DangerouslyHis (2 page)

Anxiety was high.

The fear was almost palpable.

JB’s mind raced with everything that could go wrong. Had
Kane’s observations of the aliens’ habits been incorrect? Would Jori
accidentally signal a Galontaer to his position?

One flash of light, then another.

JB’s heart sang as he moved forward with everyone else.
Quietly and quickly they reached the coal bin.

“Thanks, man,” JB whispered to Jori as they all scurried
beneath. “How many made it through already?”

“You’re the first group…” Jori looked off into the distance,
squinting. “Hold up, I think I see another group coming this way.”

JB followed his gaze.

Nothing.

Then he noticed darkened masses scurrying along the ground
toward the coal bin.

Jori gave the signal.

“
Toluk’ siez sotrl fe.
”

Everyone froze. JB’s heart thumped painfully at the sound of
a Galontaer overseer not more than fifty feet away.

Oh shit.

“
Hix fron ca
,” another replied.

“Oh fuck. They’re going to catch us,” Terrance whimpered.

“Shhh,” three men including JB hissed.

JB didn’t know what was being said but as far as he could
tell, the aliens didn’t know their prisoners were hiding under the cover of
night. The Galontaer language was hard on the ears, to say the least. JB could
only speak and understand a handful of their words and it had taken him a year
to learn those. Learning an alien language was difficult enough, and since the
Galontaers weren’t too interested in teaching it to the slaves, it was almost
impossible.

Right now, JB figured all they had to do was keep quiet
until the aliens passed. But across the jagged terrain, the other group of men
could be seen. There was no way to tell them to stop. There was also no way to
alert them to the danger they faced.

Jori cursed under his breath. The Galontaers were only ten
feet away.

“No, no, no,” Terrance whined. “Those bastards are going to
catch us.”

“Shh,” JB said, keeping his voice low.

“I don’t want to die!” Terrance cried.

Someone sneezed loudly in the distance.

“
Qui
!
Qui
!” one of the Galontaers bellowed.

The other humans had been caught.

The sounds of a blaster peeled through the air. Lights
flashed. The screams and yells from the other slaves could be heard over the
whipping wind.

“We have to get out of here,” Jori said frantically. “To the
vessel.”

JB watched in horror as the Galontaers picked his brethren
off with blasters. “What about them?”

Kyle grabbed the back of JB’s shirt. “Pray they make it to
the ship.”

“But—”

Kyle dragged him from beneath the bin, JB struggling to find
his footing.

The screams.

What happened to brotherhood? All for one?

Lights blinked on within the huts. More shouting. More
screaming.

They ran at a dead sprint before more hands were pushing JB
up the vessel’s ramp where Malik waited, grabbing him and thrusting him inside.

As everyone rushed through the cargo bay door, JB fought
against them, making his way back to the entrance. There he stood, gripping the
frame, willing more men to punch through the darkness and up the ramp.

“I’m going to tell Ryan to take off,” Terrance said.

“No! We owe it to everyone to wait a little longer. We need
to give them a chance to make it here.”

JB reached for Terrance, but he shrugged him away. “Fuck
that! We need to get this thing fired up and ready to go,” Terrance said. His
eyes darted around wildly.

“The minute we turn on the engines, we’ll alert every
Galontaer out there.”

Terrance flung a hand toward the entrance. “Don’t you hear
the blasts and screams? Man, they’re coming already! This is an escape attempt.
Don’t be stupid, this is the first place they’ll check!”

“He’s right, JB,” Jori said, placing a hand on JB’s shoulder.
“There’s nothing more we can do.”

As if on cue, he heard shouts and shots coming their way.
Everyone but Terrance dropped to the ground.

“Fuck this. We’re leaving
now
!” Before anyone could
stop him, Terrance ran through the cargo bay.

Two forms broke through the darkness.

Human.

Kane and Dallas ran all-out for the ship. Panting hard, they
ascended the ramp in long strides. Clearing the door, they both rolled and
landed with their backs against the wall.

“They’re right behind us!” Kane said through heavy breaths.

“Who? Which group?” JB asked.

In anger, Dallas slammed both fists against the wall.

“The Galontaers,” Kane whispered. “There are no humans
left.”

Just as the words left Kane’s mouth, lights lit up the cargo
bay. A loud bell sounded.

