5. Maggie

Chapter 5

Maggie

W hile I was still wary, I felt as if I had one friend in Davon. He was big and burly, fierce even, but I’d already seen he could be gentle and kind.

If Talia trusted him to find me, I’d give him my tentative trust as well.

“What are we going to do now?” I asked.

“I need to make a plan.” His gaze sought mine, and I saw only concern there. “I’d love to take you from this place right away but that would be too dangerous. I’ll do all I can to protect you, but Wortek has been clear. He won’t give up on his investment in you easily.”

“Then how can we escape?”

He described how the Veerenad city had been built on the edge of the desert, how to the north, there was nothing but dense, uninhabited forests, then a long range of very steep mountains. To our south, the vast desert gave way to more forests. Zuldruxians lived there—as did Maggie, with her new mate .

I still couldn’t fathom the fact that my sister had fallen in love, and I wouldn’t truly believe it until I saw it with my own eyes. If I got the chance to see her again, and that was a big if.

“When my plan is solid, we’ll act.” He took my hand and squeezed it. “It won’t be easy to cross the desert, but Wortek is our biggest threat. He’ll come after us. I’ll do all I can to protect you, to ensure you survive the journey, but unless we can move fast, we’ll be captured. Will you give me the chance to prove that I am worthy?”

An odd way to put it, but I nodded. “How long before we can run?” I wanted to flee now, but he was right. Wortek would be angry if I escaped. He tethered me to the wall in my room or to the pole. Other than now when he’d told Davon to bring me to my room, he’d kept a sharp eye on me most of the time. If I ran, he’d come after me. And if Davon was with me, Wortek wouldn’t hesitate. He’d kill Davon and bring me back here, and there was no saying what he’d do to punish me. As long as I could dance and bring in customers, I had value, so he wouldn’t harm me to the point I couldn’t perform. But there were ways of hurting someone that didn’t break bones or leave scars.

I’d die here; there would be no escaping that.

“Soon.” He stood, staring down at me. “When we run, we need to disappear and stay gone. I have some skills in the desert.” His chest puffed, though it was only a slight thing. Shadows swirled around this male as if he carried heavy burdens on his shoulders at all times. He’d mentioned a brother and a clan, which told me he wasn’t completely alone. Why was he so solemn and sad? “I know how to find food and water, and I know how to hide.”

“You’re ahead of me there. I lived in a city like this one. I know how to survive on the streets, but I’m useless in the desert.”

“We’ll be a team in this, each contributing what we can. I don’t know much about these streets, but I will listen to you and learn.”

That gave me a weird sort of comfort.

“I followed the tracks from your ship in the desert. They led me here.” Such stark desperation in his eyes and voice. “I’m sorry I didn’t arrive in time to keep them from selling you.” His spine stiffened. “But I followed Wortek to this building, and I made him hire me. It was the only way I could get close enough to you to tell you that you’re not alone, that you don’t have to take this challenge on by yourself. I want to give you hope.”

“You have. Knowing my sister is safe and that you’re going to take me to her makes all the difference.” I could keep dancing. Quite willingly, in fact, as long as I knew there was an end in sight.

“I’ll do all I can to get you to her.”

“What will happen after that? I don’t want a mate.” I’d thought of marrying one day, maybe having children, but how could I do something like that here?

“If you don’t want a mate, you won’t have one.” He sounded bleak, though I didn’t know why. Did he think he and I . . . Nah, he was sent by my sister to help me, not to collect a gods’ gift .

I needed a friend, and maybe that could be Davon.

It shouldn’t matter if this guy was lonely, if he felt unworthy, to use his own word, but it did.

There couldn’t be anything else between us. I’d talk my sister into going home with me if we could find a way. Maybe she’d fallen for some sort of Stockholm thing with Firion. We’d talk, and she’d see she didn’t belong here with him. She and I would always need each other first.

