by Alta Hensley
"So, why did you join the harem?" he asked, never taking his gaze away from the window.
"I wanted a better life. Like you, I was tired of the nomadic way of life." Cinder looked down into her hands. "Being part of the harem is a vibrant, colorful existence. Much better than the dull drabness of desert sand."
"Why? Why give your body to someone?" he asked.
"I wanted the power to be able to do so. I wanted the freedom to decide my fate."
"Are the stories true? The sexual tales every man fantasizes about? Were you a part of it all?"
Though she didn’t know for a fact all of it to be true since she had yet to meet with the prince, Cinder nodded. Not feeling shame in the slightest. "All the tales are true. Lust, debauchery, taboo, dominance and submission
"Do you miss it?"
Cinder smiled. "No. I crave it. It was everything I ever pictured."
"Sitting here, beaten, lost, scared. Is that what you pictured?"
"I thought I'd be safe." Cinder swallowed the sorrow threatening to consume her. "What about you?"
Nico turned to stare at her. "What about me?"
"Why didn't you leave in search of a better commune? How long have you been here?"
"It doesn't matter."
Cinder huffed. "So I have to answer your questions, but you don't have to answer mine?"
"Not a democracy, remember?" He turned back to the window and stared off into the blackness, lost in thought, and not the reaction to her comments that she had hoped for.
"Nico, I didn't mean to be nosey. It's just—" Cinder bit her tongue as soon as she saw his expression. The conversation needed to end, now. "Will you tell me about the people who are still here?"
He sat down next to her. "They are out for blood. Our only hope is to go where these people wouldn't want to follow."
"People? How many people are we talking about?" Maybe Donte was with them, searching for her.
"More like monsters. These people who remained, we want nothing to do with."
"But they can't be all bad? We aren't. How do you know?"
"I'm not willing to risk finding out." He leaned in and nudged his shoulder into hers. His playful act made Cinder's stomach flip. "Trust me, okay?"
"I… I… do," she stuttered, trying to steady her voice.
"Good." Nico stroked her arm with his soft fingers, and chills ran down her spine. The touch made her feel wrong. Her heart belonged to Donte, yet the comforting touch of Nico was welcomed.
Cinder reached for her glass of wine, but froze when she heard dogs barking in the distance.
"Nico–"
"Shh." Nico placed his finger to his lip. The dogs sounded closer now. "I'll be right back. You stay here."
"What? Where are you going?"
Nico extinguished the fire as fast as he could and blew out the candles. He quickly pulled the curtains shut. "Stay here and don't open the door for anyone. Do you understand?"
"I'm coming with you."
"No," he snapped in a whisper. "You'll stay here like I said!"
"I'm going with you," she insisted. "You aren't leaving me here."
His expression and tone told Cinder he was furious, but evidently he didn't have time to argue. He reached for her hand harshly and led her through the door, down the stairs, and out to the street. Running closer and closer to the bellowing howls, they slowed their pace and kept their attention on their surroundings, searching for any sign of movement. They changed direction a few times before Nico stopped and knelt beside a rusted dumpster. Cinder hunched down beside him and squinted in the darkness. Suddenly, a woman ran past several feet from where they hid. It was Maysa!
Maysa screamed at the vicious canines nipping at her legs. The fear in her voice made the hair on Cinder's neck stand up and impending doom run down her spine. Within seconds, Maysa screamed again as the dogs grabbed a hold of her ripped silk wrap and drove her into the ground, biting into her limbs as if she was the last meal they would ever receive. Cinder lunged forward to help her, but Nico grabbed her and pinned her to the ground next to the metal garbage bin.
"Don't move," he whispered.
"Let me–"
"You'll get yourself killed. Don't fucking move," he commanded.
Cinder struggled with him as he covered her mouth with his hand. Footsteps ran past them and a man called out, evoking horrifying, unimaginable fear. Cinder trembled under Nico's weight. He lay on top of her, his arms wrapped around her, his face closer than ever before.
"I won't let anything happen to you," he whispered. "Remain silent, or we are all dead."
