by Regine Abel
“Goddess… You don’t want to rule,” I whispered at the sudden realization.
He shrugged. “I do not seek the trappings of power, but I love Braxia and have great plans for her that I can only accomplish as the Magnar. So yes, I do. Just not now.”
His com beeped. Pulling it out of his pocket, he glanced at the display screen and slightly frowned.
“I’m afraid I must depart,” Keran said. “Thanks for walking with me.”
“I can see now why your father is so proud of you.”
His harsh face softened with an affectionate smile as he thought of his father.
“As am I of him. Looking forward to seeing those Veredian markings, Dagna,” Keran said mockingly.
Before I could answer, he struck his fist to his chest and then walked away. Damn the man; truly his father’s son.
* * *
Once we arrived at Varrek’s house, I spent what remained of the morning hacking a new batch of his files, allowing myself to get distracted by more of my brother’s thwarted ex-lover’s clingy messages. I shouldn’t be reading this, least of all for entertainment, but it was just too juicy to pass up. And yet, part of me felt sorry for that man. Rik’s obsessive love had clearly turned off my brother and driven him away, but he didn’t seem to understand that. His relentless pursuit had only made matters worse as each message escalated in desperation. Guldan’s despised weakness. How could he not see he was ruining things for himself? This last message had broken my heart.
“My dearest Varrek,
I have finally accepted that it is over, and that your affection for me has faded. No more will you hear pleas from me to resume the relationship that had taken me to the halls of the Goddess herself. I miss working with you, our conversations on science, and our revolutionary research. You are the most brilliant mind of our times, and I will never find another collaborator that can challenge me and push the boundaries the way only you can. Please, allow me to return to your side to pursue our work.
Your most loyal friend,
Rik”
How terrible it must have felt to have been so hungry for someone’s presence as to resort to such manipulations to be with them again? I didn’t doubt he had loved working with my brother. I would have given anything for a chance to work with such a genius, but even I could read between the lines that he had still hoped to rekindle their relationship.
With a sigh, I rubbed my eyes, then stretched as I stood from my chair. Gorav would be calling lunch break in less than thirty minutes, and I wanted to get the lab ready to work there in the afternoon. I’d brought some fresh plant samples on which I wanted to attempt some of the research Varrek had been performing. I’d concluded that Varrek’s clients list wasn’t on his computer, having already gone through all of the most likely folders. Therefore, I no longer plowed through the files with zealous determination but paced myself, alternating with more exciting tasks in between.
As I sorted the samples and pulled out the necessary equipment, a swishing sound made me look up. Although it sounded like a door opening, it had come from the back, left corner of the room, behind one of the cold storages. Before I could react, the Guldan Ambassador Lorik Zorak stepped out from the corner, and shot me with the dart gun in his hand.
I never got a chance to make a sound, instant numbness spreading from the sting at the base of my neck. I collapsed to the side, my vision blurring as he approached me with a cruel glint in his green eyes. Battling to remain conscious, I watched helplessly as he picked me up and carried me to the hidden lift my advanced scanners had never detected in the corner. As darkness engulfed me, the platform carried us into the bowels of the house.
* * *
My mouth felt dry and full of sand. I could think clearly, but my naked body tingled with dizziness from the lingering effects of the drug. I lay on my stomach on what appeared to be a short, spanking bench. Head dangling over the edge, arms folded and shackled by my sides, my feet rested on the floor, shackled as well at the base of the bench. I strained my ears in search of any presence in the room before moving, wishing to delay the time before my kidnapper realized I had regained consciousness. Silence reigned in the room but for the soft whistle of the ventilation system.
My eyes fluttered open. Grid-like, dark metal plates covered the floor. Turning my head to the side, I counted at least four, empty detention cells, although I suspected there were more beyond my line of sight. Various devices sat atop a long counter running the length of the wall in front of me. The right side of the room stood empty, but for a large, reinforced door. I didn’t want to imagine what purpose this room had served for my brother. In spite of everything, he’d always provided his slaves with comfortable accommodations. This looked like a place you’d cage animals.
