by Mary Auclair
A ripple of tension went through the people massed in the shuttle as Kamal parked it under a particularly thick overgrowth of vegetation. Without speaking, Kamal and Aliena got out, followed by the humans.
“Are we clear on the plan?” Kamal whispered to the young man who had taken the lead of the group.
“You and Aliena go for Knut’s house.” The young human male nodded, his ionic gun held high. “We go straight to the holding building and free as many people as we can, arm them, then head for the next holding buildings.”
Kamal nodded, holding the young man’s dark brown stare. The young male nodded in response then, with a jerk of his chin toward his companions, the humans walked away in a single file.
He watched them leave, their bodies skimpily clad in light synthetic cotton pants and shirts, barefoot in the jungle. Pride furrowed inside his heart at the sight, at what he was helping them do. They were a courageous species, above and beyond their fragile bodies. They deserved freedom.
“They’re going to be okay.” Aliena’s voice was barely audible at his side. “They won’t let us down.”
“Let’s hope so,” Kamal said, turning to look into her deep, dark eyes, eyes that were filled with the one thing he’d never had. Trust. “Because both our lives depend on their success. If the guards all come together, it won’t matter how much training I have. I’ll be outnumbered.”
“I know.” Aliena tried to smile, but it didn’t work out. “Succeed or die trying, right?”
“It won’t come to that.” He pulled her close, put a kiss on her soft, pliable lips, then pulled back. “You stay behind me, no matter what happens.”
“You bet your blue ass I will.” She smiled again, and this time, it lit up her face in a fierce warrior’s grin. “I have your back, and I know you have mine.”
Kamal smiled back at her.
This was it, he thought. The moment where his life would change forever, for the second time. He could never go back to his life of smuggling and piracy, of self-hatred and destruction. Aliena and her love had changed him, healed something broken deep inside him that hadn’t been touched since the day he’d found disgrace in the Eok nation.
He turned away from her, led the way to Knut’s house and whatever lay inside for them.
After about ten minutes of walking, they were finally in front of the mansion, which was just across a small clearing.
“So that’s where he lives?” Aliena watched the front door, a dark expression on her face. “It’s not what I had in mind, all that fancy carving, those flowers. It doesn’t look like the house of a monster.”
Kamal looked at her, wondering how she felt as she gazed at the house of the one male responsible for so much suffering for her entire people. Whatever she felt, she kept it on a tight leash.
“Listen to me, Aliena.” Kamal bent and grabbed her hand. “You have to stay hidden until I clear the house.”
“But you can’t go in there alone.” Aliena frowned and opened her mouth to add more, but he cut her off.
“No.” He shook his head. “If I don’t come back out in less than ten minutes, go back to the shuttle, to Ava.”
Time felt suspended as she looked up at him, disbelief clear on her face. Disbelief and hurt.
“I won’t leave you.” She jerked her chin to the gray building. “I won’t leave them. I’m coming with you.”
“Not this time. If I fear for you, I won’t be able to do what it takes to secure the house, to secure Knut. I need to know you’ll stay here.” Kamal’s hand cradled her cheek. “Do this for me, Little Bird.”
Aliena pursed her lips, a torn expression on her face. He watched as she drew a deep breath, then locked gazes with him.
“Okay. I trust you.”
He bent and kissed her forehead. With one last look at his bloodmate, Kamal turned to the violence he knew waited ahead. Behind them, the sound of ionic guns could be heard detonating in the gray building.
Chapter 20
Aliena
The sound of ionic detonation ripped through the air, making each hair on her body stand up as the smell of iodine traveled on the breeze. This was the stench of power unleashed, torn bodies and scattered limbs. It entered her nostrils, penetrated her body with its promise of death and dread. With the gift of blood and gore, and the end of everything that lived.
Please, let them win. Aliena prayed to the memory of Earth’s old forgotten Gods.
Her breathing was fast and erratic, burning her throat and making her restless. She wanted to move, to do anything, everything, but she couldn’t. She was bound to that place, her knees and hands like roots to hold her down. All she could do was think, and her brain was about to implode from worry.
