“Such a pretty girl, you’re going to put a smile on his miserable face,” she’d sung happily in my ear.
I’d been frozen in place, still upset over the feel of the water in my hair, and simply allowed her to do whatever she felt inclined to do. I hadn’t even seen what I looked like, but judging by Eagle’s reaction, it wasn’t good. The woman had been wrong, so very wrong. Eagle hadn’t smiled; he’d been furious. His pupils had dilated, and his jaw had tightened, and then he’d exploded
“It’s okay,” I said, but the woman was already gone, walking back to her station to service a man who was waiting for her.
Looking around, I was relieved to see the crowd’s attention had been diverted. So I scanned again, searching for Eagle, looking for his Mohawk and his dark beard, for his wide shoulders and hulking shadow, for his coal-black eyes. When I couldn’t find him, my head swam, my stomach burned with anxiety, and my hands trembled. I couldn’t just stand here, exposed, without even the smallest of blades to defend myself. But I couldn’t seem to move.
Someone slammed into my shoulder, knocking a yelp free from my throat. I stumbled backward as a blur of color swarmed from around a nearby corner, a crowd with their voices raised, cheering loudly as they rushed past. Other took notice as well and several faces lit up with excitement, and many dropped what they were doing to take off running in the same direction. In moments, this small area of the marketplace was nearly empty except for me and some of the vendors.
Breathing hard, my heart working overtime, I clenched my hands into fists and turned to follow after them.
Just walk, I pleaded with myself. No one is looking at you, no one is going to hurt you with his brand on your wrist, just walk. Walk! But I couldn’t. I didn’t trust this place or these people.
Raised voices sounded off in the distance, and people began moving toward the sound. Curious, I glanced around me.
I followed the crowd slowly, my eyes and ears straining as I looked everywhere for him, but he was gone, chasing some little boy through the streets for a vulture. I dropped my chin and watched my feet as I walked, breathing through my nose as I tried not to freak out. People were pushing and shoving now, the voices louder and louder.
“You still smell like shit.”
I nearly screamed when I recognized her voice, but as she rounded me, coming into view, fear of her quickly squelched any sound I could have made. A shudder racked my body as the sound of her voice filled me with stomach-curdling fear.
The pink-haired woman, Liv was what Eagle had called her, was mere feet from me, her narrowed eyes traveling up and down the length of my body.
“You think you can satisfy a man like E?” She sneered, her tongue darting out to swipe across her lower lip, reminding me of any one of the many snakes I’d lived among for years. Slim, beady eyed, always coiled and ready to strike at any moment.
My breath caught in my throat. I could do no more than give a small shake of my head and an equally small shrug of my shoulders. I wasn’t trying to please Eagle; I was simply existing. And in here, I needed him to do that.
“A man like E has very particular tastes,” she said, her eyes roaming over my face while her hands skimmed over her own body, as if trying to accentuate the hips she didn’t have. “And you don’t got what it takes. But I do.”
I could feel myself begin to tremble, a quiver in my belly that quickly grew. Yet I couldn’t allow myself to lose control, to show this woman how much she frightened me, to show any sort of weakness at all. Just like a snake, once she saw her opportunity she would pounce, and once she had me in her grip, she’d squeeze the life from me without a second thought.
“I have what it takes,” I mumbled, surprising myself. I hadn’t meant to say that; it had just popped out of my stupid mouth, triggered by fear and panic. But now it was too late. My words hung between us, large and imposing. And dangerous.
Liv’s eyes widened and a strained smile tugged at her lips. Her hands still on her hips, she thrust out her chest and cocked her head to one side. “Do you see that?” she asked, still preening as she jerked her chin to the side. I followed her gesture to where the woman who’d cut my hair was now trimming the beard of a heavy-set man. “Do you see the way he’s looking at me? No one looks at you that way.”
I didn’t like the way he was looking at her. His squinty eyes traveled up and down her body, pausing on all the bare bits of skin her skimpy shirt and skirt had on display. Just the thought of him looking at me in that same way, like something to be devoured and then discarded, made me shudder.
But then, somewhere in the back of my mind, I replaced his face with another, his body with another’s, his squinty, greedy eyes with a pair of angry, nearly black eyes, and I didn’t think I’d mind so much.
“I’ve satisfied him many times,” I said, my voice louder now, less wobbly. Again, I startled myself, wondering where all my common sense had gone. No, I didn’t want to show weakness, but it was dangerous to poke at a snake.
Liv’s smile faded and her eyes darkened. “Is that right?” she said, and I noted the way her voice thickened with anger and with something else, almost as if she had an accent, but one she was trying to hide.
I nodded, continuing with my lie. Eagle didn’t want me in that way, and I didn’t want him either. But the thought that he actually wanted this awful woman upset me.
“You come with me,” she snarled.
Before I had the chance to dodge her, she’d wrapped her hand around my bicep and pulled me forward. Panic reared, and I twisted and ducked beneath her arm, effectively dislodging her. My instincts screamed for me to snarl, to brace and ready myself for the fight that was sure to come. But instead of flying fists, I found Liv smirking at me.
“You’re looking for him, right?” She shrugged nonchalantly despite her gleaming eyes. “Then I’m guessing you know about the pits? Where Eagle used to fight? Considering how close you two are, I thought he would have told you all about it.”
I swallowed hard, feeling childish and silly. Eagle hadn’t told me anything about him, not one thing. All I knew of him was what I’d seen, and mostly all I’d seen from him in regard to me was annoyance. But I hadn’t shared anything of myself either; all that had mattered was his promise to protect me, to keep me safe inside these gates until he could get me out.
But now I found myself bothered by it. It annoyed me that this vile woman knew him so intimately, and knew far more about him than I did. Here I was with his eagle permanently marked on my skin and yet ... who was he?
“Yes,” I said, my voice hoarse, the mental strain I felt seeping out into the open. “I was just ... going there.”
Like a predator scenting its prey, Liv smiled in the face of my insecurity. “Great.” She bared her teeth in the semblance of a grin. “We’ll go together.” She took a step forward and glanced back at me, annoyance creasing her features when she found I’d made no move to follow her.
