Page 26 of The Bride Auction

I grimaced at his rant. My eyes opened, and I strained to focus on the man in front of me. Sabulk paced the packed dirt a handful of feet away. His skin flushed almost like a two day old bruise. He tugged his hair, looking positively apoplectic. I debated the pros and cons of reasoning with him, settling on the ‘well, it can’t hurt’ train of thought. “A lot of people start out with nothing. I come from a family that’s dirt poor. We barely had enough food.”

“It’s nepotism I tell you. Renick did nothing other than be born into that family. Now, he will have a position of power - one that he doesn’t even want! One that he doesn’t deserve.”

“Once I take care of you, Renick will be too distraught to complete the ceremony, and the position will fall to me. The position should have been mine when Imoa found out Emzry died. She was supposed to give me his job and leave Renick to his life in the military. I did everything I could to stop him. And it worked! Imoa is mine now. Wait and see. She doesn’t know it yet, but she is mine!” Sabulk screamed.

My head stopped throbbing long enough to process Sabulk’s words. My vision finally came back into focus and I realized I knew where I was. I tried to move mybody away from the edge on top of the mountain where we sent our final goodbyes to Renick’s father. Oh shit. He’s going to throw me off the cliff. I’m going to die.

He lunged for me and I kicked out with my good leg, relying on the fact that the spot treatment and massage I’d gotten earlier in the day had loosened my muscles enough. Dance moves and stretches came back as if they’d never left. I rolled from under Sabulk’s grasp, banging my shoulder and hip on a rock under some grass.

“Get back here, you filthy human. I’m going to take what Renick loves the most, just as Emzry took Imoa from me so many revolutions ago. She was mine first, but then she saw him and forgot about me.”

“Renick will look for me. He has to know I’m missing by now.” I glanced at the sky and my heart sank. Judging by the placement of the sun, Renick was in the middle of the installation ceremony - and I was missing it. I’d let the whole family I’d grown to love down. I hoped he hadn’t noticed my absence, it would crush his heart. For all the negative thoughts filling my head, I held onto the single thread of hope he would come for me. All I had to do was keep Sabulk talking, ranting, whatever, and pray he made a mistake so I could escape.

A low hum buzzed over the field past my back. Needing to keep my eyes on my captor, I didn’t dare twist my head to check its origin.

“Get up you bitch,” screamed Sabulk. For an older man he was nimble as a dancer in their prime, and strong. He grabbed me by the hair and I cried out. I forced my body to go slack, forcing him to attempt to pick me up as dead weight.

A scream of pure agony tore through my throat when Sabulk fisted my hair, dragging me closer to the rough edge of the mountain.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of distinctive purple skin. My heart sang, and hope churned in my chest. While I wasn’t out of danger yet, my odds of surviving exponentially increased.

I screamed again, keeping my eyes open this time. In doing so, I caught a glimpse of Ivex. He motioned with his hands that I should sweep my legs again.

I let my body slack, ignoring the pain on my scalp. Sabulk dropped me and I swung my leg in front of me between Sabulk’s legs, bringing him to his knees.

As Sabulk fell, Arik let out a massive roar, and ran - partially on all fours like a feline - from his perfect camouflage, headbutting Sabulk in the side.

Someone grabbed me from behind, and I swung my arms and legs, until I looked down to see familiar purple arms wrapped around my body. “Oh thank God,” I murmured. “I knew you’d come for me.”

Renick didn’t speak. He unceremoniously deposited me on my ass in the overgrowth away from the melee that had broken out between Arik and Sabulk. I put my head between my knees to catch my breath. Renick pointed toward Ivex standing back from the brawl, poised to jump in at any time. A small silver box with red buttons filled his hand. I grunted, unable to form my thoughts into words. Renick pointed up and I followed his finger to see two drones above the fighting below.

Overhead, the drones drew my focus. While I watched them, Arik managed to subdue Sabulk; both males breathing heavily from exertion. Arik tied Sabulks hands behind him using his belt. He pushed Sabulk toward Ivex, who held a pair of handcuffs in the air. With the silver box in one hand, Ivex was unable to control the man who had acted like an uncle to him, with his free hand.

Sabulk snarled and sprinted towards Arik who had bent down to pick up a glinting blade dropped in the fight. Sabulk screamed, barreling toward Arik. At the point of impact, Arik stood to his full height, hoisting Sabulk over his shoulders.

His momentum landed him precariously close to the edge of the cliff. With his hands tied behind his back, Sabulk’s feet scrambled for purchase. The rocks on the edge loosened.

Renick pulled me against his chest, shielding my eyes from a gruesome end.

“Are you all right, Summer?” Renick asked, rubbing his hands over my extremities.

“Fine. A little bruised,” I said.

Arik sauntered over, wiping the blade on his pants. “Glad to see you again, Summer. You gave us a scare. I’m sorry we didn’t notice you were missing sooner.”

“Not your fault. Sabulk ambushed me.” I suppressed a shudder. “I like to sit on the benches outside looking up at the clouds. Sometimes I talk to them as if I were talking to my own family left behind on Earth. It’s kind of weird, but it brings me peace.”

“Little sister, I have a question,” Ivex asked. “How were you able to move like that? Your legs?” he asked.

I grinned. “Thank your mother.”

“What?” Ivex and Renick said in unison.

“Imoa took me to a spa treatment this morning. I didn’t want to go at first, but she insisted because today was supposed to be a long day on my feet. She got both of us in for a massage that loosened my muscles.” I glanced up at Renick. “It was a stroke of luck. Had I not gone with her, I wouldn’t have been able to move like I did.”

Renick smiled. “Remind me to thank her for her forethought.”

I snuggled closer to Renick. “You’re here now. We are all uninjured. That’s what matters.”

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