by Zara Starr
He fought hard against the other Karzem and didn’t for a moment pause to consider that they were the same. Sure, they were from the same race. And they were both slaves. They had both been forced to fight each other.
Mal didn’t want to think further than that. He didn’t want to wonder what would have happened if he had control over his own life. Would he have been friends with this Karzem?
Thinking like that was dangerous. Thinking like that could cause him to lose the fight.
So, Mal pushed harder and gained the upper hand. They were fighting hand-to-hand, with no weapons, since the fight was so evenly matched. But Mal had something the other guy didn’t – determination. He still had to prove himself to his new Master.
With a quick blow, Mal knocked the other guy out. The blue body fell to the ground with a loud bang. He was knocked out cold.
Mal decided not to deliver another, fatal blow. It was further along in the season and the fights were getting more intense. The prizes were more valuable. It wasn’t necessary to kill this one if he was knocked out – his own Master would take care of him.
Mal didn’t want to think about what that meant. Rather his opponent than himself, he thought.
When the fights were over, the winners were taken back into the ring. Before, Esimin hadn’t bothered with the parade of his fighter, but Slinin seemed to want everyone to know who had won, he wanted everyone to look at Mal and remember his face.
The prizes were brought in, a string of females who were offered as prizes. Mal craned his neck to see if she was there, if she was one of the women that would be offered as slaves.
Of course, she wasn’t. She wasn’t offered as the competition continued. She was the grand prize.
It was both a relief and a point of worry for Mal and he had no idea why he felt that way about it. She was nothing to him. He didn’t know her at all. They were all stuck in their own little worlds, doing as they were told. It didn’t matter to any of them, it didn’t affect them, what happened to the others.
When Mal was called up to be congratulated on his win and offered a prize, a female was presented to Slinin. She was a very rare creature, an alien race of which there was only a handful. Because of that, she wasn’t offered as a slave, but only as a gift for the night.
The warriors were removed from the arena and sent back to the washing room to clean up. Now that Mal had been paraded along with the other gladiators, the showers were full, each of the showerheads occupied by an alien body, muscled, bleeding, taking care of himself.
Mal had sustained no wounds during the last fight, but even if he had, they would have already healed. He had no blood to wash off either.
After showering, he dressed in his usual garments and walked down the corridor to an office where he had been ordered to meet his Master from now on. Slinin had no intention of visiting his slave in the washrooms, he had made it quite clear that it was beneath him. He was definitely different from Esimin, although Mal still couldn’t decide if that was good or bad.
When Mal knocked on the door, his Master called for him to enter. The door slid open and he stepped in. The office was decorated tastefully, with an interesting choice of furniture. Large, dark, wooden furniture, rather than the sleek, modern furniture that the Saithin preferred. This decoration reminded Mal of something that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. It was almost as if there was emotion in the room.
“You did me proud today,” Slinin said. He sat behind the desk, his fingers steepled together, an air of authority and importance surrounding him.
“Thank you,” Mal said.
“It was a good win and we will move forward. And you are merciful.”
Mal didn’t answer. He didn’t know if “merciful” was a compliment or an insult. Some Masters preferred the gladiators to be cruel. Cruelty, in some of the circles, was seen as a strength.
“Mercy is hard to come by these days,” Slinin said. “It is best that we hold onto the qualities that are starting to disappear.”
So, a compliment then. Mal wasn’t sure what to say in return.
“Are you pleased with your prize?” Mal asked instead.
Slinin waved his hand dismissively. “What do I care for a night with a rear female? I have no interest in her. Take her for yourself, if you want. You have earned the right to a reward.”
Mal blinked at his Master. Never had anyone told him that he had earned the right to something. He did not care for the female either though. He knew that a lot of gladiators would jump at the chance to spend a night with a female. Mal had never understood the appeal. He had never been with a female and didn’t feel the need to change that now.
But if he rejected his Master’s offer, he would go back to his own quarters and that would be the end of it. If he accepted, however, Mal would be taken to the female quarters, and perhaps he would have the chance to see the new human female.
“Are you sure?” Mal finally asked.
Slinin glanced up at him. “It would do you good to remember that I am sure about every single thing I say. Do not question me again.”
“I apologize,” Mal said.
Slinin shook his head. “It’s fine, it’s fine.” Again, the dismissive wave of his hand. “I am not interested in any female other than that human one, the grand prize.”
When he said it, something jerked inside Mal. His Master was interested in the same female he was. He didn’t like the thought of that, of his Master winning her when he fought. Not one bit.
But there was nothing he could say about that. When the conversation was over, Mal was dismissed.
“Go to the female quarters, have your night with your prize,” were his final words.
Mal did as he was told, crossing the dome to where the female quarters were situated. He had never been in there, only seen the door to it. When he arrived, the doors slid open for him – one of the guards had recognized him. He nodded at the guard, realizing that his Master had already cleared him to go in.
