Joslyn was waiting for her outside the quarters Ashley and Zar shared.

Seeing the soft smile on Ashley's lips, her friend answered with one of her own.

"So he told you," she stated as if the reason for Ashley's happiness was something she wore on her collar.

"How did you know?" Ashley asked, sighing dramatically. "I didn't know."

"Yes, you did," Joslyn said, starting to walk the length of the giant walkway the way they did most of the days. "And yes, I knew. I think there are statues here that knew. The sheer foundation of this place knew."

"You make it sound like we have some kind of a fairytale romance," Ashley shot back. "May I remind you that our lovely mates who we very much love brought us here against our will?"

"No, I managed to forget," Joslyn replied happily. "It's not as if we're reminded of that every step of the way here. Did you say it back?"

"Yes," Ashley admitted, not entirely sure why that simple admission made her smile so widely.

Joslyn smirked that maddening knowing smile of hers that Ashley both loved and found incredibly irritating. Much more of the former, though.

Joslyn was the first friend she'd made on Luminos, like Zar had predicted. She was the fated mate of Yamor, one of Zar's captains who lived on the home world most of the time, managing the harbinger's affairs. Like Ashley, Joslyn had most certainly found a way to make her life on Luminos tolerable.

She reminded Ashley of herself a lot. Joslyn dared to speak to her mate without fear, which they both had come to believe was the key to forming a relationship with Nayanors. There was no love that could be built upon fear and submission, like some of the women seemed to think. In Ashley's mind, that was merely a tolerable slavery.

With her long black hair, sharp green eyes and dimples when she smiled, the first impression Ashley had gotten of Joslyn was "motherly", although that was possibly due to the very obvious growing belly. Joslyn was five years older than her and had been on Luminos for six. She was expecting her third son.

"You'll have one soon enough," Joslyn had told her straight-on when they were in the middle of their first ever conversation.

"I really thought we were still in the phase of talking about our favorite types of music," Ashley had said, pulling a face.

Joslyn had laughed, shrugging.

"If you wish," she'd said. "But this is Luminos. Everything is better if you know what's coming up ahead."

That had sealed the deal for Ashley. She couldn't put it into words how much she appreciated having someone by her side who went through the same experience and took it with the same amount of rational optimism as she did.

"So how are things?" Joslyn asked as they walked.

"I don't know," Ashley laughed. "I've been terribly horny lately. Wasn't that supposed to be a sign of pregnancy? That would be a real joke on me, to get knocked up two weeks after I met the guy."

Joslyn chuckled, her hand gently caressing her belly.

"Not impossible, but I'd take the fact that your mate is a walking testosterone commercial into account," she said.

Ashley snorted.

"Be that as it may," she agreed, "you can't say that out loud. Any Nayanor would report you straight to Yamor."

"Let them," Joslyn said cheerfully. "I don't fear him. I've given him two sons, the third one is on its way and it's been six years. If any Nayanor goes to tell on me, he'll make them a head shorter. Then he'll probably go and work out to impress me, thinking that I'm righteously star-struck by your mate because he's not the alpha compared to the harbinger.

"Nayanors... If you somehow manage to look past the raiding and the violations of basic human rights, they're actually quite amusing."

Smiling, Ashley nodded, looking around. They were walking through the weirdest looking little community she'd ever seen. The long, dark, empty walkway Zar and her had driven through on their first day was full of life now. There were lanterns burning under a roof so high Ashley couldn't see it, looking like stars in a night sky.

During the actual night when the lights were dimmed, beams of moonlight from Luminos' three moons shone through the holes in the ceiling. The light reflected off mirrors in the shafts, creating patterns on the ground. Sometimes Ashley and Joslyn stayed up late just to watch the moonlight play, excited like children half their age.

"You give me courage," Ashley admitted seriously, breaking out of their usual easy, light conversation.

Joslyn gave her a quizzical look.

"I mean you make me believe that things could work with Zar," she continued. "That although this is deeply messed up, it doesn't have to be the end of my life. And that maybe it can go well for others too."

Ashley saw Joslyn start to smirk before her face dropped and a deep frown appeared on a face that was used to smiling.

"Trouble ahead," she told Ashley, who turned to see what had gotten her friend so upset.

