5. Chapter 5

I was so absorbed in looking around that I nearly missed the small altercation between Commander Willis and Khadahr. Not that I hadn't been looking at him; he was everything I could stare at for the first few minutes after stepping through the portal. Which, by the way, hadn't been as dramatic as I thought it would be.

There had been no tunnel I was shot through, no sucking of a vacuum, no weightless levitation. It was simply like stepping through a door from one room into another, only the other place was far more exotic.

My neck moved back, and I stared up into the sky, where I made out parts of the two moons circling Vandruk and a white glowing sun far in the distance. Clouds that looked like gauze in places and tendrils in others covered most of the dark blue, nearly purplish sky .

Tall mountains blocked the sky to the east, looking black from here, but maybe that was because of the brilliant colors all around us.

The ground I stood on was made up of rocky sands that were either neon green with red streaks or red with neon streaks; it was hard to tell.

Wherever I turned, the land rose or lowered, filled with dips and valleys and rising plateaus. Large boulders stood out, as well as shorter rocks. In between grew the most astonishing flora , varying between dark and neon green. Some were tipped with red leaves, others yellow. What appeared like trees didn't come higher than my hip, whereas some plants that looked like grass rose to twice my size. Even larger were some brownish stems that appeared twisted, as if, while growing, they had continuously turned. Those were thicker than Khadahr in circumference but grew skinnier as they rose up into the sky, where their twisting became even more dominant. Just looking at them made me flinch, as if I expected them to unspin suddenly and lift off from the sheer pressure of it.

It was everything I had seen in the pictures—taken through the angle of the portal—everything I had imagined it to be on the other side and so much more. I took in a deep breath and reveled in the freshness of the air. It was not only cleaner than on Earth but also more oxygenated. I felt lighter, probably from the difference in gravity. The temperature was mild, not hot, not cold, just right with a hint of humidity.

I was so caught up in taking it all in that I didn't pay the men's conversation any attention until Khadahr's words penetrated my mind, A s soon as they're sensibly dressed. We have a long march ahead of us.

I bit my lower lip to suppress a low snicker. I could have told the other women that their attire was only meant to attract men and wasn't practical for where we were headed, but I stopped myself; I didn't want to be the know-it-all who always ended up isolated. It had been hard enough, especially when Sandra snickered at my Putzfrau uniform, but I had managed.

The IC uniform I had worn since I started working for them was not only comfortable but sturdy, much sturdier than anything I owned.

Three more were stashed in my backpack, along with a single dress I brought because… one never knew. The uniforms were made to be breathable when it got hot and warm when it got cold. Most importantly, they hadn't cost me a dime.

"You heard the man, ladies. Time to change," Commander Willis relayed Khadahr's orders.

"How are we supposed to do that? Go back?" Anusha, a pretty Indian lady, whined.

"We can't." Lurdes, another woman from France, pointed at the portal we had just left, which was slowly returning to its swirling red fog form.

Khadahr uttered some guttural sounds, and a few of his men moved forward, holding up blankets made of furs. They turned their backs, holding the blankets up and to the side to build a kind of wall. It was hard not to stare at them, each one their own imposing figure; each looking as if they had just stepped out of a men's weightlifting magazine. I noticed that most of them had the same reddish-brown hair as Khadahr, only the tones differed; some were lighter, others darker. No matter how attractive each man was, though, my eyes always wandered back to Khadahr, who stood out among them not only with his scars but because he was taller than most.

Since Khadahr was busy instructing his men and the women, I took a moment to scrutinize his scars a little closer. I had seen them in the lab, of course, but had been so distracted with everything that I had never really given them much time to mull over. Their structure looked like honeycombs; they were too symmetrical to have been accidents caused by hunting. And they were too deep to be tattoos. They enhanced his masculinity even more, as if he had needed any more help in that department.

"Be quick about choosing sensible clothing. We have a long march ahead of us," Khadahr ordered in English, distracting me from my thoughts.

I only saw Khadahr's head poke over the wall of furs and men but nothing of Commander Willis, who queried, "About that, what kind of distance are we talking about? A day? A week?"

"I cannot answer this until I know how fast these gallies will travel," Khadahr retorted.

The women listened to the exchange and glanced unsure at each other. What had they expected? I mused. Did they think there would be a palace here waiting for them ? Did they really sign on because they thought the Vandruk would carry them off to their caves to live happily ever after without having to lift a finger ?

Small protests and complaints from them told me as much. I turned because I didn't want them to see me rolling my eyes or my exasperated expression, which I knew was plastered all over my face.

When I had myself under control and turned back, I noticed that at least some of them had brought sensible clothing: jeans, sweatpants, even boots. High heels were exchanged for hip-looking tennis shoes, the kind that cost a lot of money but wouldn't hold up long once we started walking in earnest.

Three of the women—Sandra, Erika, and Elsie—exchanged their short shorts for shorts that at least covered their asses and put on sneakers. The three queen bees, as I called them. The in-clique. They never separated, even when we were ordered to switch rooms every night so that we could all get to know each other better. Every night, they had bossed and intimidated others to switch so that they could stay together.

Kenley, I noticed, put on jeans and a T-shirt, as well as sturdy boots.

"All done," Sandra called over the makeshift wall, and Khadahr ordered his men to roll up the furs and pack them away, throwing curious glances at the women, who giggled when they noticed their attention.

Sandra gave me a contemptuous glare and, going out of her way to do so, shouldered her way past me. I was about to give her a taste of her own medicine, but Kenley stopped next to me, put her palm on my arm, and shook her head. "Not worth it."

"I know." I nodded, staring at Sandra's back.

From my peripheral vision, I noticed Khadahr in deep discussion with Commander Willis again, this time surrounded by the four scientists. Bob West, the leading scientist in the group, was moving his arms up and down in wild gesticulation while speaking faster and more animatedly than I had ever seen him before.

"Let's sit down while we still can," I suggested to Kenley. Two other girls, who overheard me, followed our example while the queen bees fluttered around the five men and one woman in deep discussion.

"They're gonna try to steal your barbarian," Kenley whispered.

"He's not my barbarian," I replied petulantly, but with a sinking sensation in my stomach.

"Not with that attitude, he isn't," Kenley chided.

I took a loud breath. She was probably right, but I refused to compete for a man's attention, even if he was as good-looking as Khadahr.

"He's the leader," Kenley observed.

"So?" I couldn't stop myself.

Kenley sighed as if I were dimwitted. "You've talked to him; you have a rapport with him. The others don't. Don't be stupid. If there is a catch to be made here, it's him."

"What if I don't want a catch ?" I insisted.

"Then you're stupid, and I was wrong about you. We're here to get matched, Gwyn."

"We don't know why we are here," I pointed out. Kenley rolled her eyes at me and shook her head .

She had hit a nerve, though. Because honestly, why else would Khadahr have asked for women? Unless he was about to start a harem, and I wasn't about to join that. All the barbarians around him were men, but what did that prove? Only that women were most likely at home wherever that was.

"Either way, it can't hurt to be in the big guy's good graces," Kenley suggested.

Again, she had me there. However, I had never been the kind of person to flutter around a man. My mantra had always been that, if a man was interested in me, he would show it. But you wanted it to be different here , my mind reminded me. Yeah, but not like that , I refused stubbornly.

"I get what you're saying, Kenley, but I'm not gonna make a fool of myself and dance around him like that. I will try to catch his attention, though. I promise."

Kenley didn't look convinced, and my mind agreed. Well, I would show both of them.