by Aline Ash
Dizziness beginning to overwhelm me, I step back and raise my foot. I drive it into the Revian’s face, hearing bones cracking beneath my boot as he falls over backwards, as dead as his friend. The crowd is wilder than I’ve ever heard them before, their frenzied cheers and applause a cacophony in my head thanks to the confined, enclosed chamber.
Feeling the blood still pouring from my wound, I fall to my knees as my legs give out beneath me. I fall onto my back and the world seems to be spinning above me. I feel an unnatural cold seeping into my body and my vision begins to blur. I close my eyes and summon Eva’s image into my mind’s eye. I hold tightly to it, picturing her delicate features and recalling the soft, yet somehow still firm press of her body. A smile touches my lips at the memories I have created with her.
And then my world goes black.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Eva
It’s been several days since I sent Ilfa out with a message for Kon and Marissa, and I’ve not heard anything. I will assume she made it out of the compound, though. If she hadn’t, I’m sure Wylto would have made a public spectacle of her. He would have made an example for the others through her torture and punishment. I’m sure of it.
I don’t know if Kon is launching a raid to free me, or if he thinks the risks are too great and cannot afford a rescue mission. If it is the latter, I have to understand. This is war, and in times of war, you have to carefully weigh the risk and reward of any situation. I would understand if they decided they could not afford it.
If that were to be the case, I’d like to know so I can start making alternative plans. I’d have to find a way out on my own.
As I stand at the windows, staring out into the grounds beyond, my mind is spinning with ideas about escaping as I try to start cobbling a plan together. But another piece of my mind is consumed with thoughts of Tulo. I know he was scheduled to fight today, but he’s usually not gone this long. It worries me that he has been away from our chamber most of the day.
I’ve tried distancing myself from him since we had sex in the arboretum. Mostly because I don’t know what to say. But that doesn’t mean I don’t still care about him. I do care. Very much. That’s why this is so hard for me. That’s also why I’m so worried that he isn’t back yet.
. I know Tulo told me these fights are essentially staged, that he’s always pitted against weaker fighters and is never truly in danger. But all it takes is for one slip of his concentration, or one freak accident, and he could be killed the same as anybody else.
I pace the cell, trying to keep my mind occupied and off Tulo, but I am not having much success. When I hear the chime of the door being unlocked, I nearly cry out in relief.
I turn and watch the door open, then immediately feel my heart lurch hard in my chest. Rather than it being Tulo finally returning, Wylto steps through the door, a malevolent smile on his face. My immediate thought is that he’s come to tell me Tulo is dead. I have to fight to keep the tears from welling in my eyes, and to gain control of myself, not wanting to show the slightest bit of emotion in front of him.
Two guards stand before the open door, their backs to me, which worries me even more. It’s as if they’re trying to prevent anybody from seeing, let alone getting into the room. As I search Wylto’s face, I see a mixture of different thoughts and emotions crossing his scaly features, only adding to my sense of dread.
“Wh-where’s Tulo?” I ask, inwardly cringing at the quaver I hear in my voice.
“Med bay,” Wylto says dismissively. “Getting a few wounds patched up. It’s fine. He’ll be along shortly.”
He steps closer to me and I retreat a step, drawing a feral grin from him. He looks at me, his eyes sliding up and down my body. He runs his tongue over his lips lasciviously and I shudder. He laughs.
“What do you want, Wylto?”
He lingers where he is for a moment, his gaze pinned to mine, then he nods and takes a seat at the table. He stares at me for a little bit, as if trying to make a decision about something. Finally, he speaks, and it sends chills down my spine.
“You have failed to become pregnant with the G’osha’s child,” he says, as if it’s somehow my fault.
“Have you ever considered that it may not be possible for a human and Tabiean to breed?”
Wylto arches an eyebrow at me. “I think you know that’s not true.”
All of a sudden, the blood in my veins turns to ice, and I feel a hundred pound weight drop into my belly. He knows about Kon and Marissa’s child…doesn’t he?
