Free Mastered By Love by Tori Minard Page A

impassive.
    She watched Saturnios
approach the two uniformed men and speak to them in a low voice.
She couldn’t make out any of the words. Was he chastising
Silver-hair or were they discussing tactics? Plans for the fort
they were building? She wished she could hear better.
    What would you do with the
information? You can’t take it back to Concordia unless you
escape. And that was looking less and less
likely.
    Paolo set a tin plate of
food on the floor before her – just a bowl of stew and a chunk of
coarse bread. Tariza spooned up a bite. The stew was hot and
savory, the bread fresh, and she ate eagerly, trying not to spill
on the blanket. Yes, it belonged to Saturnios and therefore was
worthy of ruin, but it currently kept her warm and covered and she
wanted it to stay clean.
    The men continued to speak in low
tones while Saturnios ate his own meal. Tariza finished her stew
and pushed the bowl aside. She had a meter or so of length on the
lead; maybe she could get a little closer and pick up some of what
they were saying.
    She held the blanket closed
with one hand and scooted forward. Saturnios’s head whipped around.
He fixed her with a glare that met her gaze like a slap. Tariza
froze, her eyes widening.
    He gave his head a barely-discernible
shake. Swallowing hard, she scooted back to her former position.
Saturnios nodded. He turned back to the men, ignoring her once
more.
    One of the others said
something she couldn’t hear and all three of them laughed. At her?
She clutched her blanket, scowling down at the floor. Pigs. All of
them.
    The conference seemed to go on forever, while she grew cold
and bored. She ought to be thankful they weren’t whipping her,
raping her, or torturing her for information. But the boredom was
not something she knew how to cope with. Finally she curled up with
the blanket wrapped around her and went to sleep.
     
    ***
    Someone was poking her with a booted
toe. Tariza groaned, opening her eyes to peer up at her persecutor.
It was Saturnios, frowning down at her with an impatient expression
on his handsome face.
    “ Get up,” he said. “It’s
time to train.”
    “ Train for what?” She sat
up, rubbing her eyes.
    “ Proper slave behavior,
obviously.” He leaned down and took her by the upper arm. “Get
up.”
    “ I’m up, damn it.” She
hitched the blanket more closely around her shoulders for
protection against the cold.
    “ On your feet.” He pulled
on her arm until she stood. “That’s better.”
    She slanted a resentful
glance at him. “I know what proper slave behavior is.”
    “ Then why don’t you behave
properly?”
    She scowled at him and he
laughed.
    “ You need training, my dear
slave. Drop the blanket and come over here.”
    “ I’m cold.”
    “ Rule number one is do as
you’re told. Drop the blanket.”
    With an exaggerated sigh, she obeyed.
Goosebumps immediately covered her bare skin. Tariza shivered,
crossing her arms over her chest.
    “ Come over here,” Saturnios
said. He led her to the other side of the tent, where a small
heater had been lit. “Stand in front of the heater and you’ll be
warm enough.”
    Was that thoughtfulness on
his part? No, it couldn’t be. Remember,
you hate him.
    He tapped an object against his left
calf, the action drawing her eyes. A riding crop. Her gaze sped to
his, her eyes wide.
    He grinned. “Yes, we will
have discipline today.”
    “ You’re not going to hit me
with that thing.”
    “ Only if you disobey.” He
tapped his leg again. “I hear the crop can cause a lot of
stinging.”
    “ I don’t need that. I
don’t!”
    Saturnios smacked her
lightly on the hip. “Rule number two: no speaking without
permission.”
    Ow! The crop did sting. She rubbed her
skin, trying to remove the pain.
    “ What are the rules,
Tariza?” His voice turned suddenly cold and stern.
    “ Um –” She flushed. Rules
... “Do as you’re told and don’t talk unless you have
permission.”
    “ In first