A piercing blast whizzed past JB’s face, searing his ear.
Everyone scrambled to the far walls.

Jori slammed his palm on a red button. The ramp slowly
retreated and, as if in slow motion, the door closed as a group of Galontaers
came running toward the ship.

The hum of the engines drowned out the cries that escaped
JB’s lips.

Taken Year: Five-point-five

Princess Saia Xochis sat with her hands clasped on her lap.
She gripped them so tightly her fingernails bit painfully into her golden skin.
With her chin pressed to her chest, she stared at the reddened indentations her
nails made and wondered how long this meeting would last.

Beside her, Queen Fainia Xochis of Drazlan, her mother, spoke
urgently. Her voice seemed to rise and fall with the emotion Saia was sure she
felt. Loud to display her anger, nearly a whisper to display pain and hurt.
Saia wanted to reach out and stroke her mother’s hand and tell her not to
worry. But she held back. Showing her mother any amount of affection right now
would only cause more trouble for them both.

Her father’s voice boomed, silencing her mother with a
simple command. As always, his word was law. The last spoken and the only one
that mattered.

“Saia!” King Olo Xochis called.

She startled at her name on her father’s lips.

Not lifting her head, she replied, “Yes, Your Highness?”
using one of the names he preferred. She could have also called him “king” or “commander”,
but the latter title was usually reserved for his royal guards. He wouldn’t
have minded though, as long as she didn’t call him “father”. He didn’t want any
of his children to call him father. Her older brothers, Taio and Kiehle,
preferred to call him King Xochis. They didn’t mind it at all.

When she was younger she’d wished for him to change his mind
and allow her to call him father. Other kids addressed their fathers as such
and she felt it odd that she wasn’t allowed, but she had long since given up on
those childish wishes.

“Are you paying attention or is your mind wandering again?”

Her nails bit into her flesh harder. She could feel them
piercing through her skin.

Of course she was thinking of something else. From the
moment he’d said, “Saia, I found a mate for you,” her mind had gone to another
place, distant and safe.

“She has heard every word you have spoken,” her mother said
harshly.

Not exactly.

“When I want you to speak, I will ask you to speak,” King
Xochis replied, his voice a threatening, deep grumble.

“I have heard and I understand, Your Highness,” Saia said,
replying before her mother said something that would cause her to be struck.

“You do not have long to prepare for the arrival of your
mate-to-be.”

Saia inhaled a shaky breath.
Mate-to-be.

He continued on as if he hadn’t brought her world as she
knew it to a halt. “Lord Ranuit Pi had thought to send a female from his clan
to acclimate you to his culture.” She heard the king bristle in his chair.
“Ridiculous. I wouldn’t want
him
on Drazlan for an extended amount of
time. Why would I allow a female heathen to stay?”

“I would prefer if the female came,” her mother offered. “We
don’t know much about the Zumagala species. I for one would appreciate a
lesson.”

“Humph. I’ve seen this female. She has no good qualities
whatsoever. She’s as ugly as a Trnornin slime worm. No. I have informed him
that Saia has been trained since she was an infant on how to run a royal
household. As far as I’m concerned, he can pick her up on this very day.”

Her mother gripped Saia’s arm, as if it would keep her from
leaving.

Saia’s hands strained against her own paralyzing grip. She
silently prayed Olo’s words didn’t hold any truth—she didn’t want to leave
today. But she also didn’t let him see how badly his statement affected her.
“Yes, Your Highness. I will be ready to receive my mate when he comes to get
me.”

If I were a male, I’d never be forced to bond.
Taio had
been well into forty birth cycles before wedding his mate, Eva. Kiehle was in his
mid-thirty birth cycles and remained single. If she were a male, she would have
the freedom to do whatever she chose. And as the third male, she could spend
her time traveling and exploring the universe.

Saia had often wished she were a male. On Drazlan, males
grew up to be great warriors while the females held no power at all. By the
rules of her culture, Saia would never make decisions for herself. Olo held
that right. If he were to die, her oldest brother would oversee her life until
she could bond and then that responsibility would belong to her mate. She would
always be at the mercy of a male.

She’d spent the past nineteen birth cycles at the mercy of
Olo, and soon she’d be under Lord Ranuit Pi’s rule.

