Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

Deacon

I was not ready to see Rex, for various reasons. I could not allow Sarah to see him either. “Sarah, we need to speak privately on this matter. Now.”

Her expression was disgruntled until she saw mine. Then she became weary. “Leda, you stay here. We’ll be right back.”

“I will go nowhere until you tell me,” the girl promised.

Catching Jac’s eye as I turned around, he joined Sarah and me as we went back aboard Allegiant for privacy. Once ensconced in my quarters with the door shut, I told her, “There is no way we are going to Faithless to see Rex Terian.”

“Then, I’ll go without you.” She crossed her arms defiantly.

I exhaled a slow, deep breath. It was all I could do to keep my temper under control. “Why are you being stubborn about this?”

“I don’t own slaves, Deacon! Period,” she said heatedly. “Is slavery some kind of common thing for Ladrians?”

“No,” Jac jumped in, clearly seeing my own growing ire over the situation. “It’s usually reserved for royals or the very wealthy, and most have only a handful of personal slaves for their own use. It’s not like how slavery is on Earth—not people in a garment factory or used in farming. It’s more akin to how ladies-in-waiting were in Europe a few hundred years ago, but it’s how the unclassed, the poor, orphans, or any other undesirable person can lift themselves out of poverty.”

“Did you have to put such a tone on undesirable?” I asked, knowing he was referencing himself and hating it.

He shrugged. “Blame the classed, Deacon. That’s how they talk about it.”

“Yes, but still.”

Sarah’s forehead bunched up around her brow. “So, Rex didn’t send me a slave? He sent me a lady-in-waiting?”

“Here on Halla, there are slaves,” Jac said simply. “The kind you likely think of when you hear that word. There are very few rules on Halla, and no centralized governing body, so most of the rules are based on whoever owns the land you’re on at the time.”

“But how you treat her is up to you,” I added. “You can treat her like a lady-in-waiting, you can treat her poorly, that’s your call. You own her—”

“Nope. I do not,” Sarah insisted, waving a hand in the air. “I am not a slave owner. Out of the question.”

“Then treat her like a lady-in-waiting—”

“I don’t like it,” Jac cut me off. “I don’t trust that girl. There is something off about her. When she walked up, she wore this fake smile, something she had practiced. She might be here to get close to Sarah and kill her, or spy on you and your father for Rex, or something else. But she’s more than what she says she is. I know it.”

“I trust Jac on this,” Sarah said before I could respond. “And I don’t understand why you’re so avoidy about Rex Terian, Deacon. I know you both seem to think he’s repugnant—”

“He is all that and more,” I insisted.

“But what is the harm in taking Leda back to him, since she speaks so highly of him? Then I can judge the man’s character for myself.”

My throat seemed to close up, and my chest grew tight. I could not let myself tap into the memory that would explain it to her. I never wanted to say the words out loud. It was my greatest shame. I could never tell it to anyone. Not my father, not Jac, not Sarah. There was only one other living Ladrian who knew my secret, and they would never tell for their own safety. Otherwise, death would come for us both.

Before I could speak, Jac said, “If Leda is some kind of Trojan Horse, then Rex could have a surprise waiting for us when we get to Faithless.”

That is not his way. “Rex is not passive aggressive. He is only aggressive. I do not believe he would have some kind of trap waiting for us. I think he is curious about you, Sarah, which makes me even more concerned about you going there.”

“You know something?” Jac said, rubbing his hand along his chin thoughtfully. “You’re right. I bet Leda is a test.”

Sarah glanced toward Jac. “How do you mean?”

“To see what kind of person you are. Leda is right—he likes Earth mythology and their cultures—he is familiar with your world history, all of it. He likely knows that you would be repulsed by slavery, so sending you a slave is a test to see what you would do with her. If you keep her, then you’re someone he could consider doing business with. If you try to abandon her someplace, then you’re too weak to handle the uncomfortable situation, and he—”

“Will see me as a weak person who got a lucky break when she killed Portend?” Sarah finished for him.

Jac nodded and shrugged. “Most likely. We cannot let him think you’re weak—it will make you a target. I doubt he would think you would return Leda yourself, which means—”

“It is the right play,” I said, hating myself for agreeing with him. “I do not like this, but you are right, Jac.” I huffed. “Fuck.”

Sarah gave me a surprised look. “Wow, I don’t usually hear that out of you unless you’re naked. You must really not like this guy.”

