Unknotted

That was when Admon’s and the enchanter’s words snapped into meaning. It was all true. Everything Topaz had claimed about the Shadow Markets, about hybrid trafficking, it wasn’t a conspiracy. Tides, how had I not known? Worse still, had Glark?

Admon turned to the enchanter, fists on his hips. “What will you pay me for him?”

“We’ll work out the price after we sort out the other half of his form. First, let’s crunch the numbers of the rest of the shipment.” He vanished back inside the trailer.

“Bring him over here.” Admon grabbed Topaz under her arm, dragged her over to the trailer, and roughly shoved her to sit against the rear tire. Hands grabbed me and plopped me down beside her.

Admon squatted on his heels in front of her. She met his glare. I couldn’t detect an ounce of fear save the rapid beating of her heart, seen pounding against the armor over her chest. This was the same woman who had looked at me in utter terror in the lot of the diner, yet she felt little to none in this situation. How could I be more frightening than this?

“I like dominant women.” Admon grabbed her chin. She tightened beside me, straining against the hold. “Breaking them is…” He sighed, his eyes fluttering closed as if lost in a memory filled with ecstasy. “Nothing is better than making a dominant woman compliant.”

“Again. Ew. And don’t hold your breath. You’re not the first to believe they could force me to submit.”

Her words landed like a bullet to my lungs, stealing my breath. I dropped my eyes, shame choking me for being that offender.

Admon dropped his hand. “You will roll over for me.”

“On second thought, do hold your breath. Watching you pass out from lack of oxygen would be entertaining.”

Admon chuckled, the sound dark like thunder in the distance. “Yes, you will be very fun to break, my pet.”

He kicked my leg, just because the jerk could. I clenched my teeth against the pain it shot through me. Another bruise to add to my growing collection. Then, Admon disappeared into the trailer. The rest of his cronies spread out into a perimeter.

“All right, escape artist, how do we sneak out of this?” I dropped my head back against the tire. Escape was useless. Even if we weren’t bound, we were vastly outnumbered and out gunned. Thoughts on my life trekked through my mind. My time in service in the Keadanian army. My estranged father because of my commissioning. My loyalty to Glark and the prophecy. All the lies and deception I had been blind to. In the end, I wasn’t sure how I felt about it all. But there wasn’t as much pride and satisfaction as I had been expecting.

“Those enchanters, they’re the same ones from the diner?” I asked.

“Yeah, Harhort Lewisfur and Wanddy Haidar.” Her gaze was zeroed in on her toolbelt and the rest of my belongings left on the ground about twenty feet away. “You had my keys.”

I shrugged. “You left them in the parking lot.”

“Thief.” But there wasn’t much bite in the word.

“Who are Harhort and Wanddy? Why were they after you? They don’t seem to recognize you now.”

“No surprise there. If you can’t tell, I’m pretty protective of my identity.”

“I have noticed that.”

“They’re poachers, specializing in hybrid trafficking. No one moves more cargo than Harhort.”

“It’s really not all a conspiracy,” I mumbled. “All these hybrids—”

“Are heading to the market.” She glanced back at the trailer. It rocked a little as those inside moved. “Some will be sold to the underground coliseums. There’s quite the market for fighters. Some to whore houses in Tredema.” When I cringed, she explained in a heavy voice, “Yes, there’s a market for that too. The majority will go to the butcher to be dissected for potion ingredients.”

“Tides… Do my ultras know?”

She gave me sidelong look. “You tell me.”

I didn’t know, so I really couldn’t tell her anything. “What do the Broshot factories have to do with all this? I have a hard time believing your attacks were for the fun of it.”

“I’d be lying if I didn’t say some of them were fun.” She chuckled. “Elementals are sold in the Shadow Market even more than hybrids are. All those earth-friendly factories operated on Elemental power. So yeah, the factories are environmentally clean, but at the cost of being morally bankrupt. Elementals have died in droves at the hands of the dynamists.”

Had she made these claims before she threw me through the portal and I had learned the truth of the Shadow Market, I would have added this to the list of her craziness. Now though, I drank in every word and swallowed it as truth.

“I save the elementals I can and shut down the factories for as long as possible to spare more from being worked to death.” She shrugged. “If that’s a condemnable act, then condemn me. But I won’t apologize for it.”

“That’s why the elementals are eager to help you,” I whispered.

Her eyes crinkled at the corners. “I’ve made a few friends along the way.” She gestured to the trailer with her head. “Harhort and Wanddy are related to the Broshots.”

“Ah,” I sighed. “So, they were at the diner to arrest you for destroying the factories.”

She shook her head. “They didn’t know then that I’m the hybrid they’re after. It’s not like the Broshots were hiding my identity from you and the other territories. They truly don’t know exactly what I look like or who I am.”

“Then why did they stake out your truck?”

She took a long moment to answer. “I don’t know. Harhort only said that I “intrigued” him. Whatever that means.”

“It means you’re a very unusual hybrid. And they know less than I do about you.”

A laugh twinkled in her eyes. “My mystery is half my charm.”

“Charm? You’re more exasperating than anything.”

She choked back a laugh. “Fair enough. Though I’m a little charming, right?”

I slid her a flat look. “Not in the least. Since you stumbled into my life, I have never hurt more, in more ways and places. You, Topaz, are nothing but an annoying splinter that won’t come out.”

“Topaz?”

“I have to call you something. Unless you’re willing to give me your name.” I hoped my voice didn’t sound as eager as I felt. Her name had become like a precious secret I was anxious to learn, to cherish, maybe even, to protect.

“Call me whatever you like.” Her elbow bumped mine as she shifted her position. “I wouldn’t have bothered you at all if you had only left me alone.”

“My duty required I pursue you.”

She looked away, shifting some more. “We both know it’s not duty that sent you after me.”

“Is following the Core’s will not duty?” I turned my shoulders enough to stare at her. “I don’t understand why you wouldn’t stop to talk to me. At that point, I had been nothing but kind and you ran from me as if I was your enemy. I know you felt the pull of the cords too.”

“That’s exactly why I ran. Look, you’re right. You were perfectly considerate for about a minute. In fact, more gracious and respectful than most in your dominance tier are capable of faking.”

I averted my eyes. “Until I lost control.”

“Hey, I can relate to losing control. I might have done so myself a time or two.”

“You hide your dominance well. I was convinced you were submissive.” I swallowed hard. “I’m glad you’re not though. Not to sound too much like that creep”—I nodded to the trailer Admon was in—“but I like dominant women too. If the Core’s going to knot me to anyone, I would hope it’s to someone who can stand on equal footing with me.”

She sized up me and my words, searching for the lie. The only lie she would find would be the one she fabricated to keep herself distant.

“I am sorry for whatever trouble I have caused you,” I said. “And for preventing you from completing your mission.”

Her eyes glittered with mischief. “Who says the mission is over?”