Slave to Passion Read Online Free PDF Page B

door clanked closed behind her, echoing like a cannon through the space. Her heart raced with relief. With joy. With the fact she’d survived. Elation carried her so swiftly she didn’t even worry about the guards watching her or that her mental undoing would eventually reach Zayd’s ears.
    All she cared about was that she was alive .
    Hands braced against her upper arms, Malik pushed her back, stared down at her. Realizing how foolish she must look, Kavin dropped her head into her hands, tried to get in control of her emotions. Not only had she survived a night in the pits, the monster hadn’t touched her after that first instance. In fact, she hadn’t seen or heard from him since. She didn’t know why he hadn’t raped her, but she was so very thankful for his disinterest now.
    Feeling stronger, she swiped at her eyes, tried to smile for Malik’s benefit. But when she lifted her gaze to his, she didn’t see concern or curiosity in his dark eyes. She saw fury.
    His jaw clenched so hard it was a slice of stone beneath his skin. His mouth cut a tight line across his tanned face. With two fingers, he tilted her chin up, studied her neck. Realizing there must be marks, Kavin gently touched a fingertip to the cool skin, only to cringe when pain shot through her body.
    “I thought he had more restraint than a common animal.” Before she could tell Malik she was okay and that nothing else had happened, his head snapped up, and he looked toward the guards behind him, the ones who had also escorted her to the pits the day before. “Take her back to the harem at once.”
    One guard grasped her arm, pulled her away. But Kavin heard the venom in his voice. And the promise of retribution. “Wait. Malik—”
    “It’s all right, jarriah ,” he said as the guard dragged her down the hall away from the cell, his voice softer but still teeming with disgust. “I’ll make sure he’s properly rewarded for his behavior.”
    Kavin tried to look behind her, but one guard tugged her forward while another blocked her view. At her back, she heard the Marid’s cell door clang forward, followed by Malik’s voice, shouting, “Get up, maggot. Your mu’allim ’s here to teach you a thing or two about respect.”
    Kavin’s pulse raced as the guards hauled her from the dungeon of the arena, out into the early morning sunlight, then shoved her into a waiting carriage. Malik had used the word mu’allim . He was the sahad ’s trainer, not just any common slave. As the cart rocked across the street and the city sped by her window, she remembered seeing him near the gates of the arena, watching the Marid’s match with… What had she seen on his face that day? Not just interest but…pride.
    If he’d trained the Marid, of course he’d have a vested interest in the sahad ’s wins, but mu’allim s trained more than one sahad . And pride… That was something else altogether different.
    Her mind spun as the carriage came to a stop, as the guards opened the door and tugged her from inside. Light blinded her as she stepped onto the street. She felt the questioning stares of vendors and commoners as she moved, knew she had to look a mess and that most had probably already figured out what she was and where she’d been, but she barely cared. There were too many questions running through her head. Too many unexplained oddities she wanted to understand.
    Oddities ? You just survived being raped, and you’re worried now about the beast who nearly killed you ?
    She gave her head a swift shake and stepped into the opulent building that belonged to Zayd. But while the lift jostled her and the guards upward, she thought about the Marid. About why he hadn’t killed her. Why he hadn’t raped her. And though she knew it was useless, she couldn’t stop wondering who he had once been and how he’d been captured in the first place.
    The guard to her right set the crank and locked it, bringing the lift to a stop. Then he muscled the gate open and