by Corin Cain
But what is that Toad Lord up to?
Kill. He said Kill.
“Two more gabnur wazni glub then kill all glem.”
Two more what? Two more what before they kill us all?
There’s something bigger than me going on here – something ominous between the Toad Finger, second only to the Toad King himself, and the separatist force of the Aurelians.
And, whatever it is, Lord Oblog isn’t going to leave evidence.
Maybe when he said two, he meant two more shipments. It’s a leap, but my mind is rushing to conclusions, sharp and jumping.
Two more shipments - then he’s going to kill us, and hide the evidence of whatever’s going on between the Priesthood and the Toads. I’m putting this theory together from shards that shouldn’t make sense, I know, but my instincts have reached a new level – and Ling’s training has made my mind like a computer.
I know I’m onto something.
But I’m also exhausted. I pull myself into the big bed, right next to Tessa.
“I miss them,” she says, as she lies next to me.
I don’t need to ask her to clarify. She’s talking about the Aurelians.
Whatever you say about my triad, they have a comforting, protective presence. You feel so safe and small when you’re surrounded by them. Who wouldn’t?
I remember how I’d felt during the mating frenzy. I’d been so helpless, so vulnerable, and so utterly claimed by them – but even in front of a jeering crowd of Toads and Bullfrogs, I’d never felt safer than when they were inside of me; their huge bodies pressing against me as the three Aurelians took me, one after the other.
That was just hours earlier – but I ache for them again, already.
It’s not the Bond that suddenly thrums in my mind, but I gasp as if it was.
Their absence is sending a wave of heartache and pain through me – but it’s me.
These emotions are mine entirely – not driven by the Bond. I truly care for these Aurelians, whether or not I’m their Fated Mate. I’d love them regardless.
Now, I just ache to know Marcel, Quint, and Lucius in peacetime. I ache to feel them when our lives aren’t at stake – when we have time for us.
I need them back.
“Lights off,” I command.
Nothing happens. That damned delay.
Then, the words to switch off the light in the language of the Toads spark in my mind – but I bite my tongue before I utter them.
My newfound ability to speak Toad is going to raise some questions – especially from the girl lying in the bed next to me.
I want to trust Tessa – but I know that until she’s away from the ship, I’m not safe. She’d betray me to Lord Oblog in a second if it meant saving herself – and I don’t judge her for it.
Tessa isn’t herself anymore, not after what’s happened to her. She’d throw me under the thrusters of a spaceship if it meant clinging to her life, and perhaps in similar circumstances I’d feel the same.
The lights glare down at us from above, despite my command to switch off.
“They don’t work,” Tessa says slowly, her words sleepy. “They’re broken.”
“It’s okay.”
I pull myself out of bed and go to the closet – pulling out two long, flowing shirts.
Tessa is shivering despite the heat. I cover her eyes with one of the shirts, tucking her back into bed. Like a child at bedtime, her breathing slows.
“It’s okay, Tessa,” I reassure her. “You’re going to be fine – I promise. The Aurelians will be back soon, and then you’ll be safe. I swear to you.”
I wish Marcel was here, to comfort me with that same promise.
“Are you sure?” Tessa mumbles, the syllables blending into each other.
“I’m sure. I promise.”
She mumbles something else, which I don’t understand – finally falling into sleep.
I lie down next to her. I cover my eyes, blocking some of the light, but sleep can’t find me as easily.
My mind races.
I can live for thousands of years now – but I’m running out of time. I tug at the Orb-Ring around my finger, the one that disrupts the Bond. I hate it. I hate that it cuts me off from my triad. I need to feel them. I need to ask them what to do. I need to come up with a plan with them.
If only I could communicate with them! If only I could tell them what’s going to happen!
After two more shipments, I’m convinced Lord Oblog is going to wipe the Aurelians out of existence. He says he’s going to let Tessa go free, but I don’t trust him now. She doesn’t know much about Lord Oblog’s operations, but she’s still a loose thread which could unravel his plans.
