eyes. I couldn’t bring myself to meet his gaze; it felt like he was staring right through me. “I told him.”
“So you knew, then. Interesting. Many heretics don’t even realize they have the power until something triggers it. A few have even joined the Covenant over the years. Sometimes the truth doesn’t come out until years later.”
My lip twitched. “The Covenant let Unbound serve?”
“Of course not,” Larric replied matter-of-factly. “They were executed the moment the truth was revealed. ‘It is the will of the Triad that those born with demon blood be put the sword before their taint can spread.’ Kristoff knows this…and yet he chooses to ignore it. He plays a dangerous game.”
I closed my eyes and tried to swallow, but my throat was parched dry. “Why didn’t you tell him that you knew?”
“What would that get me? He would probably order the other men to kill me before I could leave the estate. He couldn’t take the risk that I would use it against him.” Larric took another long sip and then set his empty glass back down on the table. “No, telling him would be foolish. Better for me to take you straight to the Prelates…or to simply kill you myself.”
My body tensed as he stepped forward, and I heard the faint hiss of a knife being pulled from its sheath. My breath caught in my throat as one of his hands clutched around my right wrist…and a few seconds later I felt the chill of cold steel press against my throat.
“You would let me kill me without a fight, wouldn’t you?” he whispered. “He really has broken you. No spirit, no will…just unquestioning obedience.”
He held the blade in place for what felt like a lifetime before finally grunting and pulling it away. “Pathetic,” he spat. His other hand shifted up and grabbed my chin until I was forced to look at him. “Do you even realize the power you wield? Do you understand how dangerous you could be? The Faedari rebels would butcher half the villages in Veshar to get their hands on another Unbound. You could run to them and live like a goddess…and yet you stay here and allow Kristoff to whore you out to every noble in Sanctum with a sovereign to his name. Why?”
“I…”
Larric snorted. “You love him, don’t you? Or you’re so broken that you think you do. It’s remarkable, really—he doesn’t even need the collar to keep you in line. Maybe the reason you elves are so supple is that you lack a spine.”
I wanted desperately to speak, to say something, anything, in my defense…but I couldn’t. He was right, and deep down I knew it.
“I always thought you were especially doe-eyed, even for a slave, but now…I think I’ve seen hounds with more dignity.” He scoffed and put his hand on my back. “Bend over.”
I swallowed heavily and lowered my elbows onto the table. He shifted in behind me and leaned down over me, and a moment later I felt the cold steel of knife press against my throat once more. I was trembling so hard I actually feared I might cut myself.
“Do you really think I’d let you touch me?” he said in disgust. “You’re pathetic. The only reason I’m not going to slit your throat is that the Empire needs you alive. We won’t survive this war, not with Lucian in charge. For now, I’m willing to do whatever is necessary to secure the support of the Quorum and challenge the Emperor.” He leaned in closer until his lips were nearly touching my ear. “You had best hope that doesn’t change.”
The pressure on my back released as he removed the knife and stood. I heard him shuffle over to the door and grab the handle. “Lord Kristoff will expect you to stay the night, and I’m not going to insult him by refusing his gift. You can sleep on the bed upstairs if you want. I’ll return in the morning and take you back to him.”
With that, he was gone. I wasn’t sure how long I leaned against the table, arms quaking against the wood, but eventually I slumped backward and curled into a ball on the floor. I should have been overjoyed, or at the very least relieved—he wasn’t going to kill me or turn me into the Covenant or reveal that he knew my secret to Master. He wasn’t even going to fuck me.
But somehow, being abandoned like this actually felt worse. Not because of callously he’d treated me or how harshly he’d berated me…but because he was right. I was pathetic. I was broken. Here I was, a channeler blessed with an inborn power so fearsome that the Covenant hunted down and killed anyone born with the gift. They legitimately believed that if enough of us were allowed to roam freely across Calhara, we would tear down the Empire and throw the entire world into anarchy.
I wielded this great power…and yet I allowed myself to be controlled. I allowed myself to be enslaved. The Covenant might have called me Unbound, but the chains I’d wrapped around myself were far stronger than any cuffs or collar the Artificers could craft. I was bound—not to the Covenant, but to my own cowardice.
I lied there on floor, sobbing quietly to myself, until deep into the night.
