Page 5

I try to force the fantasy of those aliens out of my mind – but the more I think about them, the more I ache to fly from these walls, and to throw away everything. I crave to give in to these dark, deep needs that seem to bind me to the species; or, at least, my illusion of them.

As I lie in bed, my hand moves down my body. I caress my skin.

I know the touch of Aurelians would not be so gentle as my own. They are soldiers, after all – a warrior race who spend a hundred years at war.

They’re brutal, cold aliens – whom some claimhaveno emotions.

No, they wouldn’t kiss or caress me. They wouldn’t whisper gentle words in my ears.

If I went to them – if I actually joined an Aurelian harem…

…they’dtakeme.

I bite my lip, imagining the feeling of utter surrender as three huge, seven-feet-tall aliens press down against me.

The hunger in their slate-grey eyes as they succumbed to the mating rage.

The merciless, animal lust as these powerful warriors ignore my whimpers and pleas, and justtake me– hard and fast.

One after the other, or all at once.

My nipples harden in the night, and I moan out, reaching to my bedside table. I take a hairbrush, feeling the cold, hard handle and imagining that it’s the hard, marble flesh of an Aurelian’s huge, thick, throbbing cock…

I slip the hairbrush beneath the covers – and in a moment, my moans drown out the clanking of the Sentinels outside.

3

Natali

“I’d just like to go past the wallsone time,” I sigh.

The sprawling estate in which I live is bordered abruptly by towering, twenty-foot-tall walls, patrolled by Sentinels. Within those towering barriers are sparkling ponds and lush trees, carefully maintained gardens, and blooming flowers. Overhead, the sky is bright and blue, filled with birds chirping in paradise.

But it doesn’t matter how beautiful this place is – as long as I’m not allowed beyond those walls, it’s a prison.

I used to fantasize about a handsome rogue stealing me away from within these oppressive walls – taking me off on a life of adventure. Now that I’m older, though, I’ve cast such juvenile fantasies away. I now know the handsome rogue would be cut down by a hail of bullets before he could even get to my room.

Beside me, the estate’s guard Gerard rubs his long, white mustache – pondering my request.

“Of course, Lady Carani,” he nods. He’s been calling me Lady Carani since I was three years old, and first walked these gardens. “I’ll arrange the escort. We can walk around the complex and return. A short trip, though.”

A walk around the complex? That’s it? I’m not even allowed to visit the markets or the city anymore. I’ll be allowed only a brief walk outside the walls – and the entire time, Gerard will be scanning the horizon for potential threats.

“I don’t mean likethat, Gerard,” I sigh. “Not literallyjustpast the walls, with ten Sentinels on either side of me and a hover-ship above. I meango outand see what it’s like tolive.”

“But Lady Carani, we must…”

I turn to him, rolling my eyes.

“…practice caution.” I finish his sentence for him – his answer is so predictable.

Predictable – but he takes it with deadly seriousness.

Visiting the markets and city was a luxury I could only enjoy before our family circumstances changed.

My father’s company discovered the largest Orb-Deposit found within the last century – an incredible fortune, but one that has put us at great risk. I’m my father’s only weakness – the only thing that could ever be used against him. I’m the only thing he cares about more than his fortune – or, at least, that he professes to.

I’m my father’s soft underbelly – and the rival tycoons of Marn don’t hesitate to drive a knife into one of those once they discover it.