As he made his way down the corridor, he walked past doors, all of them with small porthole windows. The females did not have complete privacy. Mal didn’t like the thought of that. But they were slaves, as were everyone else there. It was a part of life.
Besides, with the little windows, Mal could peer into every room he passed. He did so, hoping to catch a glimpse of the human female again. Even though he knew the chance that he would find her was slim.
And then, by some miracle, he did.
He had half-expected that she would be in a different room because she was the grand prize. But no – she was right there in one of the normal rooms.
And she was naked. Her back was turned to the door and Mal paused at the little window, letting his eyes roam her body. God, he had never seen a naked female before. And this one was beautiful. Her smooth skin stretched unblemished across her body, her curves like sheer poetry. Her dark curls were in deep contrast against her light skin and Mal wondered what she would feel like if he reached out and touched her.
As if she had felt his eyes on her, she turned around a little and looked over her shoulder. The moment she spotted Mal, she let out a little yelp and jumped toward the bed, grabbing a sheet and pulling it against herself, covering up her nakedness. For a moment, their eyes met and her cheeks turned red.
“What are you doing?” a Saithin guard hissed at him. “Keep moving!”
Mal was about to do as he was told, but he turned to the guard instead.
“I changed my mind,” he said to the guard. “I’m leaving.” He spun around and walked back toward the exit. His heart was pounding in his chest.
What had she thought of him? He desperately wanted to know. He didn’t know why it was so important to him, but he wanted to know if she thought about him the same way he had thought about her. If she had wanted to see him again just as badly as he had wanted to see her.
Probably not. She had caught his eye up there on the stage, but that didn’t mean that she had noticed him about the rest of th
e gladiators who she must have watched fighting. He had been nothing more than someone who had been glancing through her window, surely.
Mal knew he had to head back to his quarters and put her out of his mind. There was no way he was going to be able to have her anyway. She was a grand prize. If he was lucky enough to win the tournament, to be the gladiator who would be awarded the grand prize, she would go to his Master anyway. It was why Slinin had bought him in the first place.
He was fighting so that his Master could win her.
But no matter what the facts were, Mal couldn’t help but want her for himself.
Before he reached the door, he paused. He looked around and noticed that the guard who had told him to keep moving had passed, going to another part of the female quarters.
There was no one else around. No one to pay attention to him, to see what he was about to do. He looked both ways to make sure he was alone and then decided to take his chance.
Quickly, he jumped back to her door and knocked.
Chapter Six
Tanya
Tanya heard a knock on her door and walked toward it. She couldn’t see anyone through the little porthole window, so she carefully pulled the door open. She expected to see a guard – a Saithin guard, Amelia had told her they were called – although they never knocked. They never gave her any kind of privacy or respect. She hated how much they made her feel like nothing more than an object to be possessed.
Of course, that was what she was there for if what Amelia had said was true.
Instead of a guard, a gladiator stood in front of her when she opened the door.
And not just any gladiator. The gladiator who had been watching her through the porthole window on her door a moment before. The gladiator that had been fighting in the ring when she had been taken to the stage above the arena. She had seen him fight twice now.
But he wasn’t really a man, was he? In fact, he was nearly a giant. He must have been seven feet tall. He towered above all the Saithin guards, and his skin was a vivid blue. Everything about him screamed alien.
When he looked at her, his eyes were chilling red.
Her eyes slid down his body involuntarily. He was shirtless. Just as he had been when she had seen him fight. And now, she could see why. He turned a little to look over his shoulder at the door that had closed again, checking the porthole window, and she noticed a line of sharp metal spikes down his back.
It was scary. It was intimidating. Something about him screamed “warrior” and she felt like she should have been scared of him. Any person in their right mind would.
But instead, her eyes trailed further down to the sharp “V” of chisel muscle above his belt. She thought about the way he had looked at her for a second too long when he had seen her undressed.
As if he had never seen a naked woman before. Was that possible? How could such a stunning specimen – because he was just about the most perfect male she had ever seen – not have seen a naked woman before?
Tanya realized that he had stood in front of her, letting her ogle him, without saying a word. His eyes rested on her face and she looked up at them. Now, they weren’t as bright red as they had been earlier. They had grown darker, the color of burgundy.
“What do you want?” she asked, not knowing what else to say.
He cleared his throat and shook his head as if he was trying to shake himself out of a reverie.
“I’m Mal,” he said. His voice was deep and she loved the sound of it, the way that it brushed against her skin. She wanted him to speak again so that she could hear more of it.
“Tanya,” she said, introducing herself.
“Tanya,” he said, trying her name, and she loved the way it sounded on his tongue.
He didn’t say anything else, he just watched her. He hadn’t given her any explanation about why he had knocked on her door. He was just… there.
“So, I noticed that you won the tournament today,” she said, not sure what else to say. Was she really trying to make small talk with an alien who had come to her room without a reason? It sounded absurd. But then, since she had been abducted, nothing made sense.
