Amber

"Where are we?"

"Silence."

Ryrik held my arm tight as he dragged me out of the abandoned conference room, through the back hallways, and further into areas I didn't think could even exist. Areas that I wasn't even sure I was allowed to be in. I'd barely been able to sneak away to deliver information to Conii as it was.

I tried to tug free, but it was quickly clear that it was no use. His grip on my arm just tightened. Any harder and the bone was likely to snap. There was no getting out of this. Not that I would even have a real plan if I managed to wiggle free.

I didn't know Ryrik very well, if at all. And I hadn't known many Vinduthi, either. But one thing was very clear. He was angry.

Since he dragged me away, he hadn't looked back at me once. But I could still read his emotions through the back of his head. I saw the slight clenching of his jaw. I'd seen anger from a lot of men and a lot of species, and they all tended to look the same.

We eventually ended up in some back room, far away from anyone who could hear me scream. Ryrik swung the door open, tossed me inside, stepped in with me, and slammed the door behind us.

But I wasn't thrown off. I'd been in this situation before. My instincts kicked in with a rush of adrenaline. I cleared the tears from my cheeks and let the script take over.

I stood up slowly but confidently. I did it in a way that would show my body's natural curves off to any watching eyes. But when I looked at Ryrik, his eyes were just cold.

"Take a seat," he demanded.

I scanned the room, finally taking in my surroundings. It was a sparse room. Four blank walls and a single chair in the center. It was very clear this wasn't the VIP room.

I did as he said and took a seat. His angry eyes still stared me down. I'd already told him more than I ever should have, so I needed to get right to the distraction.

I slowly opened my legs in a suggestive manner, giving him a tease of what I was willing to do to get out of trouble. It'd worked a hundred times before and was likely to work a hundred more.

"Your hands are very strong," I breathed as I rubbed the red mark he left on my arm. "I can't help but imagine how they'd feel on my?—"

"Stop talking, human."

"You know, I've seen you watching me. On the casino floor. I've waited for you to make a move. There've been some quiet hours where I couldn't help but think about what you might do to me if given the chance."

"Enough," he rumbled.

"Is it? Is it enough?" I said as I put my hands on my knees. I slowly ran them up my legs. They paused for a moment at my clothed crotch. His eyes were still on me. I thought I saw a hint of the anger leaving. I then moved my hands up to cup my breasts to seal the deal.

"Stop that!" he roared.

Most of the men I'd been around would be all over me after that. Maybe I'd just been around too many outlandishly horny men. Ryrik might've been a harder nut to crack, but I had to if I wanted to get out of the mess I was in.

"Are you sure?" I asked. "Taking me into this private back room. No one around to hear me… A big strong Vinduthi like you, I wouldn't mind giving you just what you're looking for. All you have to do is take it."

"The only thing I want from a human like you is the truth," Ryrik growled at me. "Now, tell me, what is going on here?"

His words didn't match his eyes. I saw them trailing over my body, following my hands. He wanted to indulge, that much was obvious. So why wasn't he? What held him back? Some sense of propriety or blind adherence to the corporate rules? I wasn't prepared for that.

I also wasn't prepared for how much I personally, deep down, wanted him to pounce on my offering.

"What's going on here?" I repeated back at him with my eyes wide. "I'd certainly like to know that, too. Or better yet, surprise me."

"You know that's not what I meant!" His roaring voice shook the room. He took a deep breath and then resumed the interrogation. "What are you up to?"

Any fighting room I had in the interaction was gone. I thought I could just flirt my way out of it. Maybe even enjoy myself, for once. But this Vinduthi was not giving up, he wanted answers.

All the confidence in me emptied out of my body like the drain was just pulled up. My body went limp in the chair. My legs closed and my shoulders slumped. Tears started to well in my eyes again, but I managed to hold them in.

I couldn't get out of it my usual way. I needed to do what he said, but not in the way I expected.

"What do you want to know?" I asked meekly.

"Anything. Everything." Ryrik stood over me menacingly.

"I came here to Thodos III with the Quilthar."

"The Quilthar? Are they up to their old tricks then?"

"I don't know, I don't really know much about them."

"But you came here with them?"

