Page 25 of Seduce

“Did… you say you were caned?!” Wilheim asks, taking a turn. It’s like his brain is finally catching up with the rest of our conversation. “Is that some kind of sex thing?”

“Oh my Gods,” I growl, gritting my teeth. “Let me out. Right fucking now. I’ll fucking walk, even though it’ll hurt.”

Grabbing my bare foot, Noa pulls it up, even as I try to kick him.

“Ow, ow! Stop!” I scream, because he’s pressing his stupidly large thumb into my arch. Cinder enjoyed swatting her damn cane into them way too much.

“Shit, what’s wrong with your foot?” he gasps, dropping my foot. I’m not ready and I close my eyes in pain when it thumps into the center console.

“Caning, which is most assuredlynota sex thing, fuck you very much,” I croak, forcing myself to breathe through it. Fuck, that hurt.

“But… she’s your step-sister!” Noa says.

“You’re idiots, bumbling ones at that. If Cinder is willing to kill hundreds of spies who failed her, it makes perfect sense that she wouldn’t hesitate to hurt me as well,” I grumble, easing my foot away. “I don’t have much consent these days, but please refrain from touching me. The Queen has asked a group of people to dismantle the Underground in exchange for their freedom, and frankly, I care more about those five people than I do about you.”

“Harsh,” Wilheim grunts. “I guess we have been kind of dumb. There’s no information about you anywhere. You were a pretty hot topic in the tabloids, but you fell off the face of the earth this past year.”

“I was a little busy being tortured,” I say drolly as he pulls up to the apartment. I found the address tucked into a pocket of my backpack, where I had forgotten I had put it, so I know I’m in the right place. “I don't want to see you again. If you want to talk to me, set up a meeting on the dark web with your leader.”

“You’re a girl,” Noa snorts. “What do you know about the dark web?”

“And yet, you all want me on the throne… As what? A figurehead? I know my history well, and I know how to not repeat it. That’s a great way to get assassinated, with a worse government put in place,” I complain, picking up my bags. “If all of you are this misogynistic, then I don’t know that I even want to talk to your leader. Fuck off.”

Picking up my shoes because there’s no way I’m wearing them now, I climb out of the car. The sidewalks are clean, so I decide to chance it barefoot. It’s not very ladylike or royal, but I’ve never cared about any of that. The pavement is cool under my feet as I slam the door closed behind me, and begin limping toward the main door of the apartments. Sidney is just stepping out of it, when my legs decide they're done.

“Silla? What the fuck?” he roars, running toward me. Dropping to his knees, his eyes land on Noa in his fake soldier’s outfit. I have no idea how he lifted it, because the Queen insists on shades of blue for it. It’s quickly becoming my least favorite color. “You there. Did you hurt her?”

Lowering the window, Noa shakes his head. “I didn’t do this to her, but I probably made it worse,” he says. Sidney’s hand dips into his pocket, and my eyes widen as I see there’s poison darts in them. Grabbing his wrist, I shake my head. Growling, Sidney brushes a kiss along my forehead. “We’ll be in touch, Silla,” Noa says.

Squealing tires mark their exit, and I bite my lip.

“If you pick me up, my waist and under my knees are probably your best options,” I tell him.

“You have so much explaining to do.” He sighs. “I have a feeling that if those numbskulls didn’t do this, then the queen did because we asked for your involvement in this mission.”

“Got it in one,” I whimper as he picks me up.

“Alright, let’s see what the fuck is going on, and then get you some pain meds too,” Sidney says.

“Can I get some type of tea that works like a morning after pill?” I ask, dropping my head on his shoulder. I was on something while I was in the dungeons, and while I was living in the castle. It was like Sidney’s tea, because Cinder found out quickly how violently ill I got while on the implant and had to remove it.

I tried to tell her, but she thought I was full of shit.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get the tea yesterday or today, even though I asked for it. The healer was in too much of a rush, and told me I was responsible for whatever bastard I ended up pregnant with. I hope that woman falls down the stairs and falls on a dick she doesn’t choose one day.

Fuck, I don’t want to become a mean, spiteful person.

Sidney almost trips after what I said, but catches himself quickly. The apartment is on the second floor, and he does a great job not jostling me too badly. My feet start to cramp as he kicks the door so they’ll let him in.

“Oye! We got a situation!” Sidney barks.

“I’m not a ‘situation’, dickcheese,” I huff.

“Seriously?” he asks, an inappropriate, hysterical laugh bubbling in his voice.

“I don’t get to curse much anymore,” I mutter.

“Call us anything you want, it may become a fun new degradation kink we didn’t know we had,” he jokes.

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