Chapter 2

TWO

Four years later

“ I ’m sure he’ll be nice to her,” said Turi’s ever-optimistic friend, Fivra.

Sevas shook her dark head. “They’re never nice to us. Sorry, but it’s true. They just want us for working and breeding.”

Fivra pursed her lips. “There must be some nice ones left. My brother is kind.”

“Perhaps he is, but the males I’ve encountered have been cold at best,” Sevas said in a flat voice. “Kindness has been beaten out of them. Us, too.”

Turi sat quietly as she and her five friends plucked dead grass from an abandoned field on the outskirts of her family’s farm plot. They wove the dry grasses into long strands that would then be twisted into a crunchy circle and placed on her head. It was a mockery of a tradition that was almost forgotten—crowning a bride with a lush headdress of artfully arranged blooms, but there were no flowers left in Settlement 112-1 for a fragrant headpiece. There would be no feast, no music, and no dancing. There would be no joy at all, as no one—neither the bride nor the groom—saw the bondmate ritual as a joyous occasion. It was a responsibility. An obligation.

Turi’s mate was picked by her father from a list of applicants she’d never met and she was allowed no say in the process. She was being given to the chosen bondmate that evening in a brief ceremony, after which they would immediately depart for his settlement. Never to return home.

“That’s not true,” said Nena, who had arrived at the settlement two seasons prior, having been given to a male from a neighboring farm in the bondmate ritual. She was the oldest of the women and her current bondmate was her second, as the first male had died. The other women didn’t know how he died and Nena never mentioned him. Her hair was long and silvery green, gold spots gleamed on her forehead and into her hairline, and her chin was always high, even when it held the shadow of bruises. She didn’t say much, but when she did, her words held weight. “ We are still kind. And we will stay kind.”

Lilas, who was due to be given to a bondmate soon herself, shrugged. Her hair had turned deep purple and her father sent out notices to males in the three other settlements to apply for her. Her days in Settlement 112-1 were numbered and she knew it. “What difference does it make?” she drawled. “We’re all fekking doomed. The Axis is going to squeeze and squeeze until we can’t survive.” She flicked a piece of dried grass that refused to be woven and snorted. “Would be a relief, in ways.”

“Maybe,” said Sevas, putting down her own weaving, which was never her strong suit anyway. “I can’t stand the thought of bringing another person into this world.”

Fivra, whose hair had turned pink recently, was the youngest of them. The gold spots on her forehead, that also indicated fertility, were bright on her skin, but so far, her father wasn’t rushing the bondmating. Of all of them, Fivra had the kindest father. He was quiet and thoughtful, and ran his farm quietly. “We are here to support Turi, not speak of impending doom.”

“We are supporting her,” Sevas said, holding up her mangled grasses. “We’re doing this , aren’t we?”

“It’s fine,” Turi said. “The only good thing about being bonded to a male is getting these off my legs.” She nodded to the part of the bonding process that was hated most of all—the deceptively delicate-looking strip of cloth that ran between Turi’s ankles and was secured by metal cuffs. It was made of some type of uncuttable alien fabric. A male could choose to have his future bondmate hobbled like this, so she couldn’t try to run away, and the woman’s father had to comply.

Turi hated the hobbles. It limited her stride, chafed her ankles, and was a constant reminder that her life was not her own. She was being “given” to someone who would do whatever he wished to her.

The final member of the group looked up with her light gold eyes, which matched her forehead spots. Cerani had only arrived in the settlement four months earlier, during the end of the cold season, but she had an interesting presence. Her face often had a faraway look, but she was quick to smile and everything she did seemed to have an artistic beauty to it. Even the dead grass, which was to be braided and woven, was anything but simple. Hers used a gradient of grasses and she had incorporated loops and whorls to her work. “We didn’t do this at Settlement 112-4. And the hobbles weren’t optional. So enjoy this.” Cerani turned a warm smile to Turi and touched her cheek with her calloused fingers. “This is the last time we six will all be together. Let us talk of lighter things for the time we have left.”

If that was meant to lighten the mood, it didn’t. Turi’s shoulders dropped slightly as that reality became clear. She would never return here after tonight. She’d have to make new friends in Settlement 112-2, if her new mate allowed it. Only one settlement away, but it might as well have been on the other side of the planet. The shadows under Cerani’s eyes from constant work and the bruises on Nena’s jaw were plain evidence of how little control they had over their lives.

Sevas looked off into the distance. “They say there are beasts living to the west. They hunt and have settlements in the forest. I’d rather live with them than here.”

“What’s trading one beast for another?” Lilas sneered with a shrug. “ Fek them all. I’d rather live to the east, alone , in the shadowlands over the ridge.”

“The shadowlands are deadly,” Fivra said with a frown. “The specters live there. It’s said they eat living flesh.”

It was common knowledge that what lay on the other side of the ridge—where the overseer’s fortress lay—was a barren, long-dead forest infested with formless dark beings who were said to feed off the living. The west, as Sevas mentioned, were wild lands that no one knew much about, but accounts of beast-males who howled at the stars kept the Terians to their settlements and farms. Also keeping them in place was the overseer who presided over all four settlements. He returned any straying Terian back to the Riests for punishment for fleeing. Usually, it was females who did the fleeing, hence the hobbles.

“Better to be eaten than…” Lilas didn’t finish her sentence. Her words trailed off and her dark gaze fixed on something in the distance.

