Page 50 of Star-Crossed Captive
The man shifted in his chair, eyes darting to the side. “Commander Mace invoked the old laws.”
“Old laws?” she asked with a shake of her head, not understanding.
The man cleared his throat, his eyes fixed to his palette. “Tellusians have come a long way with regard to captive rights over the last century. There’s the Take and Keep law, where the warrior keeps his spoils of war. He kept you.”
“He kept me,” she repeated.
The man nodded, mouth tight as he met her eyes.
“And this doesn’t happen often?”
He shook his head slowly.
Nia’s face warmed all the way past her forehead. There was more here than the man was telling her, but from the set of his jaw, he wasn’t inviting more questions.
He glanced at his palette. “Are you satisfied with your living arrangements?”
She stared at him. What would happen if she lied? What would happen if she said she’d been abused?
But Mace had said she was safe with him.
For some reason, she believed him.
When she’d arrived, something had transpired between this man and her warder. Mace had secured protection for her, hidden her lineage. If she moved to common holding, what sounded like communal living, would the person in charge find out about her identity and sell her off for ransom?
The devil you know.
She had access to the terminal for reading, she had privacy, and Mace left her alone.
“I’ll stay,” she said after a long, tense minute.
“Very well.” He made a note on the palette. “Have you been given a chance to earn a wage?”
“Yes. I mean, I think so. I haven’t been given any money, though.”
“I’ll be in charge of that today. Yes, here it is,” he said reading his palette. “You’ve earned yourself a fair amount of creds. A lot of captives refuse to work.” He tapped the palette and her bonds beeped. On the inside of her wrist, an amount appeared. “The bonds work as a cred exchange too.”
Her eyes widened. She wasn’t sure how CORE and Tellusian currency compared, but if they were remotely similar, it surpassed what she’d made onElara Fivein a week. Not enough to buy a ship, but definitely enough to live on and have some tucked away for an emergency.
Enough to pay off the debt of a state-of-the-art prosthetic?Hopefully.
“That wraps it up, do you have any questions?”
Nia’s brain ran amok with them, but most she didn’t think safe to ask this man. His apathetic and formal demeanor, so much like the CORE, should have put her at ease, but instead it only made her anxious.
She cleared her throat. “What is the language everyone is speaking here?”
“Tellusian.”
She shook her head. Like everyone else educated through the CORE’s education program, she’s learned all the languages of the system, including Common. There was nothing called Tellusian. “I don’t understand it.” Her cheeks burned at the obvious statement.
His smile wasn’t kind. “That’s the point.” He glanced at his palette, his expression dismissive. “Any other questions?”
Her hands clenched in her lap, she shook her head.
“Very well.” He stood. “Good day to you.” Palette tucked under his arm, he exited the way he’d come, leaving her alone.
She stood, feeling trapped, when the other door slid open, revealing Mace. An uncharacteristically hesitant expression pinched his face. “You chose to stay with me.”