Wrenching her head free of his hand, she pleaded, "We’ve got to help her. Please help her."
"It's too late. She’s dead… or will be."
She closed her eyes and squeezed him tight. She prayed for this nightmare to end.
"Get them off of me! Help! Stop them!" Maysa begged in terror and pure agony as the dogs tore her flesh from the bones. Her screams for mercy were the worst sound that Cinder had ever heard in her life.
"We gave you a chance to put your harem charms to good use," the man shouted, and released a maniacal laugh. "You foolishly refused and now will be nothing but dog food."
Cinder couldn't close her eyes. Even though she knew. She knew what she would see. She tensed and dug her nails into Nico's skin. He pressed his body into hers, shoving them closer into the hidden shadows of the dumpster.
With one quick motion, one of the dogs ripped Maysa’s throat with its bloody teeth. Barking, growling, and the sounds of gurgling blood spurting from Maysa’s neck filled the air.
“Let’s get out of here,” one of the men said.
“We can bring the dogs back here tomorrow to feed them breakfast,” another said.
Cinder heard Maysa gasping. The dogs hadn't killed her. Just feet from where they hid, lay her friend writhing in pain and facing death.
"Don't move an inch," Nico whispered. Suddenly a cold, wet dog nose pressed against Cinder's arm. She froze, holding her breath and closing her eyes, fighting the urge to yank her arm away from the dog. The dog sniffed around Nico and her, and the more she tried to hold her breath, the more Cinder's lungs struggled for air. Slowly, she buried her face into Nico's neck, waiting to die.
Having no real interest in them, the dog finally left. Cinder shivered as she lay on the cold ground. Nico reached up and clutched the back of her head. How he maintained a steady breath, she didn't know. Her heart raced, and she couldn't stop shaking no matter how hard she tried to make herself. Nico placed a soft, reassuring kiss on her cheek, and moments later, heavy boot steps ran past them, disappearing in the distance with the two large dogs. Cinder struggled to move, but Nico still wouldn't let her go.
"Wait," he whispered. "They aren't out of my line of sight yet."
Seconds seemed like hours as she lay underneath him. Maysa drowned in her own blood on the other side of the dumpster, each painful breath stabbing at Cinder's ears. Nico finally rose and released her as she ran to the dying woman's side. Still alive, but with only minutes left, she inhaled in search for life that didn’t exist. Death was near. And by the looks of Maysa’s ravaged and half-eaten body, death would be merciful.
"Everything's going to be all right," Cinder said, kneeling down beside her. "I won't let anyone hurt you again, I promise."
Maysa clawed at Cinder, crying and gasping. The only comfort Cinder could give her was to cradle her head and stroke her forehead. Her body jerked, blood gushed out her neck as well as from the other torn flesh of her limbs, and the bloodstains on Cinder's clothing grew with every second. Death blanketed her.
"You're going to be okay," Cinder said, loathing her own words. Arteries had been ripped open by the jaws of the vicious dogs, and blood flowed from them freely. Maysa was moments from death, and this was all Cinder could offer. "Those men had nothing over you. You faced them head on with courage and grace. You are a proud woman, and I will tell everyone how brave you are."
Maysa's eyes widened and she wheezed through failed breaths. She tried to speak, but her own blood strangled her. She only had minutes left, if not seconds.
"Relax. Just relax. It won't be long until you get to see all your loved ones again. They'll be there waiting. They're waiting for you. Just close your eyes and relax." She refused to allow Maysa see her sob, so held in the need to fall apart right there and then. “And I’ll save the others. Don’t worry. I’ll find them and save them.”
Cinder wasn't sure how much of her words Maysa heard. No one should have to suffer toward death alone and afraid. Cinder would not allow her to die without a friendly face holding her hand.
Maysa opened her mouth to try to speak again and blood gushed out as she grabbed Cinder's hands, shaking with a grip of pure panic. She faced the fear of death.
What did it feel like to know you were going to die, and there was nothing you could do about it?
