by Zara Starr
Mal’s fight.
Before, when Tanya had watched him fight, she had been intrigued by the way he moved, the way he always seemed to gain the upper hand. This time, she wasn’t intrigued by his fighting. She was nervous. She was worried.
She had noticed that most of the fights were to the death and she hoped that he would win. She didn’t want him to die. Even though they had only met each other twice and slept together once, she still felt something for him. She didn’t want anything to happen to him.
Everything about the fight was more intense than before. Not only the warriors who were giving it their all but the lighting that flashed all around them, the music, the decorations – everything was set up so that it was more exciting than it had been before.
The presenters were excited, commenting so fast that the bio-enhancer could barely keep up with the translation.
Tanya wasn’t paying attention to what they were saying anyway. She was worried about Mal, she wanted him to win and get it over with.
Chapter Thirteen
Mal
When they brought out the prizes, parading the females in the outfits that were supposed to make them desirable as sex slaves, Mal felt a twinge of jealousy and a very big rush of possessiveness over Tanya.
She was his female. That was how he saw it now.
Of course, he couldn’t lay claim to her. It was wrong of him to think of her like that at all.
But he couldn’t help it. Something had happened when he had slept with her, something that had changed the way he looked at her.
And now, he didn’t want any other male to look at her and comfort her. He hated the idea that she would end up belonging to someone else, that she would give some other male what she had given him in his cot the day before.
But this was the life of a slave, it was how it would work for both of them. She would have to give up what she had to someone else and Mal had no claim on her.
It was time for his fight. He had to get his head in the game. He couldn’t afford to be distracted by the human female if he wanted to win. If he won and his Master had Tanya, then at least he would know where she was and that she was safe. If he lost and someone else won her, he would have no way of knowing what was to become of her. And that drove him mad.
When Mal stepped into the arena, he eyed his opponent.
It was a Saithin warrior, one of the rare gladiators that fought for himself. The crowd went wild for the gladiator that had enrolled himself in the tournament of his own volition. The species was fragile, but this warrior had created intricate armor that covered every segment of his body. Plus, the Saithin could fly. It made things a lot harder when you didn’t know what to expect.
But Mal knew what to expect. He had fought several of the species before and he had always won. He had a battle plan in mind.
He just had to stay out of reach – if the creature got a hold of him, he would suffer without any armor. He would have to keep his wits about him.
The Saithin had fragile limbs so if he managed to get a hold of one of them, he would be able to snap it at any joint.
The two warriors faced off against each other and Mal drew his attention to the fight, refusing to think about Tanya, onstage watching him. He just had to give it everything he had, be the fighter he had always trained to be, and then he could worry about her again, after.
The Saithin attacked, jumping into the air and delivering an onslaught from above. But Mal had expected it, and he had moved out of the way in time. He retaliated, delivering a blow, but his opponent's armor was strong enough to ward it off. The Saithin snickered at him.
“What makes you think that you are better than me, slave?” he hissed. “Not only am I here because I want to be, but I am a Saithin. A superior species.”
Mal didn’t fall for the bait. He never engaged in small talk, it was just there to distract or to get into his mind so that he would lose. Mal only focused on the fact – his strength and his opponent’s weakness. That was all that mattered.
His opponent attack again and Mal dodged it. This time though, he pretended like he was hit when the Saithin had tried to attack him, and he crouched on the ground, waiting for his opponent to get close enough to engage in hand-to-hand combat.
He was close to winning the semi-final fight. If he won the semi-finals, he would go through to the finals. And if he won in the finals, Tanya would belong to his Master.
He had told himself that he wasn’t going to think about it, but now that he did, the thought made him feel sick. He had figured that he would know where Tanya was, that she was safe if he knew that she belonged to his Master.
But when he thought about the time they had spent together in his room, the sex they had and that his Master would have that – he wanted to throw up. He couldn’t have that. He couldn’t imagine being able to live with it.
For the first time, Mal wondered what it would be like if he had a different life. If he didn’t belong to someone else, if the prizes he won were his own. What would his life be like if he could choose to be with Tanya? If he didn’t have to fight for a living, for someone else to be rich?
He had never thought about these things before and it caught him off guard. Tanya had mentioned escape and he had wondered why. Then, he hadn’t understood it.
Now, he was starting to realize that there was more to life than what he had known.
She had known it. She had had a life before. Before she had become a slave, before she would belong to someone.
What would it be like not to belong to anyone at all? Mal almost could not imagine it.
The Saithin had resorted to flying to stay out of Mal’s reach, but it was a mistake. Because with his opponent in the air, Mal knew exactly what to do. The Saithin flew too close and Mal reached up, grabbing its leg. The creature was fragile, the leg didn’t have any armor on it, so Mal snapped it easily.
