Hul and Gol paused when Div and Ric entered, their weapons raised and aimed at Fir’s head. Their steady gaze flying to her and to the blade Fir held at her throat.
“So, she did speak the truth. The High Lords of Galafrax; take one more step and your lovely, little prize will be no longer.”
Kat tried not to panic. Surely, her men had been in hostage situations before, and they would know how to get her out.
“Let her go now. You’ve nowhere to run; your brothers are dead.” Gol’s voice seemed calm, almost too calm.
Kat dropped her chin, placing her mouth under the flesh of the arm holding the knife. She glanced up at her men, winking at Gol, hoping what she was about to do would work.
A frown creased his forehead for a split second, but that was all she had. Kat moved fast. She gripped at the fist holding the knife and at the same time opened her mouth and bit down hard on the arm.
Fir cursed. She dropped her weight, sinking under his arm, away from the knife and onto the floor.
A sharp trill sound pierced her ears. In the next moment, Fir dropped to the floor beside her, his eyes wide, and a large hole clean through his skull.
Her scream caught in her throat. Ric and Div were suddenly by her side. Div lifted her into his arms, swiftly carrying her from the chamber. Her body trembled in shock. She wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face against his chest.
“We’ve got you now, my sweet. No one will ever harm you again. We swear it.” He kissed the top of her head, taking her from the room. “Here, we must cover you.”
Div put her on her feet, while Ric put a blanket around her body, before Div again picked her up, carrying her out of the horrid place, where she was almost raped.
Outside, she heard the deep rumbles of their voices, as her men commanded a fleet of soldiers. Kat sighed and took comfort in listening to the steady rhythm of Div’s heartbeat.
“Kat, my love, are you hurt? Did they?”
She lifted her head to look into Hul’s worried gaze.
She swallowed. “I’m a little bruised and sore, but no, they didn’t get that far. You came for me just in time,” she whispered. “They were going to sell me. There are other women in the place, somewhere.”
“I know, love, we have found them. See?” Hul pointed to a group of quad soldiers, carefully carrying several Demos women in their arms.
“We’ve found eight females. They will be identified, their statements taken, and they will be returned to their families.” Gol joined them. “Fir’s operation, no doubt, has been going on for some time. We’ve shut this one down, but how many more are still out there?” Gol shook his head, his gaze lifted to meet Kat’s.
“You won’t stop searching, will you?” Kat asked “For the other female slave markets?”
“No, we will not. It is a high crime to sell a Demos female. But while there is such a shortage of women to men, it makes the men desperate. I am sorry, my precious one, we have brought you to a desperate and dying planet.”
“Don’t give up hope, Gol, there is always a way forward.”
Gol leaned down and kissed her lips tenderly. “Let us take our sheraz home.”
“As much as I like the P’Tala brothers, I don’t want to go back. Please, I want to stay with you.”
“We have no intention of taking you back to the P’Tala family. You belong to us; never will we part from your side again.”
Kat smiled her relief, nestling back into Div’s arms. “Then please, take me home.”
Chapter Fifteen
They took turns staying with her and drove her mad with their overprotective smothering. Ric, as the family doctor, carefully looked her over and tended to all her bruises and scratches. They bathed and dressed her, fluffed pillows behind her back in a large opulent bedchamber, fed her one mouthful at a time, until they were satisfied she ate enough. By the second day of this treatment, she was about ready to scream. Not one of them touched her sexually, since they’d brought her to their quarters in the GrandPalace, Qyi.
“We must talk about the challenge.” Gol broached the subject first, when they were all sitting around her.
Kat shook her head. “No.”
All four of them looked at her curiously.
“It must be done so we can claim you,” Hul added.
“No.” Kat pushed to her feet and put some distance between them.
“Don’t you want us to claim you?”
“I do, but not like that. I have not made any demands of you, and I have accepted I will never see my home planet again and my life is here with you.”
“We want you to feel at ease,” Div said.
“Yes, we only want you to be happy with us.”