“I do not.”

“He did this because he sees you as a potential threat to his authority,” Jac said, crossing his arms over his chest. “That’s a good thing. We need to keep him worried—”

“But why not make him an ally?” Sarah asked.

We both laughed, then I said, “You do not want Rex Terian as an ally, Sarah. He is a monster.”

“Okay, sure, he sent me a slave and that is monstrous, but I’m trying not to judge your culture right now, and slavery is a thing where he comes from. If I could make him an ally, then maybe I could talk him into freeing his slaves.”

“Oh my sweet, na?ve consort,” I said before I kissed her lips and caressed a hand over the top of her head. “There are no alliances with Rex that he would not break. No bond he holds to, no rule outside of whatever he wants in the moment. There is no trust with a Ladrian like him. He would sooner skin you alive than let you deprive him of anything he wants.”

Lips pressed together tightly in annoyance, she turned to Jac. “Do you think I’m na?ve, too?”

“Not na?ve, just uninformed about Rex.” He gave Sarah a soft, placating smile before he looked at me. “Do you care to tell her more about him? You knew him better than I did.”

My stomach twisted with the truth. Telling her more about Rex would only lead to more questions that I was not prepared to answer. "No. If what I have said is not enough to dissuade her from returning Leda, then there is nothing more that I can say that would.”

“Then, we’re going to Faithless,” Sarah said firmly.

A sinking sensation in my gut threatened to make me lose breakfast, but there was clearly no way to get around this. “Very well, then. It is best to have medical staff on this journey, and perhaps an advisor. I do not believe we will require Tiger’s or Treg’s skills. Do you think Camp Deo would mind coming along?”

“I would rather she stayed here to tend the twins, actually. What about Lanai Dea?” Jac countered, asking of my personal android.

I nodded. “I believe her batteries have been charged. On that, Sarah, if you check that panel behind you, you will find a proper wardrobe for you. I had Lanai collect it for you.”

Her face lit up with a smile. “Really?”

“Yes, just tap that panel at the corner,” I told her.

She did and gasped. Pulling out some items, she held them up to her body and said, “Oh my gosh, Deacon, what…how did you know my size—wait, why are these in my size? I would have thought I would need to have things tailored or something.”

I chuckled at her enthusiasm. “You are the size of a young Ladrian teenager—Lanai knew your size by looking at you. The only tailoring required was to close up the rears, due to your lack of a tail. Do you like them?”

She stood up on her toes and kissed me. “Yes. Thank you. Though next time, I would like to go shopping for myself. If that’s okay.”

“Of course, Consort. This is merely a temporary measure.”

She smoothed her hand down the front of a feminine tunic. “Do you mind gathering the crew for the trip, while I try some of these on?” she asked, sounding thrilled about her new wardrobe.

It made me smile. “Not at all.”

Jac and I left her to her fun, while we spoke to our crews. Everyone agreed to the trip, but a gut feeling told me one would not. As Jac asked Ode about going to Faithless, she perked up and grabbed her med kit bag to prepare for the journey.

“I didn’t even know there was a city like that on Halla,” she said, her eyes brimming with excitement at the thought of a new adventure. “But then, no one really likes to talk about Halla, either. It’s like talking about death, and who likes that? Uh yeah, sure, I’ll go with you. Maybe I can refill some of my supplies there—”

“Rex Terian runs the place and we’re going to see him,” I interjected.

“Nope. Not going,” Ode quickly backtracked. “Take Wave. She can patch up whatever you break until you get back to me.” She closed up her med kit bag with a snap and walked toward the exit.

Jac’s jaw dropped open in shock at her quick turnaround at the mention of Rex. “Are you kidding, Ode?”

“Do I look like I’m kidding?”

“No, but—”

“I’ll help take care of the twins while you’re gone. Safe journey,” she said as she left the infirmary.

Rarely had I ever seen Jac more surprised as he stared after Ode’s retreating form. “The hell was that?”

I shrugged as innocently as I could manage but playing dumb was not my strong suit. “Some people just don’t like the Terians.”

“Yeah, I mean, I know they’re a controversial family, but that was so unlike Ode.” He scratched at the slight stubble growing along his jaw, looking and sounding completely baffled. “She likes to go everywhere and especially new places. That’s why she took the commission on my crew.”

“We will take Wave, like she said. It will be fine,” I lied.