The Saithin cried out and fell to the ground. It wasn’t any of the wings that Mal had snapped but because the species was so fragile, he knew that the pain would be too intense for his opponent to focus flying.
The creature lay on the floor, writhing. Mal walked toward him.
“Please, mercy,” the creature begged.
Mal looked down at the Saithin. Usually, he would be merciful. He would let the creatures live, especially if he didn’t have to kill them. After all, he was not here to kill, he was here to win.
But this was the semi-final and that the crowd was chanting for him to kill his opponent. Besides, the guy was a Saithin, and without being aware of it, Mal had cultivated a new hatred for them – the creatures who believed that slavery was acceptable, that took away freedom from people like him and Tanya.
He did not want to be merciful at all.
Without even thinking about it, Mal lifted his leg and stomped on the Saithin’s mantis head.
Chapter Fourteen
Tanya
Tanya had watched the match with bated breath. When Mal had won, she had let out a sigh of relief.
The Saithin warrior he had fought had apparently been a warrior that was in the tournament of his own free will – he had not been a slave.
That had made her resentful towards the warrior, even though he was probably just another person with a life of his own. But Tanya hated the Saithin and everything they stood for. She hated the slavery that others were forced into. When Mal killed his opponent, she had felt glee.
Of course, if he won, it wouldn’t mean that she would be able to be with him. In fact, it would mean that she would belong to his Master. To be his sex slave. The very thought of it made her feel cold to the bone.
It didn’t matter who won her. She would end up belonging to a monster from her nightmares, her life would never be her own again. She would have to perform sexual acts for disgusting creatures that would expect things from her that she wouldn’t want to give them.
She thought about Mal and how gentle he had been with her, how he had touched her as if he thought she
was everything. With him, her life had worth. He seemed to understand that part, even though he had been a slave his whole life and did not know freedom. When Tanya had heard that he had always been a slave, she had felt terribly sorry for him.
He hadn’t understood it. Still, he had treated her like her life had value.
As soon as she belonged to someone else, she knew that it wouldn’t be the case, that she would never be seen as someone with her own thoughts and feelings again.
Her heart ached when she thought of Mal and the time they had spent together.
But she couldn’t afford to have feelings for him. It would complicate things far too much – especially if she belonged to his Master.
No, it was probably better if she forgot about him. She was still unwilling to accept her fate, but she couldn’t afford to hope that their fates could be intertwined.
After the match was over, the women were taken to the pool again. This time, the two guards that accompanied her stood outside. She was grateful. Tanya hadn’t had any alone time since the moment she had returned to her quarters and she was starting to feel very annoyed.
At least, now she would be able to swim in the pool without the guards watching her every move. After all, she had a location tracker in her bio-enhancer now.
As she stepped into the water, Tanya felt the tension release from her muscles. She had been tense since she had been assigned the two extra guards. It was impossible to relax if she was being watched like a hawk.
The females who had been around for longer debated Mal’s strengths and weaknesses, comparing him to other gladiators who had made the finals before. They mentioned someone named Gage, a gladiator with immense strength and tenacity.
Tanya was interested in the conversation, she liked hearing about the other gladiators and wondered who Mal was going to come up against in the finals.
But the conversation was cut short by the two guards coming into the room again.
“It’s time,” one of them said.
Tanya frowned. “Time for what?” she asked.
She looked at the other females. One of them – the one who had mentioned that she had seduced a guard before – explained.
“The night before the finals, the contestants get to officially choose the grand prize that they’re fighting for,” she said. “We are all put on display and the contestants get to inspect us before committing to their chosen prize. They just aren’t allowed to touch us.”
Tanya’s head spun. She had never heard about this before. Contestants? Did she mean the gladiators? Or the Masters?
Tanya didn’t have time to ask. They were all ushered out of the pool and ordered to dress in yet another skimpy outfit. This time, the outfit was even more daring than before and Tanya didn’t feel comfortable wearing it. She had gotten to a point where the other outfits didn’t bother her too much.
But this was practically like being naked.
“Do I have to wear this?” Tanya asked one of the other females as she passed.
The female pulled up her shoulders. “There are not allowed to touch us.”
That didn’t make Tanya feel any better. It was ridiculous – she hated being objectified like this. At least, as the female had said, they wouldn’t be allowed to touch them.
The women were lined up in a long, narrow hallway that Tanya hadn’t been in before. The lighting was bright, almost harsh, putting everything on display. Under the lighting, Tanya felt like her outfit was almost see-through. A cold wind blew, giving her goosebumps. To make their nipples hard, she thought. They were really being put on display as sex dolls.
She hated it.
The first contestant that came in was Gage. Tanya heard the other females whisper when the door hissed open and he walked in. He was a surprisingly human-looking alien, with translucent hair and eyes, and some kind of gun on his hip. He glanced over the females and walked straight past Tanya, not interested.
