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Page 32

 

  “Take off the pants,” Devyn ordered.

  “Go to hell,” I said, but withdrew my knife and cut the legs off of the pants until I wore the tiniest scrap of material—barely covering the curve of my ass.

  “Much better. Now release your hair from confinement. ”

  I ripped the band from my hair, and the silky strands instantly fell over my shoulders, down my back.

  “I cannot wait to have you,” he said on a breath of desire.

  Well, he was just going to have to.

  Our car finally moved to the front of the line and stopped. A cowboy-clad human opened my door, and I emerged. The midnight air boasted the scent of hay and car fumes. The human’s eyes drank me in, his expression lighting with awe. I don’t think he even realized he was reaching out to me, to caress a hand down my bare stomach. I stepped aside, not wanting his fingers anywhere on me.

  Devyn came around the car and moved in front of me, looking sexy as hell in his moss green kilt and white shirt. His glossy brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail. His amber eyes were alive. Without a word, he began walking, expecting me to follow. I did. The crowd parted automatically for him as we entered the building. I felt many stares but I didn’t acknowledge them.

  My boots bit into the dirt floor. Devyn stopped several times to speak with an acquaintance, and I used the time to search for EenLi. He was nowhere that I could see, and that caused shards of frustration to cut through me. What if he did not attend?

  I was soon led to a group of folding chairs lined up in front of a scaffold. My heart thundered in my chest. Atop the scaffold were the “slaves. ” Their hands were tied over their heads and anchored to a wooden beam. They wore gauzy white robes, easily parted and removable for viewing.

  I saw the five women from the cell, and my knees almost buckled in relief. Their expressions were pale with fear, but they were alive. There were six other women, as well, but I didn’t recognize them. Nor did I recognize the strong, muscled men bound beside them. My gaze darted to the others, the ones in back, but I couldn’t see them all. Lucius, Lucius, my mind chanted as I searched for him, praying he was here. My muscles kept a viselike grip on my bones.

  The Targon king claimed a seat on the first row. Recalling his words to me, I stiffly sank down at his feet. God, I didn’t want to. I wanted to stand, to scream, to act. Patience, I reminded myself. Patience.

  He patted my head. “Good girl,” he said, obviously enjoying himself.

  My new position did not change my actions. I continued to scan the slaves. The one at the end of the scaffold was partially hidden by shadows and the two men who were inspecting him. The slave’s legs were extended, his robe parted, and I could see his bronzed skin. For a minute, my lungs refused to draw in a breath.

  I gulped, willing the men to move out of my line of vision. Sweat beaded on my forehead. My shaky hands clutched at the dirt beneath me. Move, my mind screamed. Patience proved too elusive, so I gave up the effort to find it.

  Finally the men ambled off the scaffold, giving me a clear view of the slave.

  My lungs jolted into motion, and at last I sucked in a breath. I nearly jumped to my feet and raced up those wooden stairs. He was here. Lucius was here. And he was alive. Relief and joy pounded through me so potently, I could have wept. His features were blank and pale; his fake scar was gone, and I was willing to bet his contacts had been removed. His robe covered his shoulder and chest, so I couldn’t see his wound. His clothes weren’t bloody, so that meant he’d been bandaged up.

  “I told you he would be here,” Devyn said.

  A woman approached Lucius, parted his robe, and gazed at his nakedness. Her large frame blocked my own viewing. Lucius passively accepted her perusal, which wasn’t like him. What was wrong with him?

  I didn’t want to, but I switched my attention to Devyn. “See the woman at the end of the scaffold?”

  Without looking down at me, he nodded.

  “Get her to move. Please. ”

  In the next instant, the woman yelped and tumbled off the edge as if she’d been propelled by a great gust of wind. I jolted to my feet, hoping to gain Lucius’s attention.

  His gaze was moving listlessly over the crowd, then…our eyes locked.

  Relief, hope, joy, fury, all washed over his face—all the emotions I felt—and he snapped out of his passive haze. He jerked against the ties at his wrists, shaking the entire scaffold.

