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The Unzone is where scum, elites, and korabi all mix, equally illegally, usually to trade. Korabi trade their unique goods with humans. Scum trade illegal augmentations with elites. Elites get to pretend they’re really alive for the length of time they’re here. Their augs don’t work, so for as long as they’re in my presence, we’re the same.
I might be scum, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stay scum. And it doesn’t mean I’m going to bow down to korabi tyranny either. I’ve recruited all the humans I need. Now I have my eye on the last piece in my plan—a korabi guard.
This guy has royal guard written all over him. Literally. It is inscribed on a medallion he’s wearing around his neck.
“What is that?”
I point at his chest, even though I know exactly what it is.
“This is a medal of achievement,” he says. “It is awarded to the highest-scoring combatant in the….”
“Cool. So. What are you here for?”
“I am seeing what is happening.”
“Bullshit. They’d snatch that medal right off your neck if they found you here, and we both know it. Why are you here, k-boy?”
He scowls at the irreverent way I refer to him. I do not respect the korabi. They may have humanity in bondage, but that doesn’t make them special. It makes them tyrants, and if there’s anything humans know how to deal with, it is tyranny. I know my history. That’s how I formulated my plan.
“You have no right to question me.”
“Do I have the right to find you attractive?”
He’s hot. My people would be scandalized if they knew I was actually attracted to this korabi. We are supposed to be fighting these creatures who imprison and enslave us with every scrap of will and energy we can muster. I happen to think I can fight him on my back.
The soldier turns toward me, smirking. He may not be human, but he is male, and our species are not so different that we do not share mutual standards of attraction.
“You’re in our territory, technically.”
“You have no territory. Megaris belongs to the korabi. Your kind are servants, slaves, and scum.”
He is making it really hard to like him even a little. I shut off my brain to what he’s saying and focus on what he looks like. He has the most incredible skin color, a blue and purple hue that changes depending on how the light hits it. His eyes are dark blue, almost black, and his hair is longer and shinier than mine. He is incredible.
“You think I’m scum?”
“I think you’re a human with an angle. I think you’re up to no good.”
“Classic projection. You’re up to no good, so you believe I am. I’m just here to mingle with like-minded creatures, human and korabi. We’re all the same.”
I’m needling him on purpose. Korabi hate to hear that they are anything like us, even though they’re basically the same, but on a larger scale and with sharper teeth and a few cosmetic differences. Underneath all the alien bits and pieces, they’re just control freaks and assholes, the same as humans are when you give them a chance.
He looks at me, and the smirk grows. I see the sharpness of his teeth, and I feel the flexing of his intention. I have his attention now. The question is, what will I do with it?
“Maybe we are.”
* * *
Present-day…
Memory fades, and I am back with the lash. It has blazed across my ass at least a half dozen times. I’m vaguely aware of having screamed and flailed, and right now, Rath’s hand is pinning me down by the back of my neck.
My cries are being swallowed up in the cheering of the court. I have never heard such a sound of cruel feral pleasure emitting from so many. Every time Rath’s lash lands, they bay even harder.
“Enough!” Rath throws the lash down. “Tomorrow, we begin again.”
“MORE!”
Light falls on the king’s face. He is a beautiful korabi specimen, but he is cruel. The whipping thus far has not satisfied his lust for vengeance.
“MORE!” he repeats, lifting his fist to the sky.
The courtiers follow his chant: MORE! MORE! MORE!
Rath waits until they have stopped screaming to speak. “If you wish to see her punished for thirty days, you will have to pace yourself, sire. Her feeble human frame cannot tolerate much. If you wish to inflict more, there will be too much damage done to begin again tomorrow. You will not have the satisfaction of days of punishment. You will have given her a swift and merciful death.”
The king’s eyes narrow, but he waves his clawed hand in a dismissive sort of way. “Very well. Take the wretch back to her cell and let her suffer until the morning.”
I am sore. My ass is aching and throbbing with the aftermath of the hellfire Rath inflicted on me. There was no play or deception in that whipping. It was absolutely real, and I will be feeling the effects for a great deal longer than a day. But the physical discomfort is nothing compared to the revelation my body has unleashed.
