by Eve Langlais
“He’s in jail?”
“Of a sort. You did some fine work on Tin Man. He’s been unbeatable in the arena.”
Her lips pressed. “You’re using him as a fighter.”
“Yes.” The king didn’t deny it. “He’s quite good at it, too. We haven’t had a single criminal walk free since he started.”
An archaic system of justice that allowed those who’d committed crimes the chance to walk away. Win at the highest level and even the guilty could go free. Some people apparently did heinous things to try and be arrested in order to achieve that honor.
“How long have you had him?”
“Long enough to think he’s never going to leave. The man keeps winning, yet each time I offer him his freedom, he demands we lock him up again. As if he wants to be punished.”
Was he feeling guilty about something? “I need you to give him to me.”
“I can’t simply hand Tin Man over. He is a valuable asset.”
“You want payment for him.” She was dully well aware of just how much she didn’t have.
“The kingdom’s coffers could always use more treasure.” The king began the negotiations.
“My funds are limited at the moment.”
“But your skills aren’t,” he said bluntly.
“What do you want?”
She expected a demand for a weapon or something violent.
“A communication system so the outlying marsh villages and hamlets can contact the city.”
She eyed the king. “And what else?”
“That’s all I need.”
It seemed too easy. “Only a communication link? Why?”
“Because we lost an outpost and it took more than five days before we even knew. Five. Days.” His eyes burned, and it was then she noticed the cat on the desk, rubbing against the hand that was steepled on its surface.
She actually approved of his desire to communicate better. “I’ll build it and some portable units for your patrols. In return, you’ll give me Titan, a room to live in, food, and a stipend for extras.”
“Deal.”
“Don’t be so quick to agree. If the queen knows I am here, she will stop at nothing to get me back.”
“I am aware. I also don’t care. I don’t answer to the Emerald queen or anyone else. Do we have a deal?” The king held out his hand.
It took her a second before she slid hers in it for a solid shake. “Before I start work on that system, I want to speak with Titan and ensure his freedom.”
“Of course. I’ll arrange for Anita to take you to him right now.”
Right now? She looked down at her dirty self. “Actually, could I maybe get a chance to shower and eat first?” She didn’t want to see Titan like this. A vanity she apparently couldn’t forego.
“But of course, my lady. Anita will show you a room. Let her know when you’re ready to meet with the Tin Man. We’ll have him brought to you.”
“Don’t tell him he’s coming to see me,” she said to the king, who actually opened the door himself and beckoned the guard.
“I wouldn’t dream of telling him he’s being saved by the person he hates most.”
She winced. “He said that?”
“His exact words were, ‘I’m going to kill that Emerald cunt when I get out of here.’”
The words could be directed at the queen, but a part of her feared he still hated her. She couldn’t forget that look of betrayal on his face.
The fact he might hate her preyed on her the entire time she bathed and changed into clothes provided by the king. It was a pale green version of what Anita wore. The fabric on her skin was light and airy, she felt almost naked as she went to meet Titan.
The room chosen was some kind of relaxing parlor. A couple of chairs, a bare hearth. There was a painting on the wall of a strange city with tall buildings and brightly lit windows, so many cars on the street and a throng of people walking. An ancient city. The new ones tended to avoid polluting vehicles inside and resorted to moving walkways or, in more rustic cases, animals.
The large window overlooked a fast-flowing river. She saw nothing to break its surface, but many boats did skim across the top. In one direction only. She wondered if it somehow looped around. She’d check her drone footage later.
The door opened, and she turned to see him.
Titan was haggard, his face wan, and his cheeks gaunt. He wore a tunic with long sleeves, pants down to the ankles and shoes on his feet. A single glove covered his metal hand.
He visibly recoiled upon seeing her, and his lip curled. “You.”
“Hello, Titan.”
“Don’t hello me, princess.” The word was bitten off as an insult.
She didn’t flinch and instead looked at his bionic limbs, moving with him. “I see you’re doing better with your arm and leg.”
“Depends on the day,” he growled. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to rescue you.” Part of the truth.
His lips curled. “I don’t need rescue.”
“You’re being kept prisoner in a dungeon.”
“Probably the best place for me. What else am I going to do? At least this way I’m not a burden to anyone.”
“Are you really pulling a woe-is-me? I told you I’m sorry. I can’t say it enough times.”
“This isn’t about my arm and leg anymore.”
“Then what is it about?”
“You’re the queen’s daughter.”
“Not her favorite one,” she replied with a grimace.
“You didn’t tell me.”
“Can you see why?” was her sarcastic retort. “Do you think you’re the first person to react like you did?”
“With reason! That cunt cost me my father.”
“Did it ever occur to you that I hate her, too?” she yelled right back.
He frowned. “But she’s your mother.”
“And? You said it yourself. She is a cunt. A mean fucking queen and a horrible excuse for a mother. She made my life a living hell.”
“If that’s the case, then why didn’t you try to kill her?”
