by Hope Hart
“Office,” I grind out, and the guard points toward a large room leading from the bedroom. The wall is covered with screens that show every inch of his compound, including the prisons. I watch as a group of females huddles together onscreen, obviously terrified.
“Make sure they’re freed,” I tell Bregaz and he nods.
“We have a team in there now.”
We search through Udan’s information, and Bregaz manages to hack into the main file system. There is no record of his escape plans, just files of data on his prisoners, their fight records, and where they were bought.
I find Peyton’s file and hand it to Bregaz, unable to look at it now. He tucks it away, and then we both stand.
I am shaking, barely holding onto control, and Bregaz turns to the guard.
“Think. Harder.” He says.
The guard pales further and I grunt in disgust.
We all turn at a knock on the door and Aotz steps forward, a trembling female huddled behind him. Her skin is a dark purple, her limbs longer than most humanoids.
“We found the slaves who clean up after him,” he says. “This one believes she may be able to help.”
His body language is protective, and I blow out a deep breath. I will not terrify these females further.
“Tell him what you told me,” Aotz instructs her, his voice gentle.
She is shaking, but she squares her head and steps forward. Her bravery reminds me of my female, and I want to fall to my knees and howl.
“I-I was cleaning a few months ago and I was thinking about how the rooms don’t make sense,” she stutters out.
“What do you mean?” I growl.
She trembles in fright and I step away from her. This seems to help as she steps toward the bedroom, pointing her small hand.
“I was an architect once,” she says. “This room is too small for the footprint of the building. If you look at where all of these rooms intersect, it doesn’t add up.”
She is right. I look at Bregaz and he turns to the group of Arcav behind him.
“Find the room,” he says.
We go to work, looking for any way possible to unlock a hidden door. Eventually, I reach for my blaster, ready to knock a wall down, but Aotz shakes his head.
“You might destroy valuable information,” he says.
He is right. I am losing my ability to make sound decisions.
Chapter Twelve
Peyton
I wake to vomit. My vomit. I hurl my guts out down someone’s back, and the rough curse tells me that someone is Udan. Good.
I smell space fuel, and my heart thumps as I start to shake in terror. I struggle, but my head feels like it might explode, the pain stabbing through me with every step. I don’t know how long I’ve been out for, but I’m feeling damn glad that I took the Alni plant. Hopefully, it’ll get to work healing me, at least enough so that I can think without blinding pain.
Udan shifts me on his shoulder and I groan.
“Where are you taking me?”
He caresses my back with a hum.
“Do you honestly think I don’t have exit strategies in place? The first time the Arcav appeared with no warning I was barely able to escape. This time, I have plans B, C, and D just waiting for me.”
He’s walking down a long tunnel, likely connected to his base. The scent of space fuel gets stronger and I struggle, but he ignores me.
“I’m going to puke again.”
“What is wrong with you, human?”
I gag and he stops walking, letting me fall to the ground. I groan and empty what little is left in my stomach while he taps his foot impatiently.
“You gave me a concussion, jackass.”
He growls warningly at my disrespect. “What is this?”
“You cracked my head. Humans die from these kinds of injuries, idiot.”
He reaches down, his hand quick, and grabs my chin.
“Do not lie to me.”
“I’m not lying.”
I’m hoping if I convince him I’m dying, he’ll leave me. Surely, he’d rather I die a slow death, right?
Instead, he picks me up again, cradling me like a baby.
“Do not worry, human. I have a healer on my ship. We will have plenty of time left together.”
That doesn’t sound good.
I start struggling again and he pauses, grabbing my hand, which is pushing against his chest. He squeezes until my wrist breaks, and I let out a piercing scream which seems to surprise him.
He frowns down at my wrist, and I cradle it to my chest, tears streaming down my face.
“I forget how fragile humans are.”
The sociopath shrugs and continues walking, and I freeze as we exit the tunnel. I thought he was trying to get to his main dock, which the Arcav are monitoring from a distance. But I’ve never seen this dock before.
Please tell me that the Arcav know about this dock.
Udan seems to read my mind because he smiles.
“This is a new dock, human.”
He gestures toward the sky, where a huge, transparent ceiling is slowly opening.
“Radar protection. No one knows of this place. We will be gone before the Arcav even notice I’m not in my compound.”
“Please let me go,” I say, not afraid to beg.
If he gets me on that ship, I’m screwed.
He ignores me and I stop talking, searching frantically for a way to escape.
His ship is small but large enough for the crew of ten or fifteen people he has waiting outside. He nods to them and they board the ship. He climbs the stairs and then hands me to one of the guards.
“Take her to the healer,” he says and turns to walk away.
I immediately struggle, even as the door begins to close behind us. The guard ignores me, carrying me down a flight of stairs to a small room equipped with basic medical equipment.
The healer is a Lorean, a species famed for their healing abilities. Of course, Udan would want nothing but the best if he was fleeing his own planet. He stares at me with interest and gestures for the guard to set me down on a small chair.
