“He won't eat,” one of the guards said.
“If he doesn't, I will. But I'm pretty sure I can get him to eat.”
“Oh.” One guard looked at the other, then said, “All right.
“Thanks.” I nodded at the Kaikeyo. “Thank you, ladies.” Then I shut the door.
Getting everything upstairs was a bit of a juggling act. I ended up slinging the baskets of sex stuff and cleaning stuff on the broom, then carried that over my shoulder. That would have been fine, but I had to navigate that damn spiraling stairwell. At least it was a wide stairwell.
Finally, I got to the top floor of the King's tower and went to work. There was a lot of clearing up to be done before the cleaning, and I didn't want to cart things up and down the stairs. Nor did I want to throw things down the stairs. They might damage something. So I took the broken pieces of furniture to the balcony and considered tossing them over the railing. Peering down, I saw the garden of ash directly below me, Vax still curled up at the far end. He wasn't as peaceful as when Ifirst found him. Now, he was making angry sounds and shifting constantly. In the ten seconds I watched him, he lifted his head and peered over the railing four times.
Looking for me? Here I am, baby.
I grinned to myself and tossed two giant pieces of coral over the railing. They fell onto the charred ground, making a loud thud and sending up a cloud of ash. Vaxarion's head shot up, but I was gone before it started to turn. I had to fetch more pieces, and I didn't want him to know I'd been watching him.
By my fourth trip to the balcony, Vax was sitting up and watching me. He didn't say a word, just watched. At last, I had the room cleared of the largest bits and could move onto sweeping up the dust. But before I started on that, I changed my clothes. Off came everything, including my shoes. I put them neatly aside and pulled on the clothes I'd found in the slave quarters. If you could call them clothes.
I'd chosen a purple loincloth to go with my hair. It was actually very comfortable since I'd gone with the all-cloth version instead of the one with chains. On top of that, I pulled on a transparent tunic that shimmered with pale opalescence just like the scales on my hands and feet. The tunic stopped just before my waist, leaving the loincloth free to display the bulge it cradled. Then I undid my hair, letting it flow around my shoulders as Vax preferred. I didn't bother with accessories. This was enough for me. Although there was one piece that I intended to put on later. If necessary.
I hoped it wouldn't be necessary.
Properly dressed, I began to sweep. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched the balcony. Sure enough, after a few minutes,a sea dragon head appeared over the railing, one enormous eye peering at me. I ignored him—although I barely held back my grin—and finished sweeping. When that was done, there wasn't a lot left to do except tidy the bed. Well, the mattress. The frame was gone. It was just the mattress on the floor, but all the linens and pillows were intact. I took my time changing the sheets, making sure to bend over a lot, then I got on all-fours to smooth the silk.
A soft whimper came from the balcony.
I bit my lip. Soon. Anytime now.
Movement out of the corner of my eye. Shimmers of shapeshifting. And then Vaxarion appeared, walking across the nearly empty room in all his naked glory. Still on my hands and knees, I turned my head to watch him stalk over to me, staring at him through the fall of my hair. His hair clung to his body, concealing too much for my taste. But it couldn't hide the long, thick piece of flesh that betrayed his interest.
“What are you doing?” Vaxarion demanded, his voice rough despite the evidence of his desire. He cleared his throat and added, “I told you to leave.”
“I'm not leaving, Your Majesty.” I got up and went to him.
He jerked to a stop, keeping his distance. “I don't want you here, Zixin. Go back to your ship and your precious pirate's life.”
Immediately, I dropped to my knees. “Forgive me for saying that. Please, Your Majesty. I didn't understand what we had. And I had to go back to them. They're my family. I needed to let them know I was alive, and I wanted their blessing before I gave them up.”
“Gave them up?”
I nodded. “For you. I've come to accept your offer.”
For a second, Vaxarion's expression went joyous, his eyes glittering with emotion, but then he shut that down and glared at me. “The offer no longer stands. I renounced my claim on you, remember?”
“That claim wasn't a part of your original offer.” I took a deep breath and confessed. “You scared me when you tried to make me a slave. I think you know that. Even though I never told you, I think you understand how much slavery terrifies me. Especially the chains.”
“I saw your reaction to the chain on your ankle,” he said stiffly. “And then you said your captain saved you. You wouldn't tell me from what, but I assumed it had something to do with being restrained.”
I had to trust him if this was going to work. And I did trust him. I could do this. I could talk about the past with him.
Swallowing my anxiety, I said, “I was taken as a child.”
“Taken by who?” Vax asked.
“By a group of rebel Gashi. I was ten. They collared me, chained me, and made me do work that was beyond my little body. When I failed to perform as well as an adult, I was beaten. I was beaten a lot the first year, but I got stronger, and the beating lessened. Still, it wasn't an easy existence. Every night, I listened to them rape the older slaves. I knew it would be my turn one day.”
“Zix,” Vax whispered in horror.
I shook my head. “No. I was never raped. Thank the Gods. I was their slave until I turned fourteen. That's when Teng and some of the crew happened upon us. They killed the Gashi and freed me along with the other slaves. But I had nowhere to go. The Gashi had killed my family when they took me. So Teng offered me a new family. A new life. He raised me. He's like a father to me.”
