8. Stella

Two lizard guards lead me through a dark and cramped tunnel. I'm still wearing nothing but lingerie, and it's freezing cold here.

These lizards can seemingly survive sub-arctic temperatures, but my nearly naked ass surely can't. My teeth are clattering and my entire body is shivering.

Meanwhile, the reptile-men talk amongst themselves about me like I'm a piece of furniture they're transporting.

"Did you see who bought her?"

"Some Erullian royalty, right? They always spend big. Rich assholes."

"Yeah, but this time it was King Ro"Kal."

"Oh, shit. The Mad King, right?"

"Yeah, that's him. Crazy asshole."

"Wow. She's fucked."

"Speaking of fucking, I wish we got a turn."

The other guard laughs. "Yeah, that would be nice. Breaking in an unspoiled human's flesh. Nice break from being on fucking guard duty all the time."

"I'm serious. Why not? No one's going to notice."

"You're out of your mind. Xyrvan will have your head for messing with the merchandise."

"He doesn't have to find out, does he?"

The other guard pauses. "You're crazy, Bi-Lar… "

My heart hammers in my throat. I look for an exit, but these tunnels are barely lit. I can only see a couple of feet ahead of me. These alien beings must be able to see in the dark to navigate these winding tunnels so easily.

Can I defend myself? My hands and feet aren't bound, but I'm still wearing that awful collar around my neck. I can still remember how much it hurt when I tried to run earlier. That sort of pain is imprinted on your very soul.

"But fuck it! Why not? We deserve something extra too," the guard laughs.

They stop in tracks and turn towards me, forked tongues flickering. I raise my fists, and they laugh.

"She's got spunk! Haha—splat!"

The first guard's face explodes.

It simply explodes.

For a flicker of a second I wonder if I did that by sheer force of will, but then a red claw comes down in a blur and eviscerates the second lizard man.

He drops to the floor. Dead.

A huge, hulking mass of red flesh and scales steps into the dim light. He towers over me, and as my eyes drink in the alien sight in front of me, I feel that earlier calm wash over me.

This is the man I saw when I was on stage. The red, regal alien. He came for me, just like I thought he would. He saved me.

He's alien and strange and ugly and sexy, all at the same time. His bright yellow eyes are like smoldering embers, and they look at me with a fierce, burning intensity.

A primal part of me wants to hug him, but the blood dripping down his claws stops me from doing that.

This man is a savage killer.

He just ended two lives as if they were nothing. The primal, deepest part of me must be mistaken. It must be an alien mind-trick, meant to make me docile.

Nothing surprises me anymore. Getting abducted by aliens does that to a girl.

The alien reaches for me. I flinch. He severs the collar around my neck with a single flick of his finger.

"Come," he growls in a deep voice that I feel reverberate inside my chest. He holds out his hand for me.

I take a step back. "Who are you?"

"King En'Zal of Zalleria," he says.

This man is a king? Didn't those guards say all kings were crazy lunatics? I don't quite remember what they said, but it was nothing good.

"I will protect you," he says. "You can trust me."

I want to believe that's true. I really do. But after all that's happened to me, I can't trust the first handsome face I come across.

"I don't know you," I answer.

"That is true. But in a few seconds, the combined mass of all the Pleasure Palace slavers will descend upon us, seeing as I just severed your collar. The choice is yours. Do you want to come with me, or see what these lizards have in store for you?"

I bite my bottom lip. Shit.

"Okay," I say. "I'll come with you."

The red alien smiles, and I feel something stir deep inside my chest.

"Good. Very good."