I shake my head. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I know you do,” he replies smoothly. “I know you know of the human-Tabiean hybrid child. Do not try to lie to me.”
How in the hell has he discovered Thana’s existence? Kon and Marissa have gone to great lengths to protect her. And yet somehow, Wylto knows. It’s a thought that kicks up my adrenaline.
“I have tried but have not been able to find the child. The rebels have done an extraordinary job of hiding it,” Wylto said. “But I will find it, be sure of it. And then I will find a way to breed one of my own.”
“Yeah, sure, that seems reasonable.” The sarcasm drips from my tongue as I roll my eyes.
“It’s brilliant, actually,” he says. “And I have chosen the greatest of all the Tabieans as my breeder.”
“I’m sure Tulo will be grateful for the compliment.”
He shrugs dismissively. “Mock me if you wish, but he should be honored.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll mock you,” I spit. “But thank you for the permission.”
He gets to his feet again and steps closer to me. I shrink back, but find myself pressed against the wall, with Wylto standing close, his muzzle inches from my face.
“The trouble is that you have not provided me with what I need to accomplish my goals. We have tested your genetic and physiological parameters thoroughly. Your failed pregnancy from Bruc had an impact on your breeding potential. You are infertile, and thus – worthless to us. So I have decided that it is time to move on from you and find another human candidate who can bear me a hybrid child.”
The words hit me like a hammer blow to the chest. My heart falls into my stomach and I feel a numbness spreading through me. I feel my cheeks flaring with warmth and know it’s a precursor to my eyes welling with tears. I bite down viciously on my tongue, refusing to show that kind of weakness to Wylto. I will not let him see my tears. Cannot let him see them.
Oh, but it’s hard. I feel like my heart is being torn into a million pieces. When I was abducted, I’d put my dreams of ever having children out of my mind. I’ve been focused on simple survival; those dreams were dead. But Tulo revived them. I didn’t think it was possible, but that small fire of hope started burning again. And burning brighter than ever.
Now I’m being told I’m sterile. That I’ll never have children of my own. Not even with Tulo. I want to cry. I want to rage. I want to murder Bruc all over again. He’s destroyed any shot I had at having my own children. He’s murdered my dream. Forever.
Wylto is looking closely at me as if he is enjoying this, and wants to see my reaction. As if he wants to savor my pain. I won’t give that to him, though. I refuse. So I stand up straighter, stuff everything I’m feeling deep down inside, and embrace the bleak, cold nothingness I’m feeling right now. I pull it to me and wrap myself in it like a cloak, tying it tight around me.
“So, what, I’m going to be stuck in your fucking petting zoo outside?” I ask automatically while I’m still processing what he just said.
He shakes his head, the look in his eyes malevolent. “Actually, I have already had a client make a winning bid on you.”
“Excuse me?” The knot in my stomach grows painfully tight, and I taste bile rising up in my throat.
“I held an auction among my most discriminating clients,” he says. “And somebody won you with a very generous bid. More than you’re worth, I’d say. But I’m more than happy to take
what they paid for you.”
“You can’t do that,” I gasp.
“I own you. Of course I can,” he replies. “I can do whatever I wish with you, including shipping you out like livestock.”
My mind is racing, and fear is turning my insides to jelly, and my legs go weak. I had not counted on a wrinkle like this coming up.
“Before we send you on your way, though, I am going to sample you, human,” Wylto says. “I am going to have you once before I turn you over. Bruc always said he enjoyed your flesh.”
The mention of Bruc brings to mind the million horrors he had visited upon me while he held me captive. Thoughts of what waited for me with this new owner, combined with Wylto’s declaration that he was going to fuck me before passing me on, twists my insides and stokes the fires of rage burning within.
“You’ll never enjoy my flesh,” I hiss.
“Of course, I will.”
