Page 6 of Warrioress

Vrin eyed her speculatively. She was offering them a small concession in return for their cooperation. They would still be helpless under the power of the guard and would be stripped of all their freedom and dignity—but what she offered was considerable to males unaccustomed to being confined in such small spaces. And they would have it so long as they did not try to escape or show aggression. He glanced over at Lago, wondering what their lead would decide. The male gave nothing away, his expression as stony as the female’s. Vrin nearly snorted in amusement that she was at least well matched for their triad in that. It was almost refreshing after all the females that simpered around them to see one that met Lago head on without flinching.

She did not realize it, but she would earn their lead’s respect that way.

Lago’s ears flicked and pricked toward her, shifting subtly as the male listened to the small clues her body gave that could betray the direction of her thoughts and feelings. His nostril’s flared and he glanced over at Vrin, his brow rising subtly. Vrin nodded faintly. This was the best and only offer they would get. If they dared to reject her and another female were assigned to them, it could easily make their situation far more miserable. At last Lago sighed as his gaze drifted back to their captor, and he inclined his head in reluctant agreement.

“You will have it,” he rumbled.

And for the first time a real smile broke across Captain’s face. It was small and fleeting, but it was real and gave Vrin a glimpse of the female locked behind the mantle of authority she wore.

“Excellent,” she replied as she strained from the wall against which she was leaning and spun away from them. “I will leave you to whatever you were doing then. I have some things I need to see to. In the meantime, no one else will bother you,” she threw over her shoulder in parting. “You won’t be stared at any more tonight.”

Vrin blinked in surprise. He had become accustomed to finding new ways to torture their audience, and now he was left at a loss with how to occupy his time. Grunting in exasperation, he snatched up another large hunk of meat and bit into it. He should be grateful, but somehow instead he was feeling petulant that they would be all alone within the room. Perhaps he was as wretched as Kam often accused him of being.

He shrugged and bit into the meat. He never said he was a good male.

Chapter 5

The boarding quarters were a tight fit. Uma glanced around the room grimly. While she had cleared out the excess bunks and had a small table brought in with a heavy iron candlestick, it was more serviceable than comfortable.

It would do. If nothing else, it matched the stern and uncompromising persona she presented the world. Every hint of vulnerability she kept carefully locked away. It was necessary in her line of work if she were to succeed. Guardswomen who could not learn burnt out quickly and left the guard after just a few short years. Vulnerability opened a guardswoman up to scrutiny by those in power and potential abuse by those who would take advantage of it. How many good women had she known who had resigned due to some scandal they were caught up in?

Uma had paid for her own mistakes in the past, and it was only by learning from it that she had managed to survive and rise through the ranks. She lifted her right hand and grazed her fingertips over the heavy scarring running down her cheek. Every scar was a reminder to never be vulnerable again—never let another have that kind of power over her. Since then, she had only allowed herself the indulgence of vulnerability once, but it had been one born of complete disbelief as she had listened to Arie and her Ragoru triad address the people of the citadel.

Do you mean to say that I might have a triad that would want me despite my scars?

She hadn’t meant to speak then, and the words haunted her still as a reminder of her own weakness behind the scars. They had been the words of a woman with hope, not a seasoned guard who knew better than to make such a gamble or allow anyone to have that sort of power over her through that vulnerable part of her heart.

She shook her head. Her words haunted her, but she buried that woman once again deep within herself, unwilling to take the chance of even hoping for a Ragoru triad when she knew firsthand how easily one could be destroyed by it.

She knew, and the guardswomen of the lower district that she had on staff knew. The warders would soon also learn if they wanted to last long, even if their confinement to their respective neighborhoods gave them the illusion of safety. That same illusion that made more than a few guards flaunt their authority would be the first to become prey when they drew the wrong kind of notice. Although the lower district was a bit more isolated, it wasn’t without the influence of the powerful who enjoyed playing there. Even the formation of the Guardsmen Guild—erroneously called since she couldn’t think of one person who wasn’t within the higher ranks who wasn’t a guardswoman—had done a lot to change that.

