I shoved the door open.
The rumors about meeting the Grand Elder’s eyes were true.
They’d only got the punishment wrong.
You didn’t turn to stone or slit your own throat or fall endlessly into an abyss.
It was worse than all those.
Your greatest fear came true.
Ava was here.
And she was going to perform at the mating ceremony.
Ava
I fingered the indentations in the cell wall, each line contributing to the letters spelling out their names.
With no tools at their disposal and only their fingernails to make these markings, it must have taken quite a while.
Most were impossible to read but I could feel the desperation in every slash, dot, and square.
I heard the comings and goings of heavy boots that thudded along the hallway.
Then the sharp intakes of breath as each of the prisoners backed into the corners of their individual cells to conceal themselves from the prison guards.
The guards were hulking masses of solid muscle that shouldered the huge cell doors open like they were made of plywood.
The prisoners kicked and screamed and fought to remain in their cells but the guards easily pulled them out and carried them down the hall.
The door at the far end slammed shut, cutting their screams off instantly.
I didn’t know what I’d expected when I jumped into a M’rora ship and rushed toward the Shadow Realm in search of Kayal.
For him to join me and disappear among the stars, I supposed.
I was too giddy after storming out of the M’rora Citadel, realizing where my heart truly lay.
It was located hundreds of light-years on the other side of the galaxy.
I followed that pulsing rhythm in my chest across the vast expanse of space and time.
When I entered the tear in space known as the “Rift” I noticed a sudden chill in the air, as if all hope had been sucked from the fabric of the galaxy itself.
I traveled on, clinging to that muffled pulsing light in the distance.
And when I drew up to the W’aym, the Shadow homeworld, I was struck by how exact the mirror reflection of the M’rora homeworld was.
Then two Shadow ships appeared out of nowhere, weapons raised and ready to do war.
They must have initiated some kind of cloaking device.
I wish I’d done the same with my ship, maybe then they wouldn’t have arrested me, wouldn’t have dragged me into the basement of the Citadel, and tossed me into this cell.
I had yelled for three hours or four hours—it was impossible to tell without any natural light down here—until my voice turned hoarse.
Had I been naive?
Yes.
Had I spent enough time thinking my situation through?
Definitely not.
I had run in, guns blazing, expecting everything to work itself out in the end.
I wondered what made me think I could do this.
What made me think I could find Kayal?
Humans weren’t even a real spacefaring species yet.
Why did I think I could do what the brightest minds on Earth had failed to?
Because I was no longer using our primitive technology.
I was using the best gadgets the galaxy had on offer.
And when you came down to it, the M’rora weren’t biologically more advanced than I was.
They were still made of flesh and bone, no more or less smart than me.
But over compounded centuries, they had developed their technologies, the same way that humans had.
One small increment of development after another leading to huge change over time.
Now, in this dark pit, I envisioned what would happen to me next.
The mating ceremony.
At first, I barely allowed myself to believe it to be true.
But when I heard those screams and cries from the other fated mates, what awaited them on the other side couldn’t be pleasant.
Every word Kayal told me was true.
I would be mated to one of these Shadow creatures, one after another, pumped full of seed to live my life as a breeder.
Suddenly, my life on Earth with my failed relationships didn’t seem so bad.
Clunk!
The lock on the door at the far end of the hall always made that same heavy thump as it was unlocked.
The Shadow Empire might be governed by advanced technology but these cells deep under the Shadow Citadel were not advanced at all.
They could have belonged to an ancient castle that you might see in ye olde London.
Then the heavy boots thudded down the flagstone floor the way they always did.
I heard the shuffling of feet in the other cells once more, pressing themselves back and hiding in the shadows.
I didn’t hide.
I raised my chin defiantly, knowing that surely this could not be how my story came to an end.
The boots came to a stop outside my cell door and my heart leaped into my throat.
Confidence drained from me and I backed into the furthest corner as the other cell inhabitants had done.
Another heavy clunk and the lock on my door released.
The door swung open on rusty hinges and a huge shadow stood in the doorway.
Harsh lights that ran the length of the hallway formed a long shadow that draped over me like a thick shawl.
He had thick twisted horns on a broad, powerful neck.
He didn’t step inside the room yet.
“Five minutes,” another guard said to one side.
The figure stepped inside the cell as the door shut behind him.
With the horror stories Kayal had told me about this place and their so-called “mating ceremony,” I couldn’t imagine this figure had good intentions with me.
They were like gods down here.
I doubted there was anything they weren’t allowed to do with the prisoners if they so desired.
The lock behind him wasn’t engaged.
If I hurried, maybe I could escape.
But that meant getting past this hulking mass of muscle first.
My legs turned to jelly, negating any chance of rushing past the figure.
The monster stepped toward me, so tall, strong, and massive, I had no hope of escaping him.
“Please, don’t,” I said pitifully.
I curled into a ball, knowing my pleas would only fall on deaf ears.
He crouched in front of me.
A single strobe of light lashed one side of his face.
My heart skipped a beat and my expression froze.
The
