Page 19 of Bonded Queen: to the Alien Warlord Triad

When I get through the doorway, I nearly run down the stairs.

“The other women, are they safe?” Kat asks again.

“They’re safe,” he finally answers, and I get a little smile. Though we’re not out of the woods yet, I’m so glad to know that the women, especially sweet, young Lola, are still breathing.

His booted footsteps follow behind us. I want to look backwards, but I keep my eyes forward as I go down the curling staircases that I used to bring food and drinks up to Brianna. We walk into the courtyard. All nine of the other servants are there, robes sweat-soaked with fear, soot and dust on their faces. They’re marched forward by the second triad, the true believers with brands on their foreheads.

Summer’s come down from the other tower. Unlike the other women, she has her chin up, her eyes steady. She changed in the hours of fighting. She’s not hesitant or nervous anymore. She has a determination emanating from her, a steady power that buoys me.

The beast of an Aurelian grunts out an order in their language and points towards the garden. We fall in line behind the other women, going through the broken gate and into the desecrated sanctuary.

The gate to the garden was a beautifully constructed wooden gate painted white. Now it’s in splinters on the ground. It was opaque, by Brianna’s request. I could catch glances of her garden from the tower window, but a maple tree in full bloom shrouded it in a sense of privacy, blocking my view of the curated flowers. In the winter, when all the leaves were gone, I got a clear view of the branches of the garden that looked like its bones.

The two other Aurelians of the beast’s triad are there too. Up close, I can see how they have changed since I saw them in my vision. The leader of the three is tall and noble, with black hair flecked with grey cut short at the sides, a strong jaw covered in black-grey stubble, powerful cheekbones and a Romanesque nose. The third is the leanest, his robe dangling opens and showing his chiseled body, his hard abs, and I even catch a glance of his V-taper leading downwards. His hair is blond and longer, with high cheekbones and an imperious gaze to him. Of the three, he looks the youngest, yet I know if they are triad, they must be the same age—perhaps nearing forty, which means they’ve seen centuries of action. The blond one has been wounded, yet he stands as if the fresh, red cut on his shoulder is nothing, blood dripping down his body, mixing with his sweat. It must sting.

All three of them are staring at me like they own me.

There’s a tiny bench in the garden. The big beast of an Aurelian steps forward and haughtily puts his boot on it, using it as a footrest. That’s where Brianna used to sit. When she had me bring refreshments to the garden, she’d make me stand on the other side of the gate until she was ready to open it, telling me that she knew she was being difficult but that it really was her private place, and it wouldn’t be the same with me stomping all over it.

I can still remember the smirk on her face when she said it.

Now I’m standing in her garden, with her servants, and the triad of Aurelians with tattoos on their foreheads just stepped on her prize rosebush. She’d be horrified. We’re all clumped in together in a ball, none of us wanting to move suddenly for fear that we’ll catch the attention of the Aurelians.

“Line up!” The leader of the Aurelians growls out the order, and we get into a line. The triad of Fanatics with the branded foreheads scan the row of women eagerly. When their eyes travel over me, I shudder.

“I am General Ra’al. This is my triad, General Kriz and General Orr. We take possession and command of this planet, in the holy name of Obsidian. This planet belongs to the War-God now!” He roars out the words, fury in his words, then looks up and down the row of women.

“We saved your lives. By the laws of the Old Ways, you now belong to us.”

My heart sinks. Kat steps forward, wanting to say something, but fortunately thinks better of it, when General Ra’al continues, motioning to the line of women.

“You nine now belong to the Followers of Obsidian. You will choose your fate. If you are lucky, you will be displayed at the auctions, and if fortune smiles on you, you will be picked by a triad of noble warriors.” He says it like it’s a glorious fate, to be the harem wench of brutal warriors. I’ve heard all about the Aurelians’ insatiable desires and the strict discipline they impose on their women.

I get a flash of a vision, of being over the huge man’s lap, his palm coming down hard on my ass as he disciplines me. It makes me shiver, but my nipples pebble, and I swallow hard, trying to control the feelings welling up in me. Maybe it’s just the ecstasy of being alive, but their power is inflaming me with something I can’t control.

No one moves. The nine servants who hid in the cellar are petrified. Only Lola looks up, glancing at the three men with brands on their foreheads. She looks at them for a long moment, then plants her gaze to the ground.

Nine? But there’s twelve of us.

“You three defended yourselves. Stand aside. Your lives do not belong to us, by Obsidian’s laws.” He motions with a dismissive wave, but his eyes never leave me.

Kat moves first. She grabs my hand, pulling me to the side, where we stand as far away from the Fanatical triad as possible. Summer follows, not saying a word, her eyes darting left and right, scanning the grounds for any sign of threat. Her finger twitches. I realize it’s the one that was pulling the trigger. Now every few seconds, it jumps and moves. She starts, looking behind her, and a squirrel darts off.

General Ra’al says something in Aurelian. The cruel beasts with the tattooed foreheads lick their lips in anticipation.

“He said that they earned first pick of a servant, for protecting such valuable…art. The last word didn’t translate well, but he’s talking about the twelve of us,” whispers Kat from behind me. We’re far enough away from the rest of the group no one can hear us.

I didn’t know she could speak Aurelian, and I almost wish I didn’t understand her.

The three brutes are going to pick one of the women, to own her. When their eyes glazed over my body, I felt cold and terrified.

These three wouldn’t let them take me, would they? Kat warned me about the ones with the brands on their foreheads.

I still haven’t mentioned to Kat that I’ve seen the triad before. I don’t know much about Aurelians, but I know that they have eyes only for me. The other triad, on the other hand, is looking up and down the row of servants with piercing, hungry eyes.

They settle on Lola. She stands, slim and terrified, her eyes down. Barely twenty years old, she’s beautiful, too fragile. The leader of the three beasts steps forward, his nostrils flaring as he takes in her scent. It must be laced with terror, but he seems to enjoy it, licking his lips.

“You wish to belong to me.” It’s the first time I hear him speak the Common tongue. It’s alien to him, heavily accented, and I can see the shiver go through Lola. She doesn’t answer. She stands, as if she is petrified, not looking up or down.

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