My movements are faster than he expected, and I drive my knee straight up into his balls with as much force as I can muster. He lets out a low, loud groan, clutching his injured groin. As I start to push my way past him, Wylto still has the wherewithal to deliver a stinging backhand that jars the very bones in my body. I stagger back and fall against the table, seeing stars, and my head ringing like there’s cathedral bells inside.
I give my head a shake and start to rise, only to be grabbed by the hair. I cry out as Wylto yanks painfully. I lash out, catching him with a series of slaps that don’t seem to faze him in the least.
“Please stop,” I cry. “Please don’t do this.”
Wylto laughs, a low, guttural sound, as he spins me around and forces me down over the table. He yanks my breeches down around my thighs, leaving me exposed and vulnerable. The big Gargolian steps up behind me, and I hear him fumbling with his own breeches, breathing heavily, sounding like a moose in labor.
I feel the tip of his cock pressed against my ass as he mutters darkly to himself, and the fact that I’m about to be raped is really driven home. I thrash and writhe, doing my best to make it impossible for him to penetrate me while also trying to struggle free. But I can’t break his grip on me. Tears spill down my cheeks and I howl in impotent fury.
“Stop,” I cry.
“Stop moving, you little whore,” he fires back. “Just take it and this will all be over before you know it.”
The sound of the guards at the door crying out draws our attention. I look over at the doorway to see the two Gargolians slumped to the ground. They’re either dead or out cold, I can’t tell which, nor do I care. In the doorway stands Tulo, and I have to stifle the cry of relief that nearly bursts from my throat. I quickly pull my pants up and scoot away from the Gargolian, trying to make myself as small and unobtrusive as I can in the far corner.
He’s glaring at Wylto, his face contorted with rage. “What is the meaning of this?”
“It’s none of your business,” Wylto spits back. “Now leave this chamber for a while and then you can have your pet back…for a night, at least.”
“She belongs to me. I have claimed and marked her,” Tulo growls. “That makes it my business.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Tulo
The scene before me—Eva pinned down to the table as Wylto prepares to take her against her will—breaks something loose inside me. Her terror is so thick I can smell it. And it fills me with the darkest rage I’ve ever known.
It’s as if all of the anger and fury I’ve kept suppressed for years out of fear of what they might do to Daca is rushing to the surface all at once. My entire body trembles with it.
Underneath all of it is the simple fact that I had spoken true. I did not fully realize it until this moment, but my feelings for Eva are much more powerful than I let myself believe. But it is the truth. I have claimed her. Eva is mine. And seeing Wylto put his hands on her has unleashed the monster I’ve kept caged within me for so long.
“Back away from her, Wylto,” I growl.
Wylto steps back and quickly pulls his pants up, but the arrogant grin never leaves his face. He slips a dagger from his belt and points it at me. I stare at the tip of the long, curved blade and feel my muscles tensing as a small, cruel grin curls my mouth.
“Stand down, Jin. I’m ordering you to back off,” Wylto hisses. “You know it is not you who will pay the price if you do not obey.”
His words hit me hard and add more fuel to the raging inferno of fury burning inside me. Perhaps I am only now waking up to what Eva has been trying to tell me all along, that there will be no end to this. My fantasies of Wylto ever letting Daca and I go are just that, fantasies. I let my fear for my sister blind me to the reality of the situation. To the reality of what my life has become.
I’m a coward. A selfish fool who refuses to see the awful truth. Refuses to understand that even though I have nothing waiting for me outside these walls, staying here is worse than dying. Eva tried to tell me this, but I was not listening. I did not want to hear it. But now I see. Now I know. This is to be my lot in life for the rest of my days. I will never breathe the free mountain air again.
Unless I do something to break free of this place and do it now, this is how I will spend the rest of my life. Unless I get us out of here, Daca will be a bargaining chip held over my head to ensure my compliance. And now I fear Eva will be as well. Wylto knows I care for both of them, and if I let him, he will use them against me and to his own advantage.
