Lana observed herself in the reflective glass. The gown she had been given by Anasi for the ‘mating ceremony’ was made of a soft, beautiful fabric—by no means the technologically advanced fabric the Imperial Realm had draped on her, but very costly, and not what she might have expected from a band of rebel Galleon on some battered outlying moon. Or wherever she was.
It was a sumptuous red material that clung to her curves, which she had not seen in a reflection for ages. Her hair was loose and had fallen in waves in the strange, humid atmosphere near the great body of salty water she had glimpsed on the walks they had allowed her to take—surrounded by fearsome guards, with Anasi jabbering excitedly to her—through a village that seemed to have been emptied in advance. She felt like a pariah and a queen, and dread filled her as much as excitement.
She was pleased with her appearance, and pleased with the dress, even if she wanted to pretend to herself that she wasn’t. She had even left her plug in place until these final moments, anticipating that she would need to—and maybe even want to—please a man inallways.
Her heart beat furiously in her chest, unsteady in its rhythms. When she thought of the aliens who accompanied her—the strength beneath their oddly colored skin, the human attractiveness of their features, the hardness in their eyes—she felt at once aroused and terrified.
Could a Galleon mate really be all that bad? she wondered. She thought of the thoughtfulness implied by their bringing Anasi here, rather than abandoning him on the ship. There seemed to be no other reason to have done it than to assure her comfort. Some of them spoke Anglais, so it wasn’t a question of practicality or communication, which they honestly didn’t do much of. That sort of thoughtfulness, for her well-being and psychological comfort, seemed out of place with the hard-edged rebellious warrior act they had going on, or the reputation of the Galleon species throughout the system. Would it really be so bad to give in to her carnal desires, and become a well-treated queen here among these warriors?
She shuddered.
She supposed it really didn’t matter; this was the middle of nowhere, and she had no means to escape—especially not now.
She could play the same game that she had with the Imperial Realm. Pretend. Submit. Be obedient. Fool them into thinking that she was who they wanted her to be.
Did it matter if she somewhat enjoyed it?
She looked into her own eyes. It didn’tmatter, as long as she didn’t forget who she was, and what her plans were.
She touched a patch of skin where she had been burnt, as a child, escaping from Imperial guards with her mother. She had sacrificed everything for her freedom. Lana had forgotten that the scar was there: it was the same color as her skin, almost invisible to the eye, only noticeable when felt by slow-moving fingertips, near her collarbone.
That would serve as her reminder, she thought, stroking the skin.
She took a deep breath.
Well, she thought. On to her ‘mating ceremony,’ or whatever this was to be that Anasi felt had no translation and did not understand.
As if he had been summoned by her thoughts of him, Anasi burst into the room, breathless and looking as though he had been shocked. “They’re coming,” he breathed uneasily.
Lana turned to him. His eyes took in her appearance and he briefly looked pleased, almost to the point of smiling, but the unease returned to contorting his features right afterward.
“What is it?” Lana asked, a fearful feeling creeping into her chest.
“It’s... I think it’s a much different ceremony than I thought...” Anasi’s voice trailed off, and he looked at her helplessly. “I’m not sure I understood, they wouldn’t really explain it... it’s sort of a... I don’t know...”
Lana balled her fists. “Anasi,what?” she demanded impatiently.
He crossed the room and took her hands. “I think... the way it works is that you give yourself to all of them,” he whispered. “And then, there is some sort of... I don’t know what the word means, I didn’t understand, there is no word in Anglais... anyway, that happens, whatever it is, and you are mated tothatwarrior. I think.”
Lana shook her head, more to indicate that she didn’t understand him, and was about to say so, when the door opened to reveal the entire frame occupied by two enormous guards cloaked in an unusual garb; leather and fur of a richly coated, gray-brown animal covered their loins, and their chests were bare.
These two were particularly large males. Lana’s eyes widened.
“Time,” one of them intoned, clearly not the best speaker of Anglais.
Lana’s insides felt like they were boiling. What choice did she have? It was clear from the tensed muscles and the stance of these warriors that involuntary submission would not be difficult for them to achieve. They could have easily taken one of her arms each and lifted her, kicking and screaming, and walked with her like she was nothing more than a twig in their arms.
She glanced at Anasi, who was offering a kind smile, but seemed unusually nervous himself.
Lana managed a faint smile. These guys were supposed to be possessive, right? There was no way they could possibly have the expectation that she ‘give herself’ to all of them.
She straightened up and walked calmly to the guards, who parted to let her walk through them.
When she stepped out of the room, she felt a large, strong hand on each shoulder.
She was walking ahead of them, the hands said, with a gentle and firm squeeze.
But they were going to steer her there.
