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  “Where is she?” I demand, although I know the representative has no idea.

  “We’re looking for her,” the Representative insists. “Police resources are searching for your property. We’re raiding low-noble homes and commoners that are close with her family.”

  Low nobles and commoners. But they’ll not search the houses of the higher members of their society, I’ll wager.

  “Ask them about the man in the garden,” telepaths Leon, always the voice of logic.

  “We saved her life in the gardens of her estates, on the day of the Scorp invasion. She was with a man and his servant. Do you know who that was?”

  The Representative shakes his head. “No.”

  “The man was at our payment. He was one of the few who voted against selling Lezena to us. He was seated in the upper area, reserved for nobles and high-nobles.”

  The Representative thinks deeply. “Kendrick Dulloth, perhaps. I’d heard rumors that his family was… Ahem… Stooping low in their marriage prospects.”

  A surge of rage comes through me. I’m so close to grabbing the man’s head and slamming it against the desk, crushing his nose. I know that he looks down on Lezena for being a low-noble – as if the designation had any indication of her worth. I know for a fact, however, that she possesses more nobility than any of the degenerate sophisticates who think themselves higher in society than her.

  I force back my anger before Raekon can feed off of it. We’ve killed too many already. Too many have died so that we can live.

  “I would speak with this Dulloth fellow.”

  “Impossible! He is of a true noble-family, and we will not interrogate him.”

  So, I’ll have to do it on my own, then.

  “Very well. Then please request a meeting with him, rather than order it.”

  The Representative churns over my words, clearly wondering if such a thing is possible. A commoner asking a noble for a meeting would be a grave insult – as my triad and I are no mere commoners.

  The Representative is trying to decide what our status is here. We saved the city, after all – and were awarded our pick of the women of this planet, and lodging in the most prestigious hotel. In many ways, we are treated like nobility ourselves.

  So, eventually, the Representative nods. I look into his cold eyes and gather that we are being classified as residing in the same social category as a low-noble.

  The Representative presses his finger against his ear – to a concealed communication device lodged there – and he speaks in a low tone. Then he nods.

  “Unfortunately, the Dulloth family is not accepting meetings at this time. They’re taking care of important business on Territus.”

  Hope surges in me.

  “They took her to Territus,” telepaths Leon to the two of us, and Raekon clenches his fists.

  “Thank you for trying. We will leave Tear - under one condition. When you find her, you ship her to us. We’ll give you the location when we know of it ourselves.”

  The Representative nods, obviously relieved. If we’d refused to leave, I know this situation would have turned ugly. Tear doesn’t want to be bullied by the Aurelian Empire, and they’re grateful for us saving the city from the Scorp – but that gratitude would not extend to risking an all-out war, and our welcome here is clearly growing cold.

  I stand, my armor creaking. It’s taken many shots blows in the last few days. Raekon has a hole in the armor near his chest. He’d barely managed to pull his armor on when the Law Enforcement Agents attacked us, and if the Orb-Blade he’d been struck with had been aimed an inch to his right, it would have cut through Raekon’s heart and killed him instantly.

  The realization of that fills me with dread. We’re warriors – always ready to face death – but when a triad loses a member, it’s a void that can never be filled.

  Our business with the Representative concluded, I stride through the office building. I know that it was a calculated insult to have us meet with an official, rather than someone with noble-status. The people of Tear are showing us that they no longer want us here. I have no pride, though. I care not for such things. The only thing that the nobles of Tear can use to hurt me is to continue obstructing our search for our mate.

  Lezena. She left us. She left us behind… But I’ll take her back and show her what she needs.

  I snarl. I’ve felt her perfect little cunt beneath my cock, and I was just a moment away from claiming her fully. I’ve had tension boiling up my balls ever since then. My cock surges whenever I think of that moment, and I know how badly I need her. I don’t care that she left us. She belongs with me, and when I take her back from the Dulloth family, I will make her admit her needs.

