Xacier's Prize (Galactic Courtship Series Book 1)

by Lily Thomas

  Soon she found a slight bump, and she made out the faint outline of a door. Pressing her fingertips into the crevice she tried to force it open, but it didn’t budge. This wasn’t going to be her moment of escape then.

  With a huff, she turned back to the rosy dress. She wasn’t keen on the idea of slipping into it, but it’d been left there for a reason.

  Ever so slowly, she stripped out of her top and pants, but left on her bra and underwear. At least this would give her some ounce of decency. She slipped it over her head and enjoyed the feel of it running down her body.

  “I just hope my master doesn’t get any funny ideas.” She glanced at the full length mirror and admired herself. It’d been such a long time since she wore anything other than stained shirts and pants. Her life was a working kind of life, with little to look forward to. One day of long hours was followed by another day of long hours, and so the cycle continued.

  But she enjoyed it. It meant she could provide her mother dearest with medical care. There was no way Samantha was going to complain, after all, her mother had always put her first through her childhood. Now it was Samantha’s turn to take care of her.

  “What’s this?” Noticing a pair of matching slippers tucked under the bed she bent over and grabbed them. They were just as soft as the dress. Maybe her life was going to be one of leisure.

  She expected the Frirens to bust down the door, at any moment, and yank her screaming and shouting out of the room, but nothing happened.

  Eventually, she sat on the bed and twirled her thumbs. What else could she do at this point?

  Samantha took a small nap, and had now been awake for a while, before a Friren finally strode into her room. She watched as the door melted away and faded into the walls. No wonder she hadn’t been able to pry it open.

  The Friren in front of her was new. His silver hair was worn long, almost to his butt, and his silver eyes had a touch of sapphire in them.

  “What’s going to happen to me?” Samantha asked, as she rose up from the cot.

  He smiled at her, but said nothing. She just wanted some answers so she could calm her racing nerves. Surprises were never her favorite thing.

  He walked into the room, and his blue-tinged hand latched onto her wrist, as he dragged her from the room.

  “Where are we going?” She had no idea why she was still asking him questions. Perhaps she just hoped he would be able to answer her, if she talked more.

  They both stopped in front of a door without any handles, and again the door slithered apart only to disappear into the walls. He pushed her into the room. As she was about to turn and ask him another question, the door slammed shut in her face.

  Rushing over she banged her fist on it. “Wait! Let me out!”

  Turning she took a glance around. It was pitch black in the room, and her eyes weren’t able to focus. A whimper escaped, before she could swallow it.

  Reaching out her hands she found the walls around her. The room was about five feet by five. What was she supposed to do in here? Were they going to kill her? Or maybe they were conditioning her for something.

  Her heart stopped, and then raced away. Her breathing increased, and she felt as though the walls were closing down on her.

  “Please, let me out.” She squeaked.

  She wasn’t keen on being kept in such a small space, and the darkness didn’t help. Her eyes had nothing to focus on, nothing for her mind to latch onto. All she could hear was her heavy breathing, as she tried to calm her thundering nerves.

  Then a roar went up, and she nearly jumped sky high. But the sound wasn’t coming from within the room. It sounded like it was coming from behind one of the walls. Samantha made her way over to each wall, pressing her ear up to each one, until she found where the noise sounded the loudest.

  What was going on the other side? It sounded like thousands of voices chanting something.

  Then it quieted, and one voice rung out in the silence. The voice was announcing something, but she couldn’t quite pick it up. And that was assuming her translator could even decipher what this person was saying.

  The wall she was leaning her ear against opened, and she tumbled out into an area with blinding light and dusty air.

  “Holy crap!” She closed her eyes and covered them with her hands. Gradually, she lowered her hands away from her eyes, as she eased open her eyelids. Her pupils contracted, but at least it wasn’t painful.

  Samantha took in the scene before her. There were too many people in front of her to count. Correction. There were too many alien warriors in front of her to count. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

  Each warrior looked like they were made of pure muscle and decked out with an assortment of hand to hand combat weapons.

  Her mouth almost dropped to the ground, but she quickly shut it. She felt ridiculous just staring at them, but she had a hard time looking away. They weren’t just men, but there were also female warriors, and they were just as terrifying.

  None of the warriors were facing her though. She was just looking at their side profiles. Their faces were raised, looking at a platform that stood above them.

  Samantha took a moment to glance around some more. They were all in some sort of arena with what looked to be thousands upon thousands of aliens seated in the stadium to watch them. Then she looked over at the platform, where an alien was standing. She didn’t recognize his species.

  When he spoke, her translators picked up his language, to her relief.

  “Today’s match will have a prize for the victor! Each of you will battle to the death…” A roar went up from the crowd, and when they calmed down the speaker started again. “For her!” The speaker pointed in her direction.

  Samantha froze, as her breath stuck in her chest. She was the prize? No way. Her head felt light. This was not the time to faint. Not the time!

  Looking behind her she hoped there would be someone standing there, but she had no such luck. She glanced back at the warriors, and they were all facing her now.

  She smiled and sent them a tentative wave. What else was she going to do? She was standing in a battle arena with an airy pink dress on. Wasn’t like she could put on a tough act with slippers.

