Chapter Two
Lord Aurzac stood on the balcony with his back to his palace chambers, gazing at the once beautiful view of the palace grounds. He was an Argarian, the last in the bloodline of the ancient clan of fierce Durlan Warriors who had ruled Terrgius for a millennium. Fiercely loyal to the land, these warriors were known to be devoid of emotions. But in the last few centuries, the successors had become corrupt and eventually destroyed the land.
He took a sip from his glass, savoring the blue wine as it slid down his throat. The wine on Terrgius was the finest in the galaxy. Gold and silver armor adorned his upper body. But it still revealed his well-built, toned body and fair skin. On his left arm he wore a glove, and on his right, his royal crest. Its emblem was a gold phoenix that spread its wings upward, surrounded by aquamarine stones, and a drop of blood hung on its head. The blood symbolized the sacrifices of his warriors and the phoenix, survivors who came back.
His shoulder length ice blond hair was tied at the nape of his strong neck, revealing his pointed ears which were the mark of the Argarian race. He wore dark leather pants that defined his muscular legs. His face held the cold expression of that of an experienced warlord, and his clear steely gray eyes were unfathomable. The vision he had in his dream last night recurred too frequently. He took another sip of his wine. He shouldn’t be bothered. After all, he was the powerful Durlan Lord and a vision of some woman shouldn't unnerve him.
A movement behind him brought him back from his brooding thoughts as he sensed the presence of his second-in-command, Lady Shanra.
“We are ready to board, My Lord,” Shanra said.
“Good. What’s the status of the Inter-Galactic Council meeting?” he asked.
“The Council will meet in a week, at the designated venue, the headquarters on Andromeda 13. The Emissary from Velarii will be there,” Shanra elaborated.
“Good. The sooner this issue with the Zorg is resolved, the better,” Lord Aurzac said, his jaw clenching.
The Zorg had been plundering his planet for over a century now. He needed to find a solution fast, as his planet’s resources were almost finished. Drought and famine plagued the once beautiful and flourishing planet, holding food and water in abundance. Now the rivers ran dry and the crops failed. His people were dying of hunger. The women could no longer bear children. And the burden of saving Terrgius was his alone.
His responsibility was to mate with a woman, a pure blood, who would bring life back to his planet. Terrgius was a planet with a soul. Its life force was the well-being of its rulers. If the ruler became corrupt or died, the planet would slowly die unless a new successor was chosen. His ancestors in the last century had gone corrupt, leading a life of debauchery, slowly draining the life force of the planet. Then the Zorg invaded, further ripping the planet apart. His father was assassinated when he was young. And his mother had suffered and died for no reason.
And now, almost a century later, he had come of age and taken over the responsibility as a leader. For the past few years, he had looked for the right woman. But he hadn’t found her. Even Commander Shanra had shown him prospective brides, but he never approved. He just didn’t feel the connection. Years ago his mother had told him that he would know it when he saw the woman who was destined for him. But as the years rolled by and his world withered around him, he had lost all hope of finding his mate. That was until he started having visions of a woman who was not from his world.
Why do you care about Terrgius? The others didn’t care. Why sacrifice your life? You can easily escape all of this mayhem, the dark, familiar voice inside his head mocked him. He ignored it and with these brooding thoughts, he left for the Council meeting.
***
Renaya woke up with a start. The creature that brought her food was back again, shaking her in an attempt to wake her up. In the dimly lit cabin of the alien ship, she had lost track of time. She was too tired and weak to move.
“Get up,” the creature shoved her and then dragged her up into a sitting position. “Master is here. Wake up.”
When she didn’t move, Ex’ilk pushed the creature aside and strode toward her. She looked up to see that it was the same green-eyed alien towering over her.
“You better eat, woman!” he growled.
“Let me go! Please... take me home,” she pleaded.
“Your home is destroyed. Eat! I don’t want you looking like that when I put you out there,” Ex’ilk grumbled, frowning with his heavy brows and wrinkling his nose in an expression that seemed as if she smelled bad.
“No, that can’t be true!” she screamed, fresh tears springing into her eyes. “Let me go! Let me go back home!”
She kept screaming when suddenly a sharp burning pain across her cheek silenced her. She wasn’t expecting it and the impact of his slap rendered her head spinning. The headache returned but only for a moment, because she fell on her knees and onto the floor, unconscious.
Cold water splashed on her face made her flinch. Ex’ilk sat in the cabin, watching her. The creature stood nearby, holding the glass of water.
“You eat now, woman. I don’t want you starving,” Ex’ilk said in a harsh tone. “I might let you go if you finish that,” he added, and she saw his dark lips curve into a smirk.
Her hands shook as she picked up the spoon and tried swallowing the now cold and tasteless gruel. An occasional sob would rack her sporadically. But the man didn’t leave until she finished the gruel. She felt like throwing up. But she tried not to, as he would definitely kill her if she did.
Days passed and she lost all track of time. The journey felt like an endless torture. She ate, slept, cried and thought about her destroyed home. The creature came in and gave her food. She asked him one day where they were going.
“We land in two days on Andromeda 13,” he replied, and when she gave him a blank look, he elaborated. “The space station, in our galaxy, Omega Centauri. It's the best marketplace in both the galaxies.” He rasped.
A glimmer of hope lit up her beautiful eyes. Maybe she could escape once they landed.
***
Two days later, the Zorg mother-ship reached Andromeda 13 and entered its docking station. Ex'ilk and his men rounded up the slaves and made them stand in a queue outside the spacecraft. Then they walked toward the marketplace known as the Bazaar of Babylon.
Andromeda 13 was massive. It was the largest space station that connected the galaxies of Omega Centauri and Redshift 7. It was a huge business hub for alien races. Mostly warriors and explorers from far-off planets visited it for trade and recreation.
Renaya was both awed and scared. Her emotions played havoc with her mind. The Bazaar of Babylon was crowded. So many different creatures, all aliens from different worlds gathered there. She saw that all the other alien slaves like her were shackled and all of them were females. She saw no other human.
“Where are the others? I mean humans, like me,” she asked Ex’ilk who was standing nearby.
Grunting, he turned toward her.
“There are none. You are the only human here,” he said giving her a look of disgust. “Your Earth is destroyed.”
A wave of shock hit her in the pit of her stomach. The only human here, the only one alive? If Earth was destroyed then he was right, she was the only human alive. The idea was too overwhelming to comprehend. Standing among the throng of people, she felt more alone than ever.