Chapter 27 #2
Splitting up, we headed down an alley Simon guided us to and around the back of the building.
A rickety set of wooden stairs led to the second floor and Simon made a beeline for them, ignoring the surprised looks of a few whores who he passed by.
Umaira went next, watching Simon’s back, followed by me, then Uttin in the rear.
Most of the doors to the second floor were closed and locked, something Simon quietly explained was normal to protect their things from thieves.
It was the door at the end that was open, shouting voices spilling from inside.
“You ask too much!” Hameed bellowed.
“Your trade agreement is useless if no one shows up from Al Nuzem! You need to go back to find that signet ring! It is the only way to get traders here!” the advisor hissed.
Both men were in the same location? How lucky could I get?
“If I return to Al Nuzem, I’ll be hanged!” Hameed snapped. “The king and queen went looking for Zakai. It is only a matter of time before they find him.”
“Which is why it is better for you to go now before they return!”
Fools. They’d found me weeks ago. How old was their information?
A familiar young whore came up the stairs with refreshments, blowing our cover. He took one look at us and started hollering, “Intruders!”
Simon snarled, darting forward while Umaira headed for the room Hameed and the advisor were in, bursting through the door before they could slam it shut and lock us out.
Uttin and I came through a second later, and I watched in great satisfaction as Umaira knocked the advisor out cold before turning to Hameed.
He was disheveled, mostly undressed, and was it my imagination or had he gotten fat? He no longer held the shape he had when he acted as my guard. Gluttony had made him slow. Too slow to act before I put my sword to his throat.
“Move and I’ll skewer you. And I’ll take great enjoyment watching you choke on your own blood.”
“Wha—How?!” he demanded, eyes wide.
Without breaking eye contact, I tipped my head toward Uttin, grinning smugly. “The clan you sent me to wasn’t what you wished it to be. I found my husband there. He kept me safe until my parents could find me.” I mock-pouted at him. “Too bad, Hameed. Your plan failed.”
With a roar filled with hatred, he knocked the sword away, lunging toward me. He didn’t even touch me before Uttin punched him so hard, teeth and blood escaped Hameed’s mouth. He hit the ground with a satisfying thud.
“Did you seriously just kill him with one punch?” I demanded, poking at the body with a toe of my boot. No way was I getting closer. He smelled foul, like he hadn’t bathed in weeks.
Uttin shot me a dry look. “Such is not possible. He’s unconscious. Where should we bring him?”
“Downstairs,” Simon informed us. I whipped around, surprised by his sudden appearance. He tipped his head toward the stairs. “I cleared out the biggest room so we can deal with all three of them.”
My father had left it up to my judgment whether to haul Hameed and the advisor to Al Nuzem to be put in jail the rest of their lives or kill them immediately.
I still waffled between the two choices.
While jail would drag out their suffering, there was always a chance they could escape, and returning Hameed to our country seemed too good for him.
It would be justice to leave his body here in this disgusting town he’d betrayed his king and country to live in.
Uttin and Abdul dragged the two men downstairs, where the whore from earlier and the brothel owner were already tied and gagged on their knees.
Feigrind watched over them with a menacing glare, obviously remembering Simon’s stories about the way he was treated here.
I wondered if Simon would give him a chance to do some damage before taking them out himself.
After the advisor and Hameed were tied up in a similar fashion, Umaira dumped cold water on their faces from the trough outside. The advisor woke up with a gasp, but Hameed was slower to wake. That punch from Uttin was severe.
“Gentlemen. Thank you for having us,” I said in the common tongue. Yes, I had studied with Simon the past few weeks to be able to deliver this speech flawlessly. I wanted to make sure they understood what was about to happen to them.
“Each of you has betrayed either myself or a member of my clan. We are here to right that injustice. With extreme prejudice.”
The whore began to sob around his gag, shaking where he kneeled. Simon looked unaffected by the tears, kicking his side to silence him.
My gaze dragged to the advisor, who looked pale and wide eyed. “You thought you could use me and sell me off. You were wrong. But don’t worry. Your mayor will know what happened to you. I will deliver your body to him myself with a warning to never underestimate Al Nuzem again.”
I gave Simon his turn, wanting to save Hameed for last. I would take the most enjoyment out of telling him his punishment.
“Quincy,” Simon sneered at his former employer. “You’re a sick fuck, willing to let your employees be used and treated so poorly that many were forced to leave and starve on the streets just so you could make money. I hope Tomas sucking your dick was worth losing your greatest asset.”
The dirty look Quincy shot Tomas said it wasn’t. He was displeased with how things turned out.
Simon turned his attention to Tomas, who quivered under his glare. “And Tomas, you poor pathetic idiot. I wanted to thank you.”
Tomas looked surprised, staring up at him. If he wasn’t gagged, his mouth would have probably been hanging open.
Simon’s grin turned smug, and he moved to lean against Feigrind like he was the prince instead of me. I tried not to snicker.
“Thanks to your jealousy, I wound up with this big guy. And let me tell you, the sex is amazing. I come hands free with him. My bondmate treats me like a prince, pampers me daily, and if it came down to my life or his, he’d save me every time.
My clan respects me, and I don’t have to bend over for anyone anymore.
And that prince I so-called offended?” He jerked a thumb at me.
“He’s my best friend. I’ve gotten to have dinner in the palace and meet the king and queen. So thank you. You did me a favor.”
Tomas’s face was flushed red with anger, and he attempted to speak around the gag, but Simon just laughed, turning his back on the whore to give his full attention to his bondmate, who kissed him like his life depended on it.
Tomas watched with green-eyed jealousy, and I felt the need to put him in his place before he got any funny ideas.
“You will not be allowed in Al Nuzem. Ever. Nor will you be allowed to join a barbarian clan. You chose to betray one of your own. You will live in squalor for that decision.”
Simon pulled away from Feigrind with a laugh, lifting his hand for a high five. “I knew I liked you.”
I lifted a shoulder with a smirk. “What are friends for?”
“Of course you still act this way,” Hameed snarled. He had somehow rubbed his gag off enough to speak to me, though his words were slurred with how swollen his mouth was from Uttin’s hit. “Even now, you’re a petulant brat. You do not deserve your title.”
Slowly, I turned toward the man who betrayed me. Uttin stepped closer to him, fists clenched like he was prepared to hit Hameed again, but I stopped him with a hand on his arm, stepping up to Hameed with a sneer.
“How I act is none of your concern. You are nobody. Before I left, I made sure to mark your name in the black books. You can never return to Al Nuzem. Your family was informed of your treachery and cast out of the capital city. All because you were greedy.”
His expression twisted up with his fury, but I grabbed his chin, smirking as he cried out in pain.
“I was going to bring you back with me. To make you suffer in prison for the rest of your life.
But then I remembered the beauty of our country.
The smell of the ocean. The feel of the warm wind on my skin.
Joys I didn't want you to experience again. Instead you will die like the piece of filth you are in a city far from home. Your remains will be left here to rot. You will never get to return home.”
Releasing him, I stepped back, watching his expression as it sank in.
The pain and devastation was exactly what I’d hoped for.
It was the fear and heartache I’d felt when I first arrived at the barbarian clan, worried no one would know to look for me.
That no one would ever understand me. That I’d never come home.
Thanks to the clan that took me in, I never had to face that nightmare.
Thanks to my friends, I didn’t have to feel so alone.
And thanks to the man at my back, I never had to fear for my life again.
Because he’d always be there for me. He’d become my bondmate, but he would always be my protector. And I would always be his.
The End