Page 9 of Gladiator's Captive
This was why none of Arenius’ slaves ever escaped. Why Rager was now threatening to crush my trachea. Because even with his superior strength and speed, he was still a dead man as long as this implant was in his flesh. And only my father possessed the ability to free him from it.
“You will pay for that.” Rager spoke after the shock had passed. His voice was still his own, but there was something there, something dark and violent, something that promised a fate worse than death for the man I called Father. “And your daughter will pay with you.”
“You won’t dare.” Arenius lifted his chin. “She is a Galactic Empire citizen. If you harm her, you’ll end up in the Imperial torture chambers.”
Arenius watched Rager with death in his eyes. His fingers twitched and I knew he was about to push the button connecting Rager’s implant to the poison. And knew this would mean my last breath, too.
“Father, please.” I couldn’t help it, I had to try. Fear was a monstrous animal, growing inside me, gnawing at my ribs. “Don’t do this. I’ll marry Rodrigo, like you wanted.”
“Of course you will,” Arenius lashed out at me, his eyes furious, his face twisted to resemble the monster he was on the inside. “What made you think you had the power to defy me? You belong to me, as much as this one!”
The hand at my throat tightened by just a bit, but it made my heart flutter anew, filling my veins with panic.
“Then you know you need me alive to seal your deal.” I spoke again, my voice as uneven as my heartbeat, small and full of terror. “It’s the only way you’ll have access to his best stock from the slaves captured in the barbarian lands beyond the western frontier of the Galactic Empire. Think of how the crowd will love them, all those exotic species never seen before.”
Arenius fell silent, but the glint in his eyes told me I guessed right. Greed overpowered everything for Arenius. Even his desire for revenge.
“Rodrigo won’t trust you unless you give him something of worth in return for his favor,” I continued. “It’s not like you have another daughter to sell off.”
For the first time in all my life, Arenius looked at me with an approving, assessing expression.
“You’re right on this, dear daughter. The association with Rodrigo would make me the richest man in the Northern Empire and to seal such a union, links of blood have to be forged.”
Silence spread its fingers around us as Arenius turned his eyes to Rager again.
“Fine.” Arenius spoke with disgust, then pushed a series of symbols on his magnetic bracelet key. “The implant is disabled.”
Just below my face, Rager moved his hand but didn’t free my throat. A long claw, as sharp as a knife, sliced the flesh of his wrist open and a tiny metallic capsule fell to the floor in a small pool of blood. This was Rager’s marker, the chain that linked the slave to his master.
“You are a free man now, Rager. Leave this house, and never come back.”
Rager’s hold on my throat relaxed, but he didn’t free me.
“You think me a fool.” Rager moved, pulling me with him toward the balcony. “As soon as I hand her over, you will call for help from the Galactic garrison stationed in the city. I won’t make it far from this house.”
Arenius didn’t answer, but his small, dark eyes followed us as Rager pulled me toward the balcony and the darker night behind the silk curtains.
He means to take me with him.
Panic settled between my ribs, a tenacious little animal, running around in circles. I struggled some more, but Rager’s hold was of steel. I wasn’t going anywhere he wasn’t allowing me.
“If you take my daughter with you, her honor will be lost,” Arenius warned, his eyes barely sliding over me. “She will be useless to me.”
He can’t do this to me.
But Rager could. He was smart enough to know he couldn’t just leave without insurance that Arenius’ guard wouldn’t start tracking him as soon as he left.
I was his ticket to freedom.
“Then I guess you should do your utmost best to see this arrangement between us remains a secret.” Rager pulled me another few steps back and onto the balcony. The night breeze caressed the naked skin of my shoulder, cold against Rager’s warmth. “I will free your daughter once I’m safe. No one will know it was me who took her.”
“How can I be sure you won’t kill her the second you get out of my sight?” For the first time, there was a small amount of tension in my father’s voice. If I didn’t know any better, I would believe he cared.
“You can’t. All you have is my promise to keep her safe as long as she remains under my care,” Rager answered, pulling me back until we were pressed against the balustrade overlooking the endless desert. “But be warned, Arenius. If you go after me, I will kill her with my bare hands.”
And with that, Rager pulled me screaming into the black of the night.
