12 Tovis
Icrouched in the shortmetal cage I’d been locked in and stared at my mate.Useless rage boiling in my gut as I watched her wilt against the Kwin’s throne.As soon as a syto had shocked Jessa, three more had turned their batons on me, and I’d woken to find myself trapped in this cage.
The metal alone wouldn’t have held me back, but they’d electrified the bars, forcing me to hunch over in a squat to avoid being shocked constantly in the too small confines.Jessa had been collared and leashed to the Kwin’s throne, and Jiith, the unlucky syto who’d lead the patrol, was trapped in his own cage beside mine.
Both of us had been beaten to a pulp while unconscious, but Jiith didn’t have the benefit of turoch healing and had yet to recover enough to sit up.
That was four days ago.Four long days of being starved, shocked at random, and forced to watch as the Kwin, relentlessly harassed my mate.My only comfort was that Jessa hadn’t been seriously hurt.
A fact the Kwin brought up constantly, reminding my mate that her mercy was only for the sake of keeping her new pet ‘pretty’.
The Kwin nudged Jessa’s head with her foot and ordered her to hold up a tray of food.My female’s arms shook as she struggled to keep the massive tray steady under the weight of the Kwin’s treats and I let out a furious growl that made the sytos guarding me retreat a step.
“Why do you bother?”Jiith rasped weakly from his cage.“The only thing you gain from feeling so deeply is the Kwin’s enjoyment of your reactions.”
I knew he was right, even now the pink female was watching me, eyes slitted with malicious pleasure as she idly perused the offerings before her.Jessa’s arms started trembling so hard the tray rattled and the heavy stemmed glass that had unbalanced it toppled to the floor.
The glass shattered and every eye in the room turned to stare at the stage.
The Kwin looked down at the shards and spreading puddle and pouted.
“How rude, pet.”
“Sorry,” Jessa hissed, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the tray.
“Hmm, not yet, I think.”The Kwin flicked one of her tentacles and one of her guards rushed forward to clean up the mess.“Someone shock her mate.”
“What?”Jessa yelped.“No, I didn’t-”
The Kwin smacked her hand into the tray, sending it flying with a crash that made Jessa flinch back.A shock stick jabbed through the bars and into my shoulders, the white-hot pain seized my muscles for long seconds until my body locked up under the assault.When it ended, the sudden release lurched me into the side of the cage, earning me another shock.
My lungs spasmed when I managed to right myself, shuddering as I crouched in the middle of the cage, sucking in gulps of air as I fought back the blood rage that was boiling right below my skin.
If I raged, the cage would do nothing to hold me back, but I’d counted close to thirty sytos, and even if I managed to kill them all, Jessa would be the first one they turned on.I couldn’t afford to lose control, her life depended on me keeping my thoughts clear.
This was a situation that demanded strategy.Not for the first time, I guiltily wished Vret was here.My friend’s body had been permanently damaged by our time in the arena, but he’d always been more of a schemer than me.
I pushed the thought aside as quickly as it came.Crouching for days in this too small cage would be pure torture for Vret, his shattered pelvis had never healed right, and his missing tail would make the awkward crouch I was forced to balance in, nearly impossible for him.
Jessa was breathing hard, her face white as she watched me recover, and I shot her a tense smile.
