A quarter of the harbor floated in jagged pieces on the ocean’s surface. Ships were not allowed to dock overnight and had to take turns during the day, all the while paying port fees each time. The breakup of routine put his crew on edge. They’d had to prioritize the offloading of slaves to cargo.

Slaves had been escorted off yesterday afternoon to be tucked safely away where there was fresh water and food. There they would await auction, overseen by a man in Lukos’s employ. The cargo had to wait until today. With the Harbor Master’s orders to drop anchor elsewhere, none of his men had been ashore for more than a few hours. They’d been denied tavern wine and whores; their usual port activities.

Lukos rolled another barrel up the stairs from the hold, pushing it onto the middeck. He brushed the back of his wrist across his forehead, squinting up at the waning afternoon sky. Offloading was hard work in the best of circumstances but there were no extra men or boys who’d work for the day to help. This meant that he was down with the rest of them, hauling crates instead of supervising.

Arktos, his first mate, was also distracted as he thumped across the deck, rolling the barrel to the gangway beside the rest. All of ti waited to be carried down. Neither of them had noticed two of the crew slip onto the docks and cross over to the first pretty girl they could find. Lukos frowned at Arktos’s massive back. The big man had stopped by the railing, with one hand on his hip and the other using a filthy rag to mop at the sweat on his shiny, smooth head.

“What a pretty little thing,” Arktos looked back at him, grinning.

“Whores can wait,” Lukos glanced behind himself, into the gloom. Stairs extended downwards into the hold that was now mostly empty. From there, a third set of short stairs would land him into the second lowest part of the ship where giant oars were situated to propel the ship through the water.

“This one’s no whore,” Arktos leaned on the railing, cupping his chin in his hand. “Maybe I could have a noble too.” The way he teased made Lukos roll his eyes and turn to head back down for a crate of spices but Arktos waved him over. “At least take a look at her? Delicate young miss…”

Standing with both hands on his hips, Lukos chewed at the inside of his lip, glancing again at the hold and then over to the bear of a man at the railing. Fine. He used his shoulder to wipe at a bead of sweat on his temple as he drew up beside Arktos. It took him a minute to find his crew mates among the wreckage and the constant flow of people. His dark eyes landed on Imeeya first - attracted by the delicate pink of her chiton.

Two men swaggered up to her. Andrakas and Heron. He watched without comment as they approached Imeeya, irritated that they weren’t on the ship helping.

“Look, they’ve got her scared,” Arktos folded his thick arms over his chest, smirking.

“Easy to do when you’re that ugly,” Lukos grinned but dropped the expression a second later with a “Dammit.”

Heron reached out to the girl and clamped his hand around her arm. “Don’t fancy another one?” Arktos called after him as he pounded down the gangway and darted across the dock. No. He did not ever want another noble woman aboard his ship, or having anything at all to do with himself or his men. They were too much trouble, as he’d assumed the entirety of his crew would understand by now.

This was a law he’d set down that he assumed no one would break. A precaution. Now he had two men who’d be stripped naked, tied to the mast, and beaten.

He picked his way over the ruined docks with the ease of a cat. For people in his way, he either swerved around them, or shoved them out of the way with little regard to rank or station. His eyes were on the pink girl, currently in Heron’s grip, Andrakas moving behind her to get his turn.

“Heron!” Lukos barked. Andrakas glanced up, wide eyed, immediately releasing his hold on Imeeya. But Heron, his movements sluggish from wine, whenever he’d gotten it, didn’t comprehend the meaning of his captain’s voice. He continued to leer down at her, his thoughts evident on his face when he was torn away by the scruff of his shirt.

“Captain,” Andrakas stooped to get his arms under Heron’s and haul him to his feet.

“The cargo,” Lukos said through gritted teeth. Both men nodded, each sparing a disgusted look for Imeeya as though it was her fault they were in trouble.

Watching them until they were half way back to the Aceton, Lukos turned back to her. He looked her over for a moment before speaking. “This is a rough area for a noble woman,” he said flatly, also like it was her fault.

He arched an eyebrow at her haughty retort. A smile ghosted his lips as she coldly thanked him for his concern. The way she then turned, clearly intending to leave made him cross his arms over his chest. Like most of the noble women he’d met, she had a feisty attitude with little practical experience to back it up.

Another group of sailors further down the ruined docks eyed her but didn’t dare come nearer with him in such close proximity. He took a step toward her, his dark eyes trailing over her face and down the length of her body. It was a shame that she was clearly from a noble house. There was a fair amount of gold he could get for her.

