Page 41 of Sold to the Nalgar (Stolen From Earth #3)

T he smoke hit him first: sharp, acidic, chemical— wrong . Then came the screams.

Zarokh halted at the edge of the rocky overlook, Cecilia at his side.

By the gods, she was beautiful. He counted himself fortunate over and over again.

Her hair clung damp to her neck, her pupils wide from the wild, desperate flight through the forest. But the breathless amusement on her face—leftover from her reckless escape—vanished the instant she followed his gaze.

Below them, his city burned.

The blackstone walls were shattered. The gates— his gates—hung open like broken jaws.

Towers toppled and crumbled, spilling fire into the veins of the streets.

Ships cut low through the blood-red sky, metal hulls flashing, weapons roaring.

His fortress—the once-impenetrable heart of his rule—was being gutted beneath the twin suns.

Zarokh’s jaw locked, muscles tight enough to crack bone.

This wasn’t a siege. This was betrayal. Someone had opened the gates. Let them in. There was no way Vuvak could have stormed his stronghold so easily, so quickly.

Instantly, he knew who’d done this.

Only one possessed the intimate knowledge to do all of this.

He’d sensed it and chosen to ignore it.

And his enemy was right: he’d been preoccupied with her.

Fucking Velkar.

The name slammed into him like a blade. His second. His trusted hand.

And now? His traitor.

His breath slowed. Rage coiled in his chest, cold, sharp, and ready to cut. Beside him, Cecilia shifted, as if she could feel the weight of his anger. The silence that came before slaughter. She turned her face toward him, red-brown eyes searching.

He didn’t give her time to speak.

“Let’s move,” he said, his voice like gravel grinding steel.

They descended the jagged path that wound down toward the outskirts. Below, dark figures clashed in the ruins—men clad in blood-red armor. Vuvak’s colors. Clan Kovak. The upstart bastard had dared to strike at his heart.

Zarokh’s teeth bared, more animal than man.

How dare they? How dare Vuvak stain his city, his rule, with fire and blood? And Velkar—snake that he was—had given them the opening.

Ships roared overhead, shadows slicing through smoke. A firefight broke out near the central square. He could hear the crack of energy rifles, the clash of metal on metal, the guttural roars of death.

He needed strength. He needed blood.

The thought tore through him, clear and undeniable. He turned to her. Cecilia froze under the feral glint of his eyes.

“Stay by my side,” he said, low and hard. The translator in his palm echoed his words in her language. “At all costs.”

Confusion flickered across her face. Then, fear, as he sank to one knee before her. His massive form bowed, an unnatural, almost violent gesture of submission.

“I need your blood,” he rasped. “Give me strength, so I can take back what is mine. Otherwise, we will both fall.”

She took a step back. “What?” The single word cracked with disbelief.

He raised his head, black eyes burning. “Cecilia. If I do not take it, I cannot fight them. Velkar. Vuvak. All of them will burn what is mine—and you with it. Your blood will make me stronger. It always does. Understand. This place is mine. The people, the buildings, the war-machines, the riches. All of it. And so are you. Now, I will do what I’ve always done: defend what is mine.

I won’t allow them to steal it. But I need your help. I need you. ”

She swallowed, her body rigid, her fear tangible.

“Do not fear,” he said, softer now, but no less intense. “I will protect you. I will tear them apart. I will make them choke on their betrayal.” He rose, towering, dangerous, and desperate all at once.

His hand brushed her arm, light but insistent. “Stay. With. Me.”

For a heartbeat, silence pressed between them, broken only by the distant thunder of explosions. Somewhere in the chaos below, men still loyal to him fought like cornered darharin . He could feel them, sense their loyalty burning under the wreckage.

“They are not gone,” he said, more to himself than her. “I will rally them. I will take back what is mine. And when I do…” His voice cut off, the words curling into a snarl. “Vuvak will bleed.”