Untri inspected her before letting her off the ship. At least the bathroom had been amazing – clean and as high tech as anything Bethany had ever seen. She’d been able to wash off all the dust and grit that had accumulated on her skin from staying in that cargo bay. Her hair was washed, dried, and tied up neatly. She wore the pale blue silk dress that Untri had left her.

“Hmm, that won’t do.” He looked at her cheek and her hands, which were swollen and cut in many places from wresting that pipe loose.

Untri picked up a small device about the size of his hand. Bethany had heard of healers, but never seen one in person.

It glowed green as he held his thumb down on one of the many buttons. “Hold still.”

Bethany closed her eyes as her cheek tingled and felt very hot. When Untri withdrew the healer, the pain was gone. He next moved to her hands. This was even more amazing, since she could watch it happen. The swelling lessened and the angry redness faded. The cuts closed, leaving no marks behind. Bethany flexed her fingers; they felt as good as new.

She glanced quickly out the window as the ship descended, then she pulled back, afraid someone would see her looking out. She’d never been to another planet before. Telion was different from Earth. The divide between the advanced and the backlands was vast on Earth. Many lived their whole lives never seeing anything but the man-made, surrounded by robots and pods and all manner of new age technology.

Bethany, growing up in the backlands, was used to vast, dusty landscapes with a few scraggly plants. Telion seemed to be the strangest mix. There were huge towering buildings and docking platforms everywhere. Smaller ships zoomed around in place of cars, but there were also tall trees and vast green fields. It was beautiful.

Bethany wasn’t given long to appreciate the view. Untri took her arm and led her along a narrow path to a huge, imposing house. Bethany’s heart was pounding as she was led inside.

“Off you go.” Untri gestured her inside. The minute Bethany had passed the threshold, Untri closed the door behind her, not so much as setting foot in the building.

Bethany surveyed the room she was in, which seemed to be a kitchen, though one fancier than she’d ever seen. Perhaps this Klowix would want her to cook for him. That wouldn’t be so bad; she was used to cooking.

Still, she feared he may have much darker purposes in mind for her.

Not knowing where she was supposed to go or what she was supposed to do, Bethany folded herself into a corner. Not being noticed for as long as possible was probably her best chance.

That idea didn’t last well. A tall, beautiful woman strolled into the kitchen, humming lightly. She looked human, but before Bethany could so much as blink, she was suddenly on the other side of the room. Bethany gasped. She knew that Evions had those lightning quick movements, but it still shocked her.

“Oh, hello.” The woman smiled at Bethany. “You just arrived?”

Bethany nodded.

“I’m Trili.”

“Bethany…”

Bethany reached out to shake her hand, but Trili took Bethany’s face in both of her hands and tilted her head back. Terrified, Bethany didn’t move. Was she about to have her neck broken?

Trili paused, apparently confused. “Oh, you don’t know? Here, do this.” She took Bethany’s hands in hers and guided them so that Bethany was holding her head, tilting it up gently to face the ceiling for a moment.

“That’s how we greet here on Telion.” She released Bethany. “You’d better learn fast if you want to stand a chance; Klowix is not a patient man.”

“Stand – stand a chance?” Bethany stammered a bit.

“A chance at becoming his secrena, of course. But you know that already.”

Bethany froze. She couldn’t let on that she’d been kidnapped and sold, not if she wanted her family to live.

“I… I don’t know much about anything. I come from the backlands on Earth. My parents always wanted a better life for me, so they sent me here. It’s all new to me, though.”

“You must have really impressed Untri.” Trili raised her eyebrows. “Usually he doesn’t even consider applicants without a good amount of experience in Telion culture.”

“Just lucky, I guess.” Bethany shrugged. “Um… applicants?”

“Oh, maybe your parents did the application for you. I handled my own, but a lot of the girls had help from their families.”

“I don’t understand.”

Trili laughed. “Wow, your family really didn’t tell you anything before dropping you here, did they? Don’t worry, they were right about this being a better life, though. You’ll come to see just how lucky you are.”

Trili led Bethany through to a spectacular lounge area.

“Bethany, meet the rest of Klowix’s harem. This is Beoli, Snia, Culip, Anna, Ruth, and Lizzy.” She gestured to three Evion women and three humans. All of them looked happy and relaxed.

They crowded around Bethany, the Evions tilting her head in greeting, the humans hugging her. Some of Bethany’s panic was starting to fade. She still missed home, but it didn’t look like she was going to be killed or have her soul stolen, at least any time soon.

Trili raised her voice slightly. “Girls, we have a lot of work to do before Klowix gets home. Bethany’s parents dropped her here knowing nothing. She has a lot to learn.”

