Page 62 of Stolen Slave

“Only a little,” I said. Now that I could understand them, they didn’t seem as threatening. I still wasn’t a fan of all the focused attention, though.

My gaze shifted from him to the other guy. “I’m Vya. Why are we the only two not wearing clothes?”

“I am called S’doifu.” He tilted his head at me. “Do all females from Earth cover their beauty?”

I considered what he was saying and looked at Khorahn. “Why are you covering your beauty but not mine?”

He grinned at me and stood with me in his arms. “Do you find me beautiful?”

“You are graced by the light for certain,” S’doifu said.

I felt like I was only understanding half of the conversation. My stomach chose then to growl aggressively.

“My precious female, allow me to provide for you. My paradise has the best foods from all over the systems.” Mtinash turned toward a smooth section of wall, and a door opened, just like on the ship.

Khorahn carried me from the exam room, and I caught the way S’doifu glanced at my dangling ass.

“Can I walk?” I asked.

“Are you certain?” Khorahn asked.

After my nod, he carefully set me down. It felt good to walk but somehow more exposing. So I pressed myself against Khorahn’s side and wrapped an arm around his waist.

I had so many questions I wanted to ask but didn’t think any of them would make sense. Such as the current date. Did they have the same calendar as we did on Earth? And where was Earth? Would I even understand if they tried to explain? It wasn’t like they could say it was seven miles south of where we were. I was pretty sure outer space didn’t have those kinds of directions.

So I settled for one that might make sense.

“How did you find me?”

“That is a story I would like to hear as well,” Mtinash said. “Although, I think I have an idea. Narlin Four in the Prime Twelve system, right?”

“How did you know?” Khorahn asked.

“The Wsoau put a bounty on you. A lot of chit, my friend.”

“Can someone explain what you’re talking about?” I asked.

Khorahn’s palm smoothed over my arm as we followed his friend.

“Narlin Four is a planet in a system called Prime Twelve. It’s inhabited by the Wsoau, who mine mineral-rich soil that’s in high demand. That’s where I found you. Someone I was following landed there. I was granted permission to land to find him. While I was there, I heard them talking about an Oebri bathhouse.

“It’s a place where a male can go for the chance of female companionship at a price. But not the price the Wsoau I spoke to mentioned. Much higher. More exclusive. And not something found on a rough mining planet.

“I was curious. So after I found my…friend, I went to look. I thought I would find bots providing baths. But when I saw you, damaged, wearing a shock collar, sitting in that rough shack they’d constructed—” Khorahn shook his head. “I couldn’t leave you there.”

I remembered the sounds of the boards breaking and the quiet. The memory of the fear I felt was there, but I didn’t relive it. It was more like someone else’s memory than my own.

“I dressed Vya in my friend’s clothes and walked out with her over my shoulder. The Wsoau didn’t suspect a thing.”

Mtinash laughed. “They do now, my friend.”

I hugged Khorahn even harder for the obvious risk he’d taken to save me.

Mtinash turned toward another blank-looking section of wall and pressed his hand to it. A door opened, and we were walking into that same enormous atrium with the beautiful sky.

The soft grass path tickled the bottoms of my feet as he led us through the trees and flowers. Birds chirped and chittered even though I couldn’t see them. The path opened up to a clearing where the sunlight illuminated cushions and low tables.

“Please. Sit. Make yourself comfortable,” Mtinash said.

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