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He laughed. “You know who I am?”
Ally was pulling at her and crying.
“Uh, yes, my lord. I do.” She tried to brace herself on Ally, but the tugging continued pulling her down.
“Your young friend is panicked.”
“She is not my friend, my lord, and panicked is her natural state.” The cloak started to strangle her, and she reached up to grip his wrist to hold herself up.
When she touched his arm, she heard a gasp, and she looked around to see that they weren’t alone. Women in uniform were standing in front of huge eagles that had their wings outstretched to hold back the storm. Each of the riders had short-cropped hair. The women were all staring at her. They were staring at her hand on his wrist.
“Don’t worry, little new arrival. We are leaving. You. Crying woman. Go to the woman with the blue lacing on her tunic.”
Ally clung to Iris and sobbed. Iris finally whispered, “Go, Ally. We aren’t going to get out of here, and I don’t know how long those birds can hold the storm. I am not going to die because of your attachment issues.”
Ally blinked and straightened. “You’re mean.”
“And you’re twenty-eight. Go. Get on the bird, so we can get out of here.” When Ally turned, Iris let her grip relax and gave in to being strangled by her cloak. The compression around her neck was insistent.
Lord Yavor grunted and wrapped an arm around her waist. “You could have mentioned it.”
Her voice croaked. “And critique the rescue? Never.”
He pulled her to him in a bridal carry and looked left and right before he launched skyward.
Her head snapped back at the final insult, and she fainted.
* * * *
Yavor looked at his little prize and smiled. The rough takeoff had been on purpose. He didn’t want to shock his guard any more than necessary. He had been promised a Hmrain-compatible mate in the thirty young women, and he was fairly sure he was holding her. Mind you, they had mentioned golden hair, and this female had no hair at all. Her scalp had nearly invisible stubble, but he wanted to know why she had been shorn.
He flew her over the top of the protective wall and dropped down to the courtyard within.
The flight of his guard landed behind him, and the weepy one ran to the older female who was waiting with the other members of the bond imports. The ladies would be given aptitude testing, and their usefulness would be determined.
He looked at the women who were staring at him, and a smaller creature with familiar features stalked over to him. “Lord Yavor, what are you doing with my sister.”
“She fainted. Who are you, little one?”
“I am Lily. She’s Iris. We are sisters. Genetic relations.”
He looked at the creature, who was genuinely worried. “I will bring her to our medical facility. I knocked her out. I will oversee her restoration.”
“May I come with you, my lord? Iris hasn’t had a particularly easy time of it.”
“Of course, Lily. Come with me.”
He nodded to his guard, and they fell in behind him as he and Lily walked past the other Terrans and into the expansive and beautiful city.
Lily sighed. “It looks like a resort city. Or a theme park.”
“I don’t know what a theme park is, but it was designed to be safe, beautiful, and comfortable.” He paused. “Are all Terrans so thin?”
“We were scooped up after two years of survival. We only got basic training at the education station before we were shipped here. There was one Terran sold to bond as companion class, but we were processed as a group.”
He smiled. “That’s interesting. Do you have a point to that mention?”
“Madame is going to try and state that Ally is companion class, but she isn’t. She lies. A lot. Once she knows what you are looking for, she will show it to you. Just warning you.”
