Their Wife

Thirteen

"Why do I need to wear this?" I asked, scratching my scalp under the wool flat cap that hid my hair. It was itchy. Paired with the baggy clothes I wore, I probably looked like a boy.

"The lords will need to publicly introduce you to society soon. This keeps anyone who you'll have to meet then from recognizing you," Timothy said looking over his shoulder at me as he led us through the crowded marketplace. "You can never be too safe," he said flashing his teeth with a grin.

"Introduce me?"

"Yeah," he answered dogging a man with a stack of boxes in his hands. "As Lords, it's tradition to introduce their spouse to society with an extravagant party. I think it's just an opportunity for the one percent to flaunt their wealth and power."

"And I have to be a part of that?"

Kai snorted. "You are their wife, aren't you?"

"So I've been told..." My words trailed off as I caught sight of a woman dragging a man behind her on a leash.

"With that look on your face I'd think this was the first time you saw that shit," Kai remarked. His eyes also followed the couple, reflecting sadness and disgust.

I quickly schooled my features, Henry and Ezra's warning playing through my head.

Clearing my throat, I replied. "No, I was just admiring the collar. I think I might get one for Jaxon," I joked, irritation still bubbling in my veins. If what I'd been hearing was true, then I should be able to collar the asshole. I'd love to see how he liked being dragged around and called slave.

Timothy burst out laughing. "He'd burn you to a crisp before you could get anywhere near him with one. I once saw him set a lady's skirts on fire because she tried to grab his ass. Imagine what he'd d if you tried to collar him."

Even though I would say he was justified to set a molester's clothes on fire, it had me worrying if his pyromaniac tendencies would be used against me if that was one of his tactics to deal with people he disliked. Baked on dirt I could handle. Baked me, not so much.

"I'm going to go see if they can fill our feed order," Timothy said, turning to face me and Kai. "You two grab the other supplies. I'll meet you back at the truck."

He crossed the cobbled road lined with old and new storefronts, dodging a car driving down the wide road.

"Come on," Kai said continuing down the street. I followed him as he turned down a narrower street that also had stalls and carts set up selling food, fruits, vegetables, and various knickknacks. I'm pretty sure the guy in the large coat near one of the dark alleys was selling drugs, too. The people walking up to him and shaking his hand didn't appear to be...sober.

I couldn't help but admire everything as I passed. I wasn't used to the sight, even before I was trapped in a psychopath's house. Streets like these were ones I only ever read about in books as a child or witnessed in fake sets in movies. Even they couldn't prepare me for all the hustle and bustle, the noise, and the delicious smells that witnessing it in person come with.

Vendors sold various hot and cold foods, cooked from storefronts, stalls, or carts. My mouth watered as we passed by a stall that was selling meat on a stick. The scent was so tantalizing that I didn't even care that I had no idea what a lavellan was. Some fruits and vegetables I could recognize while others seemed alien. Beside a stack of oranges, there was a hot pink fruit that looked like a mango. Beside that was a navy blue melon, cut in half and on display showing the beautiful sky blue inside.

The jewelry on display seemed intricate and delicate and held gleaming, beautiful gems. They didn't seem like something that you would find in a street market. A few of the men and women manning the stalls were exaggerating and fabricating stories to those who passed by of why they should purchase them. One was currently telling the tale of how she acquired the intricate jade bangle in her hands from the royal jeweler in the Capital.