by Alyx X
“Unfortunately.”
I snickered at the dryness in his voice. Was I too similar to my father? Maybe. But the one thing I could hold onto tightly was the knowledge that I wasn’t as cruel as he was. I winced thinking of my parting words to Nora. Or maybe I was just bullshitting myself.
“This right here, this is what is important.” Drayl opened the door to my quarters. “You need to remember what is important. Finding that bastard child is. Surviving until your father eats the dust is too. Nora is a distraction. I suggest you get her off your mind now before all this work to get this far comes to naught. If you do anything with her, you will get her killed. Not just you, but her too. That isn’t protecting her. If you love her as you believe you do, leave her alone. Do not bring her between you and your father.”
“She’s already between us. The moment I showed interest her, she came between us. And I refuse to allow anyone to hurt her, including my father. I will ensure her safety.”
“You can’t always stand between our people and your father.”
I glared at Drayl before shoving past him, needing a drink. I briefly wondered what Drayl did with the rest of the Greeg FireSlug Juice. “Someone needs to stand up for them.”
“It doesn’t always have to be you.”
“Then who?” I whirled around on Drayl. “Are you brave enough to go against that man? Do you know anyone who is?”
“It doesn’t matter. You need to stay away from Nora. Your involvement is sure to put her death in stone.”
“I’m not doing anything wrong, Drayl. I will not turn away from my feelings. Yes, I love her. All of me still believes that she is mine—mine to love and to protect. I will not turn my back on her and I will not avoid her. Not anymore. I can’t trick myself into believing I don’t want her.”
His gaze flickered between my hard eyes and his shoulders slouched as he realized I was serious. “You’re going to do it, aren’t you.”
“I have her for a few weeks still. I am going to make use of it. I will make her realize that she is mine and there is hope.”
Drayl blew out a breath, his expression sad. “I only fear this will end with death. I do not want you suffering and I want you alive.” With those parting words, he slipped out of the room, leaving me to stew in everything we had discussed.
Drayl was right. He was always right. He had a way of looking at something and seeing the reality. But this was one I couldn’t budge on. Not when it came to Nora. She was someone to me and I wasn’t going to hand her over without a fight, without giving her some kind of hope. I wanted her to know she meant something to me.
8
Nora
My duty as a breeder settled heavily on my shoulders. We were now halfway through the journey. Weeks had passed and my days had been spent watching an impossible amount of videos, learning all about what my role was to be. About what my life was about to be turned into.
It fed into my fear as the unknown became a certainty. Their expectations became clearer each lesson and in their eyes, I had no choice but to do what they wanted, even if it wasn’t what I wanted.
My stomach twisted with fear and disgust as my thoughts went back to the other day. The day everything took a darker twist. I was only supposed to clean and make sure Ambassador’s Kryn’s estate remained organized. No one told me about any kind of special training until Tryel had taken me to an empty room to talk.
Even now, a couple days later, his words echoed through my head, causing bile to rise in my throat.
“Your training with a Riexian male will begin today. You will learn how to please them.” He had moved to the side and standing in the door was another Riexian. Tall, lean, and eager. It didn’t click in right away what Tryel had said. Then the stranger stepped through and closed the door behind him, the locking mechanism echoing through the small space. He had reached up and removed his robe, giving me a clear view of a naked Riexian, the two long appendages between his leg swaying as he moved closer.
It had only made kneeing him in his intimate spot easier and I had managed to do enough damage to force him to the med ward while I was locked into my pod for three days without food or water.
That was okay. I’d gone longer than that without food or water before.
Tomorrow, they’d try again. I knew they would, and I wasn’t sure what I’d do.
I coughed, trying to keep my stomach settled, but it didn’t work. I jumped out of bed and ran to the little bathroom to relieve my stomach contents. Problem was, there was nothing in my stomach to relieve so my insides cramped and I had to blink back tears.
Trying to breathe through the pain and fear, I flopped back onto my bed and curled around my pillow, squeezing my eyes tightly together, hoping to forget the images that plagued my mind. Sleep refused to come. Knowing that tomorrow, they’d try again, made it impossible to get lost in dreams of what I wanted my happiness to be. And I didn’t want to sleep either, knowing that tomorrow would only come sooner.
Eventually, they’d force me to cave, force me to pleasure a stranger I knew nothing about, not even a name. Force me to do acts I wanted nothing to do with.
I choked on the fear and sat up, forcing my lungs to continue to work properly before I went into a panic attack.
Tomorrow. Hours away.
I glared at the door. It had been locked the last three days, no one in, no one out, no one responding as I called out to them.
They had so easily turned my living space into a prison cell. I went to the door and for the millionth time, tried again, knowing it wasn’t going to work. To my surprise, the door clicked open.
I froze, wondering if maybe I did fall asleep and was dreaming. Maybe it unlocked because technically my punishment was over. Either way, it was freedom and I was going to make use of it.
The halls were empty and quiet, everyone already sleeping safely in the beds for the night. Even the lights were dimmed, creating shadows in the normally bright hallway. If this was my last chance at freedom, then I was going to take it. Without a second thought, I stepped out, expecting to hear yelling as guards sprinted at me. Nothing happened.