  We leave the office building and enter our Reaver. The Orb-Engine surges silently and I pilot us upward, high above the streets of Tear.

  I could use an Orb-Jump to get to Territus, but I wait as we punch out of the atmosphere and enter the coldness of space.

  “What’s the plan?” Raekon demands. He’s a soldier, and he’s a wound-up, pent-up ball of aggression. Such rage can be a liability – or an asset. I will decide when and where to unleash his rage and fury; and Gods help those he delivers it upon.

  Leon scans the darkness of space, always vigilant with his Orb-Beam. “They are nobles,” he murmurs. “If they have Lezena, they’ll have security. They might have taken her to Territus, or it might just be a location the humans told us mislead us. They could have void-shifted anywhere in the universe at this point.”

  I feel the tinge of hopelessness through Leon’s aura. He’s convinced we’ve lost our mate.

  “They are on Territus,” I say, somehow knowing deep inside that the Dulloth family is so arrogant that they’d never expect us to know that they stole our prize away from us.

  And if they aren’t on Territus? Then I will scour the entire universe for her. Lezena will not slip out of our grasp again.

  I think deeply. “Why Territus?”

  Raekon snarls. “I don’t give a damn why Territus – as long as she’s there.”

  What does the Dulloth family want with her?

  “It matters, my over-eager friend,” I warn. “It matters. Open databooks,” I vocalize to the ship’s AI, and information starts to pop up holographically. Leon squints. He’s a faster reader than me, and he scans through page after page of information on the Dulloth and Albright families.

  We won’t make the jump until I know what I am dragging my triad into.

  Once we know exactly what those bastards are up to, we’ll go in – Orb-Beams blazing if it comes down to it.

  Any man who stands between me and Lezena is going to die.

  12

  Lezena

  We break into the atmosphere of Territus. I peer out of the windows of Kendrick’s luxurious craft and marvel at the view laid out beneath me. Territus looked so alien as we approached. Kendrick graciously allowed me to view the descent in the observation room, and he equally gracious allowed me to have Jenna at my side to witness it.

  He chose that word carefully, and I understand his meaning. From now on, whatever I do or don’t do will be at his whim – whatever he allows.

  I shudder. I’d thought it was the Aurelians who’d sold me into slavery, but in this partnership with the Dulloth family, my father has condemned me to a fate far worse.

  As we gaze down at the approaching planet, I realize that everything about Territus is different from my home. Whereas Tear is comprised almost entirely of water, Territus is as dry as bone. Deserts span most of the planet’s surface, and the sun grows fearsomely hot at the peak of day. The denizens of this planet live in huge, underground cities. Matted black solar panels cover huge swathes of the dessert, providing almost limitless power for the underground population. If I’d thought that the nobles and high-nobles of Tear had money, they’re practically peasants in comparison to the wealthy on Territus - even though the nobles here are the ones who live in the dirt.

  Underneath
it, at least.

  Kendrick’s ship rocks and bucks as we punch down through the atmosphere, and in the observation room, Kendrick uses the turbulence as an excuse to pull me closer – comforting me, I’d imagine he’d call it.

  He loves to comfort me. He loves to think of me as a helpless little toy to add to his collection; and he loves to paw my curvy body with those greedy hands of his.

  The touch of the Aurelians inflamed me. In contrast, Kendrick’s groping hands made my skin crawl.

  He thinks I’m a toy – his possession.

  Well, we’ll see about that!

  Our escape will have to happen from Kendrick and my wedding bed. It sickens me to be so near to the man I’ve come to hate so strongly, but I know that will be the only time when Kendrick’s manservant won’t be around. His servant is somehow both large – standing well over six-feet-tall, with a bulky physique – but also menacingly quiet and deliberate.

  Often, I’ll turn and see the manservant gazing at me, unperturbed that I caught his eyes scanning me. I get the feeling that he doesn’t trust me – that he doesn’t see me as a weak and helpless little girl I allow Kendrick to believe I am.

