The Melier (Women of Dor Nye Book 1) (17 page)

Soren isn’t coming. No one’s coming.

The Treps left her like that, slipping, sagging and dirtied, for what felt like hours. The welts of the beam lash throbbed with her pulse, the soreness seeping into her brain until it was all she could think about. When she began to slip into unconsciousness, a cold bucket of water rushed over her. Lucia sucked in air and the stings of it made her cough, magnifying the effect. Tiny clots of blood dribbled down her chin as the coughing ripped open her throat again. Another bucket of water sloshed over her and it was so cold she rasped a scream, her chest shaking with a sob. The mess the Treps had made was gone and for once it didn’t burn her sinuses when she breathed.

Lucia’s eyes searched around and she saw the group of Treps were all around her again. They became a blur and she couldn’t tell if it was a new group or the same one. The beam lash sung through the air and across her back as the cycle started over again.

“
Please
!” Lucia rasped, slipping and shredding the skin of her wrists anew. Thick blood trickled down her wet arms, mingling in with the water droplets to create a collage of color. Ta’Ra’Enn simply laughed and licked her arms, savoring the scarlet tracks like a treat. Another lash welted her skin, tightening her already strained muscles. Treps surrounded her, taking turns emptying themselves upon her skin and once they were done, another bucket was sloshed over her. They left her there, hanging and dripping and shivering and worst of all, Lucia was grateful for the moment of peace.

****

“The scouts in the surrounding galaxies have been notified,” Val’Zun informed Soren. They were already on the craft and heading in a direction, despite not knowing if it would lead them to the Treps or not. Soren’s desperation was gaining new heights as each minute ticked by. Lucia had already been gone for eight hours and the worst possible scenarios swept through his mind. He couldn’t stop shaking with anger and hopelessness. Every time Soren’s mind dipped into the thought of finding Lucia half eaten or in pieces around the Treps ship, he nearly lost his grip on reality.

“
Bam
!” Gi’Ren whooped and began typing in coordinates on the control dash. “Scouts spotted Trep ship in Tral Mu galaxy. That is only an hour from here in warp. They must be cruising.”

“They think no one will come looking for her,” Soren said evenly. Treps would be much further away if they thought they would be pursued. Ta’Ra’Enn was getting sloppy. Soren strapped in and tried his best to wait.

Soon, Loo-Sha. Just be alive.

****

Lucia moaned as she tried to lift herself and her toes gave out again, the chains yanking on her wrists. Again, she slowly attempted to carry her weight on her toes and failed; the small, strained muscles too weak. Ta’Ra’Enn was the only one in the room with her and he stood a distance away, watching her with curiosity. Her head dangled back on her neck after her third failed attempt. Lucia’s sides ached so fiercely she thought her ribs were trying to rip through her skin.

Warmth tickled her inner thigh and Lucia took what strength she had to lift her head and look down. A thick trail of dark blood rolled slowly down her leg. It was happening much sooner than she thought it might.

It’s the stress.

One sob shook her body, bloodying her mouth again as it mixed with sticky saliva and drooled through the side of her lips, drizzling onto the ground below her. She just couldn’t be bothered to muster up the strength to swallow or spit the syrupy, metallic tasting fluid. Her damp curls dangled past her shoulders as she lifted her head again and let it fall back. Salty tears burned the corners of her eyes while she stared blankly at the brightly lit ceiling and let her mind go vacant.

Chapter 16

Soren led the way through the Treps ship, just him and his two brothers. He lengthened his claws to dangerous curves, ready for shredding. The Treps were conceited and never guarded their bays because they thought no one would dare board. They were right; most would not. They had someone Soren wanted back, though.

It was a different ship than he’d been enslaved upon, but all Trep ships had similar layouts. After years of slaving on them, Soren could figure out where they might be holding Lucia. The only problem was security vids. The Treps would soon know they had boarded-

Alarms started bleating.

That was quick.

Immediately three Treps hurled upon them, cutting off their path and the fight began. Soren pulled back his arm in a snap and stabbed his claws straight forward into the throat of the first one, catching him off guard. Warmth coated his fingers as the Trep dropped and he launched himself at the second one while a blast from Gi’Ren’s weapon blew a hole in the third. Soren’s black orbs were pits of rage as he snapped bones in his hands and squeezed through tendons, ripping the Treps head clear off his body.

On they moved, quickly and stealthily, with rippling anger simmering just below the surface. They came upon another group and Soren’s large teeth sunk through scales, ripping chunks of flesh and scraping bone as his claws shred and pummeled. The stench and taste of Trep blood enraged him further.

Soren roared out Lucia’s name, calling for her. Their cover was already blown and he didn’t care. He just needed to find her. The trio continued to search the ship, killing anything that got in their way. Over and over he roared her name and no one called back. No screams, no shouts, nothing. His desperation was on overdrive and his thrashing and ripping and need to
feel
bones crack beneath his bare hands turned him into his baser, primitive self.

