by Hunter, Luna
But I cannot, for Kayi needs me.
If I didn’t have my fated mate waiting on me in the cellars down below, I doubt I’d have the mental fortitude to hold on.
Through a white haze, I can see the Uttux walk over to Lotak.
“This one is out cold. Take him to the ship,” he commands the Crokkals.
No. Come on, Lotak! Fight! Get up!
The scaled aliens grab Lotak by the arms and drag him away. The Uttux then walks over to me.
“You’re a fighter, aren’t you?” He sneers. “Good. That is what we’re looking for. You should be proud, you know. We’re creating the finest warriors the universe has ever seen — and you will be involved! Well, your DNA strands will. I doubt you will survive the process. Still, you might just live on in eternity.”
“Fuck… you…” I snarl.
The Uttux leans down, its oval, grey, bald face inches from mine. It’s smiling widely, enjoying every second of the immense pain it’s inflicting on me. “You were saying?”
Summoning every reserve of strength I have, reaching vats of it I didn’t know existed, I kick out at the Uttux’s thin leg as hard as I can.
It snaps in half and the being drops down on the floor like a sack of potatoes, it’s crown snapping in half. The unbearable pain incapacitating me is gone as quickly as it came. It seems their powers don’t come from their gene-sorcery after all, but from their cursed crowns.
“My leg!” The being cries. “You mongrel bastard!”
I’m up on my feet in a second. The Crokkals have already turned the corner, taking Lotak away to places unknown, while Gopax is heading towards my mate. The choice I’m faced with is impossible.
“Where are you taking Lotak?!” I shout at the Uttux.
“Fuck you, vermin,” he spits, writhing around in pain.
I grab him by the collar. “I’m going to ask you once and only once. Where are you taking him?”
“Like I’d ever tell you,” he snaps. “He’ll serve a greater purpose!”
“Fuck you. You made your choice.”
I drop him on the floor and end the Uttux’s sorry existence with one well-placed kick of my boots.
“Lotak, forgive me,” I whisper.
I cannot leave my fated mate in the hands of that brute Gopax. I simply cannot. I hope you understand, brother. I will come for you next. That I swear.
12
Kayi
The door to the cell swings open.
“Thokar!” I cry, but the moment I see the figure outlined in the darkness, I can tell that it’s not my alien warrior. The shape is all wrong. Thokar’s much taller.
This man is shorter. Stockier.
“Not quite,” the figure says.
This man… is the one called Gopax.
“But you are in luck,” Gopax says. “For I will give you that Dohan baby you so desperately want.”
I hug the sheets tightly as fear grips my throat. “What happened? Where’s Thokar?”
“Oh, you won’t be seeing Thokar for a long time. Or ever, really. You mind if I keep the door open? I like seeing what I’m doing,” Gopax snarls as he casually removes his shirt.
“I want you to leave,” I say.
Gopax chuckles. “It wasn’t a real question. I was humoring myself. You see, you are mine now, and I will do whatever I want with you.”
He removes his pants next.
This can’t be happening. Thokar is supposed to protect me. That’s what he does. My eternal protector. He promised he’d be there for me. He promised.
Gopax moves towards the bed, and I jump out. “Stay back!” I scream.
I grab the sword Thokar dropped earlier and raise it. It’s heavier than I anticipated, and my grip isn’t exactly steady, but I’m wielding a fucking sword now, asshole.
Gopax chuckles. “You have spunk, I’ll give you that.”
His arm is a blur as he suddenly slaps the sword out of my hand. I scream and pull my hands back as the sword flies across the room.
“I’m done playing. Time to give you that baby you’ve been craving.”
He advances, his arms opened wide. My eyes dart towards the door, but I’ll have to get past him. I make a run for it.
The bastard grabs me and throws me onto the bed while laughing.
“Come on, again, human!” He shouts. “Feisty, aren’t you?! Come on!”
