Page 90 of Dark's Savior

Marzin looked down on Sarah, who cast her eyes up to him then quickly looked away, her face turning red.

"If it is as strong as the oracles say. Perhaps." Marzin stood emotionless as he watched Sarah's back.

Aly felt a cold, sharp jab hit her stomach. The others looked down at the child, horrified. When they each in turn came to the realization of what that sleeping bundle meant and saw the sullen, shaking woman holding it, they knew why they had been brought to Nihl.

"Fuck this," Cilia said. "And fuck you!" she spat. She shot up. "I won't have one of those...those monsters! I won't!"

With a nod of Korzien's head, Cilia was slapped again into silence and shoved back down with a groan. Jamie began to wail again, reaching for her, but was promptly held back.

"In time, you will accept the inevitable," Korzien said calmly. He took a sip from his glass then set it down gently beside him. "For it must be as Nihl has wished it to be."

Aly shook her head, rage beginning to fill up her insides. She clenched her hands into fists and looked straight at the brother of her mate. "Why us?" she asked in a near whisper, trying to keep her voice from shaking. "Why would you want us? You have your own women."

The lone nillium woman in the room stared sharply back at her with a venomous, bitter gaze.

Korzien sighed. "Oh, we would wish that, trust me." He got up and went over to the lone female, taking her hand in his. She looked up at him, her bitterness turned sad. "Nihl, however, has punished them for some unknown reason." He brushed his fingers against the woman's cheek. "Our women, for many years now, have gone barren. Those who do conceive give us deformed monstrosities or weak, powerless babes who soon die not long after." He dropped his hand and turned to Aly. "And so, we were forced to seek other means. It is a sin to create and manipulate life through artificial means, so we had to get creative. We tried with many others: lygin, corax, krull, skra. None could conceive nor carry a nillium child in their womb. Yet, still, we tried, keeping our experiments secret." He came to sit again, leaning in close to her. "We began to lose hope. But then, what should be found on a lowly tradership but a new race." His hand reached out to her, and she grew still as his fingers stroked through her hair. "A strange little race that Marzin rescued and claimed they had made his receptors vibrate and his Drega stir for the first time in years." His hand reached out to her face, but she turned away. "Even now, I feel it too." He dropped his hand and sat back. "So, we kept one of your own by Marzin's choosing and gave her a nillium life. Then we waited." He turned up his hands and laughed. "And, by Nihl, it worked, didn't it? You see now for yourself. Though they will likely be weaker with their human blood, they are decidedly stronger than any yet made. A miracle." He picked up his glass and held it to the servant, who poured him more wine. "So. We brought you here now and we celebrate. Because you lot are blessed, truly blessed, to save us from our extinction. Perhaps you are upset now, but it’s only because you have yet to understand how special you are. You, who might have been worthlessly growing and spreading somewhere in the universe for no real cause or reason now have a greater purpose." He held up his glass as he smiled prettily down at her. "And you will be thankful for it."

Chapter Thirty-one

Xilya had not been entirely right. They were not made slaves—at least not yet—but they were locked away in the First House which, according to Korzien, was the highest house to Nihl, the ruling house, that all others bowed to. Maybe she would have thought it exciting or funny to think that, the whole time she had been with Ryziel, she had actually been with what was the equivalent in her world to a prince, but it didn't really make her feel much of anything in that moment of realization, only made her think of Ryziel, wondering if he had yet finished the ship, and if he was on his way.

No, they were not slaves. But like the slaves—or servants as they called them—they too were locked away, forced to hide themselves, like living shadows walking the grounds waiting for the inevitable which, to Korzien, would come on the day following the First Night. The night that came only once a month and lasted only an hour. And when the sun rose back into the sky, that was when they would have to face their inevitable fate. Submit and conceive and be locked away again until a child was born. And then the cycle would continue.

Nihl's months were longer than Earth’s months, so, by Aly's count, they were about twenty-five days into the current month, which ended on day forty-three. Very little time to wait.

In the days following their arrival, they were given their own rooms, their own clothes, were fed well and were allowed to stay together for most of the day. They were not disturbed by anyone, and the nillium mostly ignored them altogether. They could walk the grounds and the gardens and the many rooms, and if they were caught trying to walk out the front gates, they were taken back to their rooms with little more than a slap on the wrist, or in the guard's case, a hearty laugh and shake of the head. There were guards everywhere, just as there were servants and nillium and even silions visiting from other worlds or cities. Everywhere, there were people, so to escape unseen was impossible. And even if they did, they would have nowhere to go. The City of Light was a large, dense city, with the other houses spread across its territory. Someone would see them. The only hope was to escape to the shipyard, but that too was heavily guarded. They talked and talked every day, trying to form a plan but every sound idea was shot down by some logical and real problem.

And then there was Korzien. He left them well enough alone, but there were those few days when he cared to amuse himself with their company. Or at least Aly's company.

Yes, as awfully ironic as it was, he had taken a liking to her alone. In fact, one sundown, he gathered them together and made the grand decision that they should be chosen accordingly amongst those born of the First House so as not to cause any trouble at dawn after First Night.

"We have our pick, though it isn't much," he said.

"My father should have a choice, don't you think?" Zyr said from next to him.

"You’re absolutely right." Korzien waved his hand, and a servant disappeared. A moment later, they returned, and Aly drew herself up straight as she stared into the eyes of the man who caused Ryziel so much pain.

"Uncle, you have been lurking in the house for days, and you have yet to meet those blessed to us by Nihl," Korzien said.

The man Korzien and Ryziel called uncle was older and rougher around the edges compared to the other nillium. Though he still had that same arrogant, rigid air about him, he also looked weary, almost sick even, his head bowed slightly, his mouth set in a hard frown, even his receptors curved in a sad sort of droop over his head.

For the first time on Nihl, Aly felt a spark of hope at the sight of him. Ryziel could beat him easily, she could even tell that. But still, the fear of what came after the challenge kept her worries the same.

It wasn't really the uncle she was concerned about.

Her eyes drew over to Korzien, jaw clenched tight as he sat back casually in his chair. "Go on, Uncle. If it matters not to you, then just pick one and be done with it."

The uncle snarled as he looked at the lot of them. "This is what you call me out of my study for?" He wheezed then coughed, his hand wiping at his mouth. "You might as well have brought me out to the farms and told me to pick out a drow from a herd of cattle."

Korzien smiled. "Very well, uncle, don't worry yourself of it then."

Their uncle left with a sneer and not another word. Korzien merely shrugged at Zyr, who frowned.

"I will choose one for him, then," he said. He looked over them each and his eyes fell to Kate and to Aly. "One of them, I guess." He pointed between her and Kate uncertainly.

"That one is mine." Korzien was firm as he said it, his golden eyes set hard on Aly, so she knew. "He can have the other."

"Cock-sucking bastards." It was Cilia who spoke, not in the Xolis tongue, but in clear English. With so many eyes and ears watching them, it had been Kate who suggested they talk in English, though only to each other. Cilia, on the other hand, couldn't help spilling a few profanities, thinking it safer to make sure the nillium couldn't understand her lest she get slapped again.

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