  “Once you win her, feel free to use her in any way you wish!” The speaker announced.

  Samantha felt the blood drain from her face. Use? She didn’t want to be used by any of these warriors.

  A few of the men sent her some toothy grins, but the smiles held more than just plain old happiness. They held some lust and pent up frustration. She wouldn’t want to be won by one of these warriors. Even some of the female warriors sent her some concerning glances.

  The speaker spoke again, but Samantha tuned him out. Turning around she tried to see if there was any way for her to get back inside the room she left. She shouldn’t have walked out. How stupid of her. It wasn’t like she had been forced into the arena.

  Now that the warriors were focused on the alien speaker, Samantha surveyed them. Was there anyone in the group who she might be safe with, if they won the tournament? Her eyes skimmed over the warriors. Her best luck would have to be with one of the female warriors, but she had a hard time seeing any of the females winning this fight.

  Those alien men were beefed out like no other. Then again, brain could beat brawn, but she wasn’t sure this fight would provide that kind of opportunity.

  Her head felt light again, but if she fainted there was no telling what would happen to her. A motionless body on the ground of the arena would just be a target. She would get through this. She had to believe she would get through this. There was no other option.

  One warrior stood out. He was a monster of an alien. He had two curved black horns running from the top of his head to his shoulders. Those natural weapons curved around his head like bowed spears. His pitch-black hair had two braids, one on each side of his face, and his eyes were a lightning blue.

  Just looking at him sent shivers racing over her skin. He
was a tall specimen, but there were a couple taller warriors standing in the group.

  By just looking them over, she had no idea which warrior might come out as the winner. And she had no idea how the fighting would go. Would it be in batches or would it just be a chaotic free for all?

  “This round has no rules. Use your hands, teeth, and weapons to kill your opponents.” The crowd yet again gave a roar of satisfaction, drawing her eyes back to them.

  As she took a closer look, she could see some humans interspersed among the aliens in the crowd. She could never imagine watching people kill each other, and now she was in the arena with the scary warriors.

  A horn sounded, causing her to jump, and then fighting erupted in front of her very eyes. She pressed herself against the arena wall. If she didn’t move, she might not attract any unwanted attention.

  Damn the Frirens for sticking her into an arena without a weapon. She might not know how to use a sword, because who used a sword these days? But she’d rather have the option to defend herself.

  An alien woman fought a man in front of her, and Samantha just stood there gawking. Her muscles were frozen, as she stared in horror.

  The woman was a Kelderian. They had olive skin, jade eyes, and were almost always tall. The Kelderians came from a planet with nothing but rainforest and predators. This woman might be a tough cookie, maybe she’d win the fight.

  The man was of an unknown species.

  The Kelderian woman slashed at him with a sword, but the muscled man danced away with ease. Whipping his pointed spear around he got the Kelderian on the arm. She let out a high pitched scream and paused long enough for the alien male to jab her through the chest. The spear went completely through her chest and tore out of her back. Pea green droplets of blood went flying through the air, as the woman slumped to the ground, motionless.

  Samantha could feel her eyes bugging out of her head. She feared the warrior might come after her next, but he ignored her presence and went back into the main fray. She was relieved to see the majority of the warriors were too focused on killing each other to spare her a glance.

  Two more warriors broke free from the main fray. This time it was a Friren and a Tirn. Her mouth dropped. If the Frirens were hosting this, then why was one of their people fighting? Both were males and both had enough muscle to make it a challenging fight. Each had a sword as well.

  They danced around each other for a little while, and she suspected they were trying to draw out any weaknesses in their opponent. They lunged and plunged their swords into each other. They both went down, bleeding out, while lying on the ground.

  Samantha grimaced. How had she gone from transforming planets to being an in arena with dangerous warriors?

  The fighting was raging on around her, and she had a hard time keeping everyone in view. She didn’t need someone lunging at her or mistaking her for one of the combatants.

  She felt like a damsel in distress in this ridiculous dress. Maybe that was what the Frirens wanted. Something for the crowd to connect with and worry about. Would she die or would she be taken by a warrior? It was all some sort of sick game for people to watch.

  A cry broke out, and Samantha whipped her head around to see a woman charging towards her with a sword raised. Her mouth dropped, and she tried to tell her legs to get moving, but she just stood there gaping.

  A blur past across her vision, and she watched on as the woman tumbled to the ground with a large man straddling her. He gave a punch to her face, and she gave a couple in return, drawing blood from his nose. Drawing a dagger from somewhere on his body he plunged it into the warrior woman’s stomach, gave it a twist, and then got off the dead alien woman. He looked over at Samantha and winked at her.

  She frowned, but he was already throwing himself back into the battle. She watched him fight, but got the feeling he was a dirty fighter. His powder blue skin appeared to have some flickers of light reflecting off of him, as he picked people off who were already engaged in battle with others. He wanted to win, no matter what, even if he had to stab them in the back.

  Her eyes were drawn back to the dead alien woman lying near her. She wanted to grab the sword, but to do that she would have to move away from the wall slightly.