Snia wanted in. “Ooh, me first! Come on, Bethany, let me do your hair for you.”

Before she knew what was happening, Bethany found herself being led by the hand to a large bedroom with a double bed and silk coverings.

“So tell me what you know.” Snia pushed Bethany into a chair and grabbing a hair brush from the dresser.

“Not much. That I’m to be part of Klowix’s harem – that’s it, really.”

Giggling behind her told Bethany that the other girls had followed and were sitting on the bed behind them.

Lizzy sighed. “Well, Klowix is the head of the army here on Telion. He’s so strong and handsome…”

Ruth joined in. “He’s looking for his secrena. That’s why there are so many of us. Not many Evions look for secrena anymore; it’s sometimes a lifelong quest.”

“His… secrena?”

Anna giggled. “His soul mate, silly. Once he chooses one of us, we’ll be his and he’ll be ours… forever. It’s said to be a bond like no other.”

Bethany hesitated. “And you all… applied?”

“Of course.” Culip tucked her long hair behind her ears, smiling brightly.

Bethany looked from one woman to the other. “I don’t understand. Klowix will only choose one secrena, right?”

“That’s right.”

“And you all want to be his secrena?”

There were nods all around.

“Then why are you so… shouldn’t there be a bit more competition going on if you all want to be chosen? Why are you doing my hair and explaining everything to me rather than letting me look like a fool?”

Beoli giggled. Bethany thought she’d heard more giggling in the last ten minutes than she’d heard in her lifetime.

“Secrena aren’t like that. The secrena bond needs to come from both sides. It’s not really a case of Klowix choosing; it’s a case of a coming together of him and his secrena. Either it’s one of us, or it’s not. Our actions towards each other aren’t going to change that. The secrena bond is about who you are; nothing can change or hide that.”

“Besides, it’s not like those of us who aren’t chosen will be losing out.” Culip sounded chipper.

“Why not?”

“It’s all part of the application. Maybe you should explain, Ruth, my parents did most of mine.”

Ruth obliged. “The agreement here is simple. One of us will eventually be chosen as a secrena – either that or Untri will keep bringing more women until Klowix finds the right one. When one is chosen, the rest of us will be sent home, but we’ll never want for anything again.”

Trili filled in the gaps. “Klowix isn’t just a great military commander, he comes from a long line of great generals. He’s got more money than most of the people on the planet. In the end, we’ll all find our true loves – for one of us, that will be Klowix. For the others, we’ll have the means to travel the universe to find the right person for us. We’ll never need to work or worry, and neither will our families.”

“You mean… if I’m not chosen, I’ll get to go back to my parents?”

“Of course, you can do whatever you want. We’re not sure how long the selection process will take, which is why the down payment to our families was so big.”

Bethany thought she saw where this was going. “How much?”

“Twenty gold pieces.”

Bethany nodded, suddenly understanding. Perhaps this Klowix wasn’t such a good judge of character. Clearly, he didn’t know Untri was buying slaves and pocketing eighteen gold pieces. She wondered if any of the other girls got there the way she did. Looking at their bright eyes, she doubted it.

Snia’s hands suddenly moved through Bethany’s hair lightning fast. “Anyway, enough history.” Bethany gasped at her sudden speed.

“Come take a look, Bethany.”

Snia pulled her towards a tall mirror. When Bethany looked into it, she gasped. Living in the backlands, covered in dust half the time and always working, she’d thought of herself as plain at best. The woman in the mirror wasn’t plain.

Snia had somehow curled her hair up into an elegant bun on top of her head, with loose ringlets falling around her face. Bethany’s long brown hair was usually flat and dull, but a good wash and Snia’s magic had brought shine and bounce into it that she never knew it had.

Somehow, the blue dress Untri had chosen matched exactly with the color of her eyes, and it hugged her curves in a way that none of her clothes from home did. Bethany was tall, and the dress had slits down the side that showed off her legs. It cut under her breasts, giving them more shape and form than she usually displayed.

It surprised her to see that in these clothes, her body was a lot shapelier than she’d imagined it to be. Her gentle curves were accentuated by the silk, and the cut of the dress made her neck look longer, giving her a regal look.

Snia took charge. “Bethany needs to know some things before Klowix gets home.”

The human girls were standing back grinning, especially Anna. “Don’t worry, it’s fun. We all had to get used to it as well.”

Snia took Bethany’s arm. “Don’t be afraid.” Bethany opened her mouth to ask what she shouldn’t be afraid of, but then the room was flashing past her. Her hair blew back and she gasped. When she blinked, she and Snia were standing back in the kitchen.

Snia smiled. “Here, it takes some getting used to, but Klowix does it all the time, so you’ll want to get accustomed.”

