place was a cesspit where flesh of any kind could be bought, whether that be for fighting, fucking, or killing. There were no rules on Tarviisa. Even imperial warriors didn’t linger long lest they find themselves on the wrong side of those pit barriers.
According to T’Raal, Beauty had fought in the pits for over five years. Skinny shuddered. After living through a nightmare like that, the guy could be forgiven for being a little on the quiet side and preferring the company of his books.
Books.
“Hey,” Skinny slid a glance at Sparky. “Where would you get books in a place like this?”
“Huh?” Sparky struggled to tear his attention away from something, and Skinny sidestepped to see what he was looking at. Only to spot Red bent over as she checked out some mechanical do-dad that had caught her eye a couple of stalls down.
Skinny gave a low whistle. “Yeah… that there’s a road to bruises and broken bones, my friend. If Red wants you, believe me, she’ll let you know.”
“Yeah?” Sparky cut him a sharp look. “You ever done her?”
There was real jealousy behind the tone. Skinny laughed and backed up, hands in the air. “Gods no, she’d eat me alive. Oh, I’m so sorry—”
He broke off as he was jostled from behind. Spinning around to apologize, his words trailed off as he found himself looking into the brightest pair of amber eyes he’d ever seen. Their owner was a tiny human female, masses of dark hair piled on top of her head in an elaborate hairdo that he instantly wanted to ruin by shoving his hands through it.
“No, no…” She smiled, and he was lost, reduced to speechless wonder at the heavenly symphony of her voice. “Totally my fault,” her voice rose a little and she lifted a hand, halting the motion of the two men with her toward him. Belatedly he realized they must be her bodyguards. “Please, accept my apologies. Mr...”
“Errrr… Altav,” he answered, surprised enough to give his real name.
She smiled and he got it together enough to notice she was dressed far better than most of the other market-goers. The dress that swathed her curvy figure looked expensive and the jewels around her neck… he was surprised she managed to walk around a place like this unmolested. A fortune like that would have even the most law-abiding citizens here working out how quickly they could part her from her jewels and dispose of her body.
“A pleasure to meet you, Altav.” She held out her hand with a smile, shaking her head as one of the bodyguards gave a small growl.
Before he could take her delicate little hand though, Sparky shoulder-barged him aside. “A pleasure to meet you as well, Miss Ingrassia. But I’m afraid we really have to be going, our ship is about…” He shoulder-barged Skinny again. “To leave without us. Come on, big man. You know how pissy the boss gets if we’re late.”
“Of course,” Miss Ingrassia smiled politely, folding her hands elegantly in front of her as Sparky all but dragged him away. Skinny managed to get a look over his shoulder, meeting her gaze one last time before the crowds shifted like sand and swallowed her up again.
“What the fuck was that all about?” he hissed, turning on the human. “She was fucking gorgeous.”
“Yeah.” Sparky’s expression held none of its normal jokiness. “Gorgeous and fucking deadly. That there was the poison princess, daughter of the most brutal asshole in this sector. This place,” he motioned above his head to indicate the planet and systems around them, “is run by a group of ‘elected’ premiers. The Ingrassias are among the worst of them. Believe me, you do not want to fuck with them, especially that one. If her daddy found out you’d defiled his precious little flower, he’d reach down your throat to rip your cock and balls off and then feed them back to you. That’s if little miss butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth didn’t poison you first. Her daddy’s tried to marry her off three times so far. Each time, the groom never makes it to the wedding night.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah.”
Skinny looked back the way they’d come but there was no sign of the beautiful Miss. Ingrassia. Which was probably a good thing. He’d never had such a reaction to a woman before.
“So,” Sparky said brightly. “Books are this way. Let’s find your boy and get the fuck off this planet.”
It didn’t take them long to find Beauty. Sparky wove his way