I nodded. "Yeah, but they never exactly shared their business with me." I looked at the floor. "I used to be homeless. Stuck living in the mud of some backwater planet that no one not stuck there has ever thought twice about. I was in desperate need of a warm meal and bed. That's when the Quilthar showed up…"

"I've heard stories like this before. It doesn't answer my question."

I looked up long enough to see his stern eyes still on me.

"I'm just trying to help you understand. These men lure women in with the promise of food and shelter and then put us to work in whatever way they feel. One day, I could be cleaning, or cooking, or… The point is they always found a way for us to …service them."

His eyes flashed dangerously.

"It wasn't always what you're thinking of," I hastened to clarify. "I mean, sometimes. Maybe…"

This wasn't helping. I swallowed hard and continued. "We couldn't leave because, even without the threat of violence, where exactly would we go? Even on the worst days, we were fed and given a place to sleep. Then they started working with this person named Conii."

"Conii?" Ryrik pulled back as if the name had bitten him.

"Yeah, do you know her?"

"Just keep telling your story." He clearly knew her, but it was not the time to push him. It was time to be submissive and do what he asked.

"But once the Quilthar started working with Conii, everything got worse. I'm not exactly sure what she had them doing, but they got angrier. More stressed. And they took it out on us girls. When the opportunity came to leave the planet, I jumped on it. Figured, worst case scenario, I get to see a new world. Best case, I get a chance to escape. But we ended up on Thodos III. Nowhere to escape on a space station."

"Regardless," Ryrik said. "If you escaped your masters, by law you'd be returned to them the moment you were caught. You're an indentured servant."

"Not always. Not until I started working at the casino."

"What?" Ryrik looked more shocked than when I mentioned Conii.

"The Quilthar were willing, more or less. At least it started that way. I was just happy to be inside with a full belly. But over time, they asked for more and more, and I wasn't in a position to refuse. But I was never bought or sold by anyone until Thodos III."

"That doesn't make any sense," Ryrik said. "At the Black Star… All of our workers, at least our human ones, are indentured. Draven never would've just hired a random human."

"Exactly. Conii forged my ownership passes and digital certificates. Then we just waited for the right moment. But that didn't take very long, to be honest."

"The right moment?"

"When the casino was hiring. Word reached Conii and the Quilthar that the Black Star was in need of new hostesses. And I got volunteered. ‘She's just pretty enough to get the job done but not so pretty to get noticed' is what I think Conii said. She's the worst. I don't know what you think about her, but from the first moment I met her…"

"Don't worry, she has no fans around here."

"Hmm, anyway, one of the Quilthar brokered the deal with someone here at the casino, Draven, I think you said. I was given my orders, to report any and all information I hear from both guests and staff. Now we're here."

Ryrik cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyebrows. "But why go along with it? Why get wrapped up in all of this if you aren't really an indentured servant?"

"I tried. I used to be able to put on my charm and get out of some things with the Quilthar before Conii came along. But she put an end to that. She has my friend as a hostage. I've had to think on my feet most of my life and act a part. So I needed to do that again. If I don't do a good job…"

"I get the idea."

I looked at Ryrik, hoping to see some expression to tell me he believed me. But I just got a blank look. His eyes were seemingly studying me.

"So what now? Do you believe me?"

"I don't know yet," Ryrik mumbled. "You've told me a lot just now. Any part of it could be a lie, impossible to double check. Except for one part."

"Which part?"

Ryrik pulled a device out of his pocket and fiddled with it.

"Your indenture passes, it should be in the system. I have a direct linkup to the Ministry of Manpower. No fake is perfect. And I doubt it was examined all too closely because who would fake that? But if that part of your story seems true, the rest might fall into place."

"So, you'll believe I told the truth? If the paperwork is faked?"

"I didn't say that." Ryrik kept his eyes glued to the device.

My mind raced with the same questions over and over again. Does he believe me? Is he capable of believing me? Would it even matter if he did?

Even if he saw every detail of my story for the truth that it was, what would that change? I wasn't just a mole, but an admitted mole. What would stop him from just killing me on the spot?

But I was willing to tell him the whole story. Every little detail that he could ever want. But did that matter to him? From what I understood, these Vinduthi guys were pretty no nonsense.

After everything, after all the fighting I'd done, I might still just end up dead in some trash pit.

And then what would happen to Isa?