Danae waved her father off. “Don’t mind him. He’s always like that.”
Danae looped her arm through Kerrigan’s. She pulled her eyes away from Constantine’s retreating back to look at his daughter. She was shocked to find that Danae didn’t have brown eyes, but they were so gray that they were almost colorless.
“Come on. This way. Let’s get you somewhere to rest.”
Danae pulled her out of the altar room.
“Why are you being so nice to me?” Kerrigan asked.
“Should I not be? You were put in a bad situation. I’m sure you’re terrified. I wouldn’t want to make any of that worse.”
Kerrigan considered the girl. She seemed sincere. There was no deception coming off of her, but Kerrigan had made enough mistakes since falling into Domara. She couldn’t afford another one.
“A bad situation is an understatement. And it’s not like it got better just by being here.”
Danae nodded sagely. “That’s fair. You don’t have any reason to believe me, but I am sorry for what happened to you.”
“You don’t even know what happened.”
“I know you were sold and forced to move here against your will. That’s bad enough. I’ve been there. I was forced out of my home and taken to a strange world and had no idea what was going to happen. We look put together because we’re on the other side of it, but it wasn’t always easy.” Danae shook her head and gestured for them to continue walking. “And I don’t expect it to be easy for you.”
“How can it be when I don’t know what I’m even doing here?”
At least with Tarcus, it had been clear. Now, she felt even more in limbo. Not that she was upset that she wasn’t going to be used for sex, but why was she even here?
“My father has a long history with Tarcus. If he was going to purchase you, I suspect my father did it to save you.”
“That’s a hefty price for spite.”
Danae laughed softly. “I suppose it looks like that. He will find a way to make up the costs. He’s always been good at that. But I don’t think you need to worry about that right now.”
Kerrigan shot her a skeptical look. “And then what?”
“Well, what do you want?”
She almost laughed at the girl. What she wanted was so far out of her grasp right now that even suggesting it to Danae was absurd. She wanted to leave here, find Fordham, find her mother, and go home. But none of that was going to happen until she found a way out of this fortress.
“I want to go home,” she confessed instead.
Danae stopped in front of a room. Her gaze was off far in the distance. She swallowed. “Me too. What I wouldn’t give to go back to Andine. But neither of us is getting that today, are we?”
“I suppose not.”
Danae pushed the door open. “You’ll be safe in here tonight. No one will disturb you. Once you’re past the worst of the magic burn, things will start looking better.”
Kerrigan highly doubted it, but the exhaustion was creeping in even harder than before. If anything, at least Danae was willing to talk to her. She’d had no one while she was trapped with Flavia. A smiling face, even the daughter of her new owner, was preferable to solitude.
“Will there be a guard at the door?”
She shook her head. “No one will disturb you. You’re free to roam the house as you wish. Just stay off the grounds and don’t go near the fence. It’s magicked to a high shock, and then we’d be back at square one with your magic burn.”
Kerrigan filed that away. So, the magic she’d seen Constantine use went around the entire perimeter. That made sense. That didn’t mean there was nowhere to escape. It just meant she would have to find its weak points. Because no matter how nice Danae was and how Constantine seemed different, none of it meant anything in practice.
She stepped into the darkened room. “Okay.”
“Sleep well, Felicity,” Danae said with a sad smile and then pulled the door closed behind her.
Kerrigan was finally, blissfully alone. She could see little of the room because heavy curtains obscured the light. She pulled on one to let a sliver light in and saw that the room was beyond comprehension. Thick rugs under her feet instead of the cold stone. An enormous bed, draped with blankets and filled with overstuffed pillows. Tapestries hung on the walls, and expensive furniture littered the room. It was more extravagant even than her home in the mountain. Why would they have this waiting for her if he hadn’t planned to bring her at all?
She didn’t have answers, but she intended to get them.
It wasn’t until she crumpled into the bed, fully clothed, that she realized she had been running on fumes. When her head hit the pillow, her entire body fell into unconsciousness.
Sleep crusted her eyes as she woke abruptly. One minute, the world had been dark and her dreams empty, and the next, she was back in the bedroom of her owner. She hadn’t moved even an inch from where she had collapsed into bed. The magic burn must have been worse than she’d thought. She’d never experienced anything like it back home, but then again, she’d always had magic at her fingertips and friends to fix anything that ailed her.
She cracked her neck as she righted herself. Her body felt markedly better. Though hunger gnawed at her stomach. She stretched her shoulders and pulled back the heavy drapery to reveal a new dawn cresting the day. She’d slept the entire day and night again. Scales.
No wonder she was hungry. She hadn’t had a meal in two days. She was going to need to find something to sate her hunger soon, and yet she couldn’t tear her eyes from the window. It looked out across much of Constantine’s estate, and she could see roughly a dozen men running shirtless around the perimeter.
A pang in her chest brought back memories of all the times she’d done the same while dragon training. And somehow, that felt like a lifetime ago.
Kerrigan closed the curtain with a sigh and headed to the door. She turned the knob and pushed it open. As Danae had said, no guard waited on the other side. It wasn’t freedom, but it felt different than with Flavia. She retraced her steps to the large eatery. To her surprise, there were a half-dozen men sitting around one of the tables, devouring breakfast. One of them caught her out of the corner of his eye and then did a double take. He elbowed his fellow, and they all turned silent at her approach.
“Holy gods,” one of them whispered.
Kerrigan raised her chin at their attention. It didn’t matter that she was still in her dusty white outfit that she’d slept in for the last two days. She was hungry enough to eat a horse, and she was relatively confident that she could take any one of them in a fight as long as there was no magic involved.
“My lady,” one of the men said, jumping to his feet and bowing deeply at the waist. “My name is Theo, and I am your humble servant. How can I be of assistance?”
