Savage Instinct (18 page)

But
it was obvious that someone had found it worth the risk to try.

Much as
she hated the idea of going back to the harem, Ebony realized that if her
captor took her too far into the sewer system she’d never be able to find her
way back – even if she could somehow escape in the first place. The
heart-stopping thought of never seeing her sister again, or anything else that
was familiar, made panic surge to the surface.

Ebony
used the adrenaline rush to claw at the back of the stranger, kicking her legs
and trying to scream through the gag muzzling her mouth. “
I
want to
get down! Now!”

A hard
smack landed on her ass, stinging her cheek and stunning her into immobility.
“Settle down!” the man commanded, in a deep, booming voice. She could feel it
rumble from his chest into her thighs.

His
response only provoked Ebony to greater anger. She wasn’t a fucking kid! Being
spanked like a child only pissed her off more.

But
Ebony knew she had to calm down and think if she wanted to survive this. She
felt pretty confident that if he’d meant to hurt her, she’d already be dead or
injured by now . . . and so she could only hope that she was therefore needed
alive for something, even though she couldn’t imagine what that could possibly
be.

She
gritted her teeth. Putting every ounce of energy into her legs, Ebony kicked
out and then kneed her abductor in the solar plexus, trying to throw herself
out from under the arm that bound her. She was gratified to hear him grunt as
the air was expelled from his lungs.

His
immediate response was to bend forward and drop her, feet first, onto the cold,
wet stone floor of the sewer. The moment her bare feet found the surface, she
stumbled, righted herself, and whirled around to run.

Up
ahead, she saw several other tall, strong men carrying women from the harem
down the tunnel. The shadows she’d seen spinning around the tunnel were from
small lanterns they carried in their free hands to guide their way.

The sight
confused her, making her unsure of which way to go to escape. Before Ebony
could take more than a few steps, however, she was snatched by the waist, spun
around, and crushed hard against the same masculine chest that had held her
before. Long fingers wrapped around her waist beneath her ribs.

Ebony
snatched the gag off her mouth and was about to scream bloody murder – when the
man lifted her off her feet and brought her face up to his.

She
arched her back, gasping as he compressed her waist to hold her high in the
air. Her feet dangled off the floor by a foot as she was brought face to face
with her abductor. And even in the dimness of the shadowy tunnel, she could see
that his face was eerily similar to the one man on this planet that she
despised more than any other – King Kore Anadaru.

Ebony saw
thick black eyebrows slanted in anger above cold, crystal blue eyes. The
crystalline color was apparent even in the dark and it pierced her gaze like
the rays of a prism. Angular cheeks looked carved from marble, jutting down to
a broad chin marked by a cleft.

Coal
black hair, chopped off straight at the chin, curled up around his ears and
forehead. The effect should have softened his face, but he was made of too many
hard angles to ever look soft. Except for the color of his hair and the broadness
of his chin, she’d swear she was looking at a mirror image of the king. The
similarities made the hair rise on the back of her neck.

But
this man’s lips were thin and curved into an angry grimace, matching the
stubborn set of his jaw and the angry look in his eyes. If the tension
permeating his face and musculature was any indication, he resented the fact
that his captive had found the nerve to try to escape.

Slowly,
Ebony closed her gaping mouth, and swallowed convulsively before trying to
summon up the words. “I know you,” she said at last, feeling certain that she
did even though she knew she’d never set eyes on him before. He wasn’t the kind
of man she’d ever forget. “I
know
you.”

“I’m
afraid you do not. Are you going to fight me? Must I knock you out, as Damon
knocked you out before?” the man growled, giving her a hard shake for emphasis.

Her head
snapped back, unprepared for the sudden change in direction. “If you manhandle
me, you’re going to wake up without your balls!” she said through gritted teeth.
Then she stopped, and froze in place for a moment.

He
smirked, hitching up one corner of his mouth, though the amusement failed to
reach his eyes. He gave Ebony an appreciative once-over. “I’m just surprised
you have any fight in you at all. None of the others did.”

But
suddenly she didn’t want him to know just how much fight she had in her. She
realized that her best chance lay in lulling him into a false sense of security
until she could steal away at a better time, and so she decided that she would
cooperate in any way necessary until she could escape. Her captor’s brute
strength was far greater than her own, but she trusted that he would think like
a typical man: with his dick. In her experience, men underestimated those who
were smaller than themselves. And she was tiny in comparison with this big
brooding lug.

Slowly,
she shook her head, continuing to stare at the man who held her dangling above
the floor. “Who
are
you?” she gasped, though her chest felt tight and it
was becoming hard to breathe.

He
chuckled, but it was a rough sound that was devoid of mirth. “I find myself
disappointed in you. I thought, by the look in your eyes that you were more
than merely another one of these vapid concubines. I was sure you were smarter
than that.

“But
to answer your question, I am Fallon Anadaru. I am rightful heir to the throne
of Chalcydon and I was betrayed by both my father and brother. And you, little
one, are going to help me secure my place upon my throne.”

Her eyes
widened. “The king – has a brother?”

“He
does. Not many know. I like it that way.”

“A
brother that should be king, instead of him?”

“You
heard me.”