Oblog doesn’t seem like the type to let loose strands remain.
I blink.
Does he know about Atlantis?
My mind is racing. I feel so alone. I need to warn my Aurelians. I need to warn them so we can find a way to make their dream of paradise a reality again.
I remember the image of Atlantis they’d shared with me – what they believed would be the last safe haven in the universe, before the coming storm.
I need the Aurelians to know that Atlantis is at risk, even before it’s born – a defenceless child in the womb of the universe.
I toss and turn, and only finally does my tiredness take me – pulling me down into tormented darkness.
I pray I won’t dream.
14
For once, I didn’t dream.
For once, visions of Ling’s death didn’t fill my mind.
I don’t know how long I slept that first night – or was it day? Up here in space, day and night have no meaning – especially so in this brightly lit room.
The doors won’t open. We’re locked in from the outside. I have to fight the urge to take the tiny Orb-Blade out from where I’d hidden it and cut the doors open…
I’m pent up.
When we awaken, Tessa barely talks. She just shivers, despite the heat, and I have to urge her over and over to eat even a few mouthfuls of the tasteless gruel that the replicator spits out. She responds to my voice with only single word answers – more robotic than the Sentinels.
I try to keep active, pacing around our prison, but I don’t want to show off my new strength to Tessa. I don’t trust her – and I also worry that there’ll be cameras watching us even now. In fact, I feel sick when I think about activating the tiny Orb-Knife that Lucius had slipped me. For all I know, there could be cameras in the bathroom.
If there were, though, surely Bullfrogs would have come and taken my weapon from me.
They would have done. Right?
Unless Oblog wants me to think he doesn’t know. But could he know I have a weapon? And what could his goal be, in letting me think I’ve hidden it securely?
Lord Oblog has always been three steps ahead of us.
My mind, which had felt so clear and sharp after being Bonded, is becoming a jumbled mess the longer I’m cooped up. Now, I’m questioning everything I heard. I’m questioning if I understood the Toad language I’d overheard, or whether the words ‘kill,’ ‘empty,’ ‘two,’ or ‘obsidian’ were real, or just something I’d imagined.
I’m going crazy.
I’m in a room with someone who should be my friend, and yet I’ve never felt so alone. It drives me mad that I can’t feel my three men.
For all I know, they’ve already been caught by the Aurelian Enforcement, questioned over the contents of their shipment, and hung as smugglers and traitors.
But traitors to what? What are they mixed up in?
What the fuck does a Toad Finger want to have to do with the Aurelian Priesthood? The question is rooted in my brain, along with the worry that once this damned ring is finally off my finger, the three Aurelians won’t reappear in my mind – that they’ll have been snuffed out while on their mission.
All this time, I’ve tried to stay strong – but it’s getting harder and harder.
I harden my resolve. I can’t give u
p now. If I let myself show weakness, Tessa will falter.
Then, the doors finally open.
I’m jolted out of my thoughts, and ready myself in a battle-stance. Tessa wakes too, looking at me for reassurance. Then, her eyes turn to the doorway, and she scrambles back in terror.
A Bullfrog is standing there, looming and ugly.
Panicking, I look for the familiar scar of Gab’nah – and then relax slightly when I don’t see it.
“Come.”
This nameless Bullfrog grunts out the command in the Common tongue.
I ask: “Both of us?”
He nods. Tessa shivers.
“Don’t worry, Tessa,” I reassure her. “Perhaps it means the Aurelians are already back. Perhaps you’re going free!”
That’s the optimistic view.
It either means that – or that Lord Oblog has no more use for us. If something happened to my triad – if they were captured or killed – then we’re about as useful as any other human woman on this ship.
We’re flesh to be sold, or holes to be fucked.
But I’m clinging to the positive, because no matter what we want, we’re going with the Bullfrog. He’s massive and has an Orb-Axe hilt at his waist, just waiting to be activated. Tessa and I are powerless against him.