****

Lucia’s bloodshot eyes stared into the light as she continued to hang there, shutting out the pain that was threatening to overtake her consciousness.

Not too long now.

She felt the warmth continue to leak from her body. When a sharp cramp spread its way across her abdomen, all she could muster was a slight wheeze of air as it passed through her open mouth. And when the alarms started going off, she closed her eyes and let the sound drown out everything else.

****

“Where is she?” Soren roared into the face of a Trep he’d spared, saliva and blood curling from his long, thick teeth. The creature’s pupils kept shrinking and blowing up with fear as he debated if he was more afraid of Soren or Ta’Ra’Enn’s wrath. He chose Soren.

The Trep led the way to a room close to the command center. The door slid open to a white room bereft of anything except Ta’Ra’Enn and
Lucia
. Not needing the Trep anymore, he quickly snapped his neck and stepped over his dropped body.

Soren’s whole being shuddered violently and he couldn’t stop it as he saw Lucia hanging there with Ta’Ra’Enn tracing a talon across the flesh of her stomach. Blood streaked her arms and thighs and tracks of crimson formed jagged paths around her face and throat. She didn’t even lift her head to see it was
him
.

Instantly going on the defense, Ta’Ra’Enn sprinted and swiped at him, talons nearly shredding Soren’s face in his moment of frozen shock. Val’Zun and Gi’Ren pulled him back in the nick of time and descended upon Ta’Ra’Enn, wrestling him to the ground in a snarling, thrashing heap of teeth and claws.

Soren stalked to Lucia, carefully lifting her into his arms. She was cold, wet and limp. For a sliver of time he thought she was
dead
until he detected the slight pulse with his hearing.

****

Gi’Ren and Val’Zun shared a black glance, chests heaving with the struggle to restrain Ta’Ra’Enn and pull him to his feet. They watched on as their younger brother held the small, breeding human with tenderness. They had not known what fascination he held for the creature. Ta’Ra’Enn continued to spew vile and vulgar promises of what he’d do to the human
after
he killed all three of them, and Gi’Ren and Val’Zun slimly avoided his talons as they curled and grabbed for anything they could sink into while they waited for Val’Ja’s command.

****

Lucia wheezed as her body felt
heat
and she began to shiver. Pinpricks littered her arms as blood began to make its way into her numb limbs. When she opened her eyes and saw Soren’s face looking down at her, she was sure it wasn’t real.

I’ve finally cracked.

Laughter shook her body in lazy jolts and it scratched from her throat, bringing on a new peel of hacking. Droplets of blood sprayed Soren’s chin and neck as she didn’t even bother to cover her lips. The entire act was exhausting and when her chest shivered with another breath, she made herself go limp to reserve energy while her eyes glazed over as she stared at the ceiling once more.

****

Soren’s nostrils flared, gusting with his outbursts of air after each lungful. He reached up, ripping the chains from the ceiling with a forceful jerk before he carefully laid Lucia’s bloodied, weak body against the floor out of the way.

His black gaze fell on Ta’Ra’Enn as his brothers restrained him between them. When they let go and backed away, Soren lunged at his oppressor and the bottom feeding creature that’d trespassed on every conceivable level by abusing what was
his
.

Ta’Ra’Enn lunged for him at the same time, thick talons raised and ready to be used like curved knives for slicing. They grappled and screeched and roared, the sound alone enough to scare any creature with a sense of self preservation, far, far away. Soren’s body whipped to the side and his elbow cracked the sensitive snout of Ta’Ra’Enn, eliciting a shrill howl that would, at any other time, make Soren fall to his knees in pain. Ta’Ra’Enn kicked out, his lethal feet tearing through a thin layer of skin on Soren’s thigh. The adrenaline was so high, Soren barely felt it as he pulled back, dipped and rammed his shoulder into Ta’Ra’Enn’s chest, roaring as he pushed until they both hit the wall with a sickening
crack.
He heard and
felt
cartilage and bones break. Rearing back, Soren sunk his claws into Ta’Ra’Enn’s shoulders and slammed him to the ground in his weakened state, not letting him get the upper hand.

Soren’s fists pummeled his sensitive snout when he pinned him to the ground and roared with pleasure as small bones
crunched
. It was music to his ears.

“You
took
what is
mine
!” he ripped out a talon.

“You abused what is
mine
!” he dislocated and tore off Ta’Ra’Enn’s right arm.

More screams and the sickening sounds of blood gushing fueled Soren.

“You defiled what is
mine
!” he bared his teeth and bit down, thick incisors scraping against bone as his jaws clamped viciously and tore his other arm from his body. Soren was covered in black blood as he continued to hack away.

“
MINE!
” he bellowed and slashed Ta’Ra’Enn’s throat with his black, dripping claws through tendons and bone until his head was free of his body and Soren was slashing at sludge.