My hands were too big to slip out of the shackles, but I pulled on them anyway, trying to give my palms direct contact with the hard metal. I tried to push my psi power into the metal, hoping to infect it with an unravel command that would have the shackles crumbling within seconds. To my dismay, I didn’t find a single nanite within to carry out my command. Pressing my palms to the side of the wooden bench, my heart sank at finding no nanites there either—not that I’d really expected any in that material.
Helpless, I struggled in vain against my restraints. The Goddess only knew how long I’d been unconscious. It could have been minutes or hours. Had Gorav noticed my disappearance? Had the Ambassador gotten him, too? I hadn’t seen Gorav in the cells within my line of sight. But then, Lorik probably wouldn’t have been able to carry such a massive Braxian on his own.
Oh Goddess, please let him be safe.
Over the past six weeks, I’d grown quite fond of Anton’s youngest brother. I’d be devastated if anything had happened to him.
“Awake at last.”
I yelped in surprise at hearing Lorik’s voice behind me. Had he been in the room this whole time? I hadn’t heard any door opening. Twisting my neck, I tried to look at him over my shoulder but he remained out of sight. My heart pounded into my throat when the sound of his footsteps stopped right behind me. Mind racing, I considered asking him what he wanted from me. Although I could think of at least a couple of reasons—like using me against Ravik or for my inheritance—I decided to keep my mouth shut until I had a better sense of his state of mind. I was in far too vulnerable a position to alienate him with no idea if any rescue was on the way.
His warm, oddly soft hands caressing my left butt cheek in a slow circle, startled me. I didn’t want to think what this touch might lead to next. Whatever his intentions, he wouldn’t kill me; I was too valuable alive. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t entertain himself with me.
“You’ve caused a lot of people a lot of problems, Ravena Vrok. Derailed our plans of taking over this pathetic planet. Betrayed your own people for those savages.”
With each word, his voice gradually lowered into a whisper—ominous and filled with growing anger. Lorik removing his hand from my ass had my stomach knotting with anxiety and my breath growing short. Seconds later, a whistling sound followed by a loud slapping sound echoed through the room. I cried out as pain exploded on my rear where he’d struck me with what I could only assume to be a wooden paddle.
“Betrayed your own brother.”
Another blow followed the whistling sound, and a wave of agony radiate along my spine and down my legs.
“Captured him to be tortured.”
WHACK!
“Abandoned him to be executed.”
WHACK!
“You killed Varrek, you cunt!” Lorik yelled before raining blows on my ass and my legs.
Each strike resonated along my spine, making my stomach roil and churn. I felt like I was being flayed, the skin being ripped right off my flesh every time the paddle landed on me.
Goddess, he’s going to kill me!
In a flash of lucidity before I lost consciousness again, I realized who he was.
Rik.
* * *
“Welcome back, Ravena,” Lorik said, his voice almost cordial.
My head jerked up, and I shuddered at finding him seated nonchalantly in a chair a couple of meters in front of me. Fear coursed through me as his green eyes bore into mine, his fingers absentmindedly caressing the paddle resting on his lap. Like Doruk, Lorik was a very attractive man with his brown horns, long and curly dark-brown hair, a clean-shaven square jaw, and full lips. Surprisingly, the right side of his face didn’t bear the tribal tattoos Guldans who shaved usually wore. But where Doruk’s beauty had been marred by his underlying malice, Lorik’s madness muddled his. He’d been so calm, quiet, and controlled that first night in Ravik’s Hall. Who could have guessed this love-sick stalker lurked beneath the polished veneer?
