“Put me down!” I beat my fists against his back.
He dumped me unceremoniously onto the sofa, but I grabbed at the back of his shirt so he fell down next to me. He swatted my hands away, and within seconds, we ended up fighting as shamelessly as two street urchins scuffling over the last heel of bread.
“Stop hitting me!” he snarled.
We grappled with each other until he caught my wrists and straddled my legs so I couldn’t move. I was pinned to the couch and forced to stare up at the pathetic excuse for a man.
He forced a smile. “Maybe we got a bad first impression of each other. Shall we start over?”
“I’d rather bleed oneverything you own,” I snapped.
His gaze flicked over my face, assessing, calculating. Then, maddeningly, he chuckled.“I did just save your life,you know. The least you could do is answer a few questions for me.”
“Get off me first.”
To my surprise, he complied, rising from where he’d sat on my knees and releasing my wrists.
“Let’s begin.”
“I’ll save you the time,” I interrupted. “I have no idea what sort of information you think you’ll get from me. I’m no Termarthian spy or anything of the sort.”
He drew up a stool beside the sofa, the ends of his long fingers touching tip to tip in front of his mouth. “I know you’re not a spy. No spy would get caught as easily as you were. I need to know the exact circumstances that brought you here.”
“Why should I tell you anything when I don’t even know your name or why I was arrested?”
He adjusted his sleeves and smoothed back his hair, which had become disheveled in our scuffle. “My name’s Zafir, and I’m one of Parliament’s viziers. I specialize in alchemy and I’m here to help you.”
“How hospitable,” I sneered. “Do you arrest all those you intend to help? What an altruistic vizier you are.”
He reached over to pick up my wedding ring from his desk and held it up to the light, slowly rotating it in his fingers. “Where did you get this?”
“I would say that it was given to me by my husband, much like most wedding rings, but no, that story is much too ludicrous to believe.”
“Is your husband extremely wealthy?”
I stiffened. “If you think you’ll get a ransom out of him in exchange for me, you’re sorely mistaken. He won’t pay to get me back. He was the one who stabbed me.”
This information did nothing to shock Zafir as I’dhoped, though his eyes narrowed and he took several seconds before responding. “So, you don’t care about him? You’d be willing to sign an annulment?”
“If such a contract would be legitimate in my country, then sure. Hard as it is to believe, I don’t actually want to stay married to the man who attempted to murder me.”
“Understandably so.” Zafir tapped the ring with his fingernail, eyes unfocused and half-glazed. “I want your help,” he said suddenly.
I rolled my eyes so hard that I could have examined my own brain. “Well, after being arrested without being told my charges, having my possessions stolen, being insulted, and threatened to be held for ransom, I’m simply leaping at the opportunity to help you. Why, I should have offered earlier. How rude of me to delay. Shall I kiss your feet while I’m at it? What else can I do for you, Your Worship? Or ought I to call you Master?”
Zafir chuckled and stopped tapping the ring. “So much venom. Are you a woman or a viper?”
“Come closer and find out.”
“Youwillhelp me,” he clarified. “I’ll get the information out of you, one way or another. And if you want to call me Master, I won’t stop you.”
“Bite me,” I spat.
“Don’t tempt me.” His black eyes glittered.
I blinked, taken aback. “What did you say?”
He smirked. “I don’t repeat myself. Aren’t you interested in what I can offer you in return?”