Where is he? Is he okay?
The thoughts bounced around in her skull like a mad child’s game, refusing to be unheard.
She had no way to be sure, no way to know for certain, but Aliena was convinced something was wrong. The bond that linked her to her bloodmate, that link between them that she did not quite understand, nor even accepted, told her there was danger. DANGER screamed through every pore of her skin, through the very air she breathed, in such a way that she could not ignore it.
Aliena shot a glance at the gray building where the sound of ionic detonation was still pounding, accompanied by the screams of the wounded. It looked so much like the Breeding Facility back on Earth, with tall, windowless walls that stretched out to the sky like a silent scream.
She got to her feet. The leaves overhead brushed her shoulders, her hair. She was so small, so insignificant.
Then she saw a familiar figure walk around the mezzanine. Tall, slim and with long black hair, Wyol had a cruel grin on his face. The sight of him turned her blood solid, froze her heart in place.
Because she knew. She knew the cause of that smile.
Her feet moved, and soon she was running over the length of the lawn in front of the mansion, her ionic blade in her hands. She stopped at the door, which lay open, the body of the fallen Ilarian guard half inside, the pool of blood still spreading under him.
She stepped inside the house, and its eerie silence wrapped around her.
The inside of the house matched the outside, with heavily ornate furniture and precious possessions on display everywhere the eye landed. Paintings were hung on the walls, sculptures stood in the corners, and colorful rugs covered the polished stone floor.
It wasn’t a house. It was a museum, displaying the wealth and glory of its owner. It was a statement of superiority to anyone who stepped inside those walls. None would be as powerful or as rich as he, and he wanted his guests to know it.
Her blood thawed as fury coursed through her veins.
All those riches, all that power, he’d acquired on the backs of her people, of innocent men, women and children, sold into a life of horror. Aliena’s hand clenched around the ionic blade’s handle so hard, her nails dug into the flesh of her palm. Her fury threatened to spill out, make her blind with bloodlust, but she used her last reserves of willpower to staunch it.
She had to find Kamal, somewhere in this monstrosity.
She walked, keeping to the wall, until she came to a massive stairway leading to the second floor. Her eyes strayed up. Not a single noise traveled down, no movement was visible. The house was a tomb.
Aliena bit her lower lip, then forced her feet up the stairs. She was totally exposed as she climbed up, the perfect target for anyone watching from the cover of the rooms. Then she stood at the top, alone and in total silence.
Something’s wrong.
Her muscles were tight, her nerves an inch from snapping like overstretched cords, but she pushed through. Aliena looked to both sides, but all she saw were long hallways and doors to rooms of which she had no idea what they contained. A split second later, she turned right, because she had to make a choice. Staying still was dying, and she wasn’t ready for that. The first room was a bedroom, and after glancing quickly inside, Aliena left it behin
d. The next three rooms were similar, nothing particular in them but ornate furniture and precious possessions.
Her eyes latched on to the last room of the hall, at what appeared to be a large desk in the middle of a spacious room. Maybe this was Knut’s office, maybe this was where Kamal had gone.
Her feet moved silently on the polished stone until she stood in the open doorway. She stayed still, confusion filling her mind as her gaze locked with the blazing purple eyes of the male sitting on the other side of the desk. Minister Knut sat, his back straight, clothed in elegant, all white silk, his face split by a delighted grin.
Her eyes left Knut to lock just a few feet to the desk’s right. Her breath caught and her hands started to tremble.
Kneeling on the floor in front of two Ilarian guards was Kamal, his fog-blue eyes on her, his lips pressed into a fine line. A long cut ran down the length of his forehead, and blood dripped down his collar to stain his shirt. The Ilarian guards each held an ionic gun pointed at his head, and the dead hatred in their eyes sent shivers down her spine.
“I told you to stay away.” Kamal’s voice was laden with a heart-wrenching sadness. “You should be far away from here.”
Aliena froze, her ionic blade trembling in her hands.