I look up at him warily but I’m not an idiot. If I’m going to escape these people, I need to be healed.
“What did you do?” he asks.
“Pissed Udan off,” I say, and the guard snorts. The healer reaches for a syringe and plunges it into my arm without any warning. “Fuck,” I mumble, my eyes heavy. The healer messes around, his hands inspecting my head and wrist for what feels like forever, but thankfully I’m too stoned to feel any of it. Then, the guard lifts me, and I manage to crack open my eyes, attempting to memorize our route as he takes me upstairs and down several long corridors.
Our surroundings get more impressive the closer we get to our destination. The guard’s feet no longer pound on the cold floor— instead, they sink into thick maroon carpet. The walls become black and gold, and I start to shake again.
The guard knocks and then enters, and I breathe out a sigh of relief. Udan isn’t here, but this is definitely his bedroom, with a huge bed in the center of the room… and a small cage in the corner.
“Something tells me the bed isn’t for me,” I mumble, and the guard snorts as he takes a key out and opens the cage.
He’s not rough, but he’s certainly not gentle as he dumps me in the cage, and I’m still too drugged to do anything more than reach out one hand and grasp one of the cage bars.
“Give me the key,” I say. “The Arcav King will make it worth your while.”
I may not be anyone to Varian, but Vazta sure is.
He snorts again as Udan enters.
“Trying to bribe my guards?” he asks, and I push my body backward in the cage. Right now, these bars are my only protection from the psychopath.
“Just telling the truth,” I say. “The Arcav King is a force in this part of the universe. You’re just a criminal on the run from justice.”
I need to shut my big mouth, but I can’t seem to stop my
self. I wonder if whatever drug they gave me has loosened my tongue, even as it removed my coordination.
Udan kneels, a sadistic smile on his face. My head and wrist no longer hurt, but I’m damn sure he didn’t get me healed because he cares about my wellbeing.
He just doesn’t want to break his toy before he’s done playing with it.
The smile leaves his face.
“Your Arcav friends are in my compound. Did you truly think you could kill me?”
I don’t say anything, and he slams on my cage, face a mask of rage.
“Speak!”
“Yes,” I say honestly, and he smiles again.
“I’m glad you returned to me, pet. Somewhere deep inside, you recognize that you were meant for me.”
He studies me, and I can see the madness in his eyes. Somewhere along the way, Udan has just plain lost it.
I stay silent and he sits back, his eyes traveling over my body.
“Brexar genes are passed down through the males,” he says softly. “I knew the first time I saw the fire in your eyes that you were made to breed my children.”
My stomach turns at the thought.
“I’m already mated,” I say. “The Arcav will be coming for me. Just leave me somewhere and tell Varian where I am.”
He ignores that.
“I’m not happy to be losing my compound,” he continues. 'Luckily, I’ve prepared for this exact outcome.”
He pulls a small device from his pocket and holds it in front of me, his smile widening at my blank expression. He points to the wall where a screen shows an aerial view of his compound.
Udan holds up his device and waves it playfully in front of my face.
“It’s wired to blow,” he tells me, laughing at my choked sob. “All of the Arcav who invaded my planet, including the male who thought to claim you, gone.”
He stares down at the silver bands on my wrists, disgust written all over his face, and my chest tightens even as my hands clutch the bars and I get to my knees.
“Please,” I say. “Please don’t do it. I’ll do anything you want.”
He laughs at that. “Oh, pet, you just don’t get it, do you? You’ll do anything I want anyway.”
With that, he presses a button on the side of the device, and I scream as the compound explodes.
Vazta
I found it. Well, the purple-skinned female found it, her small hands searching the space until she brushed a tiny button connected to the back of one of Udan’s sofas. It required a scan of Udan’s eye, but thankfully, Bregaz was more than able to get around it, his quick hands connecting to our central system on his ComScreen. He found the code we needed to break the lock within just a few minutes.
A wall swings open, and Udan’s secrets are revealed.
“Collect everything you can find,” I order, and everyone in the room jumps forward, hauling the digital drives, screens, and files out of the room.
I turn to the female.
“What is your name?”
“Para,” she says, still trembling.
I sigh. I have frightened her beyond belief with my need for answers.
“Para. Thank you for your help. Without it, we would find it much more difficult to find my mate.”
She gives me a shaky smile and I glance at Ikerz as he walks in.
“Take Para to one of the evacuation ships and ensure that she is reunited with her friends,” I say, and he nods, leading her away.
All of our ComScreens suddenly shriek, and Sychi’s face appears. She is one of the few females brought on this trip, an Arcav who has an unrivalled amount of experience with hacking into defense systems across the universe.
“Evacuate,” she orders, her horns straight and glinting. “Udan has the compound wired to blow. Get out. Now.”
Adrenalin courses through me. We have too many people in this compound.
I scan my eyes over the room.
“Get as many civilians out as you can while you evacuate,” I order. “Go.”
I turn back to Sychi.
“Give me numbers.”
Her voice is clipped.
