of pain flowed through her body from the abuse. Blinking up at the dark figure above her, she tried to focus on her blurry tormentor but couldn’t with the swelling and tears limiting her vision. “I can’t…please—”
Nova’s voice broke off when he reached down and grabbed her by the hair, tangling his grubby fingers in her curls.
“I will say when enough is enough.”
Nova struggled to keep as much of her hair from being pulled out as possible as he dragged her across the room. Her scalp burned where his fingers knotted in the rat’s nest of curls that had formed over the course of her captivity.
When he finally released her, she crumpled to the ground waiting for his next move.
Rule #4. Never take your eyes off a dangerous animal.
In her case, it was one eye, considering the other was swollen closed. “Cruum wouldn’t want you to kill me,” she reminded him, knowing her time was dwindling away with each strike.
“Cruum doesn’t understand the risk he is taking letting you live,” Talis hissed, bending down until he was squatting in front of her.
Nova pulled back, partially from the smell wafting from the crotch of his dirty leathers, but also because she couldn’t help but flinch away from her abuser.
“Scared, little human?” Talis laughed, reaching out to run a grubby finger down her face.
“Not scared,” she whispered, bracing herself for the coming strike. “Just disgusted by the smell. You stin—”
As predicted, the blow came, knocking her against the stone wall at the back of the closet he’d dragged her to.
“Be grateful I find you repulsive,” he said. His voice was low and menacing, sending gooseflesh and shivers to run down her back. “But you should know that there are plenty who’d line up for a chance to tear you apart. There’s a few in this house that would pay heavily for a run at you.”
Nova swallowed at the frightening truth of his warning. The taste of blood added to the nausea rolling through her at the threat. Cruum had threatened rape before but had never followed through. She knew it wasn’t any sort of moral restraint that held him back. Fear of losing his investment was what had deterred him from carrying through with putting her to work. She knew that she wouldn’t likely survive being handed over to aliens looking for a good time, no matter how strong she was. Talis was right…they’d rip her apart.
“Ah,” he chuckled. A smile returned to his face as she fought back retching at the thought of this future. “You wouldn’t like that, would you?”
Nova dropped her eyes, not taking the bait this time, despite his taunting laughter. Without another word, he turned and left. The door locked with an audible click, and she was left in silence.
Pushing herself up, she leaned back against the wall. She knew she didn’t have the time for tears, but there was no stopping them. She cried for every abuse she’d had up until now, here and back on Earth. She cried for her shitty childhood, growing up the unwanted mixed kid who could never find a home. She cried for the teasing she’d endured as a little girl. Everything she’d owned was donated. Her ill-fitting and mismatched outfits had attracted schoolyard bullies. She cried for when she’d rented her first ever apartment, only to have her roommate rob her blind while she was at work one day. She cried because the sad reality was that she’d likely never make it out alive. She cried at the unfairness of it all.
You want to live, Nova.
The words echoed in her head once again. Her Phaeton’s voice called her away from the despair that had almost engulfed her.
“You want to live, Nova,” she repeated the mantra with a sniff. With the back of her hand, she wiped at the blood she felt trickling down her chin. “You want to live, Nova.”
Nova may want to live, but she was realistic. Odds were not looking good. She was in a bad way. Her ribs were on fire, her head was fuzzier than fuck, and she was pretty sure her wrist had broken more than her fall after being thrown against wall, literally. In other words, she was tore up from the floor up. Another beating like this one would kill her and she flat out fucking refused to die here. She could no longer wait for Halla and Kalla. She had to make a move and make one now.
“C’mon, Nova,” she grunted, pushing