I try to duck between his legs and avoid his swinging arms. He grabs me and throws me on the bed, much harder this time.
“Ow! Asshole!” I say.
“I can get a lot rougher, too,” Gopax snarls. “You want me to?”
“Fuck you!”
“Have it your way.”
The Dohan raises his hand to strike me. I don’t flinch. He can hurt me as much as he wants, but he won’t make me cry. He won’t make me plead. And he won’t make me forget about Thokar.
The blow doesn’t land. Gopax himself seems most surprised about that. He looks at his hand, and I follow his line of sight.
A strong hand is holding his fist back.
“I didn’t think so, bastard,” a familiar voice growls.
Thokar!!
My mate flings Gopax across the room so hard pieces of the wall come tumbling down with him.
Gopax coughs and crawls to his feet.
“What the fuck?” He says. “The Uttux let you go?! Bastards!”
“No, I killed that asshole, like I’m going to kill you,” Thokar answers.
“I don’t think so!”
Gopax suddenly jumps up, and he swings his sword which he picked up through the air — right at me.
Thokar holds out his arm to block the swing.
The sword cuts into his arm, blood dripping down, his entire arm trembling… but he doesn’t pull back.
“Die!” Gopax shouts. “Die, die, die!”
“Exactly,” Thokar says. He punches Gopax hard in the throat. The would-be rapist falls to the floor, coughing and wheezing.
“You made a mistake when you came for my mate,” Thokar says.
“Fuck you,” Gopax spits. “I will kill you and your mate!”
Thokar’s eyes take on a dark, ominous glow. His muscles seem to grow even bigger, his veins bulging. Gopax rises up and swings wildly for my mate, and I hold my breath.
Thokar dodges the blow and delivers a destructive strike right in Gopax’s face. His bones snap audibly, and he crumples up on the floor. My attacker does not move again.
Thokar turns to me, breathing hard.
“I am sorry you had to witness that, my gini.”
I throw my arms around him as tears well up in my eyes.
“You came back,” I say. “You came back. I knew you would. I just knew.”
Thokar wraps his arms around me tightly and he squeezes me hard. “Are you unharmed?” He asks, his voice filled with deep concern.
“I’m fine,” I say. “What happened?”
Before Thokar can answers me, he leans down and kisses me. For a brief second the fear and anxiety dissipate, as all is right with the world once more.
Then the kiss ends, and we’re still in deep, deep trouble.
“They took Lotak,” Thokar says. “We made a mistake coming here — Clan Qrul is beyond saving. We must leave, now.”
He grabs my hand and pulls me out of the room. Together we open the other cell, where Viliana and Sarina are cowering in fear.
“What’s going on?” Viliana asks. She gasps when she sees Thokar’s bloody arm. “Where did they take Lotak?”
“No time to explain — follow me,” Thokar says.
Thokar guides us through the long winding hallways, his strides so big it’s almost impossible for us to keep up. We’re all sprinting as fast as we can, my heart hammering in my throat, my muscles all burning, but we can’t stop now.
And then we turn the corner and my world comes crashing down.
13
Thokar
I took no pleasure in killing Gopax, but any man who threaten
s my mate, I will kill.
It’s as simple as that.
I thank the stars I reached her in time. If Kayi had gotten hurt, I would have failed as a mate, as a warrior, and as a man. It is my duty to protect her.
I pray to the ancestors that Lotak understands. Wherever the Uttux took him, I will find him.
That is why I’m rushing up the stairs, the humans struggling to keep up with their short legs. Normally I wouldn’t push them this hard, but my friend’s life is on the line. They’ve got to push through the pain.
I turn the corner to the Seat of the Elders, the place where I killed the Uttux and last saw Lotak alive.
Elder Kraxal is waiting for me there.
I come to a screeching halt, the humans barreling straight into me. A hundred Dohan warriors look at me from behind my father, their spears raised.
The Uttux’s body is nowhere to be seen, but the splashes of green blood remain visible on the tiled floor.
