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I’m still alive, and I plan to keep it that way.

My spirit is strong – stronger now than perhaps it ever was. I just need to remember everything Ling taught me – to make my mind keen enough to take Gab’nah and Lord Oblog down.

Gab’nah is the more physically dangerous, but Lord Oblog’s always been two steps ahead. I need to find his weakness – and I can’t rely on the Aurelians. They’re Bonded to me. They’ve found their Fated Mate, and now they won’t risk anything if it puts me in jeopardy.

Lord Oblog stretches his blubbery lips wide.

“If you try to escape, Jamie, I’m going togive youto Gab’nah. I won’t let him kill you – but I’ll let him enjoy you for an hour or two, while your precious little triad feels every thrust and twinge of it through your fabled Bond.” He pauses, running his lips across his glistening lips. “Do you understand me?”

My muscles tense.

Alone with that Gab’nah? It’s the stuff of my worst nightmares – the ones that would keep me up for weeks after Ling was taken from me.

Alone with him, there’s nothing I could do to protect myself. He could do anything to me – except kill, me, apparently; although I’m sure I’d be begging for him to do so before the end of it.

I have no weapons, and even if I did, my trusty knife would be useless against ten feet of gelatinous, fatty, wart-covered muscle. Bullfrog skin is so thick I’d need an Orb-Blade to even pierce it. Even with the strength of the Bond, I couldn’t plunge the blade of my knife into anything except Gab’nah’s beady, bulbous eyes – or his soft, fleshy genitals that hang out only when a Bullfrog fucks a woman. The disgusting member of the Toad species normally resides safe inside their bodies, typical of their hermaphroditic race.

Listening to Oblog’s threats, Gab’nah steps forward. His thick fists clench. I know he’s imagining wrapping them around me and forcing me to do his bidding.

He takes another menacing stride, and that’s when Oblog raises his hand.

“Not yet, Gab’nah. Only if she tries to escape.” His bulbous eyes turn to the towering Bullfrog. “And even then – no permanent damage. If you must have fun with her –afteryou’ve had your ‘fun’ with her – I suggest electricity.”

Oblog gurgles with laughter.

“You can have so much fun with electricity - and without leaving much more than a few little scars.” He rubs his slimy hands together in glee. “Nothing our med-bots can’t fix.”

Med-bots can fix physical scars, but not mental ones. That much I learned from the poor women Ling and I rescued from the Toads.

Lord Oblog is oblivious to my thoughts – lost in his vision of Gab’nah tormenting me.

“Maybe you can combine the two,” the Toad Lord gurgles. “She’s proven she can take a big cock – three of them, in fact.” His tongue slithers across his lips. “I think she’ll still be quite tight – but if she’s not tight enough, I’m sure you’ll enjoy how a human female clenches down and spasms when the shock hits her.”

My stomach roils. I clamp my teeth together and fight against the nausea. Iwon’tthrow up in front of them...

…I hope.

Gab’nah breathes in, his huge belly expanding. Then, he laughs – and it’s the most sickening noise I can imagine. His laughter is low and guttural as he imagines the pleasure of tying me up, torturing me, and raping me again and again.

I try to find anger – but panic surges inside me instead. It’s yellow and vile, and it overwhelms my mind. I feel my stomach clenching, and my heart pounds like a drum. I have to force myself to breathe in deeply, remembering what Ling had taught me to gain focus and calmness. I try to conjure up her words in my mind – Itryto remember her lessons...

…but it’s hopeless.

All I can picture is Ling at the moment of her gasping death. All my mind conjures is the image of her last few seconds of desperation as she hangs on the barb of Gab’nah’s electro-shocker.

Calm. Before battle, calm. Become your body. Become your instincts. Let them drive you.

Marcel’s voice is no memory! It’s here – inside my head. It’snow.

He’s a battle commander. He’s found his strength – the same one that kept he and his battle brothers safe during their hundred years of service to the Empire, and through all the battles the three of them have survived since.

His aura is empty, yet full – both at the same time. Marcel is like a rock. He’s been outmaneuvered left and right by this Toad Lord, but at his heart he is always a leader and a warrior. His calm presence in my mind soothes me. His fearless aura bolsters me. He lets his courage flow into me and I drink it up.

Buoyed by Marcel’s unspoken strength, I stare at Gab’nah with newfound defiance.

“I’m going to fucking kill you.”

The venom pours out with my words. I’m surrounded by Sentinels that could snap my neck with a single twist of their mechanical hands, while facing down the same, sadistic Bullfrog who killed my best friend – and yet I find my strength through my triad.