Caught Between Two Blue Aliens - Celia Kyle Page 0,14
the ballroom, thankfully only catching a few wandering eyes along the way. The party was in full swing and people seemed far more interested in their own tangled-up schmoozing, dancing and business-dealing than in whatever the officials were involved with.
After they left the party, the hallways split off and the men all went to the right. The guards took Jenna into a small, dimly lit room. Immediately a rush of claustrophobic panic rose in her chest and she looked desperately back at the doorway where the Drokten commanders and Secretary Wells stood watching her.
Either he could read her mind or he recognized her expression because Sevith spoke out loud to her, “Do not be afraid, female, you are safe. No harm will come to you here. We will return shortly.”
Secretary Wells stared up at Sevith with indignant disgust. “Of course, she won’t be harmed!” But Jenna had a feeling that if it wasn’t for the Drokten guard at her side, she might well have been hurt. “We humans are not as primitive as you think,” the secretary continued.
“We do not doubt that your intentions are clear,” Hiren assured Wells calmly.
“Good, good,” the secretary grumbled. Wells added to Jenna, “We’ll just clear up this mess and then you may go on back home. No trouble.”
Liar. Of course she didn’t call him a liar to his face, but she didn’t have a single shred of doubt that Wells was lying. Asshole, piece of shit, conniving bastard.
She couldn’t be sure as to why or how she knew, but she knew he was lying to her. And that left her feeling terrified as the door shut her into the small room while the two Drokten went off to discuss her fate with the human secretary.
As soon as the door was closed, with the two guards positioned outside, Jenna’s heartbeat picked up and breathing quickened, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Her whole body tingled with worry as she darted from wall to wall, feeling around for any escape, any weakness, any hint of a hollow wall. She was horrified at the turn her evening had taken and simply wanted out. Now she wasn’t only afraid she wouldn’t make it home by midnight as she promised, but that she would never make it home at all.
Ever.
Still, through the cloud of panic that flooded her mind, she managed to hear deep voices coming from the other side of one of the far walls. She rushed over and pressed her ear to the smooth surface, holding her breath to better hear the voices on the other side. To her relief, the voices were familiar—Secretary Wells, Hiren and Sevith carrying on their conversation.
Jenna realized the walls were less sturdy and permanent than she first assumed. She was actually held within a makeshift room, surrounded by moveable and collapsible walls meant to partition off separate parts of an event hall as needed. She discovered that the fake walls were not especially soundproof, and therefore she could eavesdrop easily on the conversation taking place just next door.
They spoke low enough that she couldn’t catch every word, but she managed to clock a few here and there. However, she soon realized the discussion made little sense. Instead of talking about her punishment, she heard one of the Drokten describe her using an unfamiliar term—Oso. Jenna knew little about the society of the Drokten aliens, and this word was as foreign to her as anything else.
Then she heard them mention other, more straightforward phrases.
Hiren declared, “…the female is special to us. Chosen by fate.”
“She belongs to us now,” Sevith added.
Jenna’s heart raced, her pulse going wild as she processed their words. What the hell were they talking about? She didn’t belong to anyone but herself.
The secretary muttered something in response that Jenna couldn’t quite hear and then Sevith went on to say, “…she will be transported to the Avash immediately.”
“What?” Jenna murmured breathlessly. “No. No way.”
Secretary Wells raised his voice and whined, “But that girl is worthless. A nobody.”
Gee, thanks, asshole.
“Why would you choose her?”
“It is fate,” Hiren replied flatly.
Secretary Wells sighed. “But wouldn’t you prefer one of the other ladies we provided this evening? We spent a lot of time finding the finest unmated females on the planet to present to you.”
“No, we have no choice in what fate decides. When an Oso is recognized, there is no turning back,” Sevith explained. “The female named Jenna Perry will come with us tonight to the ship and will not return.”