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What if he was just like most of the guys she had dated back home, ghosting her after a few glorious nights of sex?
Cordelia shook her head, disgusted with the intrusive thought.
No, he wasn’t like that. He might be grumpy but Ezul was also super possessive of her. She had felt it in his every touch. In his gaze as his eyes had locked on hers. And in those intimate moments when they had been entwined in the throes of passion, rocking in sync within each other’s arms, cheek on cheek.
Cordelia winced again, a small inferno building in her core before schooling her expression. Aware the assholes were probably still out there, she refused to act nervous or embarrassed. She was now clean and ready to get dressed. So she promptly opened the stall door and stepped out, naked, into the room.
Zenfur was gone but Komel stood there smugly, holding out the sheer green harem gown Cordelia was all too familiar with.
“I can tell you’re in need,” Komel taunted, holding the dress away from her when she reached for it, just to ogle her body. “Surely you’re interested in being mated.”
“Not by you,” Cordelia muttered under her breath, reaching up and snatching the dress from his hands.
Komel grabbed her arms, fingers biting into her flesh. Cordelia let out a gasp of pain, her skin growing unbearably warm where he touched her. She struggled in an attempt to free herself, but Komel only increased his hold until she let out a soft cry.
“Soon you’ll be too consumed by the Ruftaz pollen to refuse me.” Komel shoved her away from him, smirking when she stumbled backward and landed on her ass. “And if by some miracle you think to turn me away when your need is too great, know that I’m responsible for how that warrior beast is treated while he is imprisoned.”
Cordelia’s mouth dried and her body shook as he stood proudly over her, an evil glint in his eyes.
“Did you just threaten him?” Who the hell did this guy think he was?
Komel smirked. “Even if I did, who would believe you? I’m a decorated guard for the capitol. Anything you say would be ignored in favor of my statement. How disappointed and vengeful might I become if you attempt to make me into a monster?”
Zenfur came back into the room then, his brow furrowing when he spotted Cordelia, pale as a ghost, on the ground. “Are you alright?”
“She’s fine,” Komel answered. “She tripped and fell. Foolish thing.”
Cordelia didn’t know what to do; her heart was in her throat as she watched Komel saunter off toward Zenfur, casting her a smirk as he closed the door behind him. She had a feeling he would be back. And for the first time since arriving in this rotten land, she felt truly scared.
Chapter 8
Ezulsatupwitha groan, eyes aching from the sting of bright lights overhead. Cool metal pressed into his bare thighs. He groaned again, his palm flattening against his pounding forehead.
He hadn’t felt so disoriented and pained since Sahin had taken him out for corsnas to celebrate him becoming a full warrior, years ago. Unaccustomed to the potent alcohol, the beverages had impaired his judgment and made him feel wrecked the following morning, which was precisely how he felt now.
His shoulder throbbed in pain, and it took him far too long to realize he wasn’t nestled against Cordelia’s warm body, or that his head wasn’t laying on her soft breasts as he had slept the past couple of days.
Where was his Runa?
Ezul stood abruptly, his vision dimming as the room spun around him. Once everything around him settled, he noticed he was trapped in one of the interrogation chambers within the capitol.
The capitol…? Memories began to filter through the haze in his mind, and Ezul blinked, fury steadily growing within him. The last thing Ezul recalled was walking through the forest with a sleeping Cordelia in his arms.
He’d been taking her to his brother’s home, but something had stung him in the back, quickly becoming a searing pain that had spread out from his shoulder. His limbs had ceased working and he’d fallen, leaving Cordelia unprotected, released from the safety of his arms.
He must have been injected with a neutralizer; the sensation was all too familiar to when he’d undergone his warrior training. In the training camps when he was younger, his body and mind were often tested to teach him how to withstand the pain of torture, weapons, etc.
It had been so long ago that a neutralizer had been used against him, though, that Ezul had been as helpless as a newborn babe. Not to mention the lack of food and proper sleep, the hours spent between Cordelia’s supple thighs, and the energy spent fighting off a hoard of leilings had all left him a bit drained.
Regardless of that, Ezul should have tried harder to remain alert. He cursed himself.
His chest clenched as he thought of his Runa being kept in such a place. He hoped she wasn’t frightened; hopefully he could get to her quickly.
An opaque glass window stood proudly in front of him, the rest of the room surrounded by white walls and enclosed by a ceiling that emitted the brightest of light.
It was designed to test the patience of even the most hardened Aragnokan. Used to the dim gloom of their world, his kind found no comfort in the harsh glare shining down from above this room.
Inhaling deeply within the small space, he growled when he couldn’t detect the scent of Cordelia anywhere except for her lingering fragrance on his own frame. Her scent was so faint, he assumed he had been without her for hours, perhaps longer.