Thank God.
The next contestant was a Saithin. He moved differently than the others. It was a red one with blue flecks, the one who had been watching her when she had first been put onto the stage. The guards were all very respectful toward him. They greeted him and she caught his name.
Slinin.
So, that was Mal’s Master.
Clearly, he was popular among the guards. They talked to him, wanting his attention, telling him how they had taken care of the prizes and only the best were at his disposal. But they were also scared of him, speaking to him as though they were trying to kiss his ass.
He ignored them. He didn’t seem to think they were very impressive at all.
Somehow, that just made them want his approval even more. It was pathetic.
Slinin stopped in front of Tanya. He didn’t even look at the other females. When he looked at her with his beady eyes, a shiver ran down her spine and she wanted to recoil away from him. It took a lot from her not to show her disgust. This was the creature that would end up owning her if Mal won?
“This one,” Slinin said, pointing a clawed hand at Tanya. Immediately, the guards commended Slinin on what a good choice it was. If Insect-face could roll his eyes, would he?
“Turn her around,” Slinin said to the guards. He didn’t leave, as Tanya had hoped he would. He wanted to see more. Oh, God.
The guard came to her, but Tanya turned around by herself. She wasn’t going to let any of the monsters touch her if she could help it. She could feel his eyes on her and it made her feel naked and dirty. She knew what he was thinking when he looked at her and she tasted bile at the back of her throat. She pulled a face while the Saithin was behind her and couldn’t see.
When she turned around, he was looking her up and down. Tanya thought about the time she had spent with Mal, how perfect it had been. She hated the thought that this disgusting creature would want the same from her.
She wanted Mal to win. She really did. She didn’t want to see him maimed or killed, as had happened to the opponents who lost. But she didn’t want to be with this monster. She couldn’t.
She had to escape. There was no way she was going to become this thing’s sex slave. Mal didn’t think Slinin was a terrible Master, but Mal only fought for him.
She wasn’t going to allow this. She may be a slave, but her free will was still perfectly intact and she was set on getting back her freedom.
No matter what it took.
Chapter Fifteen
Mal
Mal stood in the gym, the shirt he was wearing drenched with sweat. He yanked it over his head in a swift movement, dropping the wet material behind him with a plop.
He was alone in the gym. At first, there had been a few others training with him – they had to take the day to keep in shape, to remain strong for the tournament. But he had trained a lot longer than the rest of them, and one by one, they had filtered out.
There weren’t nearly as many gladiators left training with Mal anyway. Not now that they were in the final stages of the tournament. If the gladiators who did train with him were all there to speculate – they wanted to get a glimpse of one of the warriors that had made it through to the final match.
Usually, Mal didn’t care that he was the object of interest. He had been ogled his whole life, if it wasn’t by spectators during the fight, it was by Masters who wanted to acquire a new slave.
This time though, it had bothered him. They had no idea what he was going through. They had no idea what he was up against either.
If he lost this fight, he would lose the grand prize, his Master wouldn’t get the human female he wanted so badly.
But if Mal won, Slinin would acquire Tanya, the human female who Mal had developed feelings for.
God, what a mess. He should never have developed feelings for her. He should never have followed the attraction that drew him to her. He should have stayed far away from her – he should have known better.
Gladiators like him, who didn’t own their lives, who were the possession of others, didn’t
have the luxury of falling in love. They couldn’t afford to become attached to something they could never have.
Never before had Mal done something so ridiculous. He had never allowed himself to become attached to anything. It was what had made his life so easy. If he wasn’t attached to anything, he couldn’t miss what he didn’t have. And he never resented the fact that he belonged to someone else.
Now, everything was different. Now, there was something out there that Mal wanted for himself. That was a very dangerous place to be in. Because he wouldn’t be able to have Tanya. She would never belong to him. The only thing he had gained from this entire exercise was resentment.
And as a slave, resentment could ruin everything.
His mind turned to the fight. Usually, the gladiators didn’t know who they would be up against until they both stepped into the ring. This time though, there was a lot of gossip about the fights. Everyone was talking about it; it was a hot topic.
And thanks to the rumors, he had picked up information about his opponent. Gage.
The name was a familiar one. He had heard it many times before. Even though he had never faced the warrior himself, Gage’s reputation preceded him.
He was a Qai, one of very few who fought for himself. He kept all of his prizes and he was here of his own accord.
The self-importance annoyed Mal. He had never understood why any of the gladiators would want to fight if they had a choice not to.
But this time, it was more than that. It was more than self-importance and a strange drive to be better than those who were forced to fight. It was about the fact that if Mal lost this fight – and the chances were greater that he would lose against a warrior who could train, could get personal mentors, could eat differently than he did – then Tanya would belong to someone else. And he would never see her again.