“I want to. It would be better for me if I could. But there is something encoded in me. Something that won’t let me harm her.” She shrugged. “I keep hoping someone will get close enough to ram a knife in her gut.”
“A lot of people share that same hope.” His lips tightened, and he visibly struggled. “Even if you hate her, it doesn’t change the fact you lied. That I can’t trust you.”
“I did lie, and for that, I am sorry. Hiding has been a part of my life for so long that it never occurred to me to admit it.”
“Look at you saying all the right things. How much of it is still lies?” He sneered.
It hurt her that he didn’t want to forgive her because that obviously meant he didn’t remember with the same fondness what they shared. Didn’t crave it. “I won’t apologize for protecting myself.”
“Why are you here?”
“Partially looking for you. When I realized Burton and Alfred were gone from the citadel, I went looking for them and found out you survived.”
He hung his head. “I am afraid they didn’t. I lost them when the tunnels collapsed on us.”
She winced. “I worried about that section the last time I went through.”
“How did you get here?”
“There’s more than one way.”
“You’ve been here before and know the king.”
“Visited the outer bailiwick yes. Never visited the king. But I will say our first visit went well. He seems reasonable. I managed to negotiate your freedom.”
“Excuse me?”
He appeared shocked, so she explained. “The king has agreed to let you go.”
“No one asked you to do that.” He sounded so cold. Unlike the man who’d heated every inch of her flesh.
“I was glad to make the bargain.”
The wrong thing to say. He stiffened further if possible. “No bargain because I w
on’t be in your debt.”
“I never asked for payment.”
“And I didn’t ask for your help. I don’t need anything from you,” Titan grumbled. “I can take care of myself.”
That had her blinking. “I never said you couldn’t. But you’re kind of in a bind given you’re a prisoner.”
“Prisoner by choice. From my perspective it’s food, a room with a bed, exercise.”
She rolled her eyes. “Is that all you need? What about freedom?”
“I’ve had freedom. It’s overrated.”
“Then you’re not doing it right.”
For some reason that made him laugh. “Aren’t you fucking priceless.”
She didn’t know what he meant, so she changed the subject. “How long did it take to properly bond with your arm and leg?”
“Too long.” The reminder brought a grimace to his face. “It’s taken practice. And sometimes they still don’t act like I want.”
“Given your lack of gene, it’s doing better than I ever expected with you. May I?” she asked, reaching for his metal arm.
He jerked out of reach. “Don’t touch me.”
She frowned. “Why not?”
“Because when you get close the voice starts to shout.”
Her eyes widened. “What voice?”
His lips pressed into a tight line. “It doesn’t matter.”
“I want to help you.”
“I don’t need your help. You’ve done enough.”
For some reason, she got angry. “Are you done with the pity party? Maybe you’d like me to find a flog? Something with spikes on it to truly rip yourself open and play the martyr.” He gaped at her, and she couldn’t stop. She kept going. “I’m sorry you got fucking hurt. But beyond that, I’m done listening to you being such a pussy about life. If you change your mind about getting out, let me know before I leave.”
“You’re leaving?”
“I have to in order to uphold my side of the bargain.”
“Even if I wanted to leave, where would I go?”
She spread her hands. “Wherever you like. If you choose to leave the city, I have a vehicle stashed about an hour’s walk from here.”
“You’d give it to me?”
She rolled her shoulders. “Easy enough to get another.”
“If I stay, you’ll still complete your bargain for the king.”
“I don’t have many choices.” She flexed her shoulders. “If I like working and feel safe here, maybe I’ll stick around. If it doesn’t work out, then I’ll find a new set of tunnels and see if I can’t find another abandoned citadel. Or maybe I’ll hit the Port City and find a ship sailing out of here.”
“Alone.” Flatly said.
“Yes.” Since he seemed so adamant about not wanting to be with her.
“What is your bargain with the king? He doesn’t seem like he needs extra parts.”
“Communication. He wants to be able to speak to his satellite fiefdoms.”
“To better control,” he said with a sneer.
“Yes, but also aid. Not everyone is a despot like the Emerald queen. A good king with a strong kingdom might even be able to protect me from my mother.”
“Mother.” His lip curled. “You hate her and yet still call her by that name.”
“I can’t change the facts of my birth.”
“No, you can’t. You are the queen’s daughter. Making you my enemy.”
She couldn’t help the downturn of her lips. “I never wanted to see you hurt.”
“And yet it happened anyhow. I might have been stupid enough once to think I could trust you, but it won’t happen again.” With that statement, he abruptly departed, and not once looked back.
The door had just shut when it opened again, and she started to smile, thinking he’d returned, only a stranger entered. Slim, with a long braid and beard. He held a knife and grinned at her.
Given her current mood, he really shouldn’t have. By the time she was done turning his knife against him, he sobbed on the floor.
His intent wasn’t to kill her, apparently, but return her for a prize. The queen had put a sizeable bounty on her head, and word had reached the kingdom. Just like news of her arrival spread, probably from the first guard she spoke to when she gave her name.
