All I had to go on was his word, and in my experience, the word of people who got their kicks controlling others wasn’t ever something to put much stock in.
I needed to trust him, but in the moment, that was asking a lot.
“Apex?” I asked softly as an awful, wonderful thought crossed my mind.
There was no answer. He was fast asleep.
I shifted slightly in bed, just to see if my movement would jostle the mattress enough that it woke Apex up. To my relief, it didn’t seem to register on the other side of the pillow wall at all.
Perfect.
I climbed back out of bed slowly and carefully. One wrong move would risk waking Apex, and now that I’d agreed to follow his orders, I didn’t want to find out how he’d punish me when I disobeyed them.
I got all the way to the door before I even hesitated for long enough to look back.
It was hard to see Apex’s form in the darkness. The only light was from the fireplace in the corner of the room. The fire within it was burned down to embers. All I could really tell was that his eyes were still closed. A good sign.
By morning, I’d be out of here, and he’d have no idea where I’d gone. No one would.
I had no reason to trust Apex, but I had every opportunity now to finally escape this palace with no one’s help but my own.
For the first time since I’d been kidnapped, I finally had a chance of actually being free.
I slipped out of the door and closed it behind me without a sound. At least my dancer’s training came in handy for more than just entertaining Lieja. I was light on my feet. I moved quickly down the dimly lit hallway, being careful to not make any noise. There was a window at the end of the hall, open to a cloudy night, starless night. If I could slip out of it and climb down the castle walls, I’d be out of the palace for good. Then, all it would take was finding a single ship that I could stow away in, or some good Samaritan who looked like they might be willing to take me away from Nightmoor entirely…
After that, I supposed, I’d come up with the next steps of my plan somewhere out in the stars.
My heart thundered as I neared the window. It might be a long drop, but I had good upper body strength and even better reflexes. Even if I had to lower myself from one windowsill to the next until I reached solid ground, it would be doable.
I’d be out of the palace and well on my way to being away from Nightmoor for good before anyone even realized I was gone.
But as I came to the end of the hall, I heard a small sound of dark surprise that told me this wouldn’t be nearly as easy as I’d hoped. I turned and glanced to my right to find two aliens staring at me—two tall, grinning aliens that I recognized as members of Lieja’s harem, looking at me like they were considering starting a harem of their own.
A harem of one: me.
“Well, would you look at that, Razael? It is our queen’s little dancer, is it not?” The speaker was the gray-skinned alien that Lieja had kicked out of his seat earlier so that Apex could sit next to her instead.
Razael, the pink-haired one with a bright goatee and shimmering, pearly skin, smiled a little wider. His teeth were so sharp, my heart nearly stopped as he took a few steps closer. “It is, Votan. But surely she is not supposed to be wandering the corridors on her own at night. The Lunarian is supposed to be training her, I think. Apparently, he is doing a poor job of it.”
“Stay away from me,” I hissed at them, backing away. It wasn’t any use, though. There was nowhere to back away to. I bumped into the wall behind me, and before I could run back down the hall toward Apex’s room, they both closed in on me, impossibly fast. For a moment, they were just two blurs—one gray, one shimmering and white.
“I think our little human friend might need some additional training if she wishes to rise to the queen’s standards, Razael.” Votan looked me up and down, and suddenly I regretted not sleeping in my harem clothes. In Apex’s shirt with my legs exposed like this, I might as well have been naked.
“I agree.” Razael reached out and snatched my wrist, turning it over in his hand even as I struggled to tug it away from him. “What a beautiful little creature you are, Atlanta. Would you not like that? To be put in your place properly, by someone who knows how?”
“I want you to get the fuck away from me before you regret it,” I snapped at him.
“Language, little human.” Votan clucked at me, shaking his head with laughter on his lips. “You cannot run from us. You cannot fight us. And, poor thing—you cannot even yell for help. If you do, I am certain whoever comes to your aid will not be happy to find you out roaming the halls like this. In a way, what we are offering is very kind.”
“Queen Lieja will likely kill you for escaping your handler,” Razael agreed. His grip tightened around my wrist and he yanked me against