Page 3

KATRINA

T he air around me was thick with the stench of sweat, blood, and fear. The platform beneath my knees was slick with pungent grime, the old and scarred wood digging into my flesh.

My wrists throbbed, the shackles clanking together because none of the women could be still, not when they shook from pure terror.

My head swam, my pulse a frantic, erratic drumbeat in my ears. The roar of the monstrous crowd surrounded me in a deafening, chaotic wave.

I tried to steady my breath, but my chest heaved as I forced myself to look out over the sea of twisted, snarling and grotesque faces. Eyes glowing, their fixed gazes on us filled with a hunger I’d never seen before.

It was horrifying.

My heart raced even harder, and my body trembled. My thin nightgown offered little protection against the cold, damp air that hung around me like an oppression.

One by one, the women prisoners were hauled up and pushed forward, presented before the crowd. I couldn’t understand the language, but the way the females were touched and mauled, stripped bare to show their nudity, it was clear we were pieces of meat being displayed for a buyer.

The screams echoed off the jagged stone walls. The chains rattled, and pleas for help fell on deaf, twisted ears.

A few younger human men were brought in and had the same fate as the human woman.

I watched as a young man was yanked forward, his pale, gaunt face twisted in terror as a hulking, green fur-covered beast with beady black eyes and gnarled, twisted horns claimed him.

They did this repeatedly, and all I could do was kneel and wait. I swallowed, my throat dry, the bitter taste of fear coating my tongue. My turn was coming, the line shrinking as each human was sold off, their fates sealed by the exchange of money.

Finally, I felt rough, clawed hands close around my upper arms, yanking me up to my feet. I stumbled forward, the chains clanging together, my heartbeat drowning out everything else as it pounded in my ears.

My knees felt weak, my bare feet raw and sore from walking on the rough terrain. I was all but dragged onto the center of the platform and pushed forward, my toes touching the edge.

Sweat and dirt covered my face, and my hair stuck to my temples. I forced my head up, hating that I probably looked like a wild, terrified animal about to get slaughtered.

Twisted faces leered up at me, sharp teeth glinting, glowing eyes ravenous, and bodies so huge and beastly that I couldn’t have imagined them if I tried.

The slave auctioneer started speaking in those strange, garbled words as he lifted my arms, tore at my gown, and displayed me like a piece of meat.

And then a hush fell over the crowd. A hulking figure stepped forward, its massive form hunched, a disgusting and dirty pelt covering its shoulders. I held my breath as I stared into its small, beady eyes—those twin orbs… soulless.

And when it grinned, twisted, yellowed teeth flashed in double rows on the top and bottom. I felt instantly sickened as it came forward and eyed me up and down.

My heart stuttered in my chest, my breath catching as the heavy, oppressive weight of what was happening to me finally sunk in and strangled me.

The yellow-fanged beast said something to the auctioneer and nodded toward me.

I was jerked backward, my gown hanging from me in tatters as I was ushered down the steps and toward the towering monster.

The creature reached for me, its long, gnarled fingers curling around my arms and pulling me forward. He smelled like death.

“No,” I finally said, feeling my voice for the first time since being thrust on that auction block. I jerked back, my arms straining against his iron hold, his claws digging into my skin and tearing it easily. But nothing was as painful as the pure, unadulterated terror that ran through my veins.

The creature’s jaw cracked open, its teeth snapping together mere inches from me, its breath a noxious plume blown across my face. It leaned in closer, its claws tightening around my arms until I cried out.

“Little human, I’ll have fun breaking you and putting you back together.” He hauled me through the crowd, but something shifted suddenly.

The air became hotter and thicker, and everything and everyone fell silent. The monster still held me, but his hold loosened. I looked into its grotesque face only to see fear as he scanned the crowd.

Whatever—or whoever—was here was something even darker and more terrifying than the monsters in this room.

I felt it and heard it before I saw it—a deep, rumbling growl that vibrated through the stone beneath my feet. The sound echoed off the walls, and I swore it rattled the iron chains that bound me as a prisoner.

The crowd around us fell silent, their bodies tensing, their glowing eyes flicking nervously toward the door I’d entered from. And then, I felt this pressure right before the door splintered inward, the force throwing me backward until I hit the hard ground, the wind knocked out of me.

I heard roars and screams, the vibration all around me a stampede. Survival instinct told me to get up or I’d get crushed. I rose and quickly moved toward the wall. There were too many bodies trying to flee in all directions that there was no way I could try and get out of here safely.

That’s when I saw a massive figure step forward, his shadow stretching long and intimidating, his presence sucking the air from the room.

My heart hammered painfully against my ribs as the beast stepped fully into view, the torchlight illuminating his ashen-colored skin. His massive, muscular form towered over every other creature, his very presence making everyone stand still.

They feared him.

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 words in 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.