Or, are we?
If I had the element of surprise… Could I take the bastard down?
I imagine pulling the tiny Orb-Weapon out of its secret hiding place and cutting the Bullfrog’s Achilles tendon, bringing him down to the ground. From there, I could kill him – I know it.
But the Bullfrog just stands and stares. He’s clearly got no interest in hurting us – he just wants us to move.
I know where.
I grab Tessa’s hand and help her out of bed. She’s in the same clothes she’s worn for days, because she changes or showers when I order her to.
The mental conditioning Ling put me through, plus the enhancements of the Bond, allow me to put all the pieces together. We’re going to the throne room – I know it.
That’s Lord Oblog’s audience chamber – and he’s a man who likes an audience.
The Bullfrog steps back into the slushy waters of the ship and gestures for us to pass him. I lead Tessa into the fetid water.
This Bullfrog is wily. He doesn’t let me behind him. He’s clearly been in enough battles to not let anyone behind him – not even a human woman, of the type his species looks down on as nothing more valuable than the flies buzzing around the ship.
Tessa is frozen. I tug at her arm, forcing her to stumble along with me.
“It’s okay,” I promise her. “You’re going to X12.”
That’s where she’d been planning to go in the Elnor – the same place as me. I’d managed to get that tidbit of information out of her earlier; that the last members of her distant family live on the planet.
The ones that weren’t killed by Scorp.
That’s more tragedy in Tessa’s past – but it’s her future I’m worried about now. X12 is her destination, where she’ll be well-looked-after…
But is Lord Oblog going to let her get there? Or is she going to suffer an accident along the way?
Suddenly, there’s too much going on in my mind. I need to speak with my Aurelians. I feel so alone right now – more lonely than I even did when I was actually on my own.
The Bullfrog grunts, and marches us through the sludge. I don’t bother wearing shoes, even though there are some in the closet. It’s actually worse when the grimy water gets inside them. It’s better to just watch out for the nips of the tadpoles and the worst of the filth, and then just shower afterwards.
We’re led to the main throne room – thank the Gods!
If we’d been diverted from that path – taken somewhere different – it would have meant that something horrible was going to happen. I feel that in my bones. It would have meant Tessa and I no longer served any purpose to Lord Oblog, and he’d have ordered me to be taken to the hanger bay and thrown into nothingness, or incinerated in the kitchens.
Or, even worse, given to Gab’nah.
But the throne room is a known quantity. Lord Oblog is dangerous, but he’s rational – and as long as he needs the Aurelians for just two more – fuck , just one now – shipments, I’ll survive a little longer.
The huge doors loom in front of us – guarded by the same two Bullfrogs. Their Orb-Axes are already activated, humming with the promise of violence. Those weapons seem to seek out blood - as if they’re somehow sentient, and have a mind of their own.
I can feel the cold pressure of the Orb-Ring around my finger, and the hilt of the Orb-Knife buried deep inside of my pussy. It was the only place I could think of that I could keep it safe – but the cold malevolence resting within me is deeply unsettling.
The two Bullfrogs are silent, as always. They stare blankly forward as the doors open for us.
As soon as the doors open, I see them.
My triad!
My Aurelians – my beautiful, powerful warriors. They’re alive!
They’re alive, they’re safe, and they’re well. They’re each dressed in the light combat armor I’d first encountered them wearing, and I run into their arms with glee.
The Aurelians turn and race to me with equal enthusiasm, ignoring Lord Oblog on his throne.
I leap into Marcel’s arms first, and I don’t care if Oblog laughs at us for the show of affection we give each other – affection that Oblog and his ilk must view as weakness.
It’s not weakness, though – it’s the greatest source of strength in the universe. Marcel holds me tightly in his massive arms, crushing me to his huge chest.
