The Road to Wolfe (The Sanctuary #4) - Nikita Slater Page 0,4

I find a Sanctuary willing to trade in currency."

"Six months supplies," Silas counters.

"Eight months."

Silas looks at the woman critically, taking in her lovely features and beautifully sculpted body, before nodding his head. "Done."

Of course, it could be much worse. She could have been sold to another Warlord, one who’s far more brutal. Though I don’t like or respect my Warlord, he’s not a cruel man. He likes women and fills his harem with them. Every shape and size, every temperament. The only requirement is that they be beautiful. And this one is no exception.

Once more my gaze strays to her. If her face wasn't twisted in misery it would be a work of art. High cheekbones, long nose, perfect lips. Her face is surrounded by a cloud of dark brown hair with reddish hints. She’s tall, with hints of curves in all the right places, though it's clear that she hasn't eaten well in a long time.

The harem women will fatten her up, show her that she’s safe and help her settle down. Eventually, like the others, she’ll learn to enjoy her time here. And if she's lucky, the Warlord will take her as a wife. Given her stunning beauty, I can't imagine he would pass on this one.

I turn to the guard standing nearest to me. "When the sale is finished, take her to the harem. Have Hannah take care of her."

"Yes, sir," he says, his eyes on the woman.

"You will remove your eyes from the Warlord’s new slave before I do it for you," I promise him.

He swiftly drops his eyes and takes a couple of steps away in the guise of doing as I say, though I suspect I make him uncomfortable. Most of the palace guard have learned that I will follow-up threat with action. It’s best to follow my orders immediately without question.

The sale finishes and Silas turns to speak to his guards. "Take her to the harem."

As the guard reaches for her, she moves suddenly, plunging her hand into his belt. The startled palace guard stumbles back while she drags his knife from the sheath. She spins on the spot and lunges forward, pointing the knife at Silas and the Outsider. It's clear from the way she’s standing and holding the knife that she has no idea what she's doing. Though I’m not worried that she'll do much damage, I have no choice but to step in. Our Warlord prefers not to have threats on his life.

She raises the knife high and slashes it in a downward arc toward the Outsider’s belly, clearly intent on disemboweling him. I snap my hand over her wrist before she can make contact and swing her around. Her startled grey eyes lift to mine and I'm struck by the passion and fury within. When she was first brought to the throne room I thought I was seeing a woman defeated. I dismissed her as just another harem girl. Frightened and alone, but a woman who would settle easily into her new home. Instead, I’m seeing something else, something more to this woman. A fight I did not anticipate.

She opens her mouth to say something to me and I would have given up my food rations for a week if she'd been able to finish the sentence, but before she can speak the Outsider slams his fist into the side of her head. She drops like a stone at my feet.

"Bitch," he snarls, spitting on her unconscious form.

I drag my pistol from the holster and hold it on the Outsider. "You insult the Warlord’s woman?" My stance and the ice in my words must alert the other man to the danger surrounding him. All of my palace guards are now on full alert, their hands on their weapons, their gazes on me.

They’re awaiting instructions from their commander. If I tell them to kill this Outsider, he will be dead within seconds.

But in an unusual move, the Warlord steps in. He places his hand on my arm and when I stiffen, he drops it and takes a step back. Though I am technically his subordinate, we both know if I wanted him dead, he would be dead. I tolerate him as Warlord because it suits me.

Silas once asked me why I never became a Warlord. I didn’t answer the question because he didn’t need to know. Instead, I commented, "When I want the position, you'll be the first to know."

From that day, Silas’s gaze became sharper whenever it landed on