Page 81 of Sold to the Nalgar
Buildings flashed past—temples, barracks, open plazas. The hum of technology somewhere beneath it all. And always, always the city’s strange beauty—alien but intoxicating.
She reached the outer gates. No one stopped her.
And beyond them—the forest.
She didn’t hesitate.
The trees swallowed her whole.
The wilds were darker than she expected. The sun bled through in slashes, filtered red light streaking over moss-covered roots and thorny undergrowth. Alien birds screamed in the canopy. Something large shifted in the shadows, pacing.
She ran faster.
Feral joy flooded her veins. The madness of movement. Thefreedom.
She leapt over gnarled trunks, vaulted boulders. Barely felt her feet hit the ground. She could run forever. Shewantedto.
Because this—this was what she’d been denied.
And she wasn’t human anymore.
She didn’t know what she was.
But whatever Zarokh had made her into… it wanted the wild.
And it wanted to befree.
She ran until the trees thickened and the air grew wilder—wetter, sharper, filled with scents she couldn’t name. Each breath felt electric. Her feet barely skimmed the ground. Muscles coiled, responded.God,this body. This strength.
She laughed. Genuinely. Breathless with the rush.
She was a blade unsheathed.
No longer confined. No longer tethered.
Not to Earth. Not to fear.
She wasfree.
Her boots splashed through a shallow creek. She leapt from stone to root, ducking under branches. Sweat dampened the back of her neck. She didn’t care. She could run forever. Shewantedto run forever.
Until she heard it.
A snarl.
Low. Guttural. Not behind her—but ahead. And to the left. Then the right.
She slowed.
The forest held its breath.
Something moved in the undergrowth—several somethings. Shadows, large and fast. A glint of eyeshine in the dim light.
Then the first beast stepped out.
It was enormous. Wolf-shaped, but wrong. Taller than her hip. Slabbed with muscle. Its coat was black and sleek, shimmering faintly with an oily sheen. Its mouth split wide—too wide—revealing rows of serrated teeth.
One beast became two. Then three. Then six.
