Chapter 1
“Do you think Daddy will kill her if he catches her?” Demaylia spoke softly as Mayra combed the long silky patch of hair between the girl’s pointed ears. Her cat-like eyes moved around the mirror before her as if trying to pull some secret from the glass.
“I would imagine so.” Mayra glanced up and offered a soft smile before returning her eyes to the creature before her. As servant to the Vanfian king’s youngest daughter, she was to keep quiet, eyes averted, and only respond when prompted. It was a lesson she’d learned quickly to keep herself from gaining the attention of anyone in the palace.
“What could be so important that the human girl would risk her life?” Demaylia huffed and got up, walking languidly toward her window. She tugged back the curtains as Mayra set the brush down and turned her back to the mirror. There was little to no desire to see the ugly creature that stared back at her. The Vanfians abhorred humans and had made it quite clear that Mayra would be no different. After hearing for more than ten years that she was disgusting to have to look upon, she had begun to believe it.
“She was a thief.” Mayra crossed her arms over her chest as the princess turned and pulled her long green robe closed.
“Still, what would be worth stealing when death was the punishment? Nothing.” The girl shrugged and walked toward the door, not turning back to offer Mayra a thank you for the hour-long grooming she’d given the teenager.
The Vanfian creatures were like none other in the galaxy. They resembled a humanoid cat that could walk on two feet and speak much like the humans on Territh.
“Are you wanting me to attend you?” Mayra asked and dropped her hands to her side as the child’s question raced through her mind. She knew exactly what would have forced Jazmine Vallum to steal from the Vanfian king. Desperation. The look in the woman’s eyes the day she arrived at the Vanfian castle under the guise of wanting to visit and spend a night with the powerful ruler was full of desperation.
She stole because she had to. That, or she was unbelievably stupid. Rantel, Vanfia’s king, would never stop searching for her in an effort to mend his pride.
Mayra moved down the long hall of the castle behind her, making sure to keep her eyes averted. Various guards and dignitaries spoke words of praise to the girl as they moved toward the lounging room where Rantel sat on his throne in silence.
“Father, I have a question.” Demaylia moved toward the throne, bowing only for a moment before taking a few more steps toward the ruler of their people.
His eyes were heavy with what appeared to be exhaustion. “Yes, child? Make it quick. I’m awaiting a report from the interstellar cops, and I’d rather you not be here when it arrives.”
Mayra averted her eyes and tried to breathe through her mouth to keep herself from gagging. The king was nearly twice her size, and his bulbous frame was covered in spiky black hair. His dark green robe always seemed to be gaping open at the front as if he didn’t mind letting the whole planet see his undergarments, which consisted of nothing more than a pair of small red underwear. The stench was due to him being in mating season.
Vanfian mating fluids were said to have special powers and would fetch a fair price on the black market. Due to the king’s situation, the number of guards around the palace were tripled for the next month. Once he mated and settled back down, things would get back to normal.
“Have you found the human who took my jewels?”
Mayra glanced up in time to watch Demaylia put her hands on her hips and take a stance with the king that anyone else would have had their head ripped off for.
“No, but we’re looking, my sweet. She’s been taken to another planet, I’m sure. I lack clarity on which one we should begin looking, but she’s had help for sure.” He brushed his paw over his lips and smoothed his whiskers back before moving his gaze toward Mayra. “Have you learned how to unlock your gift yet? You’ve been given more time than necessary.”
Mayra kept her head down and walked to stand beside Demaylia as she bowed low. Having been sold into slavery as a child, she knew no other life.
“No, Your Highness. I will work with Terap to see if she can help me.” She kept her eyes low as the king scoffed.
“Do it quickly. You’re of the age to shift you into a harem. If you’re not who the oracle Terap believes you to be, then let’s move on with things. Your virginity is yours until the power inside of you is unlocked or disproved, not that anyone within my castle would be happy with receiving you, but you’re a warm body, as it were.”
“Father!” Demaylia barked. “How crass.”
“It’s true, child. The sooner you learn your place is high and lifted up above the commoner, the better for you.” He slumped down in his chair as Mayra lifted her eyes only for a moment. The thick mucus dripping down his chest from his nipples caused her stomach to turn.
“Meet with Terap now, Mayra. She’s in the Highland Gardens teaching a class today. Go find her.” Demaylia touched the side of Mayra’s face and smiled. “It will work out. I promise.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Demaylia. I’ve told you this a million times.” The Vanfian king laughed loudly as Mayra turned and scurried out of the room.
A sadness that seemed to reside on her shoulders worked its way deep inside of her again and dragged her into the murky pit of depression that awaited her. She would never have a life other than the one she’d been given by the gods. And why? What had she done to deserve such a future? There hadn’t ever been a terse word or unkind murmur spoken from her, nor would there be.
Life was too short to tear someone down. She knew all too well what it felt like to be stripped, beaten, and left to die—physically and mentally.
The snickers that resounded behind her as she moved through the long hallway out into the smoldering heat of the mid-morning sun left tears gathering in her eyes. Why it mattered what anyone thought was beyond her. Sixteen years of bending her knees to the Vanfian royal family, and Demaylia was the only one who really acknowledged her presence, her humanity, at all.
“Where are you going, slave?” A high-pitched voice stopped her in her steps. Nothing was worse than having to encounter one of the female guards on Vanfia. The women were dominant and ruled the house, as was the custom on this planet, leaving the king as the only dominant male in all the land.
“I’ve been advised to seek counsel from Terap. I’m told she is in the Highland Gardens.” Mayra made the mistake of glancing up from her feet.
The sharp slap of the guard’s paw against her face caused her to step back and gasp.