  “Take me to him,” I whispered, looking down at Devyn. “Please. ”

  “Of course. A favor for a favor,” he said. He stood, eyes straight ahead. “You will follow me on your knees, slave. ”

  I bent down and crawled after him. Sand and rocks dug into my skin. I even crawled up the splintery steps. I endured it without comment, knowing where it was leading me.

  When we reached Lucius, Devyn stopped and grinned over at him. “We’re going to buy you,” he said. “You will belong to us. ”

  Lucius had eyes only for me. “Is she—”

  “She is fine. ”

  I nodded to let him know it was true.

  “She has bargained much to get you free. I hope you appreciate her. ”

  Lucius’s brow wrinkled in curiosity, but Devyn didn’t explain. He walked away, back to his chair, and I had to follow him. I wanted to run back to Lucius, almost did in fact. Devyn sensed it and locked me in place with his mental shield. As my heart thumped and my blood rushed, I tried to tell Lucius with my eyes that everything really was going to be okay.

  “Eden,” the Targon said suddenly, “my calves are aching from those stairs. Massage the muscles for me. ”

  I leveled him my deadliest glare. He gave an almost imperceptible nod to Lucius and released me from the frozen stun. Free to move, I began kneading my fingers into his calves. I used so much force, he hissed in a breath of pain that he tried to cover with a cough. “This isn’t a game,” I growled quietly.

  Lucius looked at Devyn, then at me, and a light of understanding dawned in his eyes. Furious, he bucked against his chains, causing a trickle of blood to run down his arms.

  “Put him to sleep,” I beseeched, stopping my massage and giving the Targon my full attention. “Please, put him to sleep like you did before. The guards will subdue him if this continues. ”

  With another stiff nod, he gazed over at Lucius, and within seconds Lucius’s muscles were relaxing. His head lolled forward as he sank into a deep slumber.

  “Thank you,” I whispered. “Thank you. ”

  “Do you see? I’m not such a bad man, Eden. ”

  “Do I owe you another kiss?” I couldn’t keep the aggravation from my voice.

  He frowned. “Iam capable of giving free gifts. ”

  Just then, the murmurs of the crowd quieted. The people began to part, and whispers of “EenLi” surfaced. My head whipped up, and I scanned the building. My eyes narrowed as deep-seated loathing filled me.

  EenLi had just entered the warehouse.

  Chapter 28

  Everyone hurriedly claimed their seats while EenLi climbed the stairs and meandered his way to center stage. As he walked, he waved and winked at the crowd as if he were a superstar and everyone here was his devoted fan. Full cowboy regalia covered his thin Mec body. Cowboy hat, vest, chaps. He looked ridiculous. Smiling, he held up his hands in a gesture for utter silence.

  My hatred grew and festered, bubbled over and spewed. I could throw my dagger at his throat, but I didn’t want a long-distance kill this time. I wanted up close and personal, so there would be no doubt of his death, no mistake.

  “Can you put everyone to sleep?” I quietly asked Devyn. If the crowd, guards, and EenLi passed out cold, I would blithely walk onto the stage and stab EenLi in the heart. Not that he had one.

  Devyn thought about it for a moment. “One at a time, but yes, I could do it. ”

  “Do it,” I said, the words lashing f
rom me. “Now. Please. ”

  “No. ”

  “Please. ”

  “Where is the fun in that? I came all this way, wasted money and two warriors, and I expect a show guaranteed to amuse me. ”

  I bit my tongue until blood seeped down my throat.

  “Welcome,” EenLi said, hushing our conversation. “Welcome, everyone. A. I. R. thought they could close us down, but here we are. ”

  Cheers erupted.

  After a sufficient length of time, EenLi waved again for silence. “I am honored to have everyone here, especially such honored guests as the king of Morevv and the king of Targon. ” His gaze paused on Devyn. “I see you brought your new slave, Devyn. ”

  The Targon nodded regally, his fingers stroking my hair. “That I did, but one can never have enough servants. ”

  “I hadn’t expected you to tame this one so quickly. ”

  “Who said she was tame?” Devyn winked.

  The crowd laughed. I glared up at EenLi, not even trying to dampen the disgust and loathing in my eyes. His skin glowed a bright shade of blue and pink—he was enjoying himself.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, returning his attention to the crowd. “You have a wide variety to choose from today. Are you ready to begin?”