The king profusely apologized when he arrived after she’d notified Anita she had a situation. Anita was appalled because she’d been too busy overseeing Titan’s return to the prison and had left Riella unguarded.
It wouldn’t have mattered either way. She’d run out of time. The queen’s influence stretched even here. Which meant she couldn’t stay. But before she left, she decided to see Titan one last time, to say goodbye—apparently, she was a sadist for rejection.
Twelve
Titan stalked away from his meeting with Riella angry. He held on to that rage, let it bubble inside him for the daughter of his enemy. A liar.
A woman on the run from the queen. A victim in need of his understanding and help. Except she didn’t want his help. Didn’t need it either.
Seeing her in that lavish room was a reminder she didn’t need him at all. Riella had obviously done better than him at getting herself out of the domes in one piece. She’d negotiated his release. Didn’t think him capable of getting out on his own.
She kept saving him over and over. And it occurred to him that part of his anger over it had to do with the fact he’d never had a chance to be the hero. Never got to save the girl.
He was fucking jealous because she was better than him and he couldn’t handle it.
“Where are you going?” asked the guard keeping pace with him.
“Back to my cell.”
“Your cell? But I thought—”
He interrupted with a snapped, “You thought wrong. I’ll earn my own damned freedom when I want to. On my fucking own.”
“Well excuse me,” the female guard muttered, letting him back into his cell.
But the confining box of it didn’t soothe his anxious thoughts.
Seeing Riella again, he was reminded of too much. Such as how she sighed and undulated when he was deep inside her. The tight fit of her, the soft cries. Was it all lies?
Fuck, he wanted to sink into that velvety heat again. But that would mean forgiving her. It would mean being second best. Could he handle her strength? Handle the fact she could kick his ass and travel the Wasteland and beyond without a qualm?
Understanding she could handle herself didn’t minimize how it felt to know she was in danger. A part of him demanded he protect her.
But what if she rejected him? His services. His kisses… Had it been a one-time thing?
It made him feel stupid to even wonder.
The voice inside didn’t help, whispering and taunting. Don’t be a coward. She was obviously interested. It pointed out the obvious, that there was a chemistry between them. A passion that made him feel alive. And living was something he very much wanted to do.
When he’d woken from drowning, not dead as expected, he’d discovered he’d been a little busy while passed out. Somehow, he’d managed to get out of the tank—You’re welcome, the smug reply by that voice—and washed ashore, whereupon a group of fisherfolk discovered him. Now, it should be noted, had he encountered them and demanded asylum, he probably would have gotten it. But apparently—keeping in mind he recalled nothing—he’d risen from the mud and, with his one bionic arm and single working leg, grabbed and tossed people left and right. Only killing one person—who apparently wasn’t well liked. However, what they did take notice of was his fighting skill.
The Marshes had a market for selling folks to compete in the arena of justice. He might have originally thought the idea of pitting champions against riffraff dumb, but he discovered a certain elegance to it. It served so many purposes.
For one, those who did wrong received justice. And the populace got to chant and cheer as the criminal was pummeled. Which fed into the second thing that the fights solved, a nee
d for violence and danger. Most people didn’t actually want to fight or wonder if they’d get hurt, but they loved to bet on it. Scream themselves hoarse. They also became quite adept at finding champions.
In that arena, Tin Man wasn’t a strange aberration. He was a winner with no home. The rumor mill worked just as well in the dungeons as it did in the streets of the city. A whisper came that claimed Haven was gone. The bunker they’d appropriated and called home destroyed in an Enclave attack. Rumor went on then to claim a few crazy things. That the survivors had fled into the forest and disappeared. Another that claimed they took over an Incubaii Dome as their new home. None of it was true obviously, but he had no way of contacting them or finding them.
He’d lost his friends. Those he considered family.
Which only served to depress him. The only time he got some relief from the anxiety inside occurred in the arena.
Once he entered the blood-, sweat-, and tear-stained stage, he felt alive. He showed off his metal parts to the crowd and exulted as they chanted his name. At first, he might have struggled a bit in the fights, but after a few boos, he learned to work with the bionics—and ignore the voice. The new limbs worked even better than the old.
Some might wonder why he kept fighting. Why not just walk out of the city and go somewhere new? Where, though?
Why bother? He’d failed everyone apparently.
So imagine his surprise when he heard Gunner’s voice. “Titan, is that you?”
“Depends who’s asking.” It couldn’t be. What were the chances they’d both end up in this place? Then again, Gunner’s luck had always favored him.
“As if you don’t know. Where you been? We’ve been wondering where you got to.”
“Here and there.”
“We were worried about you.”
Titan highly doubted that. “I left a message.”
“’Gone, see you soon’ isn’t exactly self-explanatory.”
“I went looking for something.” Yet another thing he failed at.
“And found it in a cell?”
Titan snorted. “Apparently, I’m good at getting captured given this is my second in as many months.” He really should hone his skills. It was getting embarrassing.