Smiling, I wandered the halls, taking twists and turns, not caring that I was lost and probably wouldn’t be able to find my way back to my pod. They kept us to only one part of the ship since boarding, so I didn’t bother to look at the same sites that I saw every day. It wasn’t like the white on white sterile space would change over the last couple of days.
There was one door that we hadn’t been allowed to go through that had my curiosity. I beelined for it, using this opportunity to see more of the ship. I was in space, for fuck’s sake. Floating where so many of us from earth hoped to be. I needed to enjoy it while I could.
The new area was much of the same, white walls, bland doors, most of them locked. I got to the end of the hall and turned the corner, pausing at a beautiful set of doors with windows. Peeking through the door, I tried to find what could be on the other side.
Something dark shimmered on the ground, the little bit of light source reflecting off of it. No one was around and there was a button on the side. I hit the button and with a small snick, it slid opened. Inside was warmer, the flooring different. It was harder, my footsteps echoing around the room. Not wanting anyone to know that I was there, I took off my slip on shoes and winced as the coldness seeped into the bottom of my feet. Ice cold. A coldness I never felt before growing up in the desert. Unable to handle it, I shuffled forward, not wanting to stay in one spot for too long.
The lights had to have been automatic because as I moved closer to the shimmering floor, it snapped on, forcing me to blink furiously. Even as my eyesight cleared, I wasn’t sure what I was looking at it. It rooted me to my spot as I stared wide-eyed at the source of the shimmering. Not even the coldness from the floor nipping at my feet could get me moving. I was routed, trying to believe in what was before me.
That had to be water, right? Soft waves rippled through them, lapping at the walls kee
ping it all in one spot. So much that it looked like it’d be never ending. I had never seen so much water in one place before.
Hell, I’d never even see it so clear. That couldn’t be right, right? I glanced around, expecting to see people in the room with me, coveting the treasure before them, but it was empty. Only me. On my planet, wars would have been fought over this body of water. People would have been murdered as they tried to sneak out to get some to drink. Suicide missions rooted with desperation.
And it was clear too. Pure. Untouched. The stuff that we were forced to drink back at home was often recycled three or four times and still murky, and even that water was rare to have access too. Most of the time, we were forced to drink from cacti, desperately hoping it’d keep us alive.
I took in a deep breath. It smelled so clean and looked clean. There were tanks on the ship, full of fish and other stuff. Rocks and something called coral. This body of water didn’t have that. I could see deep down, and there was nothing but water.
All this water—it was an unmatched beauty compared to everything else I’d seen so far. Not the colorful deep colors of the robes of the officials and instructors. Not the parties. Not even the food. Nothing compared to this.
Uncaring of the cold tiles underneath me, I lay down close to the edge. A shudder drove through me as my bones took in the coldness. I didn’t care. Inching closer, afraid of having a bout of clumsiness falling over me so that I’d plunge in. The water glimmered as I inched closer to the sunken in pool. Gripping the sides, I peered over the edge and straight down to the bottom, or what I hoped was the bottom. My shocked face reflected back at me, my messy red hair falling down, the ends skimming the water and making little ripples as my head moved. It took a moment to see past the shimmering me and down into the deep depths. There was no way to tell how far down this pool went, and my reflection and the wobbling of the water made it harder to focus past it. This was stronger than any mirage I’d seen in the desert. It was more solid.
The entire pool captivated me. That seemed to be the only common theme through the ship. All the small tanks, a taste of what their planet was like. Not even the videos I had seen already of their planet nailed in what it was, but this pool, it made it more real.
Water. An abundance of it.
It was so hard to not dunk my head into the water and drink. To fill my stomach of something so wonderful and rare. It had to be safe to drink, right? It was crystal clear. If I tossed a rock or something into it, I’d be able to watch it sink to the bottom. There was enough water to satiate the thirst of my community for months. And it was simply sitting there, undisturbed. How was this fair?
My heart ached remembering a mother dying last month. She had given her newborn the sip of water from her ration and it killed her. The newborn disappeared. Granted, I didn’t try very hard to find it either. No one wanted to take care of another mouth, especially if they were unrelated. That was a lesson I learned at the age of six, after my parents died.
It was vexing to see so much of it, when for all of my life, it had been a resource that caused more deaths than anything else, and that was saying a lot considering people did anything they needed to do to survive, including bloodying their hands.
I didn’t understand it. Why was there so much just sitting here? None of it made sense. Unless this was the drinking water for the ship? But that couldn’t be right, could it? The room was unguarded, the water uncovered. The door wasn’t even locked.
“What are you doing here?”
I closed my eyes, hoping my ears were playing a cruel joke on me.
“Answer me.”
Shifting, I sat up and turned, spotting Kyel leaning against the wall by the door, hands crossed over his chest, face expressionless. His robes were a dark blue, almost black, fitting over his shoulders and covering his body.
He looked good. He always looked dangerously good. His deep red eyes were narrowed on me, waiting for my response. I licked my lips, not sure how to respond. I didn’t really have a good response and if I wasn’t allowed in the area, I’d definitely be punished. There was no talking my way out of it.