“Not so sassy now, are you?” Wyol’s voice came from right behind her, and she felt the push of an ionic gun on her lower back.
A hand closed on her hair, pulling it with cruel force. Aliena moaned but refused to cry out.
“Drop that blade.”
Wyol’s mouth was just at the side of her neck. She could feel his intent on her body like a sick embrace, holding every fiber of her being in its sticky palm. She could smell his sick dreams, sick pleasures, on the waves of male sweat and acrid breath coming off him.
She clenched the blade hard enough that her knuckles screamed in pain.
“Drop that blade.” Wyol’s voice hardened, and the gun dug deeper into her back. “Or the Eok dies.”
Her eyes latched on to Kamal’s. There was a feral thing in him, barely contained by the threat of the ionic guns to his head. Just ready to be unleashed on the world, burn it down to the ground and scatter its ashes afterward. But she couldn’t allow it, because it would mean his death, and his death was something she could not live to see.
“Don’t,” Aliena said, her eyes still locked on Kamal’s. “I can’t lose you.”
Her fingers opened and the ionic blade fell to the floor with the dead, hollow sound of lost hope.
“Now you’re all mine,” Wyol said as his hand crawled slowly up her arm to close around her neck. Fingers dug into the soft flesh, making her heart beat fast and panic flutter just under the surface despite her best attempt to remain calm. “And I’m going to enjoy every fucking inch of all those sweet, sweet holes.”
The hand on her neck moved down, slid along the front of her chest. He grabbed her left breast in his hand, then squeezed, hard enough to make her whimper.
Her eyes left Kamal’s and locked with Knut’s. His pupils dilated, then retracted to fine lines as he looked at her, not a trace of sympathy on his features. He lifted an aristocratic, curved brow, and his thin lips were pursed in a disgusted pout.
“There’s no need for that. We’re not animals, are we?” He lifted a single long, fine-boned finger, and Wyol’s hand freed her breast. Knut looked intently at her, not glancing once at Wyol. “You must understand, my dear, I have the greatest respect for you. You have admirable spirit, something I like in a female.”
Minister Knut got to his feet in a single fluid movement, never taking his eyes off her, and his gaze traveled slowly over Aliena’s body. His thin face took on a hungry expression, and his lips twisted in what was probably meant to be a smile but looked more like the grimace of a predator about to pounce.
“You have aroused my interest.” Knut articulated each word like he was amused by the fact. “I find your combative streak, let’s say, stimulating? Yes, that would be the right word. You stimulate my interest, dear Aliena.”
Knut took a step closer, and his eyes shot to Wyol. The look was a pure, cold threat, and Wyol’s hand left her instantly. Aliena stood in front of Minister Knut, and anger filled each one of her cells as her limbs shivered as if under intense cold. She was afraid, more than she had ever been. Afraid of that purple, slightly amused gaze, those long, slender fingers, and that refined, aristocratic mouth.
He was one for whom pleasure and pain mixed in a landscape that took the shape of her worst nightmare.
She could never end up in his hands. It would destroy the very part of her that was herself.
Knut watched her like a hawk, his eyes missing nothing of her most minute reactions as he reached up. He didn’t hesitate, didn’t deviate from his target as his finger landed straight on her cheek, caressing her skin like he was testing the texture of it. Like he owned it.
Like he owned her.
The contact sent a rush of revulsion along Aliena’s body, and she used all her strength not to flinch.
“Such fire.” Knut smiled, exposing his wicked, pointy teeth. “Such delicate, delicious rebellion.”
Knut’s finger slid along the line of her jaw, then stopped on her lips. He locked eyes with her, anticipation and enjoyment lighting his purple irises, making his pupils slim like fine lines. The finger pushed between her lips, entered her mouth. He pushed all the way between her teeth, his finger gliding on her tongue. The taste of him, sweet and pungent at the same time, made her want to bite down and hurt him, but she didn’t. She knew what this was. This was a statement of power, and any sign of revolt was sure to get her hurt.
And if she was down, then no one would save Kamal and the others.
