AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I hoped whatever my plan achieved wouldn’t track back to her. She was nice enough. A gentle soul. Clever, but not street-smart. All numbers and probabilities. However, in the end, she was a cog in the wheel, helping to grind out humans in an endless auction that served the greater alien powers of the Dominion that overruled our planet.
Dahlia smiled at me, pushing back her glasses and twirling her blonde hair behind her ear. “Good luck, Jasmine,” she whispered as she opened the cage door. She gave my arm a little squeeze, and I stepped out.
As Dahlia released the other two women, I offered them encouraging smiles. We’d been briefed on our roles and the warlord’s expectations. We were supposed to walk freely among them, talk to them, woo them, and convince them that we were the one they wanted to bid on at the night’s end.
After all, this was our choice. This was not slavery.
A thrill coursed through me as I brushed my hands through my hair, a nervous tic I couldn’t suppress. So much was built into this moment, and I was finally here.
I was this much closer to leaving Earth.
While the Resistance had helped plant me in this auction, it had long been my dream to be part of the Lottery. It served a purpose, offering a chance for Earthlings to escape a dying, resource-stripped world, but it came with its risks and uncertainties. Sometimes, it was to new jobs in remote colonies that were hardly functional where many Earthlings starved, and some succeeded. Sometimes, it was to well-established alien planets where they were either lost in the messy metropolis or rose to the top of crime families.
And in the worst of all ways, it was to strap on a helmet and be cannon fodder for the Nova Dominion’s many conquests of smaller systems.
Still, it had always been my dream to get off Earth. I wanted to see other planets, breathe new air, sail on spaceships, and meet new species.
The Resistance was one way to go about making that a reality.
Now, I just had new goals to go along with it.
“Ladies,” Madame Luxana’s commanding voice interrupted my thoughts. The President of the Earthling Lottery, she was one of theBrama, an avian-like species known for their strength and beauty. Wings floated off her back, separate from her strong yet graceful body, and her purple hair flowed like feathers off her faintly yellow forehead down her neck in small puffs that responded to her emotions. “Please enjoy this evening speaking to our invited gentlemen. Jasmine, Rebecca, and Lucia are three of the highest-quality women that Earth has to offer. Adventurous, intelligent, kind, charming, and beautiful. As the night goes on, I will give you specific profiles on each of them. Please, get to know them before the auction and let my Assistant Dahlia or I know if there is anything I can do for you.”
I made a mental note of the qualities Madame Luxana described us as. It was essential to ensure I shined in all those qualities—but I would also need to bring something extra. Something to make me stand out and narrow down which man I would most want to bid on me. Choosing my ‘captor’ was my last bit of control in this situation.
Surprisingly, all but one of the warlords had arrived.
It was an odd choice that one would be running late to a prestigious event designed for them. It was either someone significant—or someone who didn’t care about the auction at all.
A mouthwatering aroma drew my attention to a nearby table. The waiter had just set down an enormous tray filled with the most sumptuous fare. There was so much to covet, but I envied the succulent steaks and plump strawberries the most; such luxuries were reserved for the wealthy.
“Would you like one?”
I looked up, meeting the gaze of Jaro Tarsar, a notorious slaver and conqueror. He had inherited most of the empire from his father, who I knew had been killed when he was just starting to battle on his own spaceship. Some said it had made him an angrier, more cutthroat warlord. It was difficult to hope that I didn’t have to spend too much time with him, knowing he could be the perfect target for the Resistance.
He extended a strawberry, revealing his amphibious features. I could see a flutter of gills under his tall-standing collar and webbing between his fingers.
“I’m sorry for staring. I have only had a strawberry once in my life.” I smiled at him again, leaning into my backstory of a physical trainer and life coach from a rural area.
“My name is Jaro. This is my first time having strawberries, though we have something similar on my home planet.”
“I always tell my clients to never give up on trying to acquire what they most want. There is worth in the quest, even if you never arrive at the destination.” I slid into the seat beside the man. He wore a very utilitarian outfit, but it was sharp and impressive. The smile he gave me didn’t reach his eyes, though. I wondered if it was just because they were rather bulbous or if there was a deadness to them.
“Yes, I suppose that is true. However, it is rare that I don’t get what I want…” He offered the strawberry to me again.
“Yes, I’ve heard of your successes. My name is Jasmine.” I took the strawberry from him, wrapping my fingers around his hand as I did so, breaking the touch barrier as I shrugged my bare shoulder toward him.
Remember the mission. Remember the mission.
I slipped the strawberry between my lips and sucked it into my mouth. I surprised myself by moaning a little with delight and felt my eyes go wide. How could something be so sweet and juicy?
He laughed at me, but again, his eyes were flat. “Is it that good?”
I smiled. “Even better than I remember when I was a little girl.” I enjoyed the next bite of the strawberry, keeping this moment to myself, forgetting the mission, the Resistance, and the warlords all around me, just for a moment. Tasting every little drop of juice from one of the last strawberries on the planet.
Jaro grunted and laid his hand on my thigh. I looked down on it, the moment with the strawberry forgotten.
“Well, if I decide you’re worth adding to my assortment of concubines, I will ensure there is a strawberry patch in the harem ship.”