“Thokar!” My father cries, his voice echoing off the walls. “Explain yourself! Why have you escaped, my son? The agreement was that you would remain in your cell until the Council of the Twelve could convene to hear about your ludicrous accusations.”
“You!” I say, my anger bubbling up to the surface. “You sold us out, you bastard! Where’s Lotak?!”
I gesture at all the warriors in attendance.
“Explain to them how you sold me and Lotak out to the Uttux! That’s what you did, isn’t it?! You let them know that we arrived, and they came to kidnap us. How long have you been in their pocket, father?”
The warriors remain stoic. They couldn’t all be in on it, right?
“Cease your paranoid rambling, my son,” Elder Kraxal says. “I see now that your time in deep space have addled your confused brain. You see enemies where there are friends, and ghosts where there is nothing.”
“Bullshit. You won’t get away with this! You may have hidden the body, but the blood of the Uttux remains!” I say, pointing at the splashes.
Kraxal waves it away. “Does every green stain now point to an interstellar conspiracy?”
A messenger races up the stairs behind us. “Gopax is dead!” He yells. “In the cells! Dead!”
“What?!” The Elder cries.
I can’t believe any of the Qrul warriors are buying his act. It’s clear he’s manipulating them. That’s what he does. That’s what he’s always done.
“He came for my gini,” I say, spreading my arms wide and hiding the three human females behind me. “Anyone who tries to touch my mate I will kill.”
“Arrest them all for murder!” The old man screeches.
“I will kill anyone who touches the females,” I threaten.
A dozen Dohan warriors step forward. Their spears are raised, the metal gleaming in the light of the many torches. My eyes dart across the room, taking in every detail of the place as I formulate a plan.
There’s simply too many of them.
And these are good men, too. Men I’ve known for decades. Men I grew up alongside of. Men I don’t want to kill.
But if anyone tries to touch my mate, I will end them.
I need Xaldur. I need Lotak. I need my friends by my side, but it is all up to me now — and I will not fail. Even if it kills me.
I raise my fists when Kayi places her hand on my bicep.
“Please, Thokar,” she says softly. “Don’t do it. I don’t want you to die.”
“I must fight,” I growl. “I must protect you!”
She tugs my arm down and kisses it. “You can’t protect me when you’re dead, big guy. I can testify that Gopax attacked me first, that you were just defending me. You have courts, right? They’ll see to reason? Right?”
Once upon a time, that was certainly true.
Now, I do not know if that is still the case. The trap that was sprung for me and Lotak points to a deep, deep rot.
Still, it might be our only chance of walking away alive. I might kill four, eight, twelve of these warriors, but I cannot take down an army.
And I want to spend more time with my fated mate. I want to mate, to knock her up, to raise many, many children with her. I cannot do that when I’m dead.
“Are you sure?” I ask.
“Absolutely!” Kayi insists. “You already saved my life twice. Now let me save yours, okay?”
I lower my fists as my twin hearts beat like mad. This feels like a huge mistake, but I will trust my mate.
“I surrender,” I growl. “But only because I know that the truth is on my side.”
Kayi wraps her arms around me tightly. “Thank you,” she says, sighing with relief. Tears streak down her freckled face. “I don’t want to lose you, Thokar.”
I lean down and kiss her. “You will never lose me, my mate. Never. I will always be there for you.”
And then four warriors grab my arms and yank me away forcefully.
“Let me go,” I say as I pull myself free. “I will stay with the humans!”
“You will not!” Elder Kraxal says. “You are accused of murder — I cannot in good conscience let our alien guests stay in your cell. You will await your trial alone. Take him away!”
14
Kayi
Elder Kraxal’s quarters aren’t anything like the rest of the Qrul pyramids. While the underground city is dusty and dark and everyone lives in poverty equaling the worst parts of the Deep back on Earth, Kraxal lives in absolute luxury.
