A Girl in Black and White (Alyria 2)

His eyes were blank for a moment, before filling with the understanding of the persuasion. “No, I don’t.”

All my tense muscles relaxed on cue. “You don’t want to hurt me.”

He nodded, eyeing my body in a new, releva

nt light.

And that was when I put my guard down. I was in, why shouldn’t I have? I turned to pour a cup of wine; these conversations and long-term compulsions to drop the slaver business always made me thirsty.

I felt the movement in the air, my stomach jumped as blood flew through my veins. I knew it was all wrong. Why hadn’t I trusted my judgment? Before I could stop anything, his arm wrapped around my waist keeping my arms pinned at my sides, while the cold of a knife grazed my throat.

I went frozen, holding my neck back so that the blade didn’t cut my skin. My pulse fluttered in my throat. The adrenaline that coursed through my veins took a different path from fear to anger. How could I have let this happen?

“What do you want?” I hissed.

“To get paid,” he said simply.

I cursed myself over and over. I closed my eyes, trying to feel that burning in my palms—the feeling that I got before I fast-traveled. But it wouldn’t come. My heart was beating too hard, my concentration jumbled, and it wouldn’t come.

“Next time, girl, know who you’re takin’ to bed.”

“Who are you?” I breathed.

“Just a man doing a job.”

“How’d you get past the persuasion?”

“Brand on my arm.”

I’d never even known they existed. He must have done this for a living to know how to appear persuaded like he had.

“This wasn’t the first time I’ve been asked to find the girl ruining trade on the docks. Don’t like slavery much myself, but I got an offer I couldn’t refuse. There’s a lot of men after you, you know. The compulsion you’re doing in their heads—makes them crazed. A few have hanged themselves. It’s making a lot of people angry, the trouble you’re causing.”

“You aren’t a slave trader?” I asked.

“Nah. I play the part I need to play. That’s all.”

I swallowed.

“Sorry about this.”

I blinked, but then pain exploded inside of my head, and everything went black.

And that was how I got here.

There was a groan, and it took a moment to realize it was my own. An ache pulsed in the side of my head and the clink of chains sounded as I pushed myself into a sitting position. I peered through the bars of the cell while trying to ignore the heavy heartbeat ringing in my ears.

A chair sat just outside the iron bars, and it took me a moment to discern who the large inhabitant was in the dimly-lit hull. I leaned against the ship’s wooden wall.

“Hello, Maxim.”

One side of the Untouchable’s mouth quirked up. “Calamity.”

“How you been?”

“Just a little treason here, a little kidnapping there.”

“Sounds busy. I don’t know how you have time to satisfy all the women in your harem.”