Page 6 of Chained

“He wasn’t going to hurt me,” I say rapidly. “Don’t punish him. He was inspecting the weapons, that’s all.” I touch my finger to my lips, the feeling of his kiss, taken rather than given, still lingering there.

Retah makes a choking sound and the procurator stares at me.

“He wasinspecting the weapons?” he repeats incredulously.

I nod, hating the fact the nausea has chosen this moment to reassert itself, even if the gorgeous cinnamon scent of the gladiator is still strong in my nostrils. But I don’t want to get him into trouble, given the procurator has always made my skin crawl, even on vids I’ve seen of the dome.

“He was, and one…fell.” I pick up the dagger from the floor. “That’s all that happened.”

The procurator huffs. “Maxym is going to be punished for disobeying orders in any event.” His gaze doesn’t leave me. “But not for this incident, if you say there was nothing to it.”

Retah sidles up to me, a beseeching look in his eyes. “I’m sure my assistant doesn’t want to cause trouble for anyone, least of all your prize gladiator,” he says smoothly.

“Maxym belongs to the dome,” the procurator says proudly. “You’ll have seen his odds, no doubt. He’s fighting the best he has in a long time.”

“And can you imagine how well he will fight with his weapons of choice?” Retah says with a pointed nod at the selection of pulsars, daggers, and swords. “Ones he picked on first sight and was so anxious to get hold of…”

My boss doesn’t finish his sentence. Emotions war within me at the way this is reflecting on Maxym, but then he did also disarm me and kiss me along with nearly revealing my pregnancy to all and sundry.

“He was very impressed with the dagger.” I force the words out. “And rightly too. They are of the finest quality Sartak steel.”

“I’m sure we can come to some…arrangement,” Retah says, running his hand over the blades I’ve laid out. “To make sure your gladiators get only theverybest.”

The procurator smiles, all needle sharp teeth. “I see you are as good as your reputation suggests, Remek.” He glances at me. “How about you send your assistant away, and we can talk terms?”

I slowly release the breath I’ve been holding as Retah throws his arm around the procurator.

“That,” he says, “sounds perfect.” He spins them both around and they leave the armory, but not before Retah throws me a thankful glance.

Yes, misogyny is alive and kicking in every part of the universe. I heave out a sigh to myself, rub my sore elbows from where they hit the floor, although even if no one else noticed, I’m well aware Maxym did do his best to ensure I landed on him before he rolled me under him.

Regardless, he’s still a complete twat, even if he tried to make sure I didn’t get hurt.

“How did it go?”Tibi asks as I enter the food prep area and pour myself a cup of a hot drink the Tatatungans call Joh, and which tastes a little like chai.

It’s virtually the only thing which can settle my stomach, the subtle cinnamon flavor helping immensely. Tibi shoves a tray of fresh baked bread rolls at me.

“I nearly got eaten by a gladiator, but I think Retah got the contract,” I reply, tearing open one roll and shoving the soft fluffy inner into my mouth.

“A gladiator? One of the Habosu?” Tibi leans forward.

“No, this one had wings and was massive. And dirty, but not green,” I reply.

He was also handsome in a rough, tough way and made parts of me tingle which should not, but I’m not going to say any of this to Tibi.

“A Gryn?” She rushes around her cooking station, and before I can stop her, she’s running her hands over me. “Did he hurt you? Are you injured?”

I back out of her embrace. “No, he didn’t touch me.”

Not strictly true.

“You had a lucky escape. Gryn are the most dangerous creatures in Tatatunga, let alone on Trefa,” Tibi says with confidence as I return to my seat and finish up my roll.

“Yeah, it seemed that way, only…”

I want to tell her about the sadness in his eyes, about the marks all over his body, about how I felt like the only woman in the universe when he looked at me.

“What?” Tibi prompts me.

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