  Another round of cheers.

  “Then so we shall. ” EenLi stepped to the side as one of his new Targon guards brought forth the first victim, a young, pretty girl of no more than fifteen. Her body trembled, causing locks of her carmine hair to spill forward. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she bit back a sob when EenLi parted her robe, revealing her still-developing nakedness to the onlookers. She didn’t fight. I doubted any of them would. They’d probably been threatened by unimaginable horrors if they so much as uttered a single protest.

  “A virgin to tempt any man,” EenLi boasted.

  And so the bidding began.

  One by one, men and women were sold to the highest bidder. I wanted Devyn to buy them all, but he only bought the virgin, as well as the women who had been locked inside the cell with me. Perhaps because I’d squeezed his thigh until he’d hissed out a price.

  Then, finally, Lucius’s turn arrived. He still slept peacefully.

  “Look at this prime piece,” EenLi said. “He will be good for manual labor, as well as bedroom labor. ”

  “Buy him for me,” I whispered up to Devyn.

  “I believe I’ve done quite enough for you,” he said, prim now.

  “I’ll give you two nights instead of one, plus the two kisses I owe you. ”

  The king’s eyes swirled vivid amber, and he immediately placed his first bid. Someone else, a white-headed Arcadian female, countered. On and on they bickered. EenLi’s gaze remained narrowed on Devyn, as if he couldn’t quite figure out what was going on.

  In the end, Devyn won the battle. He put the Arcadian to sleep, effectively ending her bidding. And so, the auction was over.

  “Thank you for coming,” EenLi told everyone. “If you didn’t win or didn’t find what you were looking for, please contact me. I usually hold private auctions, but because of a recent upheaval we had to do things a little differently this time around. ”

  The people around me stood. “If you put everyone to sleep, I’ll give you three nights,” I said, desperate to keep anyone from leaving. I didn’t want a single “slave” to be dragged out that door. I would set them free—or die trying.

  “I might be tired of you after two nights. ” Devyn uttered a breezy yawn. “The heat in here is stifling. Should we collect your humans and leave?”

  “You vowed to take me to my enemy. ”

  “And so I have. You see him, do you not?”

  “What is it you want from me?” I asked, more desperate now than before.

  “The same devotion you give your human. Your vow to eagerly accept me when I take you. ”

  “Done,” I said, though we both knew I lied.

  His gaze darted to the warehouse’s only door. “No one seems to be leaving yet. They’re lingering. ”

  “So? Put them to sleep before they decide tostop lingering. ”

  “First I want to thank our host for a wonderful evening. ”

  Yes, I thought darkly. Let’s thank him properly, shall we? I should have protested, should have insisted Devyn do my bidding, yet the thought of finally, at long last, coming face-to-face with EenLi proved too intoxicating.

  Devyn rose. When he moved past me, I followed behind him like a good little slave. We climbed the steps, me on my knees. My gaze lingered on Lucius’s sleeping form until I rammed into a large piece of splintered wood.

  EenLi was in deep conversation with another Mec. When he noticed Devyn, he waved the Mec away. “I made quite a profit from you this evening,” he said with a grin.

  “That you did,” Devyn responded.

  I reached behind my back to slide my knife from the waist of my pants…only to realize my knife was gone. My blood ran like ice in my veins. How Devyn had removed it, I didn’t know. Bastard. He knew I’d been planning to kill EenLi, here and now. Why had he stopped me? Did he mean to betray me? No, I thought. Devyn wanted his nights with me; he wanted me willing. He’d given me his vow.

  That meant…what?

  “Eden, rest your head on my leg like a good little girl. ”

  I did so without hesitation, and he sifted his fingers through my hair.

  “How did you train her so quickly?” EenLi’s white gaze raked over me, lingering on my breasts, between my legs. “She’s a delectable little morsel, isn’t she? Perhaps I should have kept her for myself. I just didn’t expect her to be so docile so quickly. ”

  “I have the most…persuasive training techniques. ”

  The two men shared a hearty laugh.