Chapter Seven
Master Kristoff wasn’t at the mansion the next morning when I returned from Larric’s quarters, a fact I found both disconcerting and relieving all at once. The former because it fed my ever-growing sense of estrangement from him, and the latter because I really had no idea what I was going to tell him. Should I inform him that Larric knew I was Unbound? Should I reveal that his bodyguard had allowed me to cry myself to sleep on the middle of his floor without laying a finger on me?
The long, empty hours of the next few days gave me plenty of opportunity to debate both questions and more. I hardly saw or spoke to anyone, Master included. He didn’t summon me a single time—not to prepare me for our forthcoming trip to Korvale, not to check up on my continued progress as a channeler, not even to bend me over his desk and relieve himself. I avoided the barracks completely for obvious reasons, and other than mealtime I mostly remained alone in my quarters reading or practicing my channeling techniques. I was tempted numerous times to replicate the gout of flame I’d somehow conjured during the bandit attack, but I was never able to muster the nerve to try something so dangerous again. Courage, it seemed, was never going to be my strong point.
On the morning of the third day, Master finally summoned me to the conference room. I half-expected Arland and Farrow and half the other minor nobles in the city to be there, but when I opened the door I saw it was just him.
“Ah, good,” he said, beckoning me over. “Come here.”
I slid over next to his chair and waited patiently as he frantically scribbled something onto a scroll. After another few minutes he set the stylus down and smiled as he clasped my hands.
“How are you feeling, my dear? All rested and ready to travel?”
“Yes, my lord,” I told him. “I am ready to serve.”
His smile faded ever so slightly, and he pulled me down onto his lap. “You look worried. Is something wrong?”
“No,” I lied. “I’m simply anxious to begin our trip.”
He grunted and placed his hand on my cheek. “I know I haven’t been able to make much time for you lately, but these past few days have been more hectic than I’d anticipated. Duchess Farrow continues to be too obstinate for her own good, and I needed to finalize terms with the Artificers.”
“I understand.”
He eyed me for a long moment, probably trying to decide if I was telling him the truth or not, before his hands slipped inside my loose robes and curled around my back. “I’ve been meaning to ask you about the ambush on the road. Larric has been uncharacteristically vague when it comes to details. Did something else happen I should know about?”
The hairs on the back of my neck prickled. Was this a test of some sort? Had Larric revealed what had happened after all? I’d had the better part of three days to prepare for this conversation, and yet still I had absolutely no idea what to say…
“I don’t believe so, master,” I replied so softly I feared my voice would break. “It was…terrible. I thought they would kill me for sure.”
&
nbsp; He squeezed me reassuringly. “You were the safest one there. They wouldn’t dare risk harming their prize.”
I nodded but remained silent, and his smile eventually returned. “Though you’re very fortunate I decided to send Larric with you. Otherwise you’d probably still be in a slaver’s wagon somewhere on the road to Rivani. I hope you thanked him properly the other night.”
“He…seemed content enough,” I managed. “I find him difficult to read.”
“You and I both,” Master muttered. “In retrospect, I’m a little surprised he was willing to take you. I’m sure you’ve noticed that he’s not overly fond of your people. But I suppose all men have needs, in the end.”
“Yes,” I whispered. As far as I could tell, Master really didn’t know anything—not about how Larric had treated me or about his discovery of my powers. I wondered dimly if that might not have been a good thing after all. A part of me just wanted to spill my guts right now and get it over with.
But another part, a growing part, realized something far more important. Even Master, the man who knew best how dangerous I was, still didn’t consider me a threat. He didn’t bother peeking into my mind to see if I was lying to him; he accepted my explanations without question. He trusted me implicitly.
And it was in that moment I realized our relationship really had changed. Not because of his obsessions or schemes or growing detachment—not because of him at all. What had changed was me. For the first time since he’d purchased me I had lied straight to his face…and now I realized I could do it again if I had to. Or even if I just wanted to.
“On that note, Larric should be stopping by in a few minutes to discuss the trip,” Master said with another squeeze. “But in the meantime, there is one last thing I wanted to show you.”
Gripping me tightly, he hoisted me off his lap and sat me down on the edge of his desk. I frowned, unsure of his intentions, until he untied the sash holding my robe together and then gently pushed my knees apart.
