Page 56 of Taming Chaos

On either side 0f them lay the bodies of the Kordolian guards.

Dead.

An acrid, bitter smell hung in the air, and she tasted bile at the back of her throat.

Seph fought nausea. She fought fear. She raged against the sudden urge to run. For the first time, she caught sight of the man who had tried to buy her from the Ephrenians, who had come so close to ruining her entire fucking existence.

You bastard!

Bright yellow eyes—so vivid they almost glowed—flicked in her direction, and a terrible smirk spread across the Kordolian’s proud features.

He lay on the floor with his arms outstretched and legs askew, his body framed by a sumptuous embroidered blue rug.

This one… second to Torin, he was quite possibly the most beautiful male Seph had ever seen. Those features! Sharp. Unearthly. Haughty. Almost effeminate, but not quite. Glittering piercings adorned his lower lip and both ears, and his long white hair fanned out from his face, decorated with braids and delicate beads.

And yet he did nothing for her. He didn’t stir the heat in her belly or the fluttering in her chest. Not in the way Torin did.

Nada. Nothing. Not even close.

Seph shuddered at the thought of being held captive by this cruel looking alien.

How different he was to Torin.

“Persephone, get out.” His harsh growl severed her train of thought.

She froze in her tracks, not quite comprehending the situation. Torin, are you okay? The words remained frozen on the tip of her tongue, held back by fear.

Not of Torin, but of what he might do.

“So this is she,” the long-haired Kordolian taunted, his gaze roaming over Seph in a way that made her feel strangely violated. He switched to Universal, which he spoke with a refined accent. “What a pity. She is exactly what I desired. Why is it that the very best things in the Universe are always just out of reach?”

Seph realized her cloak was thrown back over her shoulders, revealing her figure-hugging travel suit. That explained Relahek’s leering.

Bastard. Only Torin is allowed to look at me like that.

Relahek sneered. “What are you waiting for, monster? You won’t get anything out of me, so you might as well lean on that sword of yours and get it over and done with.”

“Be quiet.” Those two simple words sounded more dangerous than anything Seph had heard from Torin’s mouth before.

Teetering on the precipice between life and death, the Noble showed no fear, just derision. What a hard, cynical bastard this man was.

This is where you should just walk away slowly, Seph, and pretend you didn’t see anything. Let the Kordolians settle this between themselves. Their way of doing things is different to ours, and you don’t understand it.

So why did this scenario make her so uneasy? Why did she get the feeling Torin wasn’t entirely in control of the situation?

Why did her chest ache, and why was his sword hand shaking like that?

“What are you going to do, Torin?”

“You know what I’m going to do, Persephone.” His tone softened, but he still didn’t turn around to face her. “It’s best if you leave now.”

A bitter laugh stole her attention. “What do you think he’s going to do, human?” Relahek met her eyes for the first time, and a ripple of unease coursed through her. This was the sort of character she’d expected a Kordolian to be; arrogant, cynical, and cruel, but then again, it was never good to stereotype. “You seem to have assumed some level of familiarity with him, but don’t let your guard down. We are all of the same ilk, and he is one of the worst. Ask him how many civilizations he and his brothers have destroyed, how many souls he’s sent to the netherworld.” The noble grinned. “His answer will wipe that stupid look of concern right off your pretty face.”

Torin stiffened.

Seph didn’t like that. Her unease turned to anger as she pointed her plasma gun at Relahek. “What, you expect me to be shocked?” Do you think that just because I’m from Earth, I don’t know anything about the Universe? “Who the hell do you think you are? You do not get to tell me how to think.”

Not after you tried to buy me. Creep! Some small, vicious part of her was tempted to pull the trigger, but Torin hadn’t killed the irritating noble yet, so neither would she.

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