Page 8 of Taken By the Zypherian King

The streets below were filled with mostly the same kind of blue aliens as the man standing next to me, still holding on to my arm, but there were others too. Shorter, taller, thicker, thinner. Different colors, but that was all I could make out from the distance.

The buildings came in all shapes, round, square, cylindric. Some reminded me more of tall, skinny towers or obelisks, making me wonder if anybody lived in them.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it? It’s only part of your new realm.” Zayden said, prideful.

It was. It truly was, but like a petulant child, I repeated my earlier words, “I want to go home.”

“Won’t you give it even a chance?” He sidled closer, his hand relinquished my arm and slung it around my waist instead. “You didn’t seem to mind my embrace yesterday.”

“I was drugged,” I reminded him, not willing to admit that, yes, part of me was sexually attracted to him. Very much so.

That seemed to take the wind out of his sails, though, and his posture stiffened slightly.

“You wish me to return you to the traders?” he demanded.

I swallowed at the reminder that it was him who bought me, him who held all the power over me, and that my little childish temper tantrum was only that. Like a child, he could have me punished.

“I want to go home,” I insisted despite my better judgment and the sudden fear threatening to choke my throat.

He sighed audibly. “I cannot send you home. I’m sorry. I can send you back to the traders if you wish, or I can set you up in my city if I’m truly that repulsive to you. There are other pale blondes among your group I can pick instead.”

Each of his words were like a stab to my heart. To my surprise, the idea that he might find Luisa or Kristen more attractive than me and would pick one of them didn’t sit well with me, even less than the prospect of returning to the traders. Worse than that, the idea of one of the others lying with him on that bed, enjoying his embrace, filled my stomach with dread.

ZAYDEN

I didn’t like any of my suggestions to her. I didn’t want anybody else. I didn’t want to have her live in my city, being close by yet unreachable, and least of all, would I have ever returned her to the traders.

But I didn’t want to force her either. I never had forced myself on a female before, and I wouldn’t start with her. It would hurt, but I would give her up and pick another from the many I had purchased yesterday for the bio warden so she may compare the humans’ bodies with each other and grow her databank.

For years I had fought to become king of Zyphar. A title I wouldn’t give up for the whims of a female. The gods demanded I marry a pale blonde, and I would. I would prefer her, but the choice was hers. As far as I remembered, there were at least four others I could choose from, and I was sure none of them would be as foolish as my Alice and decline becoming the queen of my people.

The idea of Alice refusing me sat ill with me. It hurt my pride. But I would get over it if I must.

“How would that work? Giving it a chance?” she asked in a low voice, avoiding my eyes.

I knew I was giving her too much power over me, but I couldn’t help myself. “Let me show you my realm, my people. Let us get to know one another before you make your final decision,” I offered.

I didn’t regret my offer, but I did clench my teeth at the realization that I was giving her more of a choice than I had ever given any of my opponents. I allowed her to see a weakness I would have killed any other person for.

That was until a devious plan began to take shape in my mind. Ra, if she wanted to play games with me, I would play games with her. My ego was somewhat appeased by more realistic reasoning, that one: Alice might have been drugged yesterday, but she had responded to my body. I had aroused her just as much as she had me. And two: her enchantment with my world was easy to read on her face. I recognized stubbornness when I met it. I had plenty of it myself. But I would put mine aside for now, just to convince her that it wasn’t the smartest move to cut off her nose to spite her face.

“I will have you and the others given their own quarters. We will spend time together where I’ll show all of you Zyphar and what it will mean to be my queen. We will give it one rotation. What do you say?”

“Rotation?” she asked, unfamiliar with how we measured time.

“That moon.” I pointed at Yang, where it was visible to our right. “it moves around Zyphar. The next time it will be in this position, we will decide.”

“How many days is that?”

“Forty-five.”

“Fine,” she agreed, jutting her stubborn looking chin out and looking so utterly adorable that I couldn’t help but lean forward and claim her luscious lips.

The way she melted into me stroked my slightly hurt ego. She wanted me, and I knew I could have easily talked her into sharing the bed with me right then, but I worried she would hate herself and me, by extension, the next day or even just hours later. Nef, she would have to come to me; she needed to admit it to herself. I would help her along the way, push her if needed. She was mine; she just didn’t allow herself to see it yet.

I was a successful battle commander, and I was not above manipulation to get what I wanted, and what I wanted was her. She had no idea that she had just declared war on Zyphar’s most successful and experienced conqueror. Just like I had won Zyphar, I would win her, and I would enjoy the process.

ALICE

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