Nassir was absolutely terrified.

She hid it well—or at least she hoped she did. Showing her uncle that she was afraid of him would only give him pleasure. And the last thing she wanted was to please that bastard.

Bastard. Yes, she liked that word. During the boring and uneventful trip to her home planet, Zoey had taken great delight in teaching her some swear words commonly used on Earth. Boris had just shaken his head and ignored them as they had giggled over some particularly inventive ones.

Despite the fact that she adored Zoey, she wished she’d had some time alone with Boris. Being in a room with him without being able to touch him at will had been extremely difficult, especially with the way she had dreamed of him each time she fell asleep. But they had both made an effort to keep some distance between them for Zoey’s sake.

As they walked down the long room, she glanced around. Three of the walls were covered in weapons. Her father liked to collect old weapons. They hadn’t been used since he’d had them mounted. Although each year he had them taken down so they could be cleaned and sharpened where necessary.

How she would love to pull one of those sharp swords down and run it through her uncle’s fat belly. Her Uncle Faru sat where she had expected he would be. At the long dining table situated in the middle of the room, stuffing his face with rich food.

The wall at the far end was the only one clear of weapons. Instead it held large paintings, some of them twice as tall as she was. Her mother had loved to paint and her father had them mounted on that wall in pride of place.

A contingent of Faru’s guards had met them when their ship landed and escorted them here to the palace. Tazan kept a tight hold of her arm, as though she were a threat. The real threat stood behind her, but Rafal and Jecan had Boris between them while Wyan stuck close to Zoey.

Her uncle looked even rounder than the last time she had seen him, the skin around his eyes puffy, his triple chins wobbling as he opened his mouth, sweat glistening on his forehead.

A piece of food fell from his mouth and dropped to his shirt as he continued to chew with an open mouth. Up and down. Saliva built up at the corners of his mouth. She grimaced in disgust, her stomach turning. While they hadn’t been starved on the ship, they certainly hadn’t been well fed. And from what she had seen during the short trip from the port to the palace, the people were suffering. Thin, dirty, and weary looking. Hungry.

While her uncle sat down to a dinner that could have fed twenty.

“Tazan! Finally, you bring my beloved, thieving niece back to me.” As he moved his chair back, it creaked ominously under his weight, before he stood and moved around the table. Obviously, his tailor could not keep up with his weight gain as his shirt strained over his monstrous stomach. He stood, planting his feet wide.

Tazan wrapped his hand around her upper arm. She knew his grasp would leave a bruise, but she didn’t flinch. She just stared at Faru with a slight sneer on her face.

“I stole nothing from you,” she spat at him. “And I am not your beloved anything. If you loved me you would not have murdered my parents or sold me to that evil asshole.”

Asshole. Another word she was now fond of.

Red flushed his cheeks and his smile quickly disappeared. “How dare you!”

He strode forward, his hand raised. A deadly noise came from behind her, stopping him. She froze, her pulse raising. Why didn’t Boris keep quiet? Maybe Faru wouldn’t have noticed him if he could have just kept out of it. She had tried to gain his promise to allow her to handle this earlier, but he had just given her that look that meant he thought her insane.

Faru went pale as he stared over her shoulder. He took a step back. She looked at him, puzzled. Yeah, Boris was scary but this seemed an over-reaction from such an arrogant man.

“Who is that?” Faru asked, pointing over her shoulder, his hand shaking. It was as though he had seen someone he knew.

“He is no one,” she said quickly. “A servant.”

She felt terrible about the lie, but she thought Boris would understand. She wanted to protect him.

“Your niece is right,” Tazan added. “He is no one. I have not decided what to do with him, yet. I thought perhaps he might be worth some ransom, but I am not sure either of them are, considering I have heard nothing from that one’s mate.” Tazan turned to point at Zoey in disgust.

Nassir was not certain why Dex had not replied, but she knew it was not because he did not care about Zoey.

Faru turned his gaze from Boris, directing it somewhere else. He smiled. Nassir shivered. That was not a good sign. “And who is this?”

Tazan narrowed his gaze. “You are interested in her? I am afraid she will cost you, if you are.”

Faru’s face filled with interest, sickening her. She had to get his attention off Zoey.

“Uncle, why did you send a bounty hunter after me?”

He gave her a disgusted look. “You cost me a big deal, you little bitch. Loyrul disappeared the same time you did and his brother has been putting pressure on me to find you.”

Loyrul. The evil one. The center of all her nightmares. Wait, disappeared?

“Disappeared?” she asked, hating the note of fear in her voice. She heard Boris made a low noise of anger. She had to calm herself for his sake.

“I know nothing of his disappearance. When I left he was breathing.”

Unconscious, but breathing.

Faru snorted. “I care not what happened to him. But his brother wants you. I will send a message to him to retrieve you.”

No. No, she would not go back. Panic swamped her

Faru turned back to Tazan. “I would be interested in talking of a price for the other female.”

“Perhaps you would like to discuss it over dinner? I am afraid I have been traveling straight for days. I could use some good food and company.” He creepily eyed up one of the young servants, who ducked back into a doorway with a gasp. That sick feeling inside Nassir grew. “If you have somewhere my men could put these three?”

“My niece and the cripple can go into the dungeons beneath the palace. I’ve re-opened them. My brother was too weak to use them. But the other female, she can stay with us.” He smiled at Zoey. Nassir shuddered and not at the sight of all the food caught in his teeth. Whatever he had in mind for Zoey, Nassir knew she could not allow to happen. “Guards!”

Several guards descended upon them. And that’s when Boris attacked.