That cannot be allowed to happen. I will not allow that to happen.
As if he’s reading my mind, Wylto turns his malevolent glare onto Eva and takes a step closer to her. He points the tip of his dagger at her, then looks back at me.
“I’m warning you, Jin. Make a move and your pet is going to pay the price,” he spits. “Now, back off and let me call in some guards. Be compliant and all will be well. We’ll just pretend this never happened. You have my word on it.”
“I am finished with trusting your words and promises.,” I say, my voice low and cold. “But more importantly, you are done making them.”
He opens his mouth to reply, no doubt with another threat, but I close the distance between us before he can utter a single word. Grabbing hold of his wrist, I bend it backward with all my strength. When I feel the bones give way with an audible crack, Wylto’s shriek is piercing. A savage grin stretches my lips, and I keep bending his hand backward, making him scream even louder. That sort of screaming, though, is going to draw the guards quickly.
The dagger falls from Wylto’s broken grasp, and I snatch it out of the air, quickly spinning it around and driving the tip of it through his throat. His eyes grow impossibly wide and his screams are cut off suddenly and rapidly, the only sound coming from Wylto a wet, bubbling noise. Blood pours out of his mouth, spilling down the front of his cream-colored linen shirt.
Wylto sputters and gasps, I watch the light of life in his eyes quickly fade. I let go of the Gargolian and let him fall to the ground with a meaty thump. Turning to Eva, who remains in the corner, I crouch down and look her in the eye.
“Are you all right?” I ask.
“Yes. Thanks to you,” she says, a note of awe in her voice. “I can’t believe—”
“We can talk about that later,” I cut her off. “Wylto’s men will be coming. We need to get out of here.”
I help Eva to her feet. The sound of harsh, grating laughter and applause fills the room. I quickly turn to see Omna standing in the doorway. Crowded into the corridor behind her are more of her Gargolian goons. Her eyes drift from the corpse of her father at my feet, up to me, and she could not look more pleased if she had tried.
“You have done my work for me,” she says. “I should thank you, Jin.”
“That is not my name,” I growl.
Omna waves me off dismissively. “Be that as it may, I offer you my thanks for killing the old man and saving me the trouble,” she grins. “Although, that doesn’t bode well for your little human pet.”
I glare at
her, feeling all the muscles in my body tensing. I take a step to the side, putting myself between the two females, making it clear that if she wants Eva, Omna is going to have to come through me. Understanding my meaning, Omna stiffens and the smile slips from her face. She glowers at me.
“My father was the last protection your human whore had. My father was the only thing keeping her alive,” Omna says. “I am owed her blood. She took my husband from me, and it is my right to claim hers in return.”
“You will not lay a finger on her,” I tell her. “I have claimed and marked her as mine.”
“We are not in your tribal lands. Your claim holds no weight here,” she says. “My father is dead, meaning I am the head of this family now. Everything passes to me. Including you and the whore.”
I take a menacing step toward her. “Nobody owns me,” I growl.
“Actually, I do,” she sneers.
Without thinking, I launch myself at her with a throaty roar. But Omna is quick, and she dances backward, out of my grasp. As she moves, she crashes into her guards and sends them all tumbling backward. She curses as her guards go down, but she manages to keep her feet. Seeing me closing on her, Omna turns and sprints off, undoubtedly to round up more men.
One of the fallen guards grabs hold of my ankle and starts to bring a gun to bear. I stomp down on his head as hard as I can, a satisfied grunt passing my lips as I feel the bones crunch beneath my foot. Screams of agony fill my ears, and when I turn, I see Eva tearing through the other three guards, hacking and slashing with Wylto’s dagger, going berserk, her movements so chaotic and wild it catches them off guard. Blood pools on the ground as the bodies fall and Eva looks at me with a vicious, but satisfied smile across her lips and thick, dark blood spattering her face.
“Couldn’t save one for me, huh?” I say with a grin.