The Whore Read Free Page A

arre’te. Tension drained from her body. The traders, the fishermen, the citizens—all exuded an unforeseen force that seeped into her, thrilling her. Freedom. For a few hours she had what they did. And it was exhilarating.
    Pushing herself off the wall, she meandered toward the docks. She took her time. She paused to peruse a tray of sea stones a man had strapped to his chest. In awe, she watched a man wearing what could only be a coat made of leather, and straddling something even more rare—a horse—ride down the street. This was only the second time she’d seen such a creature in person, and the beautiful animal was so rare and expensive, four armed guards surrounded the rider and beast.
    If she were free, maybe she could have worked hard enough to obtain something as magnificent as a horse.
    If she were free.
    You are, if only for a few hours.
    With a sigh, she continued on her way. Closer to the water, the air became heavy and damp. Salty. She sucked in a deep breath and closed her eyes. Oh, how she longed to ride the sea. The sea was endless. No roads, no houses carved into the earth. She imagined herself on a boat, drifting day to day. Coming ashore only when a piece of land looked attractive.
    A young man stopped directly in front of her. Two other boys flanked him. They looked dirty and poor and desperate. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled.
    The one in the middle had shiny, sandy hair and a mean glint in his eye. He pointed to the jewel screwed to her earlobe. “Nice earbob.”
    A shiver of fear trickled up her spine, and she put her head down to step around them. But they intercepted her, moving to stand directly in her path.
    “Where you off to in such a hurry?”
    She met his gaze. One thing she’d learned was to show no fear. “To the docks. Now let me pass.”
    But his stare had gone once again to her ear, and she mentally kicked herself for being stupid. She should have worn a scarf, as she normally did. She reached inside her blazer to palm the dagger strapped to her side. She didn’t think she could take the three of them. However, winning a fight wasn’t her biggest concern. Any scene-making altercation, on the other hand, could be a problem. A big problem.
    She fisted the knife’s handle. “I don’t want any trouble.”
    The sandy-haired boy reached out once again. “Then just give us your jewel, and you won’t have any.”
    Fuck. She’d happily hand it over, but then her tattoo would be exposed. Again, she cursed her stupidity. Now, she had no choice but to fight. She drew the dagger out of her jacket and tried to look confident. “Fine. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
    The boys came at her, surrounding her. Her eyes darted between the three figures as she took a fighting stance. She’d watched the Sun Guards exercise, and had practiced their defenses. But that had been alone. Pretend. This was real.
    She would lose.
    Naked, chained to a table, a living fuck-toy.
    No. You can not lose.
    Backing up, she tried to lure them into an alley. The last thing she needed was to draw an audience. With her free hand, she beckoned them to her.
    The leader came first. He swung a fist toward her head, but Bryn jerked backward, causing him to miss. She seized the opportunity. Gripping her knife, she stabbed him in the shoulder. He howled.
    “Shut up,” she hissed.
    Then the two others came at her. Fuck, she couldn’t take all three.
    But she could try.
    They swarmed. She backed up. One of the boys pulled his arm back and was about to swing at her. She thought she could duck again—
    He was on the ground. She barely knew what happened. It couldn’t have been more than five seconds before she realized her attackers were the ones under siege. Two men were making quick work of the boys. Breathing heavily, she watched as a man with white-blond hair in a long braid down his back punched the sandy-haired man in the jaw. Three punches and the boy was on the ground, unconscious.
    The blond man