“I
heard you.” Ebony tried to twist out of his grasp, but her struggles had no
effect. “Of course, there’s no telling if anything coming out of your mouth is
the truth or not,” she gasped, trying to catch her breath as he continued to
hold her aloft. “You could just be insane.”

He
ignored her words. “If you are willing to behave yourself,” he said, “I will
allow you to walk of your own accord.” He aimed that piercing blue gaze
straight at her eyes. “Are you going to behave?”

Behind
her, Ebony sensed that the others in the group had stopped to listen to their
exchange and had closed in to cut off any avenue of escape. Much as she’d love
to give this man a run for his money and wipe that belittling smirk off his
face, she knew better than to press her luck. There were just too many of his
men here in this dark and unfamiliar tunnel.

Yet
if she played dumb and cowed before him like a good little girl, he might lower
his defenses – and if he didn’t, she was willing to try something crazy like
seducing him if it meant she could escape. She knew very well that there was a
shortage of women on the planet, and all men liked getting their dicks wet as
much as possible. And all men especially tended to fuck themselves into
exhaustion whenever they got a new piece of ass.

You’re
a survivor, first and foremost,
Ebony reminded herself.
You can worry about
your feelings about it at a later date – if you survive this.

Still
staring at his cold blue eyes, she nodded silently, and was greatly relieved
when he lowered her to the floor at one side of the tunnel, away from the
stream of muck, and the pads of her bare feet connected with the cold, damp
stone. She took a deep breath and tried to straighten her flimsy red silk gown.

“Get
moving,” the man said, and then spun her around and prodded her into walking by
pushing his finger into her back.

Ebony
walked on, and kept silent, but kept to the very edge of the tunnel. Now that
she was upright and walking, she could see that the center had a slow river of
sewage in it that would have been knee-deep on her or on any of the other
women. The men had thick boots and barely noticed the inconvenience, but Ebony
cringed at how filthy her bare feet were and how the long gold-edged hems of
her sheer red gown were already soaked to the ankles in an unthinkable sort of
mud. But there was nothing she could do about it now but keep moving.

She
counted seven men walking up ahead and every one of them had a woman thrown
over his shoulder, just the way she had been. She didn’t like those odds. And
as much as she wanted to think about only herself, she could see the terrified
faces of the captive women as they were carried through this dark and stinking
tunnel into the unknown. Yes, Cassie was one of them, and she saw Rebecca, and
Jane, and Suzanne, and Michelle, and Pamela, and Famke.

She
couldn’t just leave them here. She had to help these women if she could. They
were her harem sisters and fellow captives, after all. They’d already been
stolen away once and that had been terrifying enough for any ten lifetimes. And
Ebony knew how helpless they all were against these huge and powerful men.

But she
also knew that she was the strongest of all of these women, both outwardly and
inwardly. There was no one else to help them but her.

Ebony
cast a quick glance behind her at Fallon, wanting to make sure she could keep
him in sight. “Where are you taking us?” she asked.

“You
wouldn’t have heard of it. Keep moving. Don’t fall behind,” Fallon commanded.

Ebony
cast her gaze ahead. She tried to see if she could spot any identifying marks
on the surrounding tunnel, but the rough red brick forming the walls appeared
smoothly jointed and solid. She couldn’t see much past the circle of light from
the lantern held by the man at the front of the line, but there were no twists
or turns and no tunnels veering off from their path. If they’d passed any other
corridors, they had done so while she’d been unconscious.

It didn’t
look like there was going to be any other way out of here.

She
glanced over her shoulder at Fallon again. “Don’t you want to know my name?”

His voice
grew louder. “Do I need to put your gag back on, woman?”

She
sighed. “My name is Ebony. Ebony Raines.”

He
grabbed her shoulder and stopped her, and then snatched up the gag resting
around her neck and pushed it back over her mouth.

Ebony
clenched her teeth.
So much for just talking any information out of him.

“Walk.
Faster. Or I’m going to carry you again,” he said, shoving her forward once
more.

Ebony
caught up to the line, following obediently. The stench in the air grew fainter
– or, disturbingly, perhaps she was beginning to grow accustomed to the smell.

It took
her a few moments to realize that fresher air now moved past her from up ahead.
As they walked, the air grew damper and cooler, smelling of salt and water –
like the ocean.

Just for
a moment, even as she marched captive through this awful place, Ebony’s mind
was filled with thoughts of things she had not seen for so long – like the
ocean.

She
raised her head and sniffed the air again, and her spirits began to rise a
little. After over a year of being a prisoner within solid stone walls, and
barely seeing the sky, was she about to see the ocean again? Even if it was the
ocean of another planet?

Then
they rounded a corner and the blinding light of day pierced the blackness of
their surroundings like a spotlight. The mouth of the tunnel, clearly
delineated up ahead, promised refuge.

The men
gathered near the bright opening and one by one set down their female captives
at the edge of the sewer tunnel. The women quickly huddled together with quiet
sobs of desperation, patting each other’s shoulders and holding each other
close

Wind
blasted through the entrance, ruffling through her hair. Ebony breathed deeply,
refreshed by the clean ocean air. But then, as she watched, two of the men
walked side by side to the brightly lit opening and – in the blink of an eye –
dropped out of sight.