He nodded.
Tanya remembered the prizes that had been handed out during the parade – the first parade she had seen him in. She remembered that he had won a female.
“You won the female as a prize,” she said.
Mal nodded. “Yes. My Master was so kind as to gift her to me for the night, even though I don’t usually get the reward.”
Tanya frowned. She had noticed that there was some kind of hierarchy, with gladiators belonging to their Masters. She didn’t quite understand how the prize system worked, but he made it sound like it was a big deal that he had been offered the female.
“Well, I am happy for you,” she said.
Mal shook his head. “She isn’t my type.”
Tanya thought it was a funny thing to say. When there were so many alien races around, so many strange prizes, with females being one of them, how could you have a type?
She looked up at him and his eyes bored into hers. There was something about the way he was looking at her that sent a shiver down her spine. Heat flooded through her body and she felt like her skin was suddenly on fire. There was an incredible pull toward this man – this alien – and Tanya had no idea why she felt what she did. Or why this chemistry was so incredibly strong.
Her breath caught in her throat, and she swayed a little. As if she was going to lose her balance.
The conversation between them was awkward. Uptight. Maybe a little cold. But the way he looked down at her told her everything she needed to know. He liked what he saw. A lot. And she liked it too. The way he was looking at her made her feel… special. Which was a big deal, since she had felt like she was being herded like cattle since the moment she had arrived.
This was why he had knocked on her door, wasn’t it? He had wanted to see her again. Looking up at her from the arena hadn’t been enough.
Tanya had to admit that she felt the same. It hadn’t been enough for her either.
She just hadn’t thought that the sentiment would be reciprocated. In fact, she hadn’t thought, after the first time, that she would ever see him again. Let alone, up close.
A guard suddenly appeared at the door.
“You!” he shouted at Mal. “What are you doing here? You are supposed to go back to your quarters. You said you changed your mind.”
About the female? Tanya wondered. Why? He had said that she wasn’t his type. A part of her was thrilled about that. A crazy part, she told herself. Why did it matter to her that the female that had been gifted to Mal wasn’t his type?
“I have to go,” he said to Tanya, turning back to face her after glancing at the guard, his spikes pointing at the guard.
Tanya nodded.
“Goodbye,” he said formally.
“Bye,” Tanya said a little weakly.
Mal turned around and marched out of the room, head held high. It wasn’t until after he had left that she realized that she was blushing.
God, what had that been? Since when did she feel attracted to alien men? Since when was this a question at all? Until now, Tanya had only been fretting over how to escape. After all, she didn’t want to be here, she didn’t belong in this world. She definitely didn’t want to be a prize that could be won, a slave that would be gifted to whoever was strong enough.
But now, after meeting Mal, she was starting to wonder. What if he was the person that could win her?
That was ridiculous. She was not going to be a slave. She simply wasn’t the slave type – her personality was too strong.
It was already incredibly difficult for her to conform to these ridiculous rules that she had been given, to be monitored at all times, to be told what to wear and where to be at all times. She hated every minute of it. It wouldn’t make a difference who owned her, not even if it was the most attractive man she had ever seen. In the entire galaxy.
Tanya wal
ked to her bed and sat down, letting out a burst of laughter. Everything was so bizarre. If someone had told her two days ago that she would end up on a different planet as a prize to be won in a gladiator fight, she would have told them they were on drugs.
Yet, here she was, on a strange planet. Attracted to an alien, somehow. Dressed up, pampered, well-fed – all those things so that she could be a good prize.
What was the rest of her life going to be? It felt like she was caught up in some kind of dream. None of this made sense.
When was she going to wake up? It had to be soon. It was too bizarre to be real, and dreams never lasted this long. Any moment now, she was going to snap out of it.
When Tanya thought about everything she had been through since the moment those monsters had arrived at her house, she couldn’t wait to wake up. But when she thought about Mal and the way he had looked at her, it was a different story. Something in his eyes had been almost tender. When he had looked at her, it hadn’t been as if she was a possession, something that would be won. He had looked at her… differently. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but there had definitely been something different in the air.
When she thought about Mal, about all of this being a dream, she felt like she didn’t want to wake up. Not just yet. Not before she saw him at least one more time.
She fell back on the bed and shook her head. What the hell was she thinking? Sure, she wouldn’t lie to herself – the alien guy was hot. But she couldn’t let something like that distract her from the most important thing right now. Her first order of business was to escape. That was the point.
This place was far too twisted, far too messed up. She was an animal here – herded, ready to be won as if it was a county fair or something. Except it was a lot more barbaric. Because these aliens were forced to fight to the death for females that were kept in the prize quarters.
It was disgusting.
Her door flung open and a Saithin guard stood there, looking at her. Of course, this was how they entered. When Mal had knocked, she should have known that it was something different.