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Dakota was watching him. “What is it?”

“Looks like you’ll get to see your city of spires and bridges up close, after all.”

“It has the parts you need?” Her eyebrows had risen. “And this world is close by, and you hadn’t mentioned it yet.”

He heard the hardness in her voice. “I was going to.”

“I thought they were a low-tech world.”

“No, but they do like to give that impression. Come on, we’ll have to get dressed for the occasion. My friend, Vero, will welcome us, but it is imperative we follow their rules.”

Dakota wrinkled her nose. “I hate rules.”

“Maybe you should stay aboard the Nomad while I⁠—”

“Don’t even think about finishing that sentence, Phoenix.”

Yeah, he’d guessed as much.

Ry crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t like this.”

Dare didn’t either. Sulla was pretty on the outside, but with an undercurrent of ugliness and danger beneath. He’d prefer to leave Dakota on the Nomad, but she’d never stay put. Better to keep her close than have her run off on her own.

Hell. Who was he kidding? He wanted her close.

“We’ll be fine. We’ll go in, negotiate for the parts, find out anything we can on Caleb Stock, and be back.” He strode off the bridge, heading for his cabin.

“What aren’t you telling me?” Dakota demanded, striding along behind him.

“On Sulla, men are in charge.”

She gave an inelegant snort. “So? Men think that everywhere. Another backward world where men beat their chests…it’s not like I haven’t seen that before.”

“I mean really in charge. Women are…submissive.”

She jerked to a stop. “Submissive?” She said the word like it tasted of trash. “All of them?”

He turned to face her. “Whether they like it or not. They’re raised that way. Most believe they like it, that they’re liberated and protected by their submission.”

Dakota shivered. “Sounds like brainwashing to me.”

“Some of them are submissive and some of them aren’t.” It was why Dare hadn’t visited for a long time. Seeing a woman straining against the chains of an upbringing forced on her was more than he could stomach. “To visit, you’ll have to dress like a Sullan woman. And you’ll have to walk behind me, and sit at my feet.”

Her mouth dropped open. “You’re kidding me.”

He offered her a faint smile. He’d finally shocked Miss Unshockable. “No.”

She ran a hand through her hair. “Okay.”

“I have a contact, Vero. Someone I trust…mostly.”

“Sounds encouraging,” she said sarcastically.

“You have to have a sponsor to land on Sulla. In the past, they let outsiders in and they had problems. Women were kidnapped and items stolen.”

“So, this contact of yours can help us get the part you need. But what about info on Stock and the Southwind?”

“I’ll see if Vero knows anything. Sulla has a huge central library. If they have the info, it’ll be stored there.”