  Maybe the manservant is the smarter of the two of them.

  Jenna and I discussed the plan last night. No one is holding her hostage, but after she managed to steal a ship from my father, I’m certain that the manservant views her with particular suspicion.

  I will escape first, and later she’ll join me. Jenna has two sets of rare black-whale earrings, made from the pearls that grow in the spleen of the nearly-extinct species. These earrings are worth more than most security guards make in a lifetime of service. They will be more than enough to bribe a man to slip something in a bottle of champagne or bring a ship to the balcony of my wedding chambers. And, if all else fails – Jenna has also given me a thin necklace made of Purite; the strongest material known to man. With it, I could choke someone out… If I have the element of surprise.

  That’s the problem. As well thought out as it is, the plan relies on so many factors.

  If she can find someone…

  If Kendrick allows me champagne…

  If his guards don’t taste it first…

  If…

  I steel myself. I can’t allow thoughts of defeat – not yet. Our plan is desperate, I know, but it’s the only one we have. We were given such short notice to prepare, and we’re up against a noble house with a massive contingent of security personnel. Jenna and I are literally two women up against an entire army.

  A huge patch in the desert opens up below us, a yawning hole ready to swallow our ship whole. Sand spills into it from the sides, and we descend into the darkness below.

  Kendrick’s ship finally touches down on a steel floor with a huge clang, and Kendrick leads me out of the ship and into a brand-new world. I step onto alien ground, tasting the foreign dust in the air and the subtle variance of the gravity dragging down my body.

  Kendrick coughs raggedly, and his manservant instantly pulls an air-mask from his bag and puts it around Kendrick’s face. The filter will allow him to breathe even in the harshest sandstorm – something that apparently occur frequently on Territus, seemingly at random, causing everyone on the surface to rush below ground.

  The sandstorms are another barrier to my escape – making it suicide to allow Jenna or I to find ourselves trapped outside.

  Despite all my optimism and determination, the dull weight of hopelessness continues to tug at me. We’re facing impossible odds. Even if I get to the surface, unless I manage to find and steal a ship, Jenna and I can’t survive more than a few minutes out in the harshness of the desert.

  “A hateful planet, but there are wonders below,” Kendrick must have seen my expression and mistaken it for disapproval of our destination. His voice is garbled through the air-filter mask, and I nod politely as if to suggest I hadn’t clearly heard him.

  I breathe in a mouthful of sand and consider how ungentlemanly it is for Kendrick to bring a mask for himself – but not his bride-to-be. It’s another demonstration of how I’m just a possession to him; not worthy of the love or attentiveness a wife should receive.

  I hold onto such thoughts as we follow the procession of guards into the underground city.

  At the front of the procession are Kendrick’s father and mother – the true power behind the Dulloth dynasty. Maxime Dulloth is bald, his head shining in the sun, while Kendrick’s mother is an elegant woman with blonde hair that falls sleekly down to her waist.

  A huge rumble fills the platform as the roof closes overhead, shielding us from the sun and sand. As it closes, another set of massive metal doors open and we make our way through them into a giant, steel room that reminds me of an elevator – if elevators were designed to hold elephants!

  The huge doors close behind us and the air suddenly whooshes all around, as a huge vacuum vent sucks away every inch of dust from us. Kendrick finally pulls off his mask, handing it to his manservant without even looking at him. The huge thug pockets it in a quick, well-practiced movement.

  Our hair is in disarray as the next set of doors open – and I gasp at what I see beyond them.

  It’s a city bigger than Tear below us.

  A high-noble family owns everything below us, and there would be no need for slavery here. With the deadly sandstorms and harsh air of the surface, every citizen of this city depends on the owners to provide clean air, fresh water, and cool temperatures. To live as anything other than a noble on Territus is to be a slave already.

  Far above us is the stone roof of the city cavern, with large circles of glass covered by sand allowing only the weakest of natural sunlight to shine through.