“Under normal circumstances, I would beat you to death for what you’ve done. I’d break every single one of your bones and get off on your screams,” Lorik said, his tone conversational. “But I have too many other purposes for you. Aside from ruining our plans, you’ve pissed off the wrong people who have requested the right to teach you proper respect. Those Braxian savages you’ve betrayed your people for don’t like people talking back to them. And you, my dear, have quite a mouth on you.”
He lifted the paddle and spun the handle. I stared in morbid fascination at the tool that had inflicted such horrible pain on me. That vermin, Hagan, had to be the person I’d pissed off. If he beat me with that paddle, he’d kill me. Deep-rooted hatred for me had burned in his eyes after I’d publicly humiliated him during last meal.
Paddle firmly in hand, Lorik rose to his feet and approached me. My stomach sank and my entire body stiffened, causing the throbbing pain in my abused flesh to flare up.
“You bruise beautifully, Ravena,” Lorik said, his soft hand caressing my ass.
I swallowed a whimper as his touch, although gentle, hurt horribly.
“You have no idea how badly I want to beat you again.”
His fingers dug into my right butt cheek, squeezing it savagely. I screamed in agony, the pain radiating up my back and down my right leg.
“Such a pretty scream,” he whispered, releasing his brutal hold on me.
My eyes pricked, but I fought back the tears and the sob that wanted to rise from my throat. I’d never felt so weak, so helpless… so hopeless.
“But I won’t beat you. At least, not for a while.” His hand resumed caressing me, but thankfully moved away from the battered area, sliding up my back as he circled around the bench. He stopped next to my face and crouched so that we’d be eye to eye. His green eyes were devoid of emotion as he studied my face for a moment before peering up at my horns. “They’re identical to his,” Lorik said, his fingers tracing the patterns on my horns. “He loved when I held on to his horns when he fucked me. I never got to fuck him. He didn’t take cock, only gave it. Before him, I’d never bottomed for anyone. But for Varrek…”
An odd mixture of wistfulness, longing, passion, and madness burned in his eyes. He stared at me, unseeing, his hand fisted around my horn and his thumb caressing the pattern. Heart pounding, I eyed him warily as he refocused on me. Lorik suddenly leaned forward, drawing my face towards him by my horn. Rubbing his cheek against mine, he inhaled deeply, and then pressed his lips to my ears.
“You smell like him, except for that stinky perfume you wear. Properly washed and with a touch of his Cologne, you’ll smell exactly like him.”
My eyes widened in horror. Surely, he didn’t think…?
Lorik pulled away from me, his face inches from mine. “I have very nice, colored Xelixian lenses for your eyes; forest-green like Varrek’s. After we’re married, we’ll have to make some modifications to your face. Some nice chevron-shaped bone implants in your forehead to recreate his crihnin. Did you know that he hated it? The silly man. His crihnin was as beautiful as everything else about him,” Lorik said, caressing my forehead with his knuckles, the same wistful look on his face. “I’ve successfully completed the experimental phase of a new skin pigment. It’s going to hurt a bit, but after a few injections, you will permanently have his beautiful silver color. You’re going to be a masterpiece,” he said, cupping my face in his hand before crushing my lips with a short, but brutal kiss.
“You’re insane,” I whispered, my mind refusing to accept he’d meant those words.
Lorik’s expression went blank for a second, and then his features contorted with anger. He backhanded me with such violence, I feared my neck would break. Blood exploded from my mouth, and my teeth rattled in my head.
Dazed, my head hung down at the edge of the short spanking bench. Lorik’s hand closed around my long braid and yanked back on it, forcing me to look at him. His features twisted in an angry grimace, his eyes promised a world of hurt.
“I am not insane, you cunt!” he spat. “But I can be. Disrespect me again, and you’ll be reminded that Guldans know how to put whores in their place even better than Braxians.”
Ignoring the throbbing on the right side of my face, I pressed my lips together to keep my stupid tongue from getting me into any more trouble.
“Here’s what is going to happen,” Lorik said, in a voice sharp enough to cut steel. “My Braxian partner is going to pay you a visit to settle that score with you; twenty-five lashes and the night in a cage.”
