Page 4 of Born for Lace

“Mute?” The one on the left has green eyes like the leaf of the La Mu plant. They might be pleasant were they not leering.

“I heard The Trade does that sometimes. Take out the tongue of the smart-mouthed girls,” the gamey one whispers. “Or if the voice is annoying or too high pitched.”

Green Eyes stares at me. “But you understand us… You’re not dumb, are you?”

Not usually.

I shake my head.

“We are in the middle of a civil war. You know what that means?” He palms the rifle in front of him, clanking the metal for effect. “Youshot in the pretty head. And then The Trade being pissed at us for taking down its property.” He touches a rogue tendril of my scarlet hair. “So, pretty little girl, you need to come with us so we can get you back inside where you’re safe.”

No. Think.

What should I do? What would Maple do? My heart starts to beat so hard I fear they will hear it.

Then it happens—the baby wriggles and whimpers at my chest, over my fretful heart, probably feeling my anxiety vibrate against it.

Both Marshal Blues look at the mound under my leathers. Green Eyes frowns, and the other grins, excited, which seems so much worse. “What do you have tucked down there?”

“You want Opi?”

A deep voice comes from behind us, which can only be from another Xin De male—like them. Their voices are otherworldly deep. Maple used to speculate that when they first engineered the Xin De genus, they made everything bigger and thicker to withstand the harsh environmental changes. Their muscles got bigger. Skin thicker. And they lengthened their vocal cords to the point males would sound more like beasts than a Common man. I don’t know if any of that is true.

I follow the sound of the voice as the Marshal Blues turn toward the stranger, clutching their rifles. Ready. “What did you just say to us?” Green Eyes grunts.

But it’s too late.

I was too busy staring at the Marshals. They were too busy studying me. We didn’t see the second stranger, a huge form, come up the passage from the Redwind.

So, while the officers turn to face the man who spoke, the second stranger thrusts his massive fists into the backs of their necks. Their chins snap upward from the impact, a crack dissects the air, and both officers collapse to a mass on the path. No man should be so strong. No physique so powerful. It’s monstrous.

“Maple?” The first stranger speaks.

I sink further into the brick behind me, flattening myself to the wall. Wishing to disappear into the clay and stone.

I stare at the lifeless bodies of The Trade’s public law enforcement. They aren’t always nice, but they do keep us safe. Safe from…

I look up.

Your kind…

“Maple?” he repeats, and I wince. He thinks I’m Maple. Has he never seen her? My stomach flips.What have you gotten me into, Maple?

The crunch of rocks below a shoe draws my attention to a boot. A huge boot. The boot of the second stranger…I just saw this man kill two officers with the ease of snapping a branch.

My breath catches.

The large figure steps closer and a metallic tang hits my tongue. His height draws my gaze up from his combat-style boots along dark denim.

He is enormous.

At his thighs, tattooed fists pump, red and calloused across each knuckle, telling tales of violence. His arms are weights beside him, bulked with muscles that form each thick limb.

A long, black hide coat hangs open, the bottom seam skating his thighs. I gaze up to his broad chest stretching a black shirt with a large loose hood bunched at his angular, thick shoulders.

Up to his face.A dark-blonde beard borders his snarl. The same-coloured hair is tied back in a messy knot, revealing something metal on one side of his skull… It’s a silver plate that mimics bone just above the curve of his ear.

And hiseyes… Onyx, almost black. Cruel. Strange. Magnetic.

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