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“Your claim,” he says, his eyes narrowing, “is that you and the other four, came here of your own free will. That you slipped away from the lizards’ security.”
My thoughts are spinning but it's clear he’s trying to trip me up by making me repeat the story. Say something wrong that will break down any lie that might exist. Rosalind prepared us for this possibility though and because of that, our story is simple. Simple enough to remember and to repeat a thousand times without flubbing it up or changing anything.
“Did you have a question?” I ask.
Anger flashes on his face. His lips curl back as his eyes narrow and he growls.
“It is time for you to stop the lies,” he says, his voice deep and rumbling. “Before I decide to resort to extreme methods to find the truth.” My stomach flips and then clenches tight. There it is. The threat of torture and worse. “There are those among us who are very curious about your species.”
“And what does that mean?” I ask, forcing the question past the lump in my throat.
He stands up. It’s a quick and unexpected move causing me to lean back in my chair. He slowly, deliberately in a stalking manner moves around until he is standing behind me. I watch him moving but I’m frozen in place, terrified to shift a muscle. I don’t know what is happening.
Bhoja and I lock eyes. The only source of comfort in the room. The Maulavi stops behind where I can’t see him but I feel him. I’m so acutely aware of his presence that it is unbelievable. I’m trapped between the two men and given a choice I would run to Bhojah, but that’s not a choice. I don’t really know I can trust Bhoja either, no matter what my stupid heart is trying to tell me to believe there is no certainty there.
There is hope there. Kindness. More than this monstrous bastard behind me will ever offer.
All of which is true. The Maulavi places his hands on my shoulders and I immediately tense. I have to swallow because my mouth fills with saliva for some reason. I blink rapidly, keeping my eyes on Bhoja.
The Maulavi leans in. I feel him coming. Closer. Closer. His tusk is brushing through my hair, his lips are next to my ear. I am doing all I can to not vomit or bolt. Or both.
17
BHOJA
The Maulavi’s questions become more and more dangerous. He is trying to trap her in a lie. I want to protect her. To stop him, but I cannot. There is nothing I can do. If act it will be worse by far for her and me both than if I let this go.
He gets to his feet and moves behind her. She locks her eyes onto mine and I try to will her to be strong. To not be lying, which is always a possibility. Perhaps that is why the Maulavi are so concerned with these humans. Maybe they are spies from the lizards in preparation for an assault.
Yet, I don’t think so. It could be, of course. I could be wrong. Yet when I look in her eyes the fear in them is too real. It’s more than a fear of being caught. The look in her eyes ignites something in my chest and I want, with all my heart, to save her. I want to destroy this male who causes her to feel this.
Want to, but I cannot. I remind myself, again, how much worse this could be. The threats he is making are subtle but real. I know what lies behind them. All those threats end with her or her and I both on the machine. Sacrificed to the Paluga’s unending lust for blood in the most unfathomably painful way possible.
I grit my teeth, bearing my way through this indignation. As I watch him cajole and threaten I cannot keep my thoughts from how far my people have fallen. All my life has been hard, of course. We had been losing the war, ground and cities, to the lizards for ages before I was even born. All of us are told the stories of our people's glory, of the times before they invaded, but that was so long ago now as to be a myth told only on the oldest of mudrosti.
Still, even for all that, we were a proud people. A people with honor who would not threaten or mistreat a prisoner like this. When we, even if it was only rarely, would capture a Zmaj, they were never subjected to torture. They were of course executed but it was a clean death. An honorable one.
Our Queen would never stand for this. Officially she has taken ill, but I do not believe it. Which is yet another reason I have given up.
And I have. What have I become?
I watch as the Maulavi places his hands on her shoulders and my reaction is visceral. My hands ball into fists and sweat covers my brow as I hold down a growl.
I will break his hands for touching her.
No. Wrong. This is a Maulavi, a ranking one. I cannot act against him. I force the primal instinct down. I cannot allow myself to act on it. It would be insane. The absolute worst thing that could possibly happen.
I grit my teeth as he leans in. Grinding them until I hear it in my head. By the time his lips are next to her ear I am sure my teeth will crack with the force. His eyes dart up and he looks at me, taking in my reaction and then he smiles.
That smile is cold. Calculated. And it fills me with rage. I am shaking with it. I don’t know how I contain it, but I do. Barely.
“The things I could have done to you,” he whispers. Her face blanches until she is as white as a teaven root. The Maulavi keeps his eyes on me, watching. “Have you stripped. Explored. Do humans have the same anatomy as Urr’ki? I have just the one to find out. How compatible are our species? There is the one with Mazabuta, but are all of you? We could find out.”
Her mouth moves but no words come out. The fear in her eyes breaks me. I step forward. The Maulavi doesn’t move away from her ear, though he sees my reaction. It only makes him smile broader.
“Yes, I could take great pleasure watching them use?—”
“No!” I roar.
