by Raven Dark
Captured
The Xandari Chronicles Book 1
Raven Dark
Petra J. Knox
Captured (The Xandari Chronicles: Book One)
Copyright © 2019 Raven Dark and Petra J. Knox, all rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Please purchase only authorized editions of this book, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrightable materials.
Cover by Raven Dark
Cover images courtesy of DepositPhotos
Created with Vellum
Contents
Note to Readers
1. Accepted
2. Atan Raul
3. Unexpected Intentions
4. Rith
5. Nayna
6. The Price of Defiance
7. Preparations
8. Abyss
9. The Nice One
10. Back Through the Jungle
11. Understanding Them
12. Rules
13. A Narrow Escape
14. Pushed Too Far
15. The Heart of Darkness
16. Sick
17. Little Flower
18. The Viper’s Kiss
19. Falling
20. A Truth Revealed
21. Always a Slave
22. Conquered
23. Tara N’a
24. Stupid Girl
25. A Promise From the Devil
26. Healer’s Touch
27. An’tanaka
28. Salve
29. The Beauty of Submission
30. The Benefit of the Doubt
31. Turncoat
32. Just a Man
33. Kan Jun Hada
34. The Price of Salvation
35. A Hero’s Reward
36. Danika’s Choice
37. Home
Epilogue: Lady Vahashatai
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For Susy Strom Hoefer and Marsha Jackson, whose love of books makes it possible for us to do what we love most.
You’re the best.
Note to Readers
This book has dark elements and scenes that may be triggering for some readers. The alien warriors of the planet Xandar are not sweet, gentle men. They are barbarians who take what they want, when they want it. The smallest defiance is punished severely, and without mercy. Here, women learn to submit, or they pay the price.
You have been warned.
Welcome to their world.
1
Accepted
From the Xandari files:
Case #1136
Name: Danika Peterson
Sex: Female
Race: Earthling
Age: 18
Sexual history: Virgin
Height: 5-4
Weight: 120 lbs
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Green
Universal translator chip: Active.
STATUS: PENDING
They made it sound like I was destined for a whole new life.
They said that once I walked out of the iron gates of The Xandar Home for Girls, I would be headed for a place where all my dreams would come true. The proverbial pot of gold at the end of the fucking rainbow.
It took me a while, but I believed them.
They always said they’d prepared me for life on my own once I left. A life free of rules and regulations, no longer based on a routine set by someone else. My mistakes would be in the past, and the days of being judged for the person I was before I’d entered the Home would be over.
A clean slate.
They said that today my life would finally be my own.
They lied.
Leaving Xandar was the start of something new. Little did I know, it was the beginning of a nightmare.
Even without what happened after I was taken, I’d never forget the day my life had changed. It was January 18’th, 2019. The day I turned eighteen.
We left early in the evening for the nightclub, headed for what was supposed to be an audition for my new job. When I’d stepped out of the two-story mansion that had been my home for the last four years, the cold winter wind whipped easily through the long black coat I wore, biting through my black cocktail dress underneath. The sun was already setting, offering no warmth. I was freezing my ass off, but I didn’t care. I was way too excited.
And so much of a nervous wreck I thought I was going to puke.
“Nervous, Danika?” Mr. Sauders, the head of Xandar, offered me one of his grandfatherly smiles.
I put my head down, avoiding that smile. The man had always creeped me the hell out.
Oh, Sauders had never done anything to hurt me, or anyone else that I knew of, but something about him just didn’t sit right with me. But maybe that was just me.
I gave him what I hoped was a friendly smile and shrugged. Like it or not, he was the man responsible for the new life that waited for me.
I had to be nice to him.
“This is the part where you answer, Danika.” He held the front door open, waiting.
His tone stayed pleasant, but the warmth didn’t touch his eyes. I hated those eyes. They reminded me of cold, black pits, always making me shiver.
“A little, sir.” I didn’t have to fake my excitement. Excitement at what would be happening about a half-hour from now.
Sauders shut the polished oak doors. There was a click of the lock on the other side, a soft, final sound. From inside the mansion, a series of beeps followed, then a buzzing sound, the security code that was on all the doors in this place being activated. If I had any luck, a few days from now, I’d never have to hear that sound again.
“Why?” Sauders raised a brow at me. “You’ve preformed in front of people before, lots of times. This’ll be a piece of cake.”
“Not even close, sir.” I started toward the front steps, keeping my sarcasm to a minimum. “This is way bigger than that.”
“Why’s that?”
On the first step, my foot slid on the thin black ice that covered it. Sauders’ hand snaked out and caught mine, gripping a little too tightly. I would have yanked my hand free of his sweaty grip—I really didn’t want him touching me—but it was better than ending up sprawled on the pavement.
