Her eyes drifted shut. “Belle. If she’d move the mountain to rescue the High Priestess, already enslaved to the Empire, what d’you think she’ll do to stop them from enslavin’ a wee night beastie likeyou?”
I sneered. “Sheisdetermined to have me act the weapon.”
“Aye,” Alicia replied, her voice scarcely above a whisper. “But it’s the sort o’determination we can count on, lass. They’ll come for both of us. Lucky for me, these Empire pricks’ve no idea who I am, or what my unique qualifications are. Far as they’re concerned, I’m just another unfortunate slave born on the wrong side o’this war. I intend to use that willful ignorance to do what we came here to do.”
Raising my brow, I glanced at Caleb’s back.
“We’re not far from Liyas,” she replied, a clever glimmer entering those pretty green eyes.
Not far from Liyas, and consequently, the High Priestess now stationed there. I nodded my understanding, and simply asked, “How?”
“If all goes well, someone’ll purchase us, I’ll find you in the crowd when the auction’s over, then we’ll escape together. Just follow my lead andplay the part.”
“And if it goes badly?”
“You mean if ‘he’s’there waitin’ for you?”
I picked at the brand, grinding my teeth. “You have no idea what you’re asking.”
She grinned. “Clarification is generally why one asks a question, yeah?” When stony silence was my response, she sighed. “You canna destroy the Empire by yourself, girl. We’ve fundamental differences about how t’go about accomplishin’ the same goal, it’s true. But I canna help you if I don’t know what we’re up against, and I would very much like t’avoid using my feminine wiles t’purchase our escape.”
Trust.
She was asking me to trust her with a secret I’d kept for the better half of a decade.
Trust for a woman who didn’t seeme, but my potential to be used as a weapon for her cause. Or worse, as nothing more than a power source for her weapons and gadgets. Trust for a woman who didn’t believe I could bring the Empire to ruin without help.
I glanced at the leather straps cutting into my wrists, keeping the Raith flush with my skin. As time wore on, it got easier to breathe, as if the Raithwasn’tthe bottomless void I’d first thought, but could eventually be tempered by enough exposure to a rare and dangerous thing.
Eventually wasn’t soon enough, and Ididowe her something of a debt, didn’t I?
“He’s an Elite,” I whispered, thumbing the brand. “And he knows exactly what I am.”
Chapter 11
“An Elite?” she asked, chewing at her lower lip. “Well, that’s bloody inconvenient.”
I swallowed. “That’s putting it rather lightly. He’s a little more than that, actually—”
The door to the auction house banged open as the slavers returned, taking the stairs three at a time.
“Balls,” Alicia hissed, shifting. “Just-Just play the part. It’ll be okay.”
“My, my haven’t we been busy?” Jasper purred, jangling a set of thick iron keys.
The fool eyed my raw and bleeding wrists, now sitting in my lap. “Is she secure?”
“Oh, quite safe,” Jasper said, unlocking the cage door. “Hob is harmless while she wears the mark of the serpent, aren’t you, Demon?”
I flashed a toothy smile, head a loose bobbling weight on my neck.
“Right. Well, come on out. And don’t bother trying to escape. There’s nowhere for you to go, but”—he locked eyes with me—“I’ll enjoy beating the holy living hell out of whoever tries.”
Graceful even dressed in bruises, Alicia stepped down from the cage, allowing the fool to place a large hand on the back of her neck as Jasper stepped between us.
Unblinking, I gathered my feet beneath me.
Eyes bright with excitement, Jasper entered the cage. “Come, Demon. That’s it,” he cooed, reaching for my bound wrists.