With a panther’s smile, he said, “Beautiful women are usually smart enough not to walk alone. Where is your manservant?” Inclining his head to the next group of sailors, pretending busy themselves until he left, he said, “They aren’t under my command.” They were known to him by sight, rather than by name. The only reason they had not pounced on her as soon as his men scrambled back to the ship, even though their numbers were superior, was because they did know his name.

“Or,” he walked around her, still appraising her in his mind, calculating how much she was worth. It was a callous game he liked to play with himself. “Perhaps you didn’t bring someone to watch out for you?” He tsked teasingly at her, the smile still playing about his mouth. “You know, there are pirates down here. They take pretty girls like you.” A pause, and then, “I could be persuaded to walk you home.”

His gaze drifted over her head at the new threat waiting for him to turn away. “Unless you’d rather I leave? I am incredibly busy.” That was the truth. There was still so much to unload from the ship. But if he could make a few easy coins by escorting her home, the delay would be worth something. More than that, it would keep the port from being overwhelmed with soldiers should she turn up missing or dead. Nothing he had was illegal, but he didn’t want to be detained from leaving tonight by an investigation that he had nothing to do with.

Of the many things Lukos could and had been accused of, being altruistic wasn’t one of them. Looking her over had been for more than because he liked what he saw. He’d noted her soft, slender limbs, the delicacy of her hands, the smoothness of her skin. This woman did not work. And better than that, she could not fight. He’d stake his life on it.

Her harsh tone didn’t ruffle him as she told him she could take care of herself. What twisted up the corners of his mouth was the more subdued way that she told him she’d prefer if he stayed. She wouldn’t if she knew.

His gaze swept down her body again, though he wasn’t looking at her curves this time. He was assessing her dress and the fabric it was made of, its cut, and the clasps used to keep it on. Everything about it was expensive and told him not only that she was of a noble house, but a rich one.

“Lukos,” he said finally. Over her head, he watched the men of the other ship drift closer. They were wary of him but they didn’t fear him if he was alone, as he was now. Their number was greater and for whatever reason, their fixation with the woman he now spoke to was growing. This was perhaps, due to the fact that he was the one speaking to her. If Lukos was paying a noble woman attention, his intentions were usually not in the girl’s best interest. Likely they meant to snatch her and see how much they could make off her first.

Flicking his gaze back to her face, he said, “A drachma and I’ll walk you home.” He didn’t touch her but he would have liked to spin her around so that she could see the alternative.

Her shock made him laugh as she repeated ‘drachma’. It was, as always, too much to ask for such a small, noble thing as protecting her. She was right. If he was a gentleman, if he was from her class of people, he wouldn’t have dreamed of asking her such a thing. But two things were at play, as she seemed quick to realize while her cool gaze raked over him. He was not noble in any sense of the word, and he was extremely selfish.

Her outward disdain only made him warm to her as he would not have done if she’d cowered away from him. He took half a step closer, interested as she reached for a purse that wasn’t there. When dealing with people, both selling them and selling to them, he’d learned to read faces and body language uncommonly well. The money wasn’t with her, which he’d suspected in the first place. And secondly, this fact worried her.

He stepped back to give her space once her eyes found his. She put on a valiant, pompous front, telling him she’d pay him once the job was complete but therein lay the mistake; he would be paid. Narrowing his gaze, he let out a small sigh of concession and said, “Deal.”

If she tried to jilt him, or run from him once they neared her home to avoid payment, she’d soon find out what it meant to be sorry for cheating him.

“You don’t have a guarantee,” he said, answering her last question. “This is where trust comes in but I accept your terms. No harm will come to you.” And this vow was real. While in his charge, she would remain perfectly safe, from both himself and anyone else. “In that spirit,” he said, placing a light hand on her upper back. “I think we should leave now.”

His gaze had shifted from her to the men behind her, still inching closer.

Imeeya instinctively recoiled from Lukos's hand placed on her upper back. Yes, he had said that he wouldn’t harm her, but she still wasn’t used to any man touching her so familiarly, much less a man of his low status. Still, Imeeya tried to maintain her composure. This outing had not gone to plan, and she wanted to maintain whatever scraps of control over the situation she could muster.

It was then that a voice interrupted and a sense of relief washed over her. Someone finally could get her out of this predicament. But that relief was short-lived. Imeeya could feel her stomach drop as she heard a voice that she could have sworn she recognized as one of the Thanasi sisters, the last people she wanted to see her in this situation. As she spun to meet the woman's gaze, her fears were confirmed, it was Thea of Thanasi.