“Thanks.” I adjusted my coat. “Because, sir. It’s not like I’ll be singing in a high school play in an auditorium full of kids I know. This is an audition at one of the most prestigious nightclubs in the world. And besides, I’ve heard about the owner.”
Reaching the bottom step, I winced, trying not to think about the club’s owner or that he’d be watching me sing.
“What have you heard?” Sauders’ soulless eyes twinkled.
“That he’s an ass, sir.”
As soon as I swore, I expected him to scold me for my language. He’d always been obsessive about forbidding the girls here to utter anything but “clean words,” as he called them. Only bad girls swore, he always said. But instead, Sauders laughed.
“It won’t be so bad. He’s not an ogre.”
That wasn’t what I’d heard. According to Stacy Platt, one of the girls who lived here and had auditioned for the owner of Vertigo—auditioned and failed—he’d be sitting there in his expensive Tom Ford suit waiting to give me a thumbs down the minute I hit a sour note, like some billionaire Simon Cowell.
I turned to Sauders, decked out in his own expensive black suit. “Let’s just say, anyone who sings in front of him is either terrified or has no
pulse.”
“You’ll do just fine.” He kept a hold of my hand until we reached a black limo that waited at the bottom of the steps.
Oh, my God. A limo? I nearly jumped up and down with excitement.
The driver opened the back door with a genuine smile and a tip of his hat.
“And you won’t be alone,” Sauders added, nodding to the inside of the vehicle.
I bent down, looking in. A huge grin split my face. “Shelly! You’re coming to my audition?”
The older woman leaned forward in the back seat. “Of course I am, sweetie. I wouldn’t miss this for the world.” She gave me a warm smile and patted the seat across from her.
Oh, thank fuck. I didn’t want to be alone in the back of a darkened limo with Sauders.
I climbed in and Sauders followed. He sat beside me, and I forced myself not to move over to Shelly’s side.
I felt a lot better about the audition with Shelly there, but I knew my nerves would return as soon as we got to the club.
It was a strange thing. Shelly meant more to me than any of the girls at the Home. It didn’t matter that she was a member of the house staff, most of whom I couldn’t stand, or that she was old enough to be my grandmother. I didn’t care that the other girls always looked at me like I was the staff’s favorite pet because of our closeness. It didn’t even matter that Sauders didn’t approve of it. She was my best friend, and I refused to apologize for it.
“We thought it would make you feel more comfortable if you had a friend along, Danika.”
We? Bullshit. Knowing Shelly, she’d insisted on coming to offer moral support, but Sauders had some other reason for allowing her to be there. He had to have. He hated how close we were.
“Young lady,” he drawled, setting his fingers on my arm. “What should you be saying? None of the other girls get an escort to their job interviews.”
Inwardly rolling my eyes, I reminded myself to be nice to my benefactor, no matter how much he pissed me off. I hated the way he treated me like a petulant child, but if not for him, I’d have still been committing petty crimes on the streets to survive, or back with my asshat of a father.
“Thank you, sir,” I mumbled.
“Of course,” he said brightly, squeezing my arm. “It’s your birthday, and this is your big audition. I want you to enjoy this night.”
To get my mind off Sauders, I looked around the lush interior of the limo with its leather seats and fully stocked bar. It smelled like money. Old money.
“Shelly, look at this car.” I grinned. “I’ve never been in anything like this in my life!”
“I know, isn’t it neat? It’s courtesy of Mr. Blackwell. Only the finest for him, you know.” Shelly winked.
I laughed. Blackwell, the owner of Vertigo, was one of the richest men around, and certainly the richest in this backwoods town.
We fell into an awkward silence as we drove toward the ritzy downtown club. Nervousness was already coiling in the pit of my stomach, and we hadn’t even pulled into the parking lot. I laid my hand over my stomach, but it didn’t quiet the fluttering there.
I still couldn’t believe this was even happening. My father had always told me that girls like me never got happy endings. They didn’t end up singing their hearts out in fancy clubs in bright lights and cocktail dresses. They ended up on street corners turning tricks.
Well, I’d never ended up working on my back, but I had nearly turned out as bad as he’d thought I would. Running away from home at twelve, I’d ended up surviving the only other way a girl like me did—through petty crime. When I’d been caught on the streets of Seattle and thrown into juvie two years later, I’d hated it. I’d rebelled. Until my counselor sat me down in the cell and gave me what was probably the same lecture every other kid there received. He’d also given me a ticket to a better life—a place at Xandar.
For months after coming to the Home, I’d waited for the other shoe to drop. Waited for someone to pop out and tell me it was all a joke, or worse, that there was a catch of some sort. My father had always said, if it was too good to be true, it was. By the time I’d moved into Xandar, I’d finally realized he was wrong.