“I couldn’t sleep,” I finally admitted.
That brought a frown to the Riexian as he repeated what I said. “Couldn’t sleep?”
I shook my head, rubbing at my stomach. I was hungry, and seeing the water reminded me of my punishment. No food or drink the entire time. I was used to it, but the last couple of weeks, they fed us regularly. It was a little more difficult to ignore the hunger pains.
“Why?” he asked. “Is your accommodations not good enough?”
“No. They’re fine.” I glanced over at the water. “I’ve never seen so much water before,” I whispered.
Kyel’s lip twitched as the suspicion melted from his face, the darkness in his gaze receding. The new look made my insides twist and warm in a way that made me want to moan. His intensity shifted into something softer, more pleasurable.
“I have seen the rock you called home. I’m not surprised that you have not seen the true beauty of water before.” He flashed me a smile, his white, perfect teeth glittering as much as his skin did in the lighting. I swallowed, taken by surprise with his reaction.
There wasn’t any sign of the haughty prince I was used to seeing, of the one always demanding. It was like things were…normal.
Wanting to keep things as it were, I asked, “Is it true what they say then? That the whole planet is water.”
“Have you not been watching the training videos?” He raised an eyebrow, calling me out on trying to pretend I didn’t already know the answer.
“I have. But I can’t wrap my head around it. That’s a lot of water.”
Kyel seemed to consider something before breaking out into a smile as he came to a conclusion. He still carefully watched me. Never removing his eyes from me, he undid the clasps of his robe and let it slip to the ground. My breath caught in my throat as I took in the skintight fabric of his shirt. It was the same dark blue color. It melded to his body, sticking to the ridges of his hard muscles. The sight of him heated my body to its core and I had to press my legs together to alleviate some of the tension building between them. Unable to stop myself, my gaze dropped down to his crotch. His pants weren’t as tight, but there was still a noticeable bulge.
Two cocks. Those pants contained two cocks. My dirty mind reminded me of what he hid underneath.
A low chuckle caught my attention and I snapped my attention back to Kyel’s face. He was grinning, cocky, as he moved and sat down, crossing his legs and looking very much like a prince. My insides intensified in anticipation. I didn’t understand why I was having such a strong reaction to him. It made it impossible to know how to make it stop.
“Ariex is what your planet used to be.” Kyel was using that smooth melodic voice again, making my breasts ache and my nipples harden.
It took me a moment to remember what we were talking about. All the water. Right.
“All save for the few islands that house the cities. Water is our life, our few, our mother. All life on Ariex comes from water.”
“They said that about earth once.” I moved to a more comfortable sitting position, still by the water. I didn’t want to move away from it. All my survival instincts screamed to stay near it. “That water was what gave us life. It’s why the wealthy live around the last of it.”
“Glass City, correct?”
I could only nod. That was the extent of my knowledge of the city full of the wealthy as they huddled around the last of earth’s water. Once that dried up, there was no telling what was going to happen. There was no doubt that Kyel had visited it, considering he was part of TerraLink. They’d have tried smooze him over with the beautiful golden glittering city that I could only glimpse at from a distance. All I had about it were fabled stories of the place.
“It is a beautiful place.” Kyel’s response sounded like a dulled compliment, an automatic response meant to appease those looking for approval.
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I held back a laugh. There was no approval needed from me, especially since it was a place I was not allowed to be in. “Your city, Pryel, is it the same?” I couldn’t help it as I was reminded about what was to come for me soon. My expression slipped, my mask cracking as my emotions slipped through. My gut twisted with fear.
“Worried we won’t meet your expectations?” Kyel asked, noting the change in my demeanor. He still sat calmly in his chair, uncaring about the chaos that occurred around him. He had to know what was to happen to me, yet he didn’t seem to care. It confused me. Most of the time, he was a pretentious bastard, but then there were moments where there was something tender in his expression as he interacted with me.
“My training has already covered what the city will look like.” I glanced down at the smooth floor. “They are training me well here to take care of all your father’s needs. They are adamant that I know everything.” Bitter anger came out by the end and I squeezed my lips together, needing to stop giving more away. I’d only anger Kyel if he thought I was going against the position that they gave me. Would they execute me if I continued to fight? Did I have no choice but to cave?
“Training?” Coldness slipped into Kyel’s voice.
I warily stared at him as I said, “Yes, cleaning and upkeep of the main estate while I complete the training in mating techniques. Once I’m satisfactory, I will be…”
I never got to finish my response. Kyel jumped from his seat and overturned the chair in one quick throw. The calm façade he had completely disappeared as he began to scream and yell. My translator worked hard to understand what he was saying, but even that struggled to keep up. My heart went into my throat.
“That vile man!” Kyel paced back and forth. “You will not be used like that. No one, not even my father, is allowed to touch you. I refuse to allow that to happen. He has already taken you from me. I refuse to let him pass you around like a common whore. You are far from one them.” Kyel stopped abruptly, his hand froze in the air as he realized what he had done and said.