Page 40 of Claiming Sarah

Because they were naked.

I came to an abrupt halt in the doorway. “The fuck is this?”

A guard gave me a push, forcing me to step forward, then shut and locked the door behind me. In addition to the girls and the random fighters, were several large hot baths. It was too steamy inside for me to size up my competition—all of themwere in the baths. Two Ladrian girls, one blue-haired, one pink-haired, smiled and came straight to me. They were completely nude and heavy with curves.

They giggled as they said, “Hello,” together.

I cautiously said, “Hi.”

Blue batted her lashes coquettishly at me. “Would you like to join our bath?”

“I’m supposed to be fighting—”

“Yes, that’s why we’re here,” Pink said, stepping closer and caressing a hand down my chest.

“To help bathe the fighters,” Blue added.

“Or to relieve their tension,” Pink flirted.

Then they both giggled again.

I exhaled a breath, trying to sort out what the fuck was really going on. But I didn’t want to make a scene when I had no idea if there was a way out of this place, so I said, “I’ll take the bath, but no tension relief, thank you.”

“This way.” They each took a hand and pulled me to a steaming bath in the corner. Then they started to undress me.

Tamping down my annoyance, I brushed their hands away “I’ve got it. Thank you.” I stripped off the rest of my clothes myself and slipped into the hot water. It felt great, but I couldn’t relax. I was too distracted by the sights and sounds around me.

“After your bath, we will oil you down,” Pink said.

“Not needed,” I replied.

“Oh, but it is,” Blue chimed in. “Rex demands all the fighters are bathed and oiled to perfection. He likes to see the muscles clearly from his view in the tower over the arena. The oil makes them more defined.”

I grit my teeth. “Fine.”

Pink and Blue slipped into the bath on either side of me, nuzzling against my body. Pink skimmed her hand up my thighand smiled up at me. “I’ve heard about you, Jacaranda Cozz. Girls say you have a magic—”

I slipped away to the other side of the tub before she could grab my cock. “Mymagicis reserved for my companion and my consort.”

They both pouted, and I wondered what the hell Rex had been up to over the years. This was nothing like what I had expected, and I imagined the bathhouse would not be the only time I was surprised in Faithless.

CHAPTER 12

Deacon

As the carriage pulled to the arena’s unloading zone, our guard hopped off to let the gatekeeper know who we were.

Sarah fidgeted beside me. “I don’t like this at all. What do you think they’re doing to Jac?”

“I imagine they are preparing him for battle,” Omen said, glancing around at the gathering crowd. “There are too many spectators here for a simple execution. They want to see a fight.”

I placed my hand on Sarah’s leg and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Omen is right. The last execution I went to, this was not the energy of the crowd.”

She looked at me, her expression horrified. “You’ve gone to executions?”

I did not know how to break her of the habit of questioning things I had said, but I wished I knew how. It would save us time,if I did not need to repeatedly specify things for her. “Certainly. Jac tells me they have fallen out of fashion on Earth.”

“You mean, as a thing where people go to witness them for fun?” she asked incredulously. “Yeah, for the most part. It’s seen as barbaric.” She sounded awfully negative on the matter.

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