  “Welcome to the city of Kala,” says Kendrick with a smug smile. I can tell one day he wants to own such a thing – an entire city.

  It’s a bizarre feeling to be standing above the high-rise buildings of this immense metropolis. Small ships move like bees below us, flitting around over the streets. I can barely make out the tiny dots that are people down below – people with stories, hopes, dreams, and aspirations, all living in the artificial light of this underground city.

  Kendrick’s father, mother, and most of the guards file into a sleek spaceship in the yellow colors of House Kala. I’ve heard of them. My father has spoken of them with awe, and the Consortium speaks of them with suspicion. They’re a noble family that has been trying to get its foot into economy and society of Tear for as long as I can remember my lessons. The wedding between the Dulloth and Albright family must be part of some huge interplanetary deal to make all of our families insanely rich.

  But I want no part of it! I want no part of this!

  Kendrick’s manservant steps forward, closer to us, and whispers something to Kendrick. He snorts: “I’ll be fine. One little woman won’t be able to do anything to me.”

  Then, Kendrick snaps his fingers, and his manservant leaves, motioning to Jenna to follow him. I give her a tight nod as she leaves with him. A feeling of loss overcomes me. I’ve never been so alone. I’m far away from my home planet, trapped underground with a man who believes he’s going to be my husband… and treats me like he’s going to be my master.

  Just the thought of that makes me snort with indignation. I craved subservience to those three Aurelians… But to a man like Kendrick? I’ll never serve him.

  Kendrick is oblivious to my thoughts.

  “My father has allowed us the day to acquaint ourselves. It is good for us to know more about each other – since we’ll be spending the rest of our lives together, after all.” Kendrick grins at me gleefully, and it takes every ounce of willpower to fake the smile I offer him in return.

  We stand awaiting our own transport, and soon it arrives. A tiny, darting yellow ship appears in front of us, rapidly accelerating upwards.

  I stop my jaw from dropping.

  It’s the perfect escape ship!

  I tense up, knowing what I need to do. I don’t just have to overpowe
r Kendrick to escape. I’ll have to…

  I gulp.

  I’ll have to hold him hostage to get the family to open those huge doors! Or else Jenna and I will be trapped underground in a space ship, with nowhere to escape to!

  The tiny vessel is far too small to have its own Orb drive, so there will be no desperate phase-shift out. I’ll have to do everything manually – all in a ship I’ve never piloted before. Thank goodness I can fly at all. Jenna managed to navigate her stolen vessel to the Aquamarine hotel, but this will require more skills than she’d managed to figure out herself. I’m just grateful that I was allowed to learn how to fly the vessels my father hired out for his rigging business, back in a simpler time in our lives before he’d been elevated to low-noble – and lost his damn mind.

  My mind races, thinking of the route I’ll have to take in the stolen vessel… But that’s if I can take Kendrick out first.

  The tempting ship lands in front of us and the doors open automatically. Kendrick grips my wrist tightly, pulling me inside. He sits at the pilot’s seat and allows me into the passenger side, then revs the engine eagerly.

  “This baby is the fastest-accelerating light-ship in the Kala fleet. It’s an honor that they trust me to pilot this thing around their city.” His voice is dripping with pride. I have the feeling that his father only lets him drive mid-range, highly safety-conscious models back on Tear. The Kala family is clearly buttering up the heir to the Dulloth fortune.

  Kendrick slams on the accelerator and my stomach stays behind while the rest of my body jolts forward. I grip at handle at the edge of my seat to steady myself.

  “Hold on – we’re going to go fast,” Kendrick says gleefully, and then he turns the steering wheel hard to the right, and we corkscrew through the air. Kendrick cheers in glee. My adrenaline pulses harder and harder, and then Kendrick pulls us downward – flying way too close to the top of a high-rise building.

  A little scream leaves my mouth, and Kendrick looks over at me with a sickening expression…