Just like that, the happiness she'd felt that morning receded like a good dream in a waking nightmare. Gwen Raleigh, the perpetual bearer of bad news, was coming their way, her intention clear on her broad, pale face. The flock of blonde curls around her head flew up and down as Gwen strutted down the walkway like she owned the place, whereas the truth was far from it.

If there's ever a Nayanor who is your mate, I don't know who I pity more.

"Gwen," Ashley said hurriedly when the self-appointed spokesperson for the latest "haul" as they were known stopped in front of her. "Before you say something incredibly stupid, remember where we are. If you want to speak to us in private, let us go and –”

"I'm sorry, Ash," Gwen said, the informal version of her name sounding so wrong on the lips of the woman who hated her guts. "I couldn't hear you over all those sheep noises you keep making."

"Funny," Ashley replied coldly, stopping Joslyn from interfering with a quick look. "You get funnier every day. I hope you maintain that sense of humor when your mate finds you."

Gwen bared her teeth, looking like a lioness ready to prowl. Ashley sighed. Gwen had that flawless beauty about her, an almost Viking-like pride and fierce spirit that she was sure a Nayanor would find irresistible. As it was, Ashley prayed that if the man existed, he lived on the other side of Luminos and never met Gwen, given that she would have gotten herself swiftly killed.

"I look forward to the day you stop believing this fated mate bullshit they feed you," Gwen said, giving them both a hard look. "Honestly, I don't know what curse is upon this damn domain that the two women who could make a real difference defend our fucking captors."

"We don't defend them," Ashley protested, her anger rising to the surface quicker than she'd imagined.

It was the morning's events, she knew that. A guilty part of her thought that Gwen was partly right. It was easy for her and Joslyn to preach about trying to get along with Nayanors when they were happy with their mates, ready to give the unexpected twist of fate a chance.

"Really," Gwen deadpanned, rolling her eyes before crossing her hands over her chest and adopting a business-like tone like she usually did. "Anyway, I thought you might want to know. Mia was claimed by a Nayanor mate today. She was dragged away crying and screaming. What do you say to that?"

"To stop crying," Joslyn answered in Ashley's place, a dark look on her face. "If she embarrasses her mate, the month of the long night won't go well for her."

Gwen did what she always did. She stared at them like it was the first time they were having the conversation, the first time they went through the motions of their futile argument. Ashley was quickly growing tired of that.

The problem with Gwen was that she belonged to the group of women who hadn't been put at ease by her explanations back on the Foront. Unlike the rest of them, who went quickly down the rabbit hole of despair, Gwen had taken it upon herself to be their protector. As it happens, so had Ashley, only their views on what defending the women on Luminos entailed couldn't have been more different.

Gwen thought they should stand up, fight and form some sort of a militia on the home world of a warrior race with serious empathy issues. Ashley happened to think there were quicker and less painful ways to commit suicide.

It was safe to say they didn't get along.

"I can't believe you two," Gwen said, putting on her best act of being appalled. "You especially, Ash. You are the mate of the harbinger. If you get along so well with him, tell him to let us go! Don't you hate what's going on here?"

"You know he won't do that," Ashley said grimly. "Just as well as you know I don't condone the raids. I just think we need to deal with them."

She didn't like to be reminded that there were things she would have changed if she could have. Not to mention, she would have changed Zar's perspective on the raids if she thought there was even the slightest of chances. The fact that there wasn't haunted Ashley in the deep, dark hours of the night when the world around her slept.

Then she thought of Gwen and whether she was on the wrong side of the battle the woman fought when Ashley basically agreed.

"There is no dealing with some people," Gwen said furiously.

"No," Ashley agreed. "There really isn't."

Gwen looked like she was ready to explode when something happened that chilled Ashley to the bone. The entire vast hall that stretched as wide as the eye could see was filled with the distorted voice of The Reaper. Ashley had only ever met him and heard the Lord of the Black Hall speak once, filling her lifetime supply.

"Zar Kohora," the message rang out, The Reaper's voice shaking from rage. "Report to the central throne room at once. Bring your accursed mate with you.

"Congratulations, by the way, you little bitch. We have fucked your people for a long time, but you're the first one that managed to fuck us back. You have exactly ten minutes to celebrate that."