Taio would never make me bond against my will.

But I’m not Taio’s responsibility.

Even if her brother wanted that responsibility, her father
would never release her to him. When she had reached fifteen birth cycles and
was coming of age, Taio had petitioned Olo to become her protector. Her mother
had agreed to it and tried her best to convince Olo to approve Taio’s proposal.
It seemed as though Olo would say yes; he’d forced negotiations that had
dragged on and on, until he’d ultimately declined. Taio had been furious, but
legally there had been nothing he could do. Saia had so hoped Olo would release
her, but there had always been that feeling deep down inside that he would
never let her go, and that feeling had been right.

Taio and Olo had endured a very strained relationship since
before Saia was born. When Taio had turned of age, Olo had given him the
once-desolate moon of Sonis as a gift. From what Saia understood, Olo had been
pleased to get rid of the responsibility of caring for Sonis. But unbeknownst
to him, underneath the intense heat and dry sand lay one of the largest gold deposits
in the galaxy. Now Sonis was its own very wealthy world, with Taio as the
ruler. That made him very powerful in his own right. Taio was still Prince of
Drazlan and heir to the Drazlan throne, but he was also King of Sonis.

Olo had tried to take Sonis back by force, but Taio
outsmarted him. By the time Olo found out about the moon’s riches, Ship, an
entity who was as old as time—and Taio’s best friend and confidant—had
fortified Sonis’ defenses, making the moon one of the securest worlds in the
galaxy. With each passing rotation, Taio only improved his defense systems.

Though Taio loved her with all of his heart, he would not go
against the customs and beliefs he’d grown up with. And even if, by some small
chance, he decided to defy their laws and take her away from Olo, the Galactic
Council, the peacekeepers of the galaxy, would get involved and make Taio
return her. The Galactic Council wouldn’t care about the reasons why she was
removed from Olo’s care. Their only concern would be upholding the laws of the
Drazlonian culture.

And as an esteemed council member, Taio, of all people, was
expected to follow the rules.

“You have been ready since you were seventeen cycles, when
you came of age,” Olo said. His chair creaked underneath him, suggesting he had
reclined. “I’ve waited long for this day. It took patience and determination to
secure the right match. But I succeeded. I knew I would find a more prosperous
match than Raffi.” He laughed, which always made her cringe. There was nothing
joyful or graceful about the sound that sent waves of panic through her veins.
“That fool didn’t think I would find another mate for you. One that was better
suited.”

Saia closed her eyes as her heart knotted in her chest. She
hadn’t loved Raffi. But there had been a mutual respect. The time they’d spent
together had been good. They’d talked about shared interests and traveling.

Admittedly, she had only seen Raffi as a way to get off
Drazlan and away from Olo. He wasn’t a king or prince on his planet. He was a
diplomat, which to her was prestigious enough. Raffi promised that wherever he
traveled, she could come along as well. That promise had given her hope of
finally being free to see the galaxy and no longer having to rely on research
files and holograms of distant worlds to fuel her passion.

With a heavy heart, she accepted that the bond with Lord
Ranuit Pi likely wouldn’t consist of love or mutual respect. She didn’t pretend
her bond would be anything other than what it was supposed to be. As Olo had
just explained, their bond would solidify an alliance between Drazlan and
Syntorian. Lord Ranuit Pi would receive access to the Drazlan royal guards and
Olo would receive ample gold.

“Saia, raise your head,” Olo commanded.

She opened her eyes and watched as small trickles of blood
made slow paths down her hands from where her nails had sliced into her skin.
She took a deep breath and raised her head.

Olo sat in his royal chair opposite her. He wore his
traditional royal attire, a hand-woven robe that covered him from neck to
ankles. Jewels had been sewn into the fabric with painstaking care. His large
fingers sparkled with rings mounted with more hefty gems. An expansive
medallion with the Drazlan royal crest was draped around his neck.

As with all the men on Drazlan, Olo Xochis was large in stature
and muscular. He wore his white hair pulled back with a tie. The intricate
tattoo of an
aereno
, a ferocious animal with sharp claws and teeth, was
etched on one side of his face and extended down his neck. Although she had
never seen the full design, she knew it would continue to his chest and torso.
All males who came of age underwent an enlightenment ceremony, during which
their spirit animals were revealed and tattooed on their bodies. Afterward the
males were considered warriors, no longer children.