"You're safe now. You're safe now," Cinder repeated her words, rocking on her knees with her dying friend's head in her lap until she took her final rattled breath. Cinder set down her head, rose, and stumbled to the alley wall, mourning the loss of a woman she couldn't save. Grieving someone she had grown to love. Her lungs heaved, unable to breathe through her sobs.
"We couldn't have saved her," Nico whispered as he approached her.
Cinder leaned against the cold stone wall for support, covered in blood and lacking any sanity in her body to talk. She bit her lip, shook her head, and turned away from him, burying her face in her bloody hands. Pure madness was setting in as she actually considered bashing her own head into the wall over and over to put herself out of her misery.
Hell.
She lived in absolute Hell.
This was not a world worth living in.
If this world allowed a sweet and innocent woman to be nearly eaten alive by what should be docile pets… she wanted to leave it just as Maysa had.
"I know that wasn't easy to witness." He paused for a moment. "Look at me when I'm speaking to you, please." Cinder removed her hands and faced him, but couldn't look into his eyes.
Nico continued, his tone fiercely disapproving. "I told you to stay. I demanded it. But you were too stubborn. Too stubborn to listen. How am I supposed to keep you with me if you won't listen? How can I know this won't happen again?" His words were more of a statement than a question.
"She was my friend! She was a human being who didn't deserve to die like that! Dogs tore her to shreds while men just watched on in delight." She glanced down at her bloody hands. “While we watched as well.”
"No, she didn't deserve it. And you were seconds from suffering the same fate. Your attempt at bravery can't be confused with foolishness!"
"We should have done something. If you hadn’t have held me back…"
"Do you know what they would have done to you if they found us? They would have just killed me. But do you know what they would have done to you before killing you?"
"Yes, Nico, I know exactly what they would do, and death would be a blessing in comparison. I have been living in this fucked up world just like you. I know how ruthless men have become. I fucking know, all right? I know."
"Do you know I would have died tonight trying to protect you?"
"Yes."
"I don't believe you do, Cinder. Do you know the predicament you put me in? This new world we're in is tough enough without me having to worry about taking care of your ass!"
"Nico, I'm sorry. But she was such a good person. How could this happen? How could anyone—"
"Do you believe me now? Do you see why we have to leave this commune? If the women are still here… they’re most likely dead."
"Yes," Cinder whispered. "I see that now. But I just can't leave them if they are still here. How can we be sure?"
Nico opened his mouth to speak, but paused for a few seconds as if searching for the perfect words. "I've seen worse. I've seen things and experienced stuff I would never wish on you.” He took a deep breath and continued. “I'll protect you, Cinder. I'll make sure you’re safe from it all. I gave you my word that I would. But you have to let me lead. I’m the commander in this fucked up war. Not you. You have to trust in what I say, and never question me again. I promise you I'll die trying. But I ask you to never fight me again. I don’t do teams well. I’ve survived this long by worrying about me alone. I’m a man of my word, but I’m also not a fool. I need you to also not act like one."
Cinder simply nodded.
Nico’s expression softened. "Are you going to be okay?"
"No."
"I'm sorry you had to see that." Nico reached for her hand and pulled her into an embrace.
He held her as she cried, stroking her hair softly. He stepped backwards away from her, swiping at the tears streaming down Cinder's face. Unable to stand any longer, Cinder dropped to her knees and sobbed out his name. "Donte. Please help me find Donte."
Nico held her tight and stroked her hair. "Who's Donte?"
"The man I love. He's alive. I know he's alive. Please, Nico. Please!" The sobs choked her, causing her words to come out in gasps. "I know I should have told you about him. I shouldn’t have tried to hide anything, but… He told me to find the nearest commune and wait. I tried. I tried so hard."
Nico nodded against her hair. "Okay, Cinder. Okay. Just calm down. You aren’t making a lot of sense."
"I was supposed to be in charge of protecting them when we left the palace. He thought I knew the desert better than any of them, which was true. He put me in charge of the harem's safety." She sobbed even louder. "I failed him. I failed them."
