Kaita kept her hood up as she walked the familiar streets of the capitol on Khara Prime.

It was nothing like what she remembered. So few walked from place to place and Neprijat patrols were on every corner. The marketplace was quiet and those of her people who had not been enslaved or eaten reeked of fear.

And they were all males.

She didn’t know where all the females had gone, and Kaita didn’t really want to know, but she had a sneaking suspicion they’d been rounded up like chattel and examined. Everything she saw reinforced her worst fears. That she’d been able to get in contact with Prince Valdis at all was a miracle in itself.

Adelina had created disguises for all of them and hers made her look like a male, if a short one. But if the Neprijat saw through her disguise then her cover would be blown. They would throw her in one of the pens to be presented to the king, and if he chose someone else she would be sent to join the other breeders if they deemed her attractive enough.

If not…then she’d be classified as food.

It was strange to be back in her home system, on the royal planet where she’d visited Nash and the queen on multiple occasions. Kaita’s family had made a point to spend time at court during the cycle, hoping she would get close to one of the princes.

Not that it really mattered since they had to battle each other one day anyway, but her parents had thought that a bond between royal houses would be to her benefit. Someone would win, and marrying among royalty was always preferred as it upped the chances of getting into the position of king or queen even if it might be as the consort and not the ruler.

The last few days had been absolute hell, having to watch her people suffer and not being able to do anything about it just yet.

Kaita could not waste this opportunity.

There it was. She crossed the street carefully, keeping her head down and slipped into the tavern with the wolf over the door. It was one of the few businesses still open. The male behind the counter organizing the bar didn’t even look up as she walked past him to the patron’s meeting room behind it.

Many of their contacts would keep their secret, but they could not take any part of it. There were monitors everywhere – drones and bots…every step—every breath was a risk.

“There you are,” Mak breathed, his entire posture relieved when she dropped her disguise. “It’s been nearly an hour past the time you were supposed to return. What happened?”

“Nothing happened,” she reassured him, reactivating her disguise. Kaita pitched her voice as low as she could. “I simply had to be careful. But it looks like Valdis is right, they’re about to bring another batch of slaves to the palace.”

This was the riskiest part of the plan and there were so many ways it could go wrong.

“When are they bringing them in?” Delphine asked. The pirate captain had joined her on this particular mission instead of taking one of the military bases, and therefore Roxy had as well.

“In a few hours,” Kaita said, glancing at Mak as she fiddled with her beacon on the string around her neck. “Others have reported in. They will be in every military building and slave holding station across the system. We have one hour once we’re in the palace to take it. The moment we cross the threshold I will light the beacon. Adelina and her forces will come. That is the time I’ve told everyone else to begin their attack. If we’re late…it has to be perfect. Everything has to happen at the same time or we risk slaughtering our own people due to our mistakes.”

Mak nodded as did the small squad that had come with her, the same crew and guards that had been with Kaita from the very beginning. She couldn’t be more grateful to be doing something this important with them by her side.

And Captain Delphine would be worth her weight in gold. Kaita looked to Roxy and assumed she’d be just as skilled if Adelina had let her in her personal legion.

At first Kaita hadn’t wanted to bring any females down to the surface of the planets. The risks were too great, but Roxy and Delphine had insisted, as had most of her warriors. Thank goodness for Adelina’s top notch disguises.

Kaita knew that Neprijat tech was far beyond theirs. As long as the enemy didn’t look too closely though, the disguises were enough to pass. They simply had to make sure they didn’t do anything to bring attention to themselves.

“Pretending to be slaves is the only way we can get that many people into the palace,” Valdis muttered, checking his simulcast for the thousandth time. “Whatever the risk, it’s lower than any other plan.”

“I told you, we’re going to get your lover,” Kaita snapped. “We’re not changing the plan, so just relax.”

Valdis grumbled under his breath but didn’t press his luck.

Nearly two days of dealing with him and Kaita was ready to wring his neck.

Flying into Khara had been a nightmare, but the Neprijat ships had flight patterns and locations already programed into the consoles. As long as they hadn’t deviated from the normal routes, none of the Neprijat had looked twice.

Just to be safe the pirates and privateers had caused a distraction once they crossed the border, firing on the various Neprijat outposts on planets and stations. It ensured their stolen ships were nothing more than a blip on the radar they couldn’t be bothered to double check.

