Page 5 of Adtovar (The Alliance Rescue #1)

“The great gladiator Adtovar.”

I forced a smile to my face. An action I’d most likely have to do a lot while on this planet.

Bozzo proved a repulsive sight, resembling a greasy stain that had oozed its way to life.

His body was a thick, gelatinous mass of brown goo, with stumpy arms and legs protruding from his form like the gods had added them as an afterthought.

His species, the Bareak, were not renowned for their physical appearance, but rather for the uncanny ability to amass wealth with seemingly minimal effort.

The grandeur and opulence of Bozzo’s riches were on full display, from the towering arena that reflected the mastery of metallic architecture to his office just one floor above the slave quarters.

From an intricately carved desk inlaid with sparkling gemstones to gilded statues and colorful tapestries, every detail screamed extravagance.

“I heard you were gravely injured during the commotion at Duke Ako’s birthday celebration.

” I could practically see the credits jumping behind his pale-yellow gaze as it swept over me, taking a moment to linger on the expensive black leather suit I wore.

From my clothing to the unlimited credit chip resting in my pocket, we’d taken every precaution to sell the ruse of my pretend stature.

“I was,” I admitted. “I nearly died. Thankfully, Duke Ako had access to a Garoot healer and....” I swept a hand over my body, not bothering to narrate what Bozzo could clearly see.

“And here you sit, restored to your prime.” His smile widened, showing teeth as equally yellow as his eyes. “Do you have any idea how much money we could make if you returned to the arena?”

“I’ve done my time in the arena,” I said forcefully, albeit with a smile.

“I am a lanista now. I look forward to building a stable of fighters for Merchant Tregtar.” I dropped the name purposefully, knowing full well Bozzo would check.

Let him. Ako and Tregtar were old friends.

The merchant would vouch for my references and commission.

“How many other arenas have you visited?” Bozzo leaned back in his chair with a squelch.

“You’re the first.” Another distinctive trait of the Bareak was their insatiable egos.

“Why start with lesser Ludus Magnus when I can start with the best?” The lie rolled easily from my tongue.

I spent over a year here during my fighting days.

The place was a cesspool. Despite the grandiose structures above ground, I would bet the slave quarters below my feet remained barely livable.

While thankfully, I’d never been under Bozzo’s control, I knew all too well his reputation.

His gladiators were little more than slaves.

Starved, often beaten with little comfort or medical attention.

I could only imagine how he treated the females and flashed a smile to cover my gritted teeth.

Thankfully, Bozzo was too busy wallowing in my flattery to notice my underlying disgust.

“I have several well-trained gladiators you might be interested in. Ronco is a Kaelaks and one of the most winning. Another gladiator is Darikja. He’s a Wojonik, very fast and strong. My newest acquisition is a Gudari named....”

“Master Bozzo?” A small light blue Framaddi cracked the door, sliding into the office.

“What is it, Fherris?” Bozzo glared at his assistant, but the little blue male didn’t budge. He seemed much more concerned by whatever lingered behind him on the other side of the door.

“It’s her.”

I don’t know what struck me more strangely—that Fherris said her like he described the scourge of the universe or the fact that Bozzo himself appeared shaken to the core by the mention of her.

“Tell her I’m busy,” Bozzo hissed, straightening his gelatinous, greasy shoulders in an attempt to appear in control.

“I already did.” Fherris glanced back just as the door swung open.

I turned to glimpse the afeared her , relieved that my face turned away from Bozzo so he didn't witness my jaw drop.

The female striding into the office was utterly breathtaking.

Her smooth skin resembled the rich, warm tones of fertile earth, and her hair cascaded in a wild explosion of glossy dark ringlets about her face and shoulders.

Her eyes were like two pools of golden brown, shimmering with depth and emotion.

Full lips, a velvety shade of plum, pressed tight together showing her displeasure, perfectly accentuated by high cheekbones and a slim, elegant nose.

She was smaller than Willa. Where my human daughter possessed lean muscles, this female was all softness and curves.

Her eyes locked onto Bozzo, every muscle in her face tensing. The sharp line of her jaw and fierce furrow of her brow were like a dark storm brewing. To his credit, Bozzo slid his chair back a few inches.

A deep, exasperated sigh escaped her full lips, and she appeared disgusted by the sight of him.

Her piercing gaze flitted away from his form, scanning the room before finally landing on me.

Her eyes traveled slowly, taking in every detail, from my dusty boots to the sharp tips of the horns that curled over my head like a crown.

The only visible emotion on her face was a slight widening of her dark, almond-shaped eyes in surprise—a pleasant surprise, I hoped.

“To what do I owe this pleasure?” The chair creaked as Bozzo rose. He edged along the side of the desk, not moving closer to the female but away. He seemed wary of the tiny human, a fact that might have made me laugh out loud if I wasn’t so flabbergasted by the sight of her.

I expected to find the human frail and emaciated, broken and beaten. Her strength and resilience caught me off guard. Defiance raged within her, burning with such fervent heat that my horns tingled with curiosity.

“Pleasure?” The dark eyes rolled back for a moment. “There’s no pleasure in the way the gladiators treat the females on prize night. Every single female suffered injury.”

A nervous chuckle broke through Bozzo’s lips. “Perhaps your human sensibilities are offended by the roughness of the relations prize females are used to?”

She growled. The tiny female just growled. Granted, I found the sound more adorable than threatening.

“You think what happened was just rough sex?” She spat at Bozzo. “One of your gladiators hurt Lafalia badly. She’s got several broken ribs, not to mention a black eye and split lip. She won’t be able to get out of bed for a week.”

My whole body bristled at the description of what happened to the female.

Thankfully, the human didn’t appear injured.

