Page 13 of Forge the Blade

“How about basic common decency,” Lisa snapped at the ceiling. He raised his middle finger.

Sevastyan covered his mouth with his hand to hide a smile when Lisa glared at the phone screen.

Rei looked between the phone and Sevastyan. “Master?”

“Ellisandre worked for Europol,” Sevastyan said. “I was working with my father to take the Merchari down from the inside. We lost contact when Ellisandre died ten years ago.”

“So, you’re saying a ghost killed all those gorillas yesterday?” Lisa snorted.

Sevastyan shook his head, a smile tugging at his lips. “The death was staged. I didn’t know it, though.” The smile slid off his face. He rubbed his chest. The sound of Ellisandre’s phone call, the way they had breathed, the sound of their last order, that he not die, gripping him again. He shook his head, trying to push the sick, longing feeling away. “I approached Ellisandre in January for help.”

“And they only agreed to help you yesterday?” Lisa snorted. “You had to almost freakin’ die first?”

Sevastyan had nothing to say. His cheeks burned.

The phone buzzed again.

Lisa looked between the phone and Sevastyan. “Yesterday! We needed help years ago.”

Sevastyan swallowed and looked away. Shame suffused his body, rooting him in place. Out of everyone, Lisa had the right to accuse him. Judge him, even.

Rei laid his hand over Lisa’s. “It wouldn’t have mattered.”

“Why?” Lisa’s voice spiraled. “Your master is a fucking powerhouse in the Merchari. If he wanted to take them down . . .”

“He’d take down a few and the rest would remain.” Rei’s voice took on an edge and he sat up taller. “And he wasn’t that strong until a couple years ago. After he got me and met Alexi.”

Lisa’s mouth opened and closed. Sevastyan’s heart thudded in his chest.

Rei took Lisa’s hand in both of his. “You know how Alexi works. What kind of parties he has. Alexi only invited Sevastyan because of me.”

Lisa opened and closed his mouth again. “That’s why you’re with him. You agreed.”

“Yes,” Rei said.

“No,” Sevastyan said.

Rei’s eyes flew up to Sevastyan’s face.

“You were already a slave. You didn’t agree. I took you.”

“You saved me.” Rei’s face turned mulish, his jaw coming together.

“You didn’t have a choice.”

“I did,” Rei’s voice softened. “You gave me a choice.”

“A fucked-up choice, then.” Sevastyan turned away.

Rei reached out. Sevastyan flinched. Rei pushed up out of his chair and grabbed Sevastyan’s sleeve. “Master.”

Sevastyan squeezed his eyes shut. He couldn’t turn around. This in-between space was too hard. It was easier when he and Rei were in their roles, when they didn’t talk about the past, when he knew what he had to do, when he knew he was damned and he was comfortable damning himself even further with no one but Rei to witness the level of depravity he’d reached.

Rei pressed himself against Sevastyan’s back, his hands gripping Sevastyan’s shirt. “Master.” His weight fell against Sevastyan. He only had one good foot.