Uma shook her head as she unpacked her few meager belongings. At least as captain of the lower district, she had the opportunity to protect the women under her command better than her superiors before her. As for the warders, they would step in line or be dealt with—whether by her or the powers that be within the citadel. Or something else if they attempted to abuse someone mated to a triad. Her lips thinned humorlessly. There were some outstanding warders who diligently served their neighborhoods, but there were far too many who were as predatory as the lords and young masters of the merchant class within the citadel. And somehow just as arrogant too if they believed she wasn’t aware of what they were doing and not keeping a meticulous file on each of them.

To her left, Katiera looked around the room with a pinched expression, her brown braid falling over one shoulder. “Are you sure about this, captain? This bunk and the rear rec area are pretty much isolated back here with the cells. You will essentially be alone with them.”

Uma glanced over at the guardswoman who had not only served with her for many years but had also been her friend for nearly just as long, ever since they both joined as recruits in their youth. “Who else is going to do it?” She sighed and shifted her carefully folded changes of clothes into the chest at the foot of her bunk. “It was my idea, so it’s only natural that the foreman asked me to do this. Any other option would mean leaving them locked up in a manner that we would consider inhumane if it were humans stuck in a similarly proportioned cell.”

Katiera winced in sympathy. “I get that, but it is only for a few days, maybe—”

“You didn’t just see it in there,” Uma interrupted, cutting her off. “With one of them sitting, he filled up nearly the entire floor space, and they easily crossed the entire width of the cell within just a few steps. They are practically on top of each other. To keep them penned together as if they were animals doesn’t set right with me.” She met Katiera’s gaze as she looked at her from over her shoulder. “They aren’t animals—they are people. Not to mention that they are people who likely haven’t even done anything wrong given what we know of their accusers.”

“Of course,” Katiera rushed to agree. “It’s just that....” she began as she fidgeted unhappily, “I worry about you being alone with them without metal bars separating you.”

Uma chuckled, touched by her friend’s concern. Straightening, she turned and smiled reassuringly at the other woman. “Don’t worry, Kat. It’s just a few days as you said, and it’s not like they will be out of those bars at all times. Just enough for some exercise and there will always be someone on shift within the station who can back me up if I call for help.”

Katiera made a face but leaned against the doorframe as some of the tension eased from her expression. “As fast as Ragoru move, I doubt that will be enough, but... you’re right. And they have been pretty well behaved,” she conceded. “If you are actually intending to take them out of the station at all, just let me know so I can back you up personally. The lower district tends to the get the greenest recruits, and I will feel better if I’m providing your cover.”

“All right. I know you are off duty for the next couple of days. Perhaps when you’re next on shift we can let them get some exercise around the market while some of the festivities are in full swing. It should at least be a good distraction for them. Not to mention showcase the lower district in a better light.”

A faint smile curled the corners of Katiera’s mouth. “No one can claim that you don’t have a mind for optics.”

Uma raised her brows at her friend and smirked. “Everyone treats the lower district as if it’s a cesspool, rather unfairly I might add since a lot of our trouble floats downstream from the upper districts. Highlighting our good points is important for fostering good relationships and making good impressions. We have no choice but to remove the Ragoru at this point, as what little evidence we have isn’t favorable toward them, but we can at least try to foster some goodwill and make them as comfortable as possible so that other triads are not discouraged from coming to Old Wayfairer.”

Katiera nodded thoughtfully. “That is a good point.” She gave the room another pinched look. “Are you sure that you’re going to be comfortable in here though? I can bring some extra bedding for you to make a more comfortable bed for you at the very least. The mattress on the bunk looks like it has been here since the station was built and is likely as hard as the foundation stones themselves.”

Uma chuckled at the observation as she too glanced at the sparse padding of the thin mattress waiting for her. She wouldn’t have complained too loudly about it as everything about the station was designed with utility in mind rather than comfort, but Katiera wasn’t wrong. In the past she might have rejected it just to prove her mettle, but she wasn’t getting any younger and the idea of sleeping on that mattress night after night without some kind of extra padding made her bones ache.

“Actually, that would be great.”

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