Page 25 of Heir of the Beast

“Is that so?” He nods and turns to another man. “Have someone look into her situation. If she is lying, her pretty little head will look good in a noose. I have no room for spies, nor the patience.”

His glittering gaze holds me prisoner. “She does not act nor talk like a slave, which concerns me.”

The good news is, he thinks I have a pretty head. The bad news is that if he finds out I’m lying, I will be hung. I need to talk to Pierce to clean this up ASAP.

“Bring them to the servant’s quarters and put them to work.” He pauses as his eyes linger over my body. My skin heats to overdrive.

“Give these women something proper to wear. I don’t need my men distracted.” He turns to leave.

I blow out a long breath, not realizing I was holding it.

This is not going to be easy.

Now that I see what this man looks like, I’m afraid that this competition might get ugly in a hurry.

Chapter 6

This is bad.

We are not treated well, and they stuff us into a room that not even my shoes from home would fit into. It smells like the essence of wet dog and spoiled fish were used to wash the floors.

Our ankles are shackled, and we are wearing an outfit that would belong perfectly on the set of ~The Handmaid’s Tale~. Not even exaggerating.

We are wearing bonnets with long brims to shield our faces and nothing short of a nun’s cloak to cover our ripped clothing.

“This is bad,” I say, crouching in the corner. There is no room to lie down or stretch our legs, and they told us we should be lucky we are not bunked with the other slaves.

Well, I guess I will agree with that assessment. I desperately do not want to be with the other stinky men and watch them stare at us like we’re lunch.

My ego is not so big that I can’t recognize that this could be much worse. I have an excellent imagination.

“What are you doing?” I glance at Mort in the dim lighting.

“Talking to Pierce.” She is typing and blinking.

“On your imaginary computer?”

She huffs. “It’s not imaginary, and yes. Pierce is always online, keeping track of us. I’m talking to him about your backstory. Pierce says he is working out references for your amnesia case.”

“That’s a relief.”

Mort nods. “He also says quick thinking on your part. It will fit in nicely with the lost princess scenario.”

“Yes,” I deadpan. “It’s starting to sound like a Disney classic already.”

Not.

“He is apologizing for the liper attack,” she says without looking at me. “And says he will make it up to you. But Pierce says that the outfit he made for you seemed to do the trick.”

“How so?”

Mort winks at me.

“What does that mean?” I say dryly. “You mean you think Apollo fancied me?”

She giggles. “Oh yeah, Apollo liked what he saw.”

“You don’t think it had anything to do with me being half-naked and any hot-blooded male would do the same? Nothing special about me, per-say.”

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