Another man laughed and elbowed him. “She’s not a Doma. Captain already explained.”
“Look at her,” Theo hissed, his eyes wide. “Apologies for their disrespect. Can’t account for taste.”
She didn’t know what to make of this merry bunch. Theo was staring at her the way so many other Doma worshippers had done. She must have looked like a god incarnate to him.
“I was hoping for some breakfast.”
“Right this way,” Theo said, jumping to her assistance. He was shirtless, like the rest of the men, in nothing but a loincloth and sandals. He was younger than many of the other men with the curly, dark locks she’d associated with many of the Andine, but surprising bright blue eyes.
Kerrigan had no other option but to follow him toward the kitchen door. One giant man was busy at work, rotating pots and adding ingredients. The room smelled like fresh-baked bread and bacon. Her stomach rumbled loudly.
“Geraldo,” Theo said cheerfully. “Our lovely lady has requested to break her fast.”
Geraldo barely glanced her way before slopping food onto a plate. “Here,” he grunted.
Theo took it out of his hand and gestured for her to take a seat by the door to the kitchen. “The others won’t bother you in here, and I have to get to training.” He bent low at the waist and kissed her hand. “A pleasure to meet you.”
“Um, thank you.”
He grinned broadly and then skipped out of the kitchen. Well, he clearly thought she was a Doma … or he was a relentless flirt. Either way, he’d gotten her food, and that was what mattered. She dived into the meal, devouring the eggs and bacon in a matter of seconds. Until her stomach ached from stuffing it too full, too fast. She sipped from a glass of wine that Geraldo had plopped unceremoniously onto her table. Instead of bitter, it was sweet and delicious. If she was fine with losing her faculties, she would down it.
When she was sated, she explored the house. Danae had said she had free rein, and she was right because no one else seemed to live in the building. Or at least, the only other people were already training. She gave up on the house quickly when she found an open pavilion that looked down upon the fighting square.
The space was coated in sand separated into sections for different exercises. The men were sparring with wooden swords, running through an obstacle course, and using weights. A large rack of weaponry was open, and men were going through it. All of them naked to the waist with powerful thighs and nothing but a loincloth and sandals. There was not a single woman. Constantine had said as much, but it was still disappointing. Did they not allow women to fight in this world?
She observed the men, watching their shoddy footwork and overeager reaches. She’d despised many of her teachers, but they had made her into the formidable weapon that she was. Yes, magic had been her forte, but she’d had tests where she was either not allowed to use magic or had it removed temporarily. She was stronger with it, but still dangerous without it.
Theo noticed her first. He dropped the barbell he had been snatching over his head with ease. The weights clanged noisily against the hard earth. He bowed at the waist and blew her a brazen kiss.
His fellows laughed and egged him on. Kerrigan just arched an eyebrow at him. Obviously not deterred, he strode across the sand, reaching a hand toward her like a long-lost lover.
“My lady,” he said to the jeers of his comrades.
Evander was there a second later. He took one look at Theo’s display and Kerrigan standing on the parapet and slapped Theo on the back of his head.
“Back to work!” Evander barked. “Take a few laps to get your head on.”
“Ah, come on, Captain. It was just some fun.” His eyes returning to meet hers, he winked.
“And how do you think the general would have responded to this behavior if I wasn’t here?”
Theo paled. “Fine. Fine. I’ll take a lap.”
Theo blew her another kiss and then began to run. Kerrigan couldn’t help it; she laughed. It was the first actual normal thing that had happened to her in this world, so she didn’t even begrudge the flirt.
“You shouldn’t be out here,” a gruff voice said from behind her.
Kerrigan whirled around, her smile fading fast at the sight of Constantine. “I was told I had run of the estate.”
“You don’t need to be interrupting the training sessions.”
“I was hardly interrupting. It’s not like they’re fighting anytime soon. Half of them shouldn’t get near a sword.”
“Oh really?” he asked.
“Yes and you know that I’m right.”
“I don’t know what experience you have with gladiators,” Constantine said. “But I have three of the best in the empire.”
Kerrigan furrowed her brow. “What are gladiators?”
Constantine’s face froze at the question. “Surely you’re aware of the tournaments?”
She hated admitting her ignorance, but she knew nothing about this world. She’d assumed these men were trained warriors, preparing for battle.
“Oh, right, the tournament,” she lied instead. “When is that again?”
“We enter the men to compete in Carithian in two weeks.”
She nodded, understanding coming over her. She had thought she was at a compound for soldiers, but no, these were entertainers. Fighters who competed in a tournament, as she had once done in the dragon tournament. No wonder Theo was so extravagant. He probably played a crowd well. They had to be good, but it wasn’t life or death. Or maybe it was. She wasn’t sure.
“And will I be going with you to the capital?” she asked.
He pursed his lips. “That’s to be decided.”
“You could put me in the tournament,” she said as he turned his back to go.
He stilled, and then she heard a rumble of laughter. “You have spirit, Felicity. I’ll give you that, but we don’t train women in Andine. And I’m not about to break thousands of years of tradition for a little thing I spent a small fortune on.” His eyes cut to her again. “Find my daughter and let her get you cleaned up. You might look like a Doma, but anyone on my estate will wear Andine clothing.”
“Why?” she demanded.
She’d known he would reject her. She’d said it out of desperation. Though she hadn’t known his complete refusal to train her would come from a cultural phenomenon.
“Because I was kurios in Andine, and I don’t wish to see my conquerors wandering my halls.”
“What … what is kurios?” she asked of the unfamiliar word.
He paused. “King.”
He left her with that to digest. She’d been asking why he didn’t let women train. Instead, she’d gotten a better answer. A more thorough one.
A king. A king of Andine. And now, he was this, here in Domara. The home of his conquerors.
Well, shit.