His quarters are situated at the very top of the pyramid, past countless guarded doors, and it comes with a spectacular view of Doxhar’s rugged landscape. The glass windows reach from the ceiling to the floor, the glass specially prepared to keep the alien sun’s harmful radiation out while letting bright light filter into the room.
“More wine, girl!”
While we wait for Thokar’s trial, Elder Kraxal has appointed me as his personal ‘assistant’. In truth, I am his slave. Viliana and Sarina are serving some lower-ranked ‘nobles’, but Kraxal takes pleasure in ordering me around personally.
I thought the Dohan were honorable. Thokar and Xaldur most certainly are. Elder Kraxal most certainly is not.
The old man lays on his chaise longue, popping berries into his mouth as he jingles his cup. “Don’t make ask again, girl!”
I grit my teeth and stride over as I carry the heavy, gold-plated pitcher with both hands. Humans aren’t aren’t made to carry a three gallon pitcher of wine.
I pour the wine as careful as I can, but my arms buckle and a few drops land on Kraxal’s white gown.
“Bah! Worthless human! Is there nothing you can do properly?!”
“Sorry, sir,” I say, biting on the insides of my cheeks to keep myself from throwing the pitcher right into his stupid face.
“Go fetch me some more berries!”
I turn to leave and he slaps me right on my ass. The thin, white tunic he’s got me wearing leaves little to the imagination. My face grows red, my resolve being tested more and more with every passing moment.
“I can see why my son is so fond of you,” the old man chuckles. “Perhaps I will take over his breeding duties when he is found guilty.”
“He is innocent,” I grit through my teeth. “And when is the trial going to be? You’ve pushed back the date three times already.”
“When the other Elders arrive,” Kraxal says with a tired yawn. “We can’t have a proper trial without all the Elders, can we?”
“And when will that be?” I ask.
“Oh, that might be a while,” he laughs. “For the Zlico Clan and Yhaka Clan haven’t been heard from in years… but without their Elders, we can’t have a proper Council of the Twelve, can we?”
Kraxal laughs to himself as this were an incredibly funny joke.
“Thokar wanted The Twelve, didn’t he? Well, he’s going to wait for quite some time,” he cackles on.
That bastard!
“What?!” I say, whirling around so fast that more red wine sloshes onto Kraxal’s gown.
“There’s never going to be a trial, is there?!”
“Careful, human!” He curses. “Bah! Oh there will be one eventually, don’t you worry your little brain, but what does it matter? He’s guilty. The blood is on his hands.”
“He was defending me!” I scream. “How many times do I have to repeat myself?!”
Kraxal gives me a dirty look. “You are not worth defending, human.”
That does it.
I fling the entire pitcher right in Kraxal’s smug face. It connects with a satisfying thud. The old man falls of his sofa, spluttering as the red wine covers him from head-to-toe.
“You bitch,” he sputters. “That wine is worth more than all you three humans put together! Prime Chi’Tapa stock! I’ve been saving that for decades! You will pay for this!”
“Fuck you!” I scream.
Kraxal leaps up and chases me around the apartment. I grab vases, books, whatever I can get my hands on and throw it at him. The floor is littered with shards and paper. I reach my quarters before he does — if you can even call my broom-sized closet a room — and lock the door behind me.
He pounds his fists on the door.
“That’s three days without food!” He yells. “I will break you yet, human. I will break you yet!”
I drop to my knees and cry.
I miss Thokar so damn much. I miss his touch, his smile, his kisses. Most of all, I miss the way his arms feel wrapped around me snugly. I miss how he’d kiss the top of my head and how he’d make me feel like nothing bad would ever happen to me.
As bad as I have it, he’s worse off. I promised I’d save his life this time around, but I’ve done nothing of the sort.
I wonder if he’s thinking about me right this second.
* * *
“Are you going to be a good girl now? I’ve got a hot plate of food with your name on it… but you have to promise to be a good girl from now.”