Soren sucked in breath after breath as madness gripped his mind and he slumped on his knees, Trep blood drooling from his teeth like syrup and covering his body from head to toe. The adrenaline coursing through his veins was exhilarating and revenge tasted
sweet
. He spit to the side, ridding himself of the foul liquid and swiped a hand over his face to wipe off the bits of flesh.

Lucia moaned and the chains quivered.

Soren snapped out of his euphoria and rushed to Lucia, cradling her to his chest once more as he looked to his brothers. Their expressions were wary as they watched him through new eyes. “She needs medical attention,” he rasped and headed for the door, the chains dragging behind him. He cursed, and then nodded his thanks when Gi’Ren picked up the excess chain so they could move quickly.

Lucia’s noisy, hissing breaths grated on his mind and he wished he could bring Ta’Ra’Enn back to once more slice him into ribbons. She continued to bleed and the fact that Soren
couldn’t
do anything about it made him want to roar with frustration. Would A’Drast be so cruel as to take her from him for good when he only just got her back?

Once they were on the ship, Soren had laid Lucia on a cot and covered her shivering body, whispering to her that he was getting help for her, that they were on their way
home
. Her gaze looked
straight
through him and it chilled Soren to the bone. He left her to walk the few feet away to the command center. Soren kept her in his peripherals as he comm’d Angus.

“I have her,” Soren rasped. “She will not stop bleeding. Loo-Sha needs immediate medical attention.”

“We will be at port, waiting with doctors,” Angus’ eyes were wet. “Thank you, Soren.”

For the next hour, Soren stayed at Lucia’s side, watching her go in and out of consciousness. Sometimes it seemed she would recognize him and other times, she just seemed lost. His heart felt heavy in his chest as he watched her grow paler and bleed through the sheets wrapping her body. His constant growl could not be contained. Soren was scared for her and it maddened him.

****

Lucia’s mind was numb, even though her body was warm and wet in some places. Soren’s presence was calming and his heat sent welcome shivers through her body that gulped any extra warmth it could suck up. He whispered to her about
home
and help. She’d turn her head to look at him, sapping up more of her energy and it took all she had to climb back to consciousness when she seeped into blackness.

Suddenly Lucia was being hauled up. A new burn slashed her nerves and breath whistled past her lips in protest.
Leave me be
, her mind told her mouth to speak. Dry air hit her face and she dangled like a rag in his arms, too weak to even consider trying to move. Her head lolled against her shoulders and the world rushed by, blurs of people surrounding her and the stench of chemicals. For a certain amount of time, she could swear multiple people were saying her name. Light shined into her eyes, leaving behind bright spots that clouded her vision.

Another needle skittered her arm and a greater warmth spread like a cozy fire through her veins. Her heavy lids needed no further convincing as they slid shut and she drifted on a wave of drugs.

****

Soren stood in the lobby of the hospital with the rest of the Herana residence. He was still covered in dried Trep blood and he kept forgetting about it until he’d catch someone staring at him like he was the stuff of nightmares. His claws were still dangerously long and crusted with pieces of gummy flesh. No part of him was clean. Soren refused to leave until Lucia was out of surgery.

Gi’Ren and Val’Zun sat there too, watching him and waiting along with everyone else. He still hadn’t explained what Lucia
meant
to him, but by their dissecting gazes and his actions regarding Ta’Ra’Enn, they knew. “What?” he fumed, stalking back and forth.

“You know what,” Gi’Ren said, his eyes sweeping over the Herana family, and then landing on Soren. He could tell Gi’Ren was treading lightly. “You cannot mate her.” Grams huffed in Gi’Ren’s direction.

Soren’s growl clicked along as he continued moving. “I think it is too late for that talk now.” He wasn’t going to give Lucia up. The king and queen would have to
deal
with it. “She carries my young.”

Val’Zun’s eyes widened.

“Even if she did
not
,” Soren continued. “I would not give her up.”

“She is
human
,” Gi’Ren scoffed. “She will never be accepted. Not by the people, not by our mother, not by our father.”

Soren’s hands clenched and unclenched, tail whipping and snapping with agitation. “I will
make
them accept her.”

Val’Zun had the sense to be less combative in his tone. “You know that will not happen. You would have her and your youngling pariahs?”

“Leave her with her people,” Gi’Ren said.

“She is
mine
!” Soren roared, making every individual in the lobby jump. He breathed harder, trying to calm himself down. “She will be a princess to our people and they will
love
her, as I do.” His voice was more level. “Our youngling will be
accepted
by our people and they will love
her
, as I already do.”

Gi’Ren groaned and Val’Zun continued to watch Soren.

“Why do these humans call you
‘Soren’
?” Val’Zun asked.

“It is the name Loo-Sha gave me when she freed me from enslavement under Ta’Ra’Enn,” Soren calmed down a little more. “I had lost my memories and I did not get them back until today. At Loo-Sha’s coaxing, I underwent a procedure, which is the only reason you are both here right now. I would not know you otherwise.”