“I don’t want to bind you, but I have to.” He took the end of my chain and fastened it to the wall above my bed, securing the lock. “If I don’t, Wortek won’t allow me to come near you again.”

The length gave me enough to move around inside my room, to reach the toilet and sink, and of course, to dance while I was bound to the pole. If only I could run through grass again, splash through the sea. If only I was free.

“I understand.”

He started toward the door but turned back. “I . . .” With a shake of his head, he left without saying anything more, his heavy footsteps fading as he made his way back down the hall and up the stairs.

I went to the sink and did my best to wash, using a square of his shirt. It felt good to scrub my armpits and face, to drag the wet fabric across my belly. I grimaced at my clothing stiff with dried sweat, wishing I could change. Wortek said I didn’t need more than one outfit, and I didn’t dare wear the skimpy nightie. I felt too exposed while wearing it, too vulnerable to attack .

Collapsing on my bed, I curled into a ball and let sleep sweep me away.

I woke to the smell of something yummy, and for one second, I thought I was back on Earth, that Talia had ordered take out and it had arrived. She’d come to my bedroom door and roll her eyes when she found me napping, then insist I get up and eat before our meal got cold.

So much for that dream. Would something like that ever happen again?

Davon had left, and I might never see him again. He’d given me a reason to hold on, and it was going to suck if he disappeared, and I was stuck here forever.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed and sat, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Without natural light, it was hard to know how much time had passed, but I felt like I’d slept for hours. Not surprising when I considered how exhausted I was.

A box sat on the metal crate. I’d swear it hadn’t been there earlier.

Had Wortek stopped by with a gift? My shrill laugh jerked out of me. No chance of that, and the day Wortek started bringing me gifts was the day I had to find a way to escape. So far, he didn’t appear to see me in a sexual way, but the dread that he would haunted me.

The yummy smell hit my sinuses again, and it seemed to be coming from the box. Carefully lifting it off the table, I placed it on my lap and removed the lid.

I’d never seen food like this before, but the scent made my belly rumble. I grabbed the large hunk of meat that was still warm and juicy—juicy! —and bit off a huge bite.

Moaning, I chewed, savoring the burst of flavors on my tongue. It reminded me a bit of beef with a hint of that fatty part of bacon many of us loved. A light, spicy heat hit me in the back of my throat when I swallowed, only making it taste better. I ate the rest, gobbling it down, actually, then licked my fingers until I’d taken in each drop of melted fat. Vegetables came next, soft enough to chew yet with a hint of crispness that made them taste amazing. Chunks of root lay in the dregs of the meat’s juices, and I swiped them through the goodness and munched through them as well, wiggling on the bed at the incredible flavors.

Off to the side, I spied a square wrapped in silver fabric, and after placing the empty box on the crate, I held up the tiny package. I unwrapped it, revealing a brown chunk speckled with pink bits. The scent of sweetness drifted through the air, and I chowed through the alien brownie, grinning when the pink things burst, releasing something that vaguely tasted like berries.

I licked my fingers again and tossed the silver fabric into the box. Flopping onto my back on the bunk, I smiled at the ceiling, feeling full for the first time since I left Earth.

My feet nudged something lying on the bottom of my bed, and I jerked upright again, spooked for good reason. Nothing good came from surprises in this place—the meal and alien brownie being the only exceptions.

My fairy godmother had left a bag on the bed, and I tugged it up onto my lap, untying the strand of leather securing the top to reveal fabric inside.

I pulled out two tunics and three pairs of pants, plus shoes that looked like they’d fit me.

The only thing that confused me was the sand dusting the floor that wasn’t there when I went to sleep. Had he tracked it in on his feet? Because I suspected my fairy godmother had a name and it was Davon.

My heart flipped over and stumbled onto the floor. How could it not? I’d suffered in this place. I’d begun to lose hope that I’d ever find a way free. And I’d worried even if I did, I’d end up in a worse situation.

But now I had a friend.