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"You," she cooed in a voice like poisoned honey, allowing one of her razor-sharp claws to trace an ominous line down his cheek. He shrank back instinctively, but the relentless grip of the guards rendered him immobile. "You will make a delightful new pet for my amusement."
Queen Uri looped a gleaming collar around his muscular throat with an air of possessive satisfaction. The male's eyes blazed defiantly as he spat, “I belong to no one but myself!” His words echoed hollowly against the stark landscape, swallowed by the oppressive silence.
"Wrong, Valosian,” Queen Uri responded coolly as she touched a wide bracelet encircling her skeletal wrist. “You belong to me.”
The metal band around the male’s neck glowed with sinister runes. His face contorted in agony, jaw clenched as his knees buckled and he collapsed at the queen’s feet.
At Queen Uri’s silent command, her servants scurried forward, and hoisted the fallen Valosian up by his arms, dragging him to a looming cage on wheels. They threw him inside and slammed shut the iron gate, the reverberating echo seemed to herald his doom.
The group of silver males erupted into chaos, their skin more like finely knitted scales flashing all manner of blue, white, and silver. Their unified roar echoed off the barren cliffs surrounding us like some primal battle cry from another age. They strained against their shackles, muscles rippling under flashing scales as they thrashed and snarled. I could see the raw power in their movements, the desperation in their eyes. The air crackled with their fury, filling me with a mixture of fear and awe as I bore witness to their futile rebellion.
Their curses filled the air, but their roars of outrage were quickly drowned out by the harsh cracking of Gorken whips. These were no ordinary lashes, they were instruments of torment. Long tendrils of what looked like hardened leather, studded with jagged fragments of obsidian glinted malevolently under the harsh alien suns. Each whip was an extension of the Gorkens' cruelty, brandished with sadistic delight by their thickly-scaled hands.
As the whips descended upon the Valosians, they didn’t recoil but vehemently fought back. Their muscular forms strained against their bonds as they grabbed at the lashing leather strips, some being jerked out of the Gorken’s hands. The air became charged with tension as cries of pain intermingled with growls of resistance. A spectacle that filled me with both horror and admiration.
Undeniably courageous, their struggle proved futile when the Gorken guards welding the whips fell back to give room for a more brutal weapon. Reminiscent of the glowing, electrified rod the troll had taunted me with, the group of Gorken armed with glowing spears emerged. Each jab was calculated and cruel, intended to subdue rather than kill outright. The screams of pain echoed hauntingly around us as each spear found its mark on Valosian flesh.
I huddled close to Leah and Bridget, the two girls flanking me in line, my heart pounding in my chest as I watched this horrifying display unfold before me. Tears welled in my eyes, blurring my vision but not enough to shield me from the cruelty taking place just yards away.
I couldn’t bear it. Turning my head, I tightly squeezed my eyes shut trying to block out not just the sight but also the sounds. The cries were muffled by distance yet still chillingly audible.
Even behind closed eyelids, I could see them, the brave Valosians writhing under the glowing spears' assault. Their resilience was inspiring yet heartbreaking at once. I’d been hanging onto a shred of hope that escape was possible, yet in that moment, I realized how dangerous hope could be in a place like this. Nothing more than a beacon shining brightly only to be snuffed out by brutal reality.
"Get moving!" The Gorken's command stung my ears. As if to punctuate his order, he brandished a whip and sent it cracking against the hard dirt at our feet.
I stumbled over the uneven ground, barely catching myself before I fell. Flanked by Gorken guards as we were herded toward the mouth of a giant cave, the guard’s impatience was clear in the crack of their whips, spurring us onward.
We were halted just outside the cave’s entrance.
"These are the rules," a guard bellowed, then held up a bright orange stone. “If you want sustenance, you have to earn it.”
Whimpers and soft curses rippled through our group as the guard went on to explain the orange stone was called sorium. It was an ore we were to mine in exchange for food and water. If we failed to produce, we went without. If we didn’t obey, we got the whip. It was as simple and as terrifying as that.
The mine yawned before us, a jagged hole leading into the depths of the planet. I squinted into the darkness as we descended, my eyes struggling to adjust to the gloom. The air grew cold and stale, tinged with the acrid scent of chemicals. Strange noises echoed through the tunnels, the hum of machinery and occasional shouts from the Gorken overseers.
My heart pounded as the darkness closed in around us, vast and suffocating. Panic rose in my chest, but I pushed it down through sheer force of will.
The other girls whimpered and sobbed, clutching each other’s hands in terror. I gritted my teeth, gripping the hand of the girl next to me. I couldn't see where we were going as the harsh sunlight from above dwindled into a pinprick and vanished, leaving us in gloomy darkness with only a few flickering torches to light the way.
The Gorken guards snapped their whips, hurrying us along. I winced at the sharp crack. We were nothing more than animals to the Gorkens, tools to be used and discarded when broken.
I gripped the other girl's hand tighter, the spark of defiance I’d held onto flaring within me. I thought of the Valosians who had fought back against our captors. The Gorkens might break my body, but they would never break my spirit.
If there was a way out of this, I was determined to find it. Inspired by the silver males, I raised my chin and marched on through the darkness.
Chapter Four
GUNNOX
The Zibeck's thin frame shuddered under my grip. Inside a dingy hut along the main path through the trading port on Tirius, I slammed the alien against the wall. His large black eyes darted around in fear as I bared my fangs, releasing a low growl.
"Where are they?" I snarled, my hands digging into his bony shoulders. The Zibeck whimpered, his beseeching gaze landing on Tyrk.
“Well, don’t look at me,” Tyrk barked out a laugh while riffling through the Zibeck’s belongings. “I’m not going to help you. It’s in your best interest to tell the Valosian what he wants to know.”
I tightened my hold and leaned in close. "We know a Gretolic ship filled with Valosians and humans were sold to the trollis. Tell me who the trollis sold them to or I'll rip your limbs off one by one starting with this one."
I twisted the wiry limb I held in an unyielding grip, the bone beneath threatening to buckle under the strain. A brilliant shade of green, the eight-legged creature emitted a shrill wail. Instinctively, my ears plastered themselves against my skull, shielding my sensitive auditory system from the piercing sound.