Then the pirates had disappeared with their strange tech they’d cobbled together from a hundred systems. They would be back though at the same time her warriors had been told to take each Neprijat military post and slave pen on every planet in Khara.

Once freed her people would join the fight.

And if Kaita couldn’t take the palace and the king…she didn’t want to think about that at the moment.

But she’d had a bit of luck when they’d first landed. It had been easy enough to slip into the city in the middle of the night and disappear, leaving the stolen ships in the hangars where they wouldn’t look out of place. Where they’d be there, waiting for the appointed time to burst into a million pieces when the self-destruct command went off.

What Kaita hadn’t anticipated was how many Neprijat would be on her planets. They walked around as if they owned the place – all warriors. Some checked on businesses, some were stationed on corners, and still others searched the planets looking for more slaves.

Some of her people were allowed to continue with their lives, but the why was never really clear. The Neprijat had instated new laws and curfews…it made everything a thousand times more difficult.

And what was the most worrisome was the lack of hounds. Where were they and why weren’t they around? Did the Neprijat have them locked up or was she going to run into a herd of them at some point, completely unprepared?

Kaita shuddered and rolled her shoulders back. The cloak covering most of her armor was from Valdis’s city home. Passing as one of his guards was easy enough and gave them an excuse to see each other often, but…

She sighed and drummed her fingers on the table. “So you’re going to lead us into the palace and say we haven’t conformed to the new laws. Then you will state that you’ve found some females that might interest the king.”

“Yes, I know,” Valdis said. “We’ve gone over this a thousand times.”

Kaita snapped. Her hand wrapped around his throat and she slammed him against the wall.

Roxy grinned and crossed her arms over her chest. “It’s about time someone put him in his place.”

“If it weren’t for me you’d still be in thrall to the Neprijat king,” Kaita hissed in his face. “You would still be perfectly willing to let him rape your lover. So, I suggest you do exactly as I say without complaint. You’ve passed out the earbuds to everyone?”

He swallowed against her hand but didn’t protest. Valdis nodded and she released him, feeling the adrenaline riding her hard. For days it pushed at her to do something and this ass was trying her last bit of patience.

Finding Valdis had been easy enough. The genetic pings she’d sent out as the pirates attacked told her three royals in the Khara System were still alive. Only three.

Valdis and his lover had been visiting Khara Prime when the Neprijat came.

She’d sent the locations of the other two royals to the teams on their planet - Lithios.

So few left alive.

That there were only three left aside from her and Nash and the two they’d found in Hai…the sheer number of royals dead would haunt her for a long time. If she managed to win Khara she would be ruling over a wasteland.

It made her chest ache with the force of her fury, like she would burst through her mortal body and rip through the universe to wipe it clean and exact her vengeance. But she’d have to settle for the king.

“That will help us,” Kaita murmured as she shook out her hands to ease the urge to murder everyone. “They won’t expect them to fight back and ignore commands.”

So much could still go wrong.

“How many of us need to go in as slaves?” Mak asked.

Kaita looked at Roxy and Delphine, the captain suspiciously quiet since she’d arrived. “All of us. Is that going to be an issue Delphine?”

Those strange eyes snapped to hers and Roxy glared at Kaita. Having so many strong-willed females didn’t make things easier, but Kaita would rather have them on her side.

“Have you seen the slaves?” Delphine asked. “Have you seen the way they dress the females? How in all the hells are we going to make them believe we’re slaves with our weapons and armor?”

Kaita had kept this from them until the last minute, knowing how much they would all hate it. “We’re not.”

“Excuse me?” Roxy demanded, taking a step forward.

The females in Kaita’s own squad shifted as well. They’d all seen the slaves by now. But at least they didn’t outright question her.

“Valdis will be carrying our equipment. Once we get into the same room as the king…that’s when we get our stuff back.”

It was a massive risk, and mostly for the females.

“The males will have all theirs under rags. We should be fine.” But the females couldn’t hide their armor under rags because they were always paraded around in scraps of nothing to show off as much of their body as possible.

“I don’t like this,” Roxy said with a scowl. Did the female ever smile? “Too much can go wrong.”

“And if we don’t do this, then your queen and all her warriors will be slaughtered when they try to take Khara,” Kaita snapped.

She turned to her people and her gaze softened. They would do as she asked no matter what. It was their family out there, friends and lovers. They had hope they might find them yet, and Kaita knew that was what would drive them all.