  Sucking in a deep breath she used her arms to push herself off the wall. Racing over, she grabbed the sword and darted back to her spot against the wall. She only wanted the sword for defensive purposes. It wasn’t like she was about to jump into the fight and wave her sword in vain.

  After making sure no one’s attention had been attracted to her, she lifted the sword and found it light and easy to hold. She might not be able to go up against one of these warriors, but she wanted to make sure she had a choice.

  Her eyes skimmed over the remaining warriors, and she found her eyes drawn to the crimson skinned warrior. She couldn’t get over those black horns that curved around his head. It made him look like a devil, a space devil.

  He was wrecking mayhem with the other warriors. Even when the warriors teamed up on him, he was still able to come out on top. She watched, as he grabbed a warrior by the hair and easily sliced its throat. Before the warrior even dropped to the ground, the devilish alien was already engaged in battle with another.

  There were only two warriors left, the blue alien who saved and winked at her and the red-tinged alien.

  She didn’t want either of them to win. Both were built like monsters, and she couldn’t imagine being either of their “prize”. She was sure they would have only one thing on their mind, when it came to her, and she had no intention of joining either in a bed.

  A gasp escaped her, as the blue alien landed a blow. His sword cut into the red-tinged alien’s arm, he let out a roar, but it was in rage, not in pain. Shivers flew over her skin. The horned alien danced around the blue alien, and she got a view of his eyes. Gone were the striking blues the horned alien once had, and in their place were pure black ones.

  Her heart stopped in her chest. If she was a betting kind of woman, she’d wager she would become the red-tinged warrior’s “prize”. He was a complete monster, and he seemed to be confident in his skill with any weapon.

  At the moment, he was wielding a sword she would have no hope of lifting, even with both of her arms. Their swords collided and the sound was so harsh that she cringed. She had no idea why, but she was hoping the red-tinged warrior would win. He had yet to express any interest in her, like the blue warrior had.

  Although a wink wasn’t the worst of things, it did make her worry he liked the looks of the possible “prize”.

  With a speed that came out of nowhere, the horned warrior had the blue warrior on his back with his sword tip pointed at the man’s throat. He didn’t take his eyes off the warrior, but seemed to be waiting for something.

  Then the crowd started chanting, “Kill him!”

  Seriously? They were blood thirsty enough to have him kill a disarmed man who was on his back?

  She looked back at the two men. The blue alien turned his head her way and sent her another wink. Even with death facing him, he was still cocky.

  The demon alien plunged his sword into the man’s neck, and blue blood spurted out in streams. She couldn’t seem to pull her eyes away from the gruesome scene. The red-tinged warrior just stood there panting, as he regained his strength and probably let the adrenaline ease out of his system.

  The crowd was going nuts. This was what they had come for: blood and a winner.

  Samantha stumbled away from the wall and glanced around her. These people were delusional. She’d like to see them in this arena. They might not be so excited.

  Looking back up, as she tentatively walked around, she noticed she’d attracted the attention of the red-tinged alien. His head whipped around, and his lips raised in a snarl, exposing a couple sharp canines.

  His eyes were still pitch black, and she didn’t enjoy the fact they were trained on her. Her stomach dropped, as he marched towards her.

  She back peddled
, as quickly as she could, while she raised the sword to defend herself.

  “Don’t come near me or I can promise you I will defend myself.” It was all in her confidence. She didn’t have to admit to him she had no idea how to use a sword, a plasma pistol, sure, but not a sword.

  His hand whipped out and snatched the sword from her hands. He didn’t even seem to be bothered that he had just grabbed the blade, and his hand was now bleeding.

  Tripping over a body Samantha landed on her back and raised her arms to protect herself. It was a silly move, considering his sword would easily pierce through any part of her.

  He raised his sword and in that moment she got a sudden burst of energy. She wasn’t ready to give up and die! Leaping up she jumped over the dead body and dashed in another direction.

  She paid no attention to the crowd, until she realized they were yelling at her to run faster. Taking a quick look behind her she found the warrior right on her tail.

  Huffing and puffing she tried to get her burning leg muscles to move faster, but before she knew it something wrapped around her ankle, and she tumbled to the ground in a heap. Swiveling her head, she found her ankle in the clutches of the demon alien.

  He dragged her a couple feet, dropped her ankle, and repositioned himself to strike her down with his sword.

  She sucked in a breath, as she prayed her mother would never find out what happened to her. Better to be lost and have her mother hope for her safe return than to learn that her only daughter had been brutally murdered with a sword!

  Her jade eyes met his ebony eyes, and she felt he was struggling with himself. His eyes appeared to focus on her, as he just stood there with his sword posed over her. Then he shook his head, and she watched as intelligence emerged in his onyx eyes.

  He put the sword down, and then threw his fist into the air, as he gazed up at the crowd. She let out her breath. She was going to live. The crowd went wild, even though she hadn’t been killed.

  Standing she brushed out her absurd dress and glared at the crowd. She hoped everyone watching this had some sort of evil karma happen to them. She was an innocent woman down here! She’d never harmed another. Samantha created livable planets, so people could just live their lives like they wanted.