So here I was, four years after setting foot in the Home, headed for the biggest day of my life. I’d always wanted to be a singer, and Xandar staff had always nurtured my talent, convincing me that I could have a singing career if I wanted it bad enough. When Sauders had heard that Blackwell was looking for a unique voice for his club, he’d set me up with an audition. If I made the cut, I’d start my first real job tomorrow, singing to a packed crowd on a Friday night.
My father would have shit himself.
We pulled into the club’s packed parking lot and the driver got out, opening the doors for us. I blew out a breath. My hands were shaking.
Shelly shook my shoulder. “Relax, Danika. Breathe. You got this.”
We climbed out of the car and Shelly squeezed my hand. I looked back at Sauders, who was shaking hands and thanking the driver. I could have sworn he’d given Shelly an ugly look. What was his problem?
Ignoring him, I looked up at the two-story club, the lot packed with fancy cars and club-goers. We were here. This was it. My nerves flooded back, full force.
By the time we got inside the club, I was shaking, and not from the cold outside. As soon as I looked around the place, my eyes widened. It was huge, with marble floors and teak walls, gold banisters, and flashing lights that cast everything in a silvery-blue tint. Fake smoke billowed onto a wide stage at the front of the room. The tech staff were probably testing the systems, since the club was empty of patrons. Vertigo might have been the only nightlife in Hallow Falls, but it looked like it belonged in Vegas, not on the outskirts of a wooded town of ten thousand people.
I whistled. “You gotta be fucking kidding me.” Being that the place was empty, my voice rang out much louder than expected.
Sauders shot me a scolding look, but the corners of his mouth were turned up. I would have found some reason to back away from him if Shelly weren’t there.
“Pretty neat, isn’t it?” Shelly whispered. “Just think. This is nothing. If you get the thumbs up, this is only the beginning. My God, you saw all those people out there.” She jerked her thumb at the long lines outside the club.
I swallowed hard and followed Sauders across the room with her, through the door that led backstage. “You’re not making me feel any better, Shelly. I think I’m going to be sick.”
She rubbed my back.
“Miss Peterson?” One of the backstage crew came over, raising a brow at me. He barely waited for me to nod and for the director to introduce me before he waved me toward the changing room. “You have five minutes to change.”
“She’s already dressed,” Sauders said, taking my coat.
The stagehand looked over my dress and gave a sharp nod. “Fine. We’ll skip the makeup since you’re late. Get your ass up there, Mr. Blackwood’s waiting.”
He walked away.
“Cheerful sort, isn’t he?” Shelly muttered.
“That’s show business.” I offered her a smile that probably looked like a grimace.
Sauders ran his hands through my hair as if every strand was made of gold and gestured at Shelly to follow him to the backstage door. “Come on, Shelly, let’s go. See you out there, Danika.”
“I’ll meet you out there in a minute,” Shelly said.
Sauders shot her a dark look but departed.
I raised a brow at her.
“Ignore him, Danika. He thinks I shouldn’t be here. Playing favorites and all that. Look, before you go…” She paused and dug into the pocket of her winter coat. “Well, I wanted to…er.” She pulled out a small wrapped package and thrust it awkwardly toward me. “Well…here, dear.”
Taking the box from her slowly, I cocked my head at her. “You didn’t have to buy me a gift, Shelly.”
“Well, I’m not supposed to. No gifts from the staff, you know. Sauders wouldn’t approve, but I
don’t care. It’s your birthday, and you’ll be leaving us soon.”
Her eyes were wet.
My heart felt suddenly too big for my chest. I had to force myself not to tell her that no one had ever bought me a gift before. It sounded far too pathetic. Instead, I ripped open the present and lifted the lid on the little red box.
A small dolphin pendant on a chain winked up at me in the backstage light. My eyes watered. Dolphins were my favorite animals. She’d seen the dozens of figurines and posters all over my room.
I ran my fingers over the smooth silver pendant. “Oh, Shelly, it’s gorgeous. Thank you.” I hugged her, and she squeezed me back.
“Miss Peterson? Curtain’s going up, let’s go,” the stagehand snapped.
“Here, turn around, quick. Let me put it on you.” Shelly waited until I put my back to her and gently slipped the silver chain around my neck. The pendant cooled my skin. I clutched it, treasuring my first real birthday gift.
When I faced her, she sniffed and covered her mouth. “You look beautiful.” She fiddled with my dark curls, arranging them on my shoulders. “Sauders would kill me if he heard me say this, but I want you to know.” She set her hands on my arms. “You’re the daughter I never had. I love you, okay? No matter what happens, remember that.”
Something unpleasant coiled in my gut, something I couldn’t name. Her words sounded so ominous. “Shelly—”