They all turned to see a starship quietly approach. It wasn’t large, or attacking them, but it was a starship , and the only ones they ever saw were the simple weekly transports sent by the Axis to pick up the food they grew and take it away. This was nothing like that. It was narrow and silent and moved toward them almost like a predator stalking prey.

The woven grasses fell from their fingers.

“We need to leave,” Nena said. “Now.”

No disagreements. The six females jumped to their feet and made to run back to Turi’s family farm. Not Turi. The hobbles kept her from more than a few shuffling steps at a time.

The ship was much faster than them. It instantly repositioned itself between them and their escape route.

“Who is this?” Fivra whispered. “What do they want?”

“Us,” said Turi as the six of them huddled in a tight ball. “For what, I don’t know.”

The ship lowered until it hovered just above the dusty ground. A ramp descended and five beings disembarked. The ship may not have been bristling with weapons, but these individuals were. They were large and stocky with long snouts and beady eyes. They looked male, sporting only armored pants and boots for clothing. On top, they wore unmatched harnesses and holsters for their weaponry. Their gray skin was covered in scars. The females were quickly surrounded.

“Who the fek are you?” Seras spat in the common tongue, which they were all forced to learn.

One of the beings snorted, like a laugh. “Keep calm and this will be much easier for you, little ones.” He gestured to the others in his party. “Round them up. Get them aboard quickly.”

Turi tensed and grasped the closest wrist to her. “We’re not going with you.”

“Yes, you are. And we’ll get more credits for you if you’re uninjured, so be good little chits and come along without a fuss.”

So, they were to be sold. Turi’s stomach twisted into a knot. And she had thought nothing could be worse than being given to a strange male while wearing hobbles. Nope . This was much worse.

The group of aliens tightened the circle around them. Weapons charged up with ominous whines as the males’ gazes moved over them—not with desire, but with appraisal. The females were products, nothing more.

The sound of huge flapping wings drew everyone’s attention. Turi turned her head to see the overseer descend and land beside the group of alien males. She hadn’t seen him in the years since he’d left that mark on the door of her family’s home. Even then, it had been a brief glimpse in the darkness. His presence overwhelmed her, making the frightening situation even more intense. On one hand, she had been raised to fear him. On the other, he might be the only one to save her and her friends from being abducted and sold.

“Release these females and leave,” the overseer said in a deep, oddly vibrational voice. “You have no claim over them.”

The snouted alien who seemed in charge let out another of those snorts and tossed his head back. “Ease off, Zaruxian. We have no dispute with you. The Axis granted us permission to take a clutch of females as payment for services rendered.” The male gestured to his guards to hold their position. “I can show you the contract.”

Zaruxian? Turi had never heard of the term. Perhaps that was the overseer’s species. Of course he belonged to one. The Axis hadn’t conjured the overseers from thin air, although the Riests believed that they were created by the Axis.

The overseer stood taller than these beings. He held his dark, massive wings partly extended, making him appear even larger. Turi could only stare at the ripple of purple scales that shimmered over his shoulders. He wore snug black pants and no shirt. She imagined that was to keep his wings free of fabric, but the view was an astounding display of toned muscles and firm skin. Turi’s friends were as entranced as she was. This was probably the first good look any of them had had of the being who looked after them all. The overseer was far more handsome than expected. Not that it mattered when her life, and those of her friends, rested in his hands.

His piercing silver eyes bored into the other male like daggers. He held his hands loose at his sides, but Turi caught a glimpse of lengthening claws as his stance shifted. The overseer looked as if he were going to fight these males. “Whatever your arrangement is with the Axis, find your ‘payment’ elsewhere. These lands are under my personal protection.”

The would-be abductor angled his weapon over his shoulder and snapped it into place on his back holster. “Now, now. I respect your jurisdiction here. There’s no need for us to squabble.”

“You’ve already caused problems,” said the overseer. “These people are to have no contact with off-worlders. It’s Directive Four, issued by the Axis.”

The leader bared his teeth in a horrible smile. “Well, if the damage is already done, let’s work out a deal. Are all of these females from this land you protect?”

The overseer’s gaze moved to the six of them. He looked them over with quiet consideration, then locked on Turi. She held his gaze, not because she was brave or defiant, but because she was frozen in it. Like being held in an embrace, she couldn’t have looked away if she’d wanted to. And she did, sort of, want to. This male was terrifying. At least, she’d been raised to see him that way, and his physical presence was nearly godlike in its size and authority. He communicated directly with the Axis, who was worshipped and feared by her people.

The overseer looked back to the alien male. “Let me see that contract.”

The other male made a grin-like expression with his snout and pulled a slim, clear datascreen from a pouch on his belt. “See for yourself.”

The overseer took the screen and read what was there with a frown, then handed it back. “This is unprecedented,” he growled. “I was not informed of this arrangement.”

“It’s a recent development. The Axis wasn’t able to procure our requested payment.” The male snapped his teeth. “As you can see, the contract is authentic.”

A muscle twitched in the overseer’s jaw. “Will they be harmed?”

This time, the brute let out a full laugh. “The fek if I know. They’re to be sold at the next auction on Falmic-5. Terian females fetch high credits.”

The overseer turned his gaze to Turi again. He raised a hand, fingers tipped with long claws, and pointed at her. Only her. “That one.”

The brute blinked. “What about her?”

“That female belongs to the land I protect.” His bright silver gaze shone with a metallic glint. “She stays.”