Even if her family was dead, Kaita still had people she cared about. Friends that she prayed were somehow still alive. And a planet – a home that she needed to get back if only to spread her family’s ashes there to feed the trees, to provide life for others as was their way.

Fate had taken them all from her, and Kaita had the sense not to curse that goddess, but she wasn’t going to take it lying down. She would show Fate who exactly she was and what she could accomplish. She would take back her entire system and roar her victory at the stars.

No one and nothing would make her people suffer if she had anything to say about it.

“We have to do this,” she told her squad. “We will prove Fate wrong. We are not meant to fall. We are not meant to be slaves for evil creatures. Pretending to be slaves is probably the stupidest thing we’ve done, but it will also be the bravest.”

Mak was the first to nod. He took out ragged scraps of fabric from the box and handed it to her. “We will succeed,” he said, voice strong and sure.

Kaita took the fabric from him, barely enough to wrap around her hips with two small pieces meant to cover her front and back. A whisper of wind and she’d be on display. The fabric meant for her breasts wasn’t much better. It would cover her nipples. Maybe.

She growled in annoyance. “We will, or wearing this was for nothing and I’m not going to let that happen.”

Delphine snorted and took hers. “I have no plans to kill them quickly, just for this.”

The words made the other females nod in agreement, smiles grim.

But they had their way in to the palace and in a few hours, they’d be face to face with the Neprijat king.

“Don’t forget the plan,” Kaita reminded as she passed out those hideous, degrading rags. “The moment I get into the palace the beacon will be lit and our allies will be on their way. One way or another, we will be free tonight. By victory or by death.”

Kaita had no plans to survive if they failed. And if that happened…she’d make sure the king and every Neprijat she could get her hands on went down with her.

Chains rattled as they connected their ankles together. The males were behind them and the Neprijat eyed her, Roxy, and Delphine before moving to inspect the three other females. Six females in total.

The males followed behind them. They would have to split up in the palace. No one would be the wiser – thinking they were simply being turned in. Only females were presented to the king – to be added to his harem.

Valdis had said they’d be ecstatic to bring more females to the king. Apparently his appetite was difficult to keep up with.

The males shuffled behind them in their endless rags that covered up their armor. Once they entered the palace they would all be separated, but Kaita didn’t need more than the six of them if the intel Valdis had given her was correct.

“He keeps Vivienne by his side at all times,” Valdis hissed as he yanked her along. “I’m sure it’s to test me, but with his commands I could do nothing but obey as my future wife sat at his feet like a dog. Once she’s free we will join in the fight.”

“There’s an extra suit of armor,” Kaita whispered back, yanking on the chain that connected the manacles on her wrists to all the other slaves. “I put it in the case for her.”

Neprijat chuckled to see her fire, no doubt murmuring in that harsh language how they couldn’t wait to see the king break her. Apparently he liked to make it public. Valdis had seen that first hand when Vivienne had crawled across the floor to literally lick his boots.

The case was inspected at the palace gates of course, but the jewels on the top were enough to convince the Neprijat guards they didn’t need to look further, keeping the false bottom from discovery.

Prince Valdis was bringing the king a boon. He’d found Corinthian rebels. And the females they’d been hiding as well. Then a surprisingly large amount of gold to fund their efforts. Valdis would be rewarded. Of course the Neprijat let him through with the new gaggle of slaves, right through the front doors.

Kaita looked up as she was led through by the chain, noting all the stairs up to the palace. A thousand of them and pure white. The winter air was freezing and the higher they climbed the more unforgiving it would get.

Winter already.

At least the snow had been swept off the stairs. No one would fall to their death today.

Kaita couldn’t help but remember every other time she’d climbed these stairs in her life. The palace was so familiar, yet so different. She hardly recognized it covered in the Neprijat colors of black and green. The crest was nothing fancy, simply a black circle on a green background.

Why it disturbed her so much, she couldn’t say.

Perhaps it was just the confirmation that there really wasn’t anything about the Neprijat that was familiar—that she could relate to. They did not have art or love. How did they even live?

“Your warriors are ready to free the slaves?” she asked, pulling out the necklace from between her breasts, the only thing she’d kept.

“They’re already at every pen in the capitol. Thirty seconds. Then every slave on Khara Prime will be released,” Valdis confirmed.

Kaita nodded and activated her beacon. Then she gave it to Valdis. Once it was on, only her death or deactivating it herself would make it go dark. Valdis tucked it away and gave her a nod before tugging on the chains.

