Page 32 of Claiming Sarah

That is not his way.“Rex is not passive aggressive. He is only aggressive. I do not believe he would have some kind of trap waiting for us. I think he is curious about you, Sarah, which makes me even more concerned about you going there.”

“You know something?” Jac said, rubbing his hand along his chin thoughtfully. “You’re right. I bet Leda is a test.”

Sarah glanced toward Jac. “How do you mean?”

“To see what kind of person you are. Leda is right—he likes Earth mythology and their cultures—he is familiar with your world history, all of it. He likely knows that you would be repulsed by slavery, so sending you a slave is a test to see what you would do with her. If you keep her, then you’re someone he could consider doing business with. If you try to abandon her someplace, then you’re too weak to handle the uncomfortable situation, and he—”

“Will see me as a weak person who got a lucky break when she killed Portend?” Sarah finished for him.

Jac nodded and shrugged. “Most likely. We cannot let him think you’re weak—it will make you a target. I doubt he would think you would return Leda yourself, which means—”

“It is the right play,” I said, hating myself for agreeing with him. “I do not like this, but you are right, Jac.” I huffed. “Fuck.”

Sarah gave me a surprised look. “Wow, I don’t usually hear that out of you unless you’re naked. You must really not like this guy.”

“I do not.”

“He did this because he sees you as a potential threat to his authority,” Jac said, crossing his arms over his chest. “That’s a good thing. We need to keep him worried—”

“But why not make him an ally?” Sarah asked.

We both laughed, then I said, “You do not want Rex Terian as an ally, Sarah. He is a monster.”

“Okay, sure, he sent me a slave and thatismonstrous, but I’m trying not to judge your culture right now, and slaveryisa thing where he comes from. If I could make him an ally, then maybe I could talk him into freeing his slaves.”

“Oh my sweet, naïve consort,” I said before I kissed her lips and caressed a hand over the top of her head. “There are no alliances with Rex that he would not break. No bond he holds to, no rule outside of whatever he wants in the moment. There is no trust with a Ladrian like him. He would sooner skin you alive than let you deprive him of anything he wants.”

Lips pressed together tightly in annoyance, she turned to Jac. “Doyouthink I’m naïve, too?”

“Not naïve, just uninformed about Rex.” He gave Sarah a soft, placating smile before he looked at me. “Do you care to tell her more about him? You knew him better than I did.”

My stomach twisted with the truth. Telling her more about Rex would only lead to more questions that I was not prepared to answer. "No. If what I have said is not enough to dissuade her from returning Leda, then there is nothing more that I can say that would.”

“Then, we’re going to Faithless,” Sarah said firmly.

A sinking sensation in my gut threatened to make me lose breakfast, but there was clearly no way to get around this. “Very well, then. It is best to have medical staff on this journey, and perhaps an advisor. I do not believe we will require Tiger’s or Treg’s skills. Do you think Camp Deo would mind coming along?”

“I would rather she stayed here to tend the twins, actually. What about Lanai Dea?” Jac countered, asking of my personal android.

I nodded. “I believe her batteries have been charged. On that, Sarah, if you check that panel behind you, you will find a proper wardrobe for you. I had Lanai collect it for you.”

Her face lit up with a smile. “Really?”

“Yes, just tap that panel at the corner,” I told her.

She did and gasped. Pulling out some items, she held them up to her body and said, “Oh my gosh, Deacon, what…how did you know my size—wait,whyare these in my size? I would have thought I would need to have things tailored or something.”

I chuckled at her enthusiasm. “You are the size of a young Ladrian teenager—Lanai knew your size by looking at you. The only tailoring required was to close up the rears, due to your lack of a tail. Do you like them?”

She stood up on her toes and kissed me. “Yes. Thank you. Though next time, I would like to go shopping for myself. If that’s okay.”

“Of course, Consort. This is merely a temporary measure.”

She smoothed her hand down the front of a feminine tunic. “Do you mind gathering the crew for the trip, while I try some of these on?” she asked, sounding thrilled about her new wardrobe.

It made me smile. “Not at all.”

Jac and I left her to her fun, while we spoke to our crews. Everyone agreed to the trip, but a gut feeling told me one would not. As Jac asked Ode about going to Faithless, she perked up and grabbed her med kit bag to prepare for the journey.

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