“Based on ComScreen locations, we have about thirty Arcav still in the compound. Many of the slaves and gladiators have been released, but I am not sure how many are still inside.”
“Udan must have had a way to communicate with the entire compound,” I say. “Our people will be evacuating but we need to get the civilians out without causing panic.”
She nods. “I will attempt to hack it now.”
She disappears from the screen and I glance at Udan’s office one more time. If we do not have what we need, any information about my female’s location may be about to be lost.
“Vazta,” I turn at Bregaz’s voice.
“We need to leave.”
“We might not have what we need.”
“It has to be enough. We will get her back.”
I nod grinding my teeth as I follow him, both of us breaking into a sprint as Sychi’s voice suddenly sounds, loud and firm throughout the compound.
Attention, this compound is wired to explode. Please proceed to the nearest exit immediately.
Two slaves are hesitating in the corridor and Bregaz picks them both up, holding them easily under each arm as we run.
A siren sounds from my Com Screen and I pull it out, panting. Udan must have been compensating for something when he built this place. I do not remember making my way so far from the door. I growl, even as Sychi’s face appears again.
“Thirty seconds,” she screams, “get out of there!”
It’s not enough time and I catch Bregaz’s eye. The look on his face is stark. We are not going to make it.
He nods at me.
“It was an honor knowing you, brother,” he says.
I growl. “You too, brother.” I say the words, but do not feel any of the calm acceptance they convey. I cannot die today. I must free my mate. She cannot be left alone, waiting for me to come for her.
“Twenty seconds!”
My ComScreen is still stuck in my hand and I want to throw it out the window as the alarm sounds even louder.
“The window.”
We are up high, but we are certain to die if we explode into pieces. Whether or not we can get enough clearance to make it far enough away from the compound will determine whether we have a chance to live.
We move toward the window together and I break it with a kick. The slaves are screaming, but we ignore them, climbing up to the ledge.
“Terva!” Bregaz’s voice booms out and the male turns from where he is rounding up the last of the females. He stares at us for a second and responds immediately, elbowing Lediz, who jolts into action, both of them running towards us.
I take one of the women from Bregaz and we throw them at the same time. They will be injured, but chances are, they will live.
Lediz and Terva sprint forward, catching the women, who are shrieking in terror. Then they run, ordering everyone into motion.
I look at Bregaz and together, we jump.
Peyton’s face is the last thing I see as the compound explodes.
I love you, my female.
Peyton
I’m inconsolable, curled in the cage, staring at the mating bands on my wrist. Surely, I would feel it if Vazta had died? But I know he was in that compound.
Please God, let him have made it out on time.
My heart aches for the Arcav who would have been killed, the slaves and gladiators who will now be dead. All because of the asshole standing in front of me.
Udan had rolled his eyes at my screams when he blew up the compound, mocking me for what he called my ‘dramatics’, but my agony had pleased him enough that he had stayed and watched gleefully as I fell apart.
Finally, I curled up in a ball and no longer responded, boring him enough that he had snarled at me and left the room, likely off to plan more evil deeds.
This is all my fault.
I believe Udan would have es
caped anyway, his plan too well executed to not have been put into place months ago. He would definitely have blown the compound as well. But maybe, if I wasn’t around to torture, he would have waited longer before pressing the button.
All those people, dead. If I had never sworn revenge, they’d still be alive. Sure, they’d still be living miserable lives, but now they have nothing.
The agony is unrelenting as I picture Vazta and the other Arcav, the strong warriors who were eager to free anyone enslaved under their watch.
Now they could all be gone.
I wish I had told Vazta how I felt. That when he had asked me about a family, I was shocked at the suggestion but open to the idea. That I want nothing more than to have children with him, to build a life with him.
To love him.
“He’s not dead,” I murmur, rocking back and forth. “Not dead, not dead.”
And if he’s not dead, he’s coming for me. I just have to stay alive.
I don’t like my chances. But if I can get free and get to help, the Arcav will find me. I believe that much at least.
If Vazta is still alive, he’ll stop at nothing to find me.
I’m such an idiot. Why did I fall for Udan’s trap? He let himself be seen by me. He wanted me to follow him. And I walked right into his arms, basically wearing a t-shirt that said ‘kidnap me’.
Udan comes to check on me throughout the day. I don’t know where we’re going, or how long we’re traveling for, but he seems disappointed at having broken his new pet. At one point he kicks my cage, furious when I don’t respond to his taunting. He leans down to open the cage door, likely to make me hurt, and then turns at a knock on the door.
“We will arrive within ten hours, Sir.”
Where? Where will we be arriving?
This seems to please Udan, and he backs away from my cage.
“Herix has approved our landing?”
“Yes sir. He said he is looking forward to welcoming you to his planet himself.”
Udan seems pleased, but then turns, kicking my cage again.
“Are you happy, pet? Because of you and those fucking Arcav, I am forced to beg for scraps at my friend’s table. They will pay for this,” he vows, and I keep my face blank, although in my mind I’m sneering.