Even surrounded by danger, I’m suddenly safe. His thick, armored chest is a foundation to build a life on – his muscled body as certain as a rock and as powerful as the ocean. His intense, green eyes stare at me, looking for any hint that I’ve been hurt. The spark in his eyes is more comforting to me than the empty grey of a regular Aurelian’s eyes could ever be.
I gave them that color.
Even with the Bond-Disruptor on my finger – cutting me off from their auras and emotions – I can still sense the eternal link between us.
Marcel is so fucking massive. Our Bonding has made the already huge alien warrior grow even bigger, and it’s like being in the arms of a Titan when he squeezes me.
“That is enough!”
Lord Oblog’s cold words cut through the moment. Marcel sets me down. Lucius and Quint both gently touch me, their hands finding my skin. They’re searching for any sign of injury or bruise, but also basking in my touch.
Marcel turns to the Toad Lord as he looms above us on his throne.
“We did what you demanded. Deactivate the ring.”
He’s hoarse. Even without the Bond, I can sense that he’s been dreaming of getting that Bond-Disruptor off me from the moment he left – so he can feel my comforting aura, just as I ache for the comfort of his.
Marcel looks healthy and unharmed, at least – but the weeks’ worth of stubble and the gauntness in his cheeks makes me nervous. It’s not enough to see that the three Aurelians are okay. I need to feel it.
Oblog peers down at us imperiously.
“Yes, you did what I told you to – but first, we have business.”
Tessa is promoted forward.
“I promised your woman I would let the other female go.”
A sinister smile stretches across Oblog’s blubbery lips.
“I am a man of my word. There is a shuttle in the hanger bay waiting to take her anywhere she wishes.”
I turn. For the first time since we came aboard this monstrosity, Tessa has hope in her eyes.
But that shuttle isn’t making it to X12. I know it.
If Tessa gets on board, she’s fucking dead. She’s a loose end – one that’s going to be tied up like all the rest of them.
In a noose.
I lean into Marcel – wishing we still had the ability to telepath.
&nb
sp; “Take her there,” I hiss. “Escort her there yourself.”
Marcel doesn’t question my demand. For a second, I’d been worried that the brunt, brutal Aurelians wouldn’t listen to me. After all, they’ve lived hundreds of years longer than me – and their species have viewed human females as little more than sex toys ever since they were the equivalent of teenagers.
But there’s no question – Marcel respects me, and concedes to my demand.
“We will escort her ourselves,” the leader of the Aurelians growls, turning to Oblog. “Take her to our Reaver, instead.”
Oblog’s eyes narrow as he sits there on his throne – but he realizes he can’t say anything. If he objects, or puts up a fight, then it’ll be too obvious what he had planned for Tessa.
His eyes return to normal a moment later – and if I hadn’t been looking for the tension on his face, I wouldn’t have even seen it. Only my Bond-enhanced senses let me notice it...
…but I did.
He had been planning on killing her.
Lord Oblog’s treacherous nature cements itself inside my mind.
He had been planning on killing her – just like he’s planning to kill us, once the Aurelians have completed that final shipment. But that narrowing of his bulbous eyes worries me. The Toad Lord makes mistakes when he’s at his most confident – cocky and foolish in his perceived victory. Now, we’ve built up his suspicion – we’ve tipped our hand.
If he suspects I guessed his plan to execute Tessa…
…he might realize we’re not so stupid after all.
Right now, our relationship with him is on a knife-edge. We need him complacent. Otherwise, it will tip him over the edge and draw his cunning mind back to viewing us as adversaries – not cowed, conquered servants for him to use.
We’re running out of time.
The Bullfrog who escorted us in grunts.
“It’s okay, Tessa,” I tell her. “Go with him.”
Oblog still needs the Aurelians to complete one last shipment. He’s not going to jeopardize that. Tessa will get to walk away from this alive – for now.
But I know the wheels are already turning in the Toad Lord’s brain. I imagine he’s thinking of all the assassins and cutthroats he has the ear of, deep within human territory.