Imeeya wasn’t surprised by the woman’s feigned friendliness. She wouldn’t be surprised by anything that Thea did, not if Thea would be able to use it to her advantage. Imeeya immediately pushed aside her distaste for the familiarity Thea was expressing. It killed her, but she knew she needed an ally here. Imeeya knew it would cost her, but she didn’t have time to weigh her options thoroughly. At this point, she was ready to get out of this situation and she’d deal with the consequences
with Thea after.

Imeeya forced herself to smile. “Thea! What are you doing here?” Imeeya hoped that her own friendliness would keep Lukos from realizing that there was bad blood between their families that he could exploit. Imeeya looked to Thea’s guard, and back to Lukos. “I appreciate your offer,” Imeeya said to the ship captain, “but I
think we can make our own way home from here.”

For a moment, Thea’s amber orbs were fixated on the rugged man’s hand resting on the lower back of the Drakos girl, discreetly shoving her into moving from their standing position. Judging from his urgency, the dark-haired grunt must have spotted Ophion looming over her like an obedient shadow, and he probably did not appreciate the hulky bodyguard getting in the way of him making an easy coin. Regardless, the proximity between the two duos proved too close for him to hustle the blonde girl away without raising suspicion, especially after Imeeya had established eye contact with her. So, in a hasty manner, the male dropped his futile attempt and removed his digits from his target’s frame.

To be completely honest, Thea had to applaud him. For a sketchy lot, the guy seemed aware enough of his circumstances. He was certainly brazen enough to play the whole situation down, cheekily retorting that he was simply a man of service to the Drakos girl. His reply was promptly met with some wordless defiance. Knowing Imeeya, her insides were most likely recoiling at the connotation that she was, by any means, associated with such a shady-looking streetwalker.

Speaking of his victim, who fidgeted for a fleeting moment when Thea gauged her features. It was absolutely amusing to witness the usually steadfast mini Tythra reduced down to a worry wart. Then when Ophion turned his head in the direction of the ocean, she then understood why her prey was unnerved while the con man boasted with reassurance.

Not too far from them four, on the line of the shore, stood a ship occupied with a crew of henchmen. As they were talking, a few of those sailors were intently observing the interactions taking place, obviously in cahoot with the man before her. In comparison, they greatly outnumbered Thea’s lone bodyguard. But they surely could not be foolish enough to think that they could cause a scene involving two noble women in public without repercussions, right?

Nonetheless, the Thanasi wanted to get the both of them out of there and actually do her a favor to be held over her head later. So naturally, she reached out to squeeze Imeeya’s hand as if they were naturally long-time friends and answered her greetings. ”Just passing by, love. But thank the gods Ophion here noticed you, I have meant to check in to see how you are after that nasty storm.”.

Then, Thea returned the man’s smile and declined his offer on the other woman’s behalf in masked politeness. ”That won’t seem to be necessary now that there is no compensation to be had, will it?” She then quirked an eyebrow. ”And a drachmae is quite a steep price. You must render some very special service if Imeeya here is willing to pay for it.” By now, the sugary tone in her voice already made her want to gag. But Thea was committed to selling the bit so she soldiered on. ”May I ask for your name? Just for future reference if I ever need a man of skills.”

He wasn't going to push it. There was too much trouble to be had on a dock this active and now with another noble involved. The coins were too few for that kind of show. When Thea asked him his name, he wasn't going to bother to give it, but Imeeya had decided to do it for him. He raised his eyebrows in her direction. He'd have thought she'd want to be...more discreet than that. Perhaps deny knowing his name entirely. However, she boldly mentioned that he was leaving.

A smirk crossed his lips and he looked her up and down.

"Of course..." he gave her a shallow bow with a mocking smile. "Your wish is my command."

To Thea, he turned and said, "It is nice to know that Lady Imeeya has friends."

Arktos hovered behind him, ready and willing to help as necessary but it wasn't. In the end, it was best to carry on with their real activities, rather than chase a few gold coins that wouldn't amount to much.

Over his shoulder, he called to Imeeya, "It was nice meeting you. See you soon..."

As they walked away, Arktos leaned in. "Are you going to see her again?"

Lukos half shrugged. Perhaps. Perhaps not. But if he saw Imeeya again, it wouldn't be for anything even remotely resembling a visit the girl would want. He liked to dole out nightmares whenever and wherever possible for monetary gain. And since she'd deprived him of that today, he saw no reason to hit her up for it some time in the future.

"Perhaps," he said slowly as they walked back onto the ship. "When boredom strikes."