"Shh, calm down. You haven't failed anyone."
Then she heard the words. The words that changed everything.
"Don't move! Don't fucking move! You two stay where you are."
Cinder looked at Nico in panic. She saw the look in Nico's eyes. The look of a man about to die. Then there were men beating on him…
There was a fierce punch to her face.
Darkness.
16
Cinder stood third in line to be raped by beasts cloaked as men. General Rhys, the leader of Jaden, loomed ahead as he wiped off his sword, which was soaking in blood. The wailing cries of terrified harem girls not ready to meet with the sharp edge of a blade echoed against the backdrop of the brutal desert.
She had found the harem.
Or the harem had found her.
Actually… Jaden had found them both.
United.
United in Hell.
Jaden had also managed to find another one of the groups. The women who had been led by Mistress Tula had also been captured by Jaden. They too stood in this line of doom.
They stood in line to be taken by these men. They had no choice but to give up their virtue or suffer the same fate of the first girl who refused to willingly sacrifice her body to Rhys.
In the corner of her eye, Cinder caught a glimpse of her friend—limbs slack, throat slit, tossed onto a pile of sand. This brave woman had refused to be taken by General Rhys and lost her life because of it. Cinder wished she, too, could be undaunted by the face of death. But her shaking body and labored breath revealed her paralyzing fear. She knew her body belonged to Donte… but she didn't want to die.
The Jaden soldiers barked their orders to the crying women, ordering them all to remove their clothes. No amount of sobs, pleas, or wails softened the stone-cold hearts of the soldiers. And each time a woman hesitated or tried to conceal her body, the distinct crack of a fist to flesh sounded in the sweltering desert air.
A gaunt-faced goon, slightly bemused, gave an order. "Strip for your new leader!" He walked up and down the row of women and sneered. "Where is your precious Palace of Lazar now? I don't see the prince here to rescue you." An evil laugh stopped his speech before he continued. "When we are done with you all, you will be nothing but used up whores. No prince will come in on his white horse and save a dirty whore."
The soldier's depraved disr
egard of women reminded Cinder of her birth commune of Briar. She’d thought it had been ruthless, but nothing compared to what she was now witnessing of this Jaden army. Once a year, Briar rounded up their young women and auctioned them off like cattle to the highest bidder.. Luckily for Cinder, she’d fled the commune before she could be owned by anyone. Her life changed that day, for the better once she finally found the Palace of Lazar. Being part of the harem of Lazar, although a bit frightening at first, proved to be the answer to her prayers. She’d become safe, protected, nurtured… everything she could ask for—until the day Jaden had arrived and conquered. Now she lived in a nightmare, far worse than anything she'd endured at Briar. The commune of Jaden possessed a thirst for power that fueled an evil she'd never known existed.
General Rhys, a man who wore nothing more than heavy boots and all black clothing, became the leader of the Jaden army. He spoke with such vile in his scratchy voice. "Don't worry, ladies. We promise to give you back to the prince. But not until you are nothing but desert dirt to him." His words made the soldiers laugh and the women cry harder. "You should all be angry with your beloved prince. He sent his precious harem off to the dangerous desert to fend for themselves. Did he really think you would all be safe?" He crossed his arms and studied the naked women shivering before him. "If I were you, I would blame him for your misfortune. Not me."
He was right. The prince, Donte and the guards should have never sent the harem away. Sending them out to a barren landscape in the hope that they would find safety had always screamed of insanity to Cinder. She had cried, even begged to remain in the palace. She would rather have taken her chances there than be split up like Donte dictated.
The Jaden soldiers had found them.
They came out of nowhere, and in a surprise attack, snatched Cinder and the harem, holding them hostage just as Donte had originally feared. Now they would all be raped and maybe killed to send a message to the Prince of Lazar. Cinder readied her mind for the inevitable.
The next woman in line, no older than eighteen, crawled forth, her bound hands making the motion awkward and slow. Smudges of grime and sweat smeared her once porcelain skin. One of the watching soldiers lifted her to her feet to stand before General Rhys.