I cast a horrified sideways glance at the empty animal cages.
“Oh no, sweetheart. Not those ones. Something a little more snug.” The cruelty of the smile stretching his lips had my stomach in knots. “In the morning, fifteen Braxians will come say hello. They hope to bring along that animal you’ve been fucking, but he’s a hard one to catch. Failing that, they’ll prepare him a nice video of them making an intimate acquaintance with that cunt of yours for the day he does fall into their hands.”
My body shook with an irrepressible trembling, each tremor sending new waves of agony along my tortured flesh.
“Now, now,” Lorik said. His grip loosened on my braid, and his fingers gently massaged the sting in my scalp. “There’s no need for this. I won’t let them hurt you or damage you. Well… at least, not permanently,” he amended. “By this time tomorrow afternoon, you and I will be on our way back to Guldar to celebrate our wedding. As you can guess, I’m not a fan of pussies. So I’ll only fuck yours to impregnate you. The sooner you give me a couple of heirs to secure the Vrok estate for my bloodline, the sooner we’ll both be free of such unpleasantness.” The mad glint flashed through his eyes. “Your ass though… your ass I will fuck often, once we’ve fixed your appearance. Through you, I’ll finally get to fuck my Varrek.”
Leaning in again, Lorik kissed my lips with something akin to tenderness. He rose from his crouching position and walked away from me, towards the counter ahead. Too many emotions ran through me, mixed with lancing pain, preventing me from forming a rational plan. That man was stark, raving mad. If I didn’t find a way to escape before the Fifteen arrived, I’d be dead or broken. And I didn’t even want to think about what that would do to Ravik.
Oh Goddess, Ravik!
If they caught him, they would give him a slow, painful death. Although I knew it to be hopeless, I tried to push my power into the metal shackles around my wrists again, in vain. My head jerked up as Lorik turned around and came back towards me, a large knife in his hand. Panicked, I pulled on my restraints, the hard edges scraping the skin from my wrists. I breathed loud and fast as he closed the distance.
“Relax, stupid female,” Lorik snapped. “I already told you I’m not going to harm you.”
On the verge of hyperventilating, I twisted my neck over my shoulder in a futile attempt to see what he
intended to do with that blade. He picked up my braid and yanked my head back. For a split second, I thought he would slit my throat. Instead of the terror I’d expected, a cool blanket of peace and acceptance descended on me. Better death than what he’d planned for me. If my advanced scanners had failed to detect the hidden lift and the presence of an entire underground floor, Ravik and his men would never find me.
And then I felt pressure on my hair as the blade sawed through my braid.
“NOOOO!” I screamed.
With a soft snick, the pull on my scalp relented, and my head fell forward again, the short stump of my remaining braid brushing against my shoulder. Facing the metal plating on the floor, from the corner of my eyes, I watched Lorik walk back towards the counter. Something snapped inside of me at the sight of his hand casually holding my severed braid, its long tail dragging on the floor.
I wailed like my soul had been torn right out of me. What his beating hadn’t achieved, losing the one symbol of my Veredian heritage that I’d never had to hide, even as Ravena, broke me. Like all my Sisters, I’d grown my hair since birth. Its purpose as a weapon had always been secondary. The spiritual beliefs of the Veredians dictated that the longer the hair, the stronger its roots, which symbolized the bond that tied all Veredians, the greater the wisdom of the bearer, and the more powerful their psionic ability.
The dam broke as I bawled with heart-wrenching sobs. I’d always considered myself a strong female, but I had nothing left. All the sorrows of my life came crashing down; the little girl I’d been who’d pined for a mother she wouldn’t meet for decades, my lifetime of hiding in plain sight, the death of my father, the heartbreaking choice between my only brother and my Sisters, his untimely death by my fault, and my Ravik…
“Females… Always so much drama,” Lorik mumbled with disgust.