“I will so enjoy breaking you.” Knut tilted his head, then pulled his finger out, inserting it inside his own mouth before smacking his lips together in apparent delight. “My own little pet.”
The last word slapped Aliena across the face like a blow, and her hands clenched into painful fists at her sides. How good it would feel to smash this fine, dainty face into the wall.
“And how are you going to do that? Will you need Wyol to keep me in line like you do now?” She smiled, broad and bright, as Knut’s pupils fully dilated in response to her jest. “Are you going to ask him to fuck me for you, too?”
The slap came, blindsiding her even though she expected it. Pain exploded on the left side of her face, and her vision blurred as cruel hands gripped her by the arms, holding her up.
“Don’t!” Knut shouted, losing his temper for the first time. “Do not touch her!”
Aliena’s arms were freed and her knees wobbled, but she still held her ground. She lifted her gaze to Knut’s, from the brazier in his purple eyes to his contorted features, no longer aristocratic and poised, but feral. A slow grin spread over her mouth, and sharp pain shot through her as her fingers touched her lower lip. She glanced down to see bright red blood.
“Is that all you’ve got?” Aliena looked up at him. “Is that all the powerful Minister Knut is capable of?”
The laugh grew from somewhere deep in her gut, from that part of her that would never surrender to the threat, to the torture and to the fear. That tiny core of her that would always refuse ownership—refuse submission—grew and spilled over. The laughter inflated, ricocheted against the stone walls, the stone ceiling. She was powerless to stop it.
Minister Knut stood silent, his mouth opened in a tiny O, his eyes bulging from his head, his cheeks flushed.
Aliena laughed more, the pain forcing her to hold her ribs as hilarity invaded her body from the inside out.
“Stop,” Knut said, his voice shaking with fury. “I told you to STOP!”
He stepped up to her, his hand raised high, his focus on the rage that filled his mind like a poison.
And Aliena struck.
Chapter 21
Her hands reached for the ionic blade while her brain screamed that if she missed, if she closed her fingers around the blade i
nstead of the handle, it would slice through her flesh and bones with the ease of a warm knife through butter. But she didn’t, and the handle found its way in her hand as she dropped and rolled on her shoulder.
Then, as she twisted flat on her back, she kicked him squarely in the stomach with everything she was worth.
Knut bent double with a flat, hollow sound as his eyes bulged with surprise and pain.
Aliena leaped, not losing a single second. She swung back to her feet, then grabbed Minister Knut by the scruff of his expensive white synthetic silk overcoat.
“Move and it’s the last thing you’ll ever do,” she shouted as she brought the ionic blade just under Knut’s throat. “And that goes for all of you! Move a muscle and I’ll cut him like a pig.”
Aliena yanked on Knut’s collar as she shot a wide glance at the males around the room. Wyol stood like there was a steel bar running across his spine, and the Ilarian guards looked at her with their mouths wide open.
It would be funny if it wasn’t so damn deadly.
“Don’t even think about biting me, you fucking little pervert,” Aliena spat the words close to Knut’s ears. “I know what that awful bitch did to my cousin, and I’ll slice your jugular if you so much as show your filthy little fangs.”
Aliena pushed on the back of Knut’s neck until he knelt in front of her, his sheer height making him still almost level with her. He tilted his head to glance at her, and what she saw in those eyes almost made her drop the blade.
There was hatred in those eyes, but that wasn’t the only thing. There was something rotten and twisted, almost blasphemous, in the glimpse she caught of the soul behind the facade. Knut was evil, to the very bones in his body, and she was now the sole focus of his hatred.
“You’ll never get away with this.” Knut pursed his lips but was careful to keep his fangs covered. “Even if you could escape this house with your mate, you have no ship. You’re never going to get off Aveyn.”
“I’m not the one who needs to get off Aveyn,” Aliena answered, feeling wrath grow inside her, washing away her fear and growing into an all-consuming inferno. “Prime Councilor Aav is coming for you. Soon, there will be nowhere in the Ring for you to hide.”