The sound of a drone coming up behind them had her dropping her eyes to the ground as she climbed those white marble stairs. It hovered over their large group before zooming up to the castle. Kaita tried not to think of the last time she’d been here when she’d played with Nash’s sister.

Dead now like so many others.

The golden doors loomed above them and Kaita nearly stopped, but she chided herself and shoved down the fear she felt nearly choke her. The idea of being face to face with the Neprijat king…it terrified her on a basic level she didn’t really understand.

The lioness inside Kaita was begging her to turn around, to run away from one of the few things in the universe it recognized as a predator large enough and strong enough to take her down.

Not much in the universe set off her instincts like that – but the Neprijat king did.

Kaita took another step and then another, against her better judgement. This was the right path, she told herself over and over. This was how she would prove to her people she could rule. Take the Neprijat king’s head and the rest would fall.

Or so they all hoped.

She wanted to kill the king. And if Nash was too slow – the kill was hers.

They finally reached the golden doors which swung open at their approach. The king knew they were coming and welcomed them with open arms. After all, Valdis had six new females to present to him.

All they had to do now was get into position.

Neprijat guards clapped Valdis on the back like they were friends, grinning wide and showing off all their teeth. Valdis kept his face blank, pretending to be nothing more than the king’s favorite Corinthian once more.

“I will take the females to wash up first,” Valdis said. “Then I will bring them to his majesty.”

Kaita could tell the honorific was almost too much for Valdis, but he got through it without breaking character. She kept her eyes down, shoulders tense as those endless black eyes raked over her entire body.

“Sure we can’t have a taste first?” one of them asked.

“If they’re touched, he will know,” was all Valdis said. “You can have the ones he declines.”

Kaita wondered how many times he’d had to do this – all without his consent. Her heart went out to the prick in that moment.

The guards grumbled and agreed. Scent was just as important to them as it was for her own people apparently. The king could scent another male on them and if that happened before he’d chosen…it would not end well for anyone.

Kaita breathed a sigh of relief when they were waved on.

Valdis led them deeper into the palace and then took a right. No one looked their way and the halls were rather empty. It seemed the king did not favor many of his own people.

He shoved all twenty of them into the baths. Then Valdis started unlocking her male warriors. “The slaves in the palace are three levels below. Here are the codes to the pens. Get them out and take the palace back. Make your way up to the throne room as quickly as you can.”

She didn’t like splitting up, but the king was too smart. They could never get a male close enough to make the kill. It had to be her.

Kaita took the smallest knife she possessed from Valdis, it was no bigger than her nail, and slipped it into her mouth. The other females did the same. At the very least they could take down any male trying to have them for himself.

Valdis unlocked their chains but they kept them on for show. He hefted the chest full of gold and six sets of armor they would change into before entering the throne room. “Are we ready to go?”

Kaita held out her hand for one more thing as she watched the males wait for her signal. “Report,” she whispered pulling out the knife, thumb pressed to the button on an encrypted transmission disc. It only worked with the others programmed to it.

Various one word reports came in among the sound of fighting in the background.

“What is this?” a Neprijat asked as he came through the doors, glaring at the males who were now unchained and no longer looked like slaves.

Mak slit his throat so quickly the warrior couldn’t even make a noise. Then more Neprijat came in to inspect the sounds of struggle and her male warriors ripped off their rags, revealing armor.

Their cover was blown.

Shouts filled the vast room and bounced off the tile. Soon more would come and there would be no way she could get to the king fast enough. Kaita looked to Delphine and then Valdis as her warriors put their bodies between the Neprijat and their unprotected flesh.

What should they do?

Valdis gave her a look and then moved to take off the chains. “If we don’t get to the throne room within the next few minutes he will know and they will lock him down so tight we’ll never see him. Fight here now, or come with me.”

“They will die,” Kaita protested.

Mak shoved two Neprijat aside to make way for them to escape. “Go!” he roared.

“Yes they will die,” Valdis agreed. “But for a noble cause. If you don’t take this opportunity their deaths will be in vain.”

Kaita held Mak’s gaze for a second longer and then nodded, tears filling her eyes as the males who’d fought by her side for the last cycle fell under enemy blades. The sound of plasma crackling was loud in the baths.

Valdis ushered them through, slicing another Neprijat down his spine, splitting the skin to the bone. Kaita slipped on blood and tried not to think about the tracks they’d leave. This was a fool’s mission and they were all going to die.