His dark-green eyes narrowed on her. “You will not disgrace
my family or my planet, do you understand?”

From the time she was a child, he’d repeated those words.
She’d learned that bringing disgrace to his family name was a crime in the
highest order. She lived in constant fear of Olo taking offense to something
she’d said or done. “His” family name was to be protected at all times.

“I will try my best to please you, Your Highness.”

He leaned forward in his chair and reflexively she leaned
back in hers. “You will do better than your best. Disgrace me and I will make
you pay,” he seethed.

Her hands trembled as she stared back at him. Sweat and
blood made them slick. “I understand.”

“Good. Now that it’s settled, you have a bonding ceremony to
plan, Fainia.”

Saia blinked rapidly in succession and turned to her mother,
who seemed equally surprised.

“Ranuit Pi will allow for a proper bonding ceremony?”

“Yes, of course. He may be a heathen, but
we
are
not.” King Xochis humphed. “From the information I’ve gathered, his clan
doesn’t participate in a formal ceremony that bonds mates to each other.” He
watched Saia intently when he continued, “In his species, the female consumes
the male’s ejaculate and is his forever. It is said the Zumagala can control
their mates through their ejaculate.”

Saia shuddered. Her stomach churned. Tears welled in her
eyes.

He smiled. She had given him the reaction he’d hoped for.
“You will tell me if this is true. It would prove very interesting if it is,”
he added.

“Olo!” her mother cried.

He didn’t seem to think anything wrong with his statement.
“What did you expect? She will be that heathen’s whore,” he offered with a
shrug.

Saia closed her eyes and swayed.
Heathen’s whore.

She’d listened to Olo rant and rave about how Ranuit Pi was a
warmonger. His planet, Syntorian, had the newest technologies and defense
systems but aside from that, the clan scrounged for basic living necessities.
The very reason for their existence was to win a war that had lasted for over
twenty generations. Ranuit Pi, like his ancestors, knew nothing else.

Now she was his.

The thought of it made her shake. Her mother’s hand grabbed
hers and squeezed gently.

Her father peered at their entwined hands in disgust. His
mouth snarled into a hateful frown. “I’ll be glad to see you leave.”

Saia’s breath caught in her throat. She’d always suspected
as much, but to actually hear him say the words… It hurt.

Fainia released Saia’s hand and jumped to her feet. Her gown
rustled around her. “Don’t you dare speak to her that way!”

Saia pulled on Fainia’s arm. “It’s okay, Mother,” she said,
her voice trembling. “Please, sit back down.”

Fainia pulled her hand away. “She is your daughter,” she
hissed at Olo. “You treat
your
whores better than you do her.”

She clutched her mother’s gown and pulled. “Please. Don’t
make him upset—”

Olo Xochis flew to his feet and in one fluid movement,
stretched across the table and backhanded Fainia. The crack thundered
throughout the room. The blow sent her flying back, knocking over her chair.
She fell to the floor, landing in an awkward position.

“Mother!” Saia ran to her side and lay on top of her,
shielding her from another blow. “Please stop!” she begged. Tears streamed down
her cheeks. “She will plan the bonding ceremony and I will leave.”

In a flash, he was standing over them. His medallion clinked
against the gold buttons sewn down the center of his robe as his chest rose and
fell with each enraged breath. He balled his fists at his sides. With
hatred-filled eyes, he watched them. “I am tired of looking at both of you,” he
snarled. Then his gaze locked on Saia’s. “Most of all
you
.”

Why do you hate me so much?

She wanted to ask. But instead she turned away from his
cold, hard stare.

Her mother held her close and cried on her shoulder. “I am
so sorry, my love,” she whispered.

“Sorry for what, exactly?” King Xochis seethed. “Hmm? Sorry
for being a whore? Sorry for giving me a worthless daughter? You are pathetic,
my mate.”

Sobs racked her mother’s body.

Saia buried her face in Fainia’s hair. Was this how her life
would turn out? Mated to a male who would hold her in such ill-contempt? Why
couldn’t she have a true love, like that shared by Taio and Eva? All of the
countless times she’d prayed to the Ancients seemed to be for nothing.