Bethany’s knees were shaking. She’d known about Evions’ strange, quick movements, but experiencing it firsthand was another matter altogether.

“Culip, get in here!”

A second later, Culip was there, moving so fast she burred.

“Here, let me do your hair. Watch this, Bethany.”

Bethany felt like her eyes were bugging out of her head as Snia’s hands flew over Culip’s hair, having it up in an elegant plait piled on the top of her head in about two seconds.

Ruth, Lizzy, and Anna came strolling in, and Anna got Bethany a glass of water.

“Jealous, right? I wish I could do that.”

“Is… is there anything else I need to know?” Bethany couldn’t help but sound tentative.

“Plenty. You’ll learn as you go along, we all did. Don’t try to put the moves on Klowix, he doesn’t like that.”

Beoli sighed. “He’s so commanding. He always makes the first move, takes control…”

Snia giggled. “Not that any of us would really know.”

“What?”

Ruth pouted. “Oh, he hasn’t taken any of us yet, not even kissed us. We don’t know what he’s waiting for or how’s he going to find a secrena if he doesn’t… sample the goods available.”

They all fell to giggling again, but Bethany wasn’t listening. She was finally feeling like she could breathe, for the first time since the slavers took her. If the others were telling the truth, and she thought they were, all she needed to do was not get noticed by Klowix until he chose someone, then she’d get to go home – and with a small fortune, by the sounds of it.

“Come on, I’ll sort out your nails.” Anna grabbed Bethany’s hand and tugged her to another huge bedroom. “You’re right next to me. Where’s all your stuff, by the way?”

Oh dear. Bethany got creative. “My family has a custom that when you start a new life, you take nothing of your old life with you. Even this dress is one Untri got for me.”

They seemed to swallow the lie easily. Trili squealed. “Ooh excellent, shopping!” We’re not allowed to leave the house, of course, we need to be available should Klowix desire us, but we can send a bot and watch through the screen.”

“Move over, give me some room.” Anna dumped out a huge box filled to the brim with different gadgets and nail polishes.

Culip grabbed some kind of fancy screen and snapped her fingers. A small hole opened in the screen and a rod extended. Within seconds, it was in front of them on a tall metal stand.

“Ok, let’s see… clothes first, I think.”

At Culip’s words, the screen filled with more clothes than Bethany had seen in her lifetime.

“What do you think, Bethany? Klowix favors silk… but of course, you can get whatever you want.”

“Who pays for all this?”

“Klowix, of course. Or rather, it goes to his account. He doesn’t really care what we buy; he wants us to be happy here.”

Despite everything, sitting there with the other girls, giggling and doing her nails, giving her vastly different advice on clothing, Bethany found she was enjoying herself. She tried to buy only a few outfits, but the rest of them wouldn’t stand for that. By the time her nails were done, she felt like she’d bought an entire planet’s worth of clothes, though nothing in silk.

As the sun began to kiss the horizon, they all disappeared into their bedrooms to get changed. Culip assured Bethany they’d get her all the other stuff she needed tomorrow; by the looks of their rooms, there was a lot more stuff they thought she needed. Trili showed Bethany a brief glimpse of her room, grander than a king’s, before pulling her away and fastening a diamond necklace around her neck worth more than Bethany’s parents had seen in a lifetime.

“You’re new, so Klowix will focus on you at first, get to know you a little.”

Snia reassured her, no doubt seeing the look of panic of Bethany’s face. “Don’t worry, we’ll help you. If you’re not sure about anything, just look to one of us, and we’ll get you through it. Klowix isn’t patient, and he’s demanding, but he’s not cruel. The worst that can happen is he’ll dismiss you for the night. He’s over it by the next day, though.”

Lizzy spoke in a half-whisper. “We think he’s frustrated. He’s been searching for his secrena for a long time. I think we’re the fifth group he’s been through.”

The other ladies chimed in with advice and suggestions.

“Don’t touch him without asking.”

“Be submissive. He likes that, but also speak up. He likes a woman with personality.”

“Remember to smile. He doesn’t like it when we’re not smiling, I think he worries we’re not having a good time here.”

“Make sure you let him eat first. It’s Evion custom, and it’s rude to do otherwise.”

“Oh, and there’s a different greeting you need to use for him: bend your knees and head, then he touches your forehead. Then you can look at him.”

Bethany tried to keep the onslaught of advice in the forefront of her mind, working out which ones she would stick with. She didn’t want to commit a cultural faux pas and get into trouble, but she could tell the advice on how to be more appealing to Klowix was going to be very useful in her effort to be as unappealing as possible.

The door handle turned, and all the girls’ heads turned.

“Come on.” Trili took Bethany’s hand and urged her forward. “He’s here.”