Then the six of them were through the door and Valdis dragged them along, trying to find the best route with the least amount of Neprijat.

A guard came running around the corner. “Stop!” he yelled.

At least ten more appeared behind him and Kaita froze. Valdis started talking about how he was supposed to bring the female slaves to the king.

Another ten warriors appeared at the other end of the hall.

They were effectively trapped with pistols pointed at them from every direction.

Kaita tried not to think about her warriors still dying behind them.

Just when she was about to use her tiny blade the Neprijat began to fall.

Delphine and Roxy pressed their shoulders against hers and they all readied to fight. Then another Neprijat fell, and another until the warriors turned to fight off the new enemy.

“The king or this fight?” Valdis asked again, waiting for her orders.

“The king,” Kaita told him before slipping the blade back into her mouth. She didn’t know which of her people were fighting the Neprijat, but she was thankful for the timing.

Valdis ran with them and Kaita stopped dead when she realized what she was seeing.

Neprijat were fighting Neprijat.

“What the hell is going on?” Valdis muttered. He glanced back at her and the other females. “We may have to fight through to the king.”

Kaita took the blade from her mouth again. “I don’t care what we have to do to get to him, but I need to get there or all of this is pointless,” she said, waving her hand at the carnage. “The window is small and the timing has to be perfect.”

Roxy and Delphine nodded. “Adelina needs him dead,” Roxy stated. “Take us there.”

Valdis nodded and pulled off the chains to give them more freedom of movement. There was no time to change into the armor – they would have to wait until they found a quiet hall or room.

Despite the lack of protection they dove into the fray, cutting down Neprijat in their path. Blazing a trail to the king as quickly as they could before a palace-wide alarm went off. As long as the warriors were killed before they could send warning they still had a tiny chance.

Others should be rising up across the system, wreaking havoc with the Neprijat. Too many transmissions would clog up their system and hopefully confuse them into making mistakes that would help the Corinthians take back what was theirs – holding off the Neprijat just long enough…

Adelina had to reach them before they released the hounds.

Kaita sliced one Neprijat across the jugular quick and hard. His blood spurted from his neck with a surprised look on his face. She switched the disc to the other signal she’d programmed it with. One that went directly to the Queen of Draga.

“Please hurry,” Kaita whispered, dodging a guard’s attack just in time. “I’m about to reach the king, but things have already gone to shit. Please, get here before they loose those hounds.”

“We’re already within Khara’s borders,” Adelina replied. “Just a little longer Kaita. Hold on for just a little longer.”

The signal went dead and Kaita tossed it back to Valdis before blocking a Neprijat guard. But she was too late and too unprotected. A second was already plunging his blade for her soft belly. Kaita closed her eyes, cursing Fate for letting her fail.

Plasma crackled against plasma and the heat scorched her skin, but it did not gut her. Her eyes flew open to see another Neprijat had blocked the attack. Kaita stood there dumbfounded that she wasn’t dead. Then she looked around and realized that most of the guards were dead.

The one who’d saved her killed his brother and snarled, blood still sizzling on his blade.

“Why did you help us?” she demanded. “To curry favor with the king?”

She didn’t expect the warrior to whip around and rake his gaze over her body with disgust. Kaita flinched when he pulled back his insignia to reveal…a very familiar golden crest. A wolf howling to a full moon wrapped in roses.

“We fight for the queen,” he said, eyes going to the other Neprijat who silently approached them. “We will take you to the king while the others help your warriors take back the palace.”

Valdis studied the male. “I’ve never heard of a rebel faction.”

That warrior turned that look of disgust to Valdis. “For good reason otherwise you wouldn’t be alive right now. If you want to risk going to the throne room alone, go.”

Kaita looked at her warriors, and then Delphine and Roxy. “Do you think he really fights for her?”

Roxy snorted. “Of course he does. Adelina attracts the strange and loyal. No doubt this is a new development. She’s nothing if not effective, the crazy—”

Delphine cleared her throat before Roxy could finish that sentence.

Kaita just shook her head. She didn’t have any better options and it would be easy enough to kill these warriors if they needed to. In the meantime they’d give them the time needed to get into their armor.

“Take me to the king then,” Kaita told the Neprijat male. “Betray us and I’ll gut you.”

His smile wasn’t reassuring. “I’d expect no less from a warrior.”

Kaita had always known Fate had a messed up sense of humor.