Orc’s Forbidden Claim (Red Planet Dragons of Tajss #33)

7. Saylor

7

SAYLOR

M y eyes are too heavy to open, and my head is throbbing so bad it’s making me nauseous. Awareness comes slowly but I truly wish it hadn’t. My wrists are numb and so are my legs. I try to move but I can’t. Someone growls and I instinctively jerk away in fear, but I bump against something soft.

Guttural voices, harsh and sharp, bark. I recognize it as the Urr’ki language though I don’t speak it. I know a few words that Khiara has taught me but not enough to follow what is happening.

I try to force my eyes open, but it feels as if they’re crusted shut. When the seal breaks at last it hurts, and I whimper. There’s a single lantern, partially hooded, that is casting a dim light. It’s too dark to see well enough to make them out, but there are hulking shapes close to hand. They’re not standing upright. I twist my head around trying to get my bearings. Seeing Wrenlee’s bound form behind me, my stomach drops. She is what I bumped into.

“Wren,” I gasp.

She doesn’t respond. I stare for a long time waiting to see her breathe. When her chest rises at last tears of relief fall from my eyes. The grunting sounds come closer and one of my captors grabs my shoulder jerking me over and putting his face right in mine.

“Quiet,” he says in Zmaj.

His breath is awful, blasting across my face and smelling of rotten meat. He has dark, beady eyes, and his teeth are a discolored yellow. One of his tusks is broken at the halfway point.

I don’t speak but do nod. He grunts and moves away. We seem to be in a low tunnel, really low because he’s crawling, not moving upright. I resume looking around. There are four Urr’ki that I can see. There might be more because it’s impossible to see all around. I’m bound at wrists and knees by thick rope and my entire body either hurts or has that numb tingling sensation that hurts in a different way.

Khiara will find us. I know it. And Sek’su. Wren is here, Sek’su isn’t going to sit by doing nothing.

As if she knows I’m thinking of her I hear Wren stirring awake. I try to roll over, but my body isn’t working the way it should. Halfway through trying to flip myself to face her, my head explodes. I become acutely aware of a goose egg on the back of my skull when it presses hard against the stone.

“Ah!” I cry out in both surprise and pain.

“Say?” Wren asks.

“Hush!” one of our captors barks as he throws himself on top of me.

He’s so big and heavy that it feels as if I’m being crushed by his weight. He slaps his hand over my mouth. He’s an inch from my face with his rancid breath and evil eyes. He growls, low in his throat and I’m very aware of something digging into my side where his crotch presses into me.

“Mmm…mmm,” I try to speak but the hand keeps the words from coming out.

“Let her go!” Wren yells.

He backhands her. The strike is loud and makes me hurt just hearing it. Wren yelps as she rolls over and hits against the wall of the tunnel we’re in.

“Hush,” he barks. “Quiet. No noise.”

He turns his head from Wren's back to me. His eyes bore into mine. Cold chills spread through my limbs. His eyes are empty. Dead. I’ve never seen anything like it. His eyes narrow and he presses his hand harder against my mouth until it hurts. I can’t speak so I do the only thing I can, which is to try to nod but even that makes his grip hurt more.

He huffs, assaulting my senses again with his fetid breath. My stomach churns, bile rising in my throat, as my nostrils burn. Finally, he removes his hand and crawls back to the others. They resume arguing. At least it sounds like arguing.

I try to stop my tears because they are pointless. The Urr’ki aren’t going to care so what good are they doing? None. I roll onto my side, gritting my teeth through the pain, and squirm and scoot my way to Wren.

“Are you okay?” I whisper, not wanting to be hit again, but I have to know she’s all right.

She’s facing the wall but wiggles until she flips over, and we’re face to face. Even in the dim light, I can see the imprint of his hand on her face. It’s going to leave a nasty bruise for sure. Wren’s eyes sparkle with unshed tears but she nods.

I want to say more. So much more. I want to apologize. It feels like this is all my fault. If I had been honest with her in the first place, she wouldn’t have dragged me away from all the prying eyes to that secluded room. Why didn’t I trust her? She’s my best friend. She probably would have had some bright idea about how to handle the entire situation and none of this would have happened.

I was a fool. And now I want to cry again.

“No,” Wren hisses. “Be strong. They’ll come.”

“Will they?” I ask, voice quavering.

I know Khiara will want to but he’s more a glorified prisoner than he is a guest of the Zmaj. Sek’su will want to come for Wren, but he’ll also have to obey his Al’fa. And will the Al’fa send anyone after us? Rosalind already sacrificed five girls to infiltrate the Urr’ki, why not send in two more? She’s cold and calculating, maybe us being captured is all part of some plan? Wren wriggles closer until her forehead is against mine.

“Yes,” she whispers. “Yes.”

I want to tell her about Khiara. Tell her everything. Now that it’s too late. Will I ever get the chance? What will they do to us? Why did they capture us? If they dug a tunnel past the Zmaj defenses, why didn’t they just attack? Why kidnap two girls? It doesn’t make sense.

I open my mouth to say as much but before I can speak the back of my shirt is grabbed and I’m drug down the tunnel. I yelp in surprise which garners me a slap across the face. My cheek stings, my eyes are full of tears, but I grit my teeth and keep my mouth shut. My captor drags me alongside him as he crawls through the tunnel.

Blinking away the tears, I see another Urr’ki treating Wren in much the same manner. We’re moving further away from the compound. Further away from safety. Further from my dragoste and closer to what will most likely be our doom.