She seemed perfect, and for a split second, my mind wandered to what it might be like to feel those luscious breasts pressed against my chest and her thighs wrapped around my waist. The thought was shocking.

Not only was it my mission to rescue and protect this human, but it had been a long time since I felt such an immediate and primal attraction towards a female.

“Really?” Bozzo went with the pretense of obtuseness. “Which gladiator chose her as a prize?”

“The new guy, Melakor.”

The name sent a shiver up my spine. Despite it being a while since I’d competed in an arena, I knew of Melakor. He had a reputation for viciousness and brutality. With him around, the sooner I could affect the humans’ escape, the better.

“Melakor is new to the pit. How could I know how he would treat a female?” Bozzo deflected his responsibility.

“That’s no excuse. The gladiators should have rules on how to treat the females.

.. gently,” the female hissed, taking another step closer to the desk.

Bozzo took a corresponding step in retreat, stumbling.

He righted himself quickly, thank the gods.

If he fell—whether it completely destroyed the mission—I would have laughed.

“Gently?” Bozzo laughed, trying to appear unfettered. “Prize nights are for the gladiators to blow off steam after a fight.”

The female crossed her arms over her chest, making her breasts plump enticingly, and glared. “Blowing off steam is one thing. Beating the hell out of a female is something different. Melakor doesn’t deserve one of the females. You’ll have to think of a different prize for him.”

“Different prize?” Bozzo stammered. “The females are the only prizes they want?”

My gaze cut between the two of them. It was definitely a strange dynamic. On the surface, the human female was his slave, one of many. But all the power in the conversation—in the room was hers.

“What good are your prizes if they’re dead?” She challenged. “Is it true? Has Melakor killed females before?”

Knowing what I did of Melakor, I didn’t doubt it.

“I don’t know about that?” Bozzo denied. From the way the female’s dark eyes narrowed, I suspected she knew he lied, just as I did.

With elegant grace, the female lifted a hand, her slender index finger pointing directly at the Bareak.

Despite being twice her size, Bozzo couldn’t stifle the fearful gasp that escaped him.

I bit down on my tongue, tasting blood, but it was the only way to keep from laughing.

Gods, she was feisty. My horns itched in appreciation.

“I mean it, Bozzo,” her voice grew low with warning. “Melakor doesn’t touch another female or….”

“Or what?” Bozzo’s pale yellow eyes widened.

“You know what.” The female’s slender finger traced a slow circle in the air, as if summoning some kind of magic.

As she let her arm fall to her side, she turned to leave, her long, dark brown ringlets swishing in her wake.

Just for a moment, her piercing dark eyes locked onto mine before she disappeared out the door. The moment left me breathless.

“Are you....” Bozzo’s worried voice stopped her at the doorway. “Are you going to tell your gods about this?”

The female glanced over her shoulder, a sly smile curving her plump, rosy lips. “Of course.”

Bozzo didn’t move until the door clicked firmly shut. Then he started pacing, his stubby arms waving nervously.

“Your human female is... curious.” I chose the words carefully, hopefully not revealing my true impression. I thought she was—as Willa would put it—fucking magnificent.

Bozzo issued me a defeated glance and slumped into his chair, which creaked loudly in protest. “I thought having a human female in my prize stable would elevate my operation and draw skilled gladiators to fight for her. But I got a dud.”

I bit back a smile. “Why do you call her a dud? She is lovely.” The female was truly the most beautiful creature I’d ever seen, but I wouldn’t admit that to Bozzo. My mission was to buy her without driving the price up to a point where Duke Ako would have to mortgage the citadel to accomplish it.

“Yes, yes, she’s beautiful and exotic.” Bozzo waved his hand as though he found those attributes bothersome. “But she’s dangerous.”

This time, I did laugh. “Dangerous? She’s tiny.”

Bozzo frowned at my amusement, the pinch of his brow giving him a pointed look. “Yes, but she’s protected by a powerful god called voodoo .”

“Voodoo?” I’d never heard of it, despite spending much of my time on the Historia studying Earth’s culture and history.

Perhaps my human daughter might be able to shed some light—if I had the means to contact her.

Bozzo’s astuteness as an entrepreneur was matched only by his paranoia.

No doubt any communication on or off the planet was monitored.

Ako had already put a plan in place should I not be able to contact the Historia in a given amount of time.

“Shhh!” Bozzo waved his stumpy arms in my direction. “Voodoo is always listening.”

“I did not know you to be superstitious,” I chided.

“Superstitious!” Bozzo slammed a hand down on his desk, his flesh rippling and jiggling like gelatin. “Her god gives her powerful magic. She’s almost blown me to bits on several occasions. Once just outside my office. The human is dangerous!”

I took the opening. “Perhaps I could take her off your hands? Merchant Tregtar wishes to build a Prize stable as well as a first-rate familia .”

Bozzo’s yellow eyes went comically wide. “Really?” His excitement only lasted for a moment before he gave a disgruntled huff. “The last time I attempted to sell her, she threatened to hex me. I don’t want to be hexed.”

“No, that would not be good,” I commiserated with a shake of my head, adding hex to my mental list of Earth customs to research. “Perhaps I could meet her and convince her to come with me. Surely, she would not hex you if she felt the decision to leave was somewhat in her hands.”

Bozzo studied me for a moment, the oily residue on his skin thickening. Bareak secretions increased when they got excited, a rather disgusting occurrence to witness.

“That would be wonderful.” His stumpy hands slapped together gleefully. “Come, I will take you to her now.”

I rose from my seat, eager to follow Bozzo out of his office. I didn’t believe for a moment the tiny human female posed any sort of threat, yet I couldn’t expel the shiver of excitement racing down my spine.