Chapter 25

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

PALOMA

" L et go of her!" I shout at Owen as I grab his arm. I never shout at anyone, let alone a man in our colony. They hold too much power. I find other ways of fighting back, but today, there's no time to be subtle or sneaky.

I can see the hatred on Owen's face as he glares at Lily. At this point, I trust that orc with Lily more than Owen.

To my surprise, Owen releases Lily's hair, and she runs to my other side as if I can protect her. I'm not sure how I'll do that. Owen's a big guy.

"Stay out of this, Paloma," he warns. "Or I'll tell your dad about your activities with the orcs, after I tell Council how you plan to drag my good name through the mud."

My stomach lurches. I won't win in a game of he-said she-said in our male-ruled colony, but this is no longer about the orc who's getting pummeled a hundred feet away from us.

"Screw you, Owen."

He steps forward with a fist this time. I grab my scissors and don't hesitate to point them at him .

Fear fills his eyes. For once, he's taking me seriously.

Owen backs off. "Get the monster fucker packed up, bitch. I'm taking her back to the colony. She better be at the cart in three minutes or you'll both pay."

"Give her some space and she'll be ready." I'll say anything to appease him so he gets off our backs.

I need to think. This entire situation is a mess and we don't have time to protect everyone involved.

"Paloma! They're going to kill Ryko! We have to do something!"

We . Yup, I dragged myself into this one.

"Okay," I whisper. "We'll head to the moxxels' sector and open the tumek pen, shoo all the tumek into the market. They'll run everywhere, cause a big commotion, and hopefully distract one or more of the vints, giving the orc the opening he needs."

Lily's face lights up. "That's perfect!"

As we sneak away from our table, several people in the crowd gasp. I push up on my toes to see what's going on.

Another orc has entered the fight. Massive with braided hair… My body stills when I recognize him. He's the same orc who purchased boots from me several weeks back. Boots he didn't need. He scared the hell out of me then, but nothing had happened. He'd slammed his knife down in front of me, a knife I gave to Lily because I didn't want to have anything to remind me of him. I thought I was rid of him, until today when he returned to our sector and stared at me with a possessiveness that chilled me to my bones.

Lily's fingers dig into my forearm, pulling me from my thoughts.

Within seconds, three of the four vints lie on the ground, eviscerated. That orc who terrifies me slams the fourth vint against a concrete wall.

"Lily, get in the cart now!" Owen yells .

"Go," I urge, pushing her toward the cart. "The fight's over. Your orc is fine."

She climbs up onto a crate to gain one last look at him. I pull her off and shake her until she focuses on me. "Start worrying about yourself, or you'll end up like Tamara. Worse, even. I can cover for you when Owen makes his accusations, but not if you make others suspicious. Everyone's been too immersed in the fight to see you panicking over that orc. Let's keep it that way. If you go over there and start fussing over him, or talk to him, others might question if you're involved with him, or worse, assume you slept with him."

‘I did,' she mouths the words.

Her confession jars me. I resist the urge to cringe, as I don't want to upset her, especially since she confided in me.

I tap beneath her chin until she lifts her head high. Lily is usually so happy and confident, but right now she's torn between checking on the orc and following my advice.

"If your secret gets out," I whisper, "you're going to be in deep shit. Council's not auctioning Tamara off to a guy. They're giving her to…" I don't even want to say it. "A house full of men."

Lily's eyes widen, but I don't have time to tell her what my sister told me. "If someone accuses you of anything, lie through your teeth, then stick to it, no matter what anyone says, especially Owen. Sling accusations at him. Better yet, shout the truth about Owen at the top of your lungs. Expose him for the lazy asshole he is. You'll probably have others agreeing with you."

She doesn't appear convinced. I can't let her leave until she absorbs what I'm saying. Her life depends on it. I hate what I'm about to say, but if it works to save her, that's what matters. "What would that orc?—

"Ryko," she whispers. "His name is Ryko."

"Fine. What would Ryko tell you if someone accused you of behavior that will get you in serious trouble? "

A slight smile emerges. "He'd tell me to be the courageous, fearless female he thinks I am and stand up for myself."

"You are courageous and fearless. Which is why you'll do exactly that. Protect yourself by beating Owen at his own game. Approach this as if you're fighting for that orc over there."

She nods, that smile growing stronger every second.

"Good. I'll check on you when Garret brings the rest of us back to New Earth."

Lily hugs me, and I can feel her relief. It's probably because her orc is safe.

While she hugs me, I catch the older orc staring at me. His stare makes my blood run cold. A horrible thought occurs to me. Maybe the orcs brainwashed Lily.

"Lily, did the orc force you?"

"No! How could you ask that about Ryko?"

I really need to start using his name and thinking of him as a person. That's not how anyone in New Earth thinks about the orcs. Except Lily.

"I don't know him. I'm sorry." I smile for her sake. She's only twenty-three and likely scared shitless right now. Until I return to the settlement, she'll have no one on her side. Her uncle is not the kindest of men. On that front, I can relate. My father is often distant and cold to me. Not to my sisters, just me.

I hope she figures out how to lie and make it stick because Owen will take the truth and make it sound worse than it is, if that's even possible.

"Let's go, Lily." Owen draws out her first name to show he's being polite , even though it comes off mocking. "Is that better, Ms . Garcia?" he addresses me, his voice dripping with condescension.

I flash him a big smile, the one that says ‘fuck you' as I hastily pack up Lily's gear.

"Thank you, Paloma," Lily whispers a second before Owen grabs her hand.

As they exit our sector, I spot that huge orc staring at me again. My eyes skitter over the impressively large, stone-chiseled muscles of his chest, past the v of his waist, and the loin cloth lower… For a split second I'm tempted to pause and take in his size, then quickly snap my eyes to his boots. Old, worn boots. Not the ones I sold him.

He made a show of paying me for the boots that day. This orc doesn't care about money or what he got in exchange for that knife he slammed on my table. He's all about intimidation and conquest. Even now, as he holds one hand around the throat of the last remaining vint, his eyes remain on me, as if he's waiting for me to watch, expecting me to witness whatever horrific end he has planned for the vint.

I want to avert my eyes, but a fear I've never experienced locks me in place.

With a shift of the wind, dark green eyes snap to me. His nostrils flare and he fully bares those tusks in my direction as if he plans to conquer me next.

I shudder at the idea of him touching me, even getting near me again. I turn away, busying myself with packing up Lily's sewing box. Anything to keep from facing that monster. I can't wait to get the hell out of Pen'Kesh and return to the safety of New Earth.