Not that this planet is bad. It’s barbaric, that’s for sure, although the Braxians have treated us like family since the moment Rakiz’s tribe rescued us. But when you’re plucked from your life without any warning, you’ll do just about anything to get that life back.
“Well,” I say as we turn and follow the guards toward the giant obsidian castle, “decision made. No turning back now.”
We have a lead on someone who can fix the thruster from our ship, but apparently the guy only visits Agron sporadically. Hence why we’re here.
Arix—the king on this side of the Colossal Water—has already left to do whatever it is he does. For now, his guards are going to show us to our rooms.
Rooms. In a castle.
Yeah, whiplash is right. Before this, we were sleeping in kradis—comfortable, clean tents, but tents just the same. This is a life upgrade, although I already miss the other women. Nevada and Ellie are both pregnant and due to pop any day, and I’ve become close with Zoey and even a few of the new human women who were trapped in a cage on the ship full of Dokhalls that attempted to take us back.
We leave the dock behind and enter the castle from the back, clomping up the black stone steps and along silver tiles that are so polished I can see my reflection in them. Our footsteps echo as we file down the hallway until we’re back in the main entrance hall. I can’t help but gaze up.
There are some places that make you feel small. The Grand Canyon. The redwood parks in California. The open ocean.
This castle is like that.
It’s made of some kind of black stone, but the word black doesn’t do it justice. It’s so dark that it seems to absorb the light, reflecting it back in the gleaming veins of silver that peek out here and there.
It would be gloomy and depressing if not for the massive windows above us, providing the natural light throughout the hall.
One of the guards clears his throat, and I glance at Sarissa. Both of us are standing here with our mouths open as we examine the entrance hall. I laugh.
“We’re like a couple of small-town girls in the big city for the first time,” I mutter, and she grins.
We follow the guards up the massive staircase, which leads to a landing. Above us, more corridors intersect, cutting through the air above and below one another in a dizzying pattern. People are hurrying down those corridors, a few of them glancing at us curiously, but they’ve obviously got places to go because no one pauses.
By the time the guards stop outside a silver door, I’m completely and utterly lost, and I can tell by the tiny line between Sarissa’s eyebrows that she feels the same.
“Do you guys have some kind of map we can use while we’re here?” she asks.
The guard smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “We will escort you anywhere you need to go.”
Sarissa and I share a glance. Arix referred to us as his guests. But if he expects guards to be with us each time we leave our rooms, it seems we’re really more like prisoners.
She nods, a silent agreement that we’ll discuss this later. The guard opens the door and gestures her in, and he stays behind to show her through the room, while another guard opens the next door down for me.
At least we’ll be close to each other.
“This is your sitting room, and through that door, you’ll find your bathing room.” He strides to the right, opening another door. “Bedroom. Please pull the cord by the door if you need anything and a servant will come to help you.”
The suite is gorgeous. I wander into the bedroom, my mouth gaping at the size of the bed. A vanity sits by an open closet, and I frown.
“Is this someone else’s room?”
The guard tilts his head. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“The clothes…”
“They’re for you.”
I feel a little like Alice, and I’ve just fallen down the rabbit hole. I stride to the closet and pull out one of the dresses. It looks like it’ll fit perfectly. But Arix had no way of knowing we’d stay here. Did he?
“Thank you,” I murmur, and the guard nods, backing out of the room.
Moments later, Sarissa appears, nodding at the dress I’m still holding. “It’s weird, huh?”
“Braxian women are so much taller than us. It’s like he had these dresses made in advance.”
“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I don’t trust him.”
Sarissa works for the CIA. And no, I have no idea what she does. She clams up every time I ask about it, so I’m pretty sure she’s not allowed to talk about what her day-to-day tasks actually are.
I blow out a breath. “Look, no matter his reasons for wanting us here, we know why we want to be here. If we can get the thruster fixed and find someone to replace that chip…we could be out of here within a few weeks. Let’s keep our eye on the prize.”
Sarissa nods, wandering over to my bed and running her hand over the ruby-red velvet blanket draped over the end. “I’ll get to work on an escape plan,” she murmurs, “just in case.”
Chapter Two
Vivian
I stare into the mirror, poking at one of the dark circles beneath my eyes. I was so tired last night that I thought I’d pass out before my head hit the pillow. Instead, I tossed and turned, unable to sleep properly without the gentle murmur of the camp around me.
I finally snuck out of my room and into Sarissa’s, ignoring the guards posted in the hall. I hadn’t even made it into her bedroom before she appeared, eyes hard, a knife clutched in her hand.
She let out a long breath when our eyes met, glancing down at the knife in her hand apologetically.
