“You are displeased at this new arrangement, Atlanta?” I shooed the servants away and approached the cage—not missing the way that she eyed the knife at my hip.
“I think that much is obvious, Apex.” She crossed her arms over her ribs and raised an eyebrow. “Or am I supposed to call you sir now?”
I blinked at her as my cock throbbed in my trousers.
Yes, I wanted to say. Yes, you will call me sir, and you will obey my every command. I am your master now. You will do as I like—and I like the sound of sir from your pretty lips, very much.
But of course, I could not. I needed Atlanta’s trust and cooperation more than I needed her obedience right now. I could not allow my desire for her to get in the way of this partnership—and whether she wanted to believe it or not, a partnership was exactly what this was.
“In private, you may call me whatever you like,” I told her instead. “But in public, especially when Queen Lieja is within earshot—yes, sir would be appropriate. Master, if you would prefer.”
“I think I ought to call you a bastard for getting me put in this stupid thing.” Her eyes were daggers as she stared up at me. “One minute, you promise to help me. The next, you get me thrown back in a cage and convince your queen to let you train me like a slave. It makes a girl wonder, Apex—whose side are you really on?”
“My side.” I took a step closer and drew the key that Lieja had given me from my pocket. I held it up for Atlanta to see. It glistened golden in the slow light. “And yours, if you will allow. Lieja is not my queen, and you are not my slave.”
“Then prove it,” Atlanta snapped at me. “Let me out of here.”
“Fair.” I placed the key in the lock and turned it. As soon as the door popped open, it became apparent that she sought to make me regret it.
To her credit, she moved faster than I expected her to. Not fast enough, though. If I had wanted to, I could have stopped her in an instant. Her reflexes may have been good, but mine were better.
Nonetheless, I let her take my knife from its sheath. She swiped it up toward my throat in a smooth, elegant arc and pressed it firmly against my windpipe.
“Who’s the master now?” she snarled fiercely.
I almost laughed.
“All right, then. Do it,” I challenged her. “Slit my throat. See what happens. I suppose you know how?”
Atlanta only hesitated for a moment before she moved to draw the knife across my neck. This time, I did stop her—I did not need Lieja seeing that I had allowed our little human to draw blood.
“Wrong.” I took her wrist in my hand and turned it away for a moment—then, as shock filled her eyes, I placed the knife back against my throat again. “If you are going to kill, you must do so with conviction. You must cut deep. Hard and swift. Forcefully, though the windpipe. Anything shallow will only incapacitate momentarily—and then, you will be at the mercy of the very person you were trying to kill.”
I pressed the knife harder against my throat, and she stared up at me, unblinking.
Whatever she had thought would happen just now, this certainly wasn’t it.
“Why are you telling me this?” Her chest rose and fell heavily. I could sense her heartbeat through her chest. Her pulse was racing as her fingers tightened around the handle of my knife.
“Because, as I said… I am on your side. I wish to help you. But in order to do that—” I tensed slightly as her wrist twitched beneath my grip. “You will have to let me.”
5
Atlanta
I don’t entirely know why I did it, but I lowered the knife.
Looking up at Apex was like staring into infinity. His eyes were so dark, like a vast expanse of space without stars, they were easy to get lost in if I lingered for too long. His body was massive compared to my tiny frame, all muscle and danger. And there was something about him, something so far beyond the purely physical that I couldn’t even come close to quantifying it, that simultaneously made me want to throw myself into his arms and have a good cry against his chest while he held me, and to raise the knife back up to his throat and make him regret what he’d just taught me.
You must cut deep. Hard and swift.
I tore my eyes away from his and looked down at his knife for a moment—then closed my eyes and turned it in my hand, holding it out for him to reclaim.
I only had about half a reason to trust him at this point, but even I could tell I was acting like a madwoman. I knew why I was doing it, too. But that didn’t make it right. After how I’d been treated all my life—ordered around, half-starved to maintain a “desirable” weight, forced to dance at the government’s slightest whim… Then kidnapped, forced to dance some more, captured and caged—it wasn’t exactly an easy thing, trusting someone like him. One moment, he was insisting that he was helping me. The next, he was telling me I’d have to call him master or sir if anyone else was in hearing range.
Only one thing was for certain: whatever I’d been dragged into here was so, so much more convoluted than I ever could have imagined.
Okay—maybe two things were for certain. That, and the fact that even if I didn’t trust Apex fully, he was the only ally I had right now.
I needed to keep my guard up—but I also needed to let him in.
“I’m sorry for attacking you.” If I was going to make
