Page 5

I pressed fully against the wall, feeling smaller than I ever had. And then his black eyes locked onto mine, unblinking and intense, and there was this darkness that swirled in their depths.

A primal, instinctual fear claimed me, and I felt a cold shiver slide down my spine.

Everything else around me seemed to vanish as I took in his appearance. He had thick, curved horns that jutted from his head, their sharp, wicked points catching the torchlight as he kept a stoic expression.

One of the creatures made a move to leave, and he snapped his head in its direction, baring his fangs, the long, sharp teeth glistening with a thin sheen of saliva as his lips curled back in a snarling challenge.

“Do it,” he said to the beast in a gruff voice, his words accented as he spoke my language.

His massive hands were curled into fists, the thick, powerful muscles of his forearms flexing as he stepped closer to the creature who tried to leave.

“Try and get past me and see what I do to your body.” The beast was smart enough to take a step back from this male who clearly held uncontestable power and authority.

The humans who’d been taken stood off to the side, pressed against the far wall, their tear-streaked faces looking just as terrified as mine surely did.

“Who sanctioned this illegal auction in my kingdom?” His voice boomed, and everyone shrunk back. When no one answered, he smiled and lifted his arms. “If no one wants to claim this, then all of you will be held accountable.”

A rush of heavily armored monsters swarmed into the room and to either side of what I assumed was the king, seeing as he said this was his kingdom.

Everything was a blur of shapes and shadows and roars and screams. I smelled blood, felt it splash on my partially nude body.

It all happened in a matter of seconds, and when I opened my eyes—not realizing I’d squeezed them shut—all that was in front of me were corpses, blood, and trafficked humans who looked shell-shocked.

For a heartbeat, everything and everyone was silent. Then, the ragged, panicked gasps of the other captives and the soft, wet drip of blood filled my head.

“Take the humans back to where they came from,” the monster king said, and I snapped my head to look at him.

He watched me.

His gaze slid from my head to my toes, and I clutched my arms to my body, shielding my nudity.I don’t want to stay here, but I don’t want to go back home. I thought I’d said those wordsin my head, but when his brow furrowed and a low sound left him, I realized I’d said them out loud.

The king beast swiftly moved in front of me. He reached out, his massive, clawed hand wrapping around my wrist, his rough skin gently scraping against my bare flesh as he pulled me to his chest.

I couldn’t scream even though I was terrified and knew I should.

“It’s okay, little one. You don’t want to go home.” The way he said that made it seem like he knew I faced horrors at home. “And I won’t leave you here.” He used a claw to tip my head back. “You’ll come with me. I’ll keep you safe, and we’ll figure out what to do next.”

He lifted me easily into his arms, my voice still frozen in my throat as I let him carry me out of that room and into the waiting darkness.

His deep, gravelly voice rumbled in a language I didn’t understand as his men parted for us, their twisted, beastly heads bowing with respect.

The flickering torchlight faded behind us as the massive, gray-skinned king took me into the shadows and deeper into the heart of his Dark Realm.

4

KATRINA

Iremembered little after we left the auction.

I certainly didn’t remember falling asleep.

One moment, I was being carried by a monster king, his enormous body radiating heat and strength, and the next, I was lying in a bed far too large for any human.

I didn’t move as I just gathered my thoughts and took an inventory of my surroundings.

The furs beneath me were soft, and the air was warm given the fact a roaring fire burned brightly in a huge hearth off to the side. I rubbed my eyes and stared up at the ceiling, one carved from black, shining stone that seemed veined with sparkling gems.

Those beautiful, strange lines pulsed slowly, almost like they were alive.