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  “What?!” I exclaimed on behalf of all the shocked and disappointed expressions of the other women at my table.

  Zaine’s eyes focused in on me, and I felt a chill raise through my spine as his handsome features darkened.

  “Ten minutes,” he said, slowly and deliberately, as if trying to make me feel stupid. I glared at him but said nothing else. As much as I wanted to fight it, the consequences wouldn’t be worth it. And if everybody else got punished on my behalf, I didn’t know how I would survive the rest of our time locked up together.

  He grinned, satisfied with my silence, and a hot rage flamed up inside of me. There was nothing more infuriating than a man on a power trip.

  We scarfed our food down as quickly as we could before Zaine made a shrill sound with something dangling around his neck. It looked like a tooth of some kind with a little hole in it, and his silver eyes glittered from me to the rest of the women in the room. “Meal time is over. Return to your cells.”

  The older prisoners groaned their complaints, but Zaine said nothing. He turned his back on us and disappeared from the room as a group of Pelin men ushered the women from their seats and down the corridor.

  My eyes searched for Zaine, for some reason hoping, in vain, to catch one last glimpse of him. But the hallways were too crowded with bodies, and as soon as we were filtered into the proper cells, the Pelin began to do a head count. Zaine was nowhere in sight, and I sighed, confused by my disappointment.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” the brawny woman asked as soon as we made it to the cell and the guards disappeared down the corridor. She shoved me hard against the wall, and everybody stood back to watch. “Are you trying to get us all killed?”

  “No, I-”

  “I don’t want to hear it!” the woman exclaimed. “If you fuck up again, even just one more time, I swear, I’m going to-”

  “Casey, calm down!”

  Suddenly, the woman wasn’t pinning me any longer, and I took a deep breath, glaring at Casey’s back as she was pulled away by a small woman with worried features.

  “You shouldn’t bully people like that in here. Do you know what they would do if they caught you? Don’t you get why we’re here in the first place?”

  Casey glowered at the ground. “She’s going to screw all of us!”

  “You know she won’t,” the smaller woman said, putting a hand on Casey’s shoulder. “We’re here because of Project V. They need us here. If they kill all of us off, then they’re just screwing themselves over. Why would they do that when there’s a war? They need whatever they can get. Otherwise the whole thing is pointless.”

  “Yeah…” Casey said reluctantly.

  “Just let it go.”

  I watched the two women walk to the far side of the cell and leave me alone without another word. I knew that the smaller woman wasn’t trying to protect me; she was trying to protect her friend. Still, it made me feel very grateful that she had intervened. The last thing I needed was Zaine to come in and see that I was getting into even more trouble.

  Zaine. Thoughts of the handsome Verian took my mind back to the strange room he had taken me to earlier that day. I had been certain that he was going to beat me, or worse, but all he had done was sit me down and give me a stern lecture. I wasn’t sure how I had gotten off so easily, but I was grateful. That was for sure.

  It was almost disappointing, in a way, to have him march me back to my cell without anything more meaningful being exchanged between us. What was this morbid attraction I felt toward my captor? Likely it was nothing more than just temporary insanity. Being kidnapped must wreak havoc on the brain. It would be better not to explore the feelings that arose.

  “Do you think there’s any way out of here?”

  The question caught my interest. A group of women about a foot away from me were whispering urgently to one another, desperate for some chance of escape.

  “No, there’s no way. Even if we got out, how would we make it back to Earth?”

  “There’s got to be something we can do.”

  “Might as well crush those hopes before they crush you!” Casey announced. Apparently, she had heard the conversation from her stance on the other side of the cell. “It’s dangerous to hope for something that can’t happen. Don’t you get it? The Verians won. And we are their prizes. We have no choice but to accept the situation at face value and move on with our lives. Quit dreaming.”

  I felt a pang of pain in my chest at the deflated expression on the women’s faces. If they truly wanted to escape, then they would have to take all things into consideration. It was true. But did Casey have to be so cruel about it? I couldn’t stand it when people wanted to rain on other people’s ideas and hopes, no matter how impossible they might be.

  “We’d never get off this planet. And as long as we’re here, they would find us.”

  This time it wasn’t Casey who spoke, and everybody looked at me in surprise. I didn’t realize that I’d said anything out loud. The stress was really getting to me. I shifted nervously before continuing my thought.

  “Which means if we did escape, we would have to survive on this planet without being discovered until we could build or take a ship back to Earth. Do you think we could do that?”

  I wanted to believe that if we all banded together, that anything was possible. I wanted the light to come back to the eyes of the women who had been plotting. But all my voice served to do was hush the rest of the people in my cell. They turned their backs on me, each of them a little bit more than sick of my shenanigans. They wouldn’t let the local troublemaker have any part in their dreams.

  At first, I thought it might be lonely, as it had been on Earth, being stuck in a cell with so many people who hated me. But as the rest of the day wore on, it seemed more of a blessing. Those who spoke to each other fought, inevitably, until there was drama happening on all sides of the cell. At least this way, I would be able to have the quiet I needed. Just because the other women gave up on a plan of action didn’t mean that I had to. I could figure out a way out of this mess, and if the others didn’t want in on it, then they weren’t worth the freedom anyway.

  ***

  I tried to be on my best behavior over the next couple of weeks. It was crucial that I did. Otherwise, I wouldn’t get the chance I needed to observe the innerworkings of the prison system we were a part of. Without a deep understanding of our surroundings, I wouldn’t be able to get anywhere close to achieving my goals and putting my plan into action.

  “Yula Lawrence,” Zaine said one day, standing close behind me as we made our way through the swarming bodies in the hallway. I blushed, heat coursing through my body as his body was pushed into mine from behind, and I had a small awakening to the dense muscles hidden beneath his uniform.

  “Yes?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. I don’t think he understood what I was feeling because he smiled kindly down at me.

  “You need not be afraid if you are going to behave,” he said. “I’ve noticed that you are doing much better lately, and I wanted to acknowledge that. Well done, Earthling. Isn’t it better to keep the peace when peace can be kept?”

  His reference to peace made my body grow tense as I remembered the horrific stories of war that the soldiers spread throughout the Zones. We weren’t allowed to repeat them to each other, but the grisly details had a way of staying stuck in your mind.

  “Peace is quite an ideal to maintain,” I said, not committing either way to his question.

  “An ideal, yes,” Zaine’s masculine voice rumbled from behind me as we moved slowly through the corridor. “One that I think you shall find quite suits you. Earthlings have such a violent temperament. It does the spirit good to try-”

  “Wait a minute,” I said, holding my hand up to silence Zaine and turning, as much as I could to face him. “You’ve kidnapped hundreds of women against their will, and you still think that we’re the violent ones?!”

  “Well, yes,” Zaine said, the puz
zlement clear on his face. I scoffed and rolled my eyes. “What’s the matter? Do you mean to tell me that humans are…pacifists?”

  “Well no, not exactly, but you don’t find this unfair at all? Hoarding humans for your own needs? Preparing us to breed with your kind like we’re some kind of…some kind of…”

  I couldn’t think of a good object to compare us to, but Zaine seemed to be capable enough of filling in the blanks in his own head.

  “Human, know your place,” he said, his voice suddenly cold. “This is not your planet, and these are not your ways. I don’t expect you to understand them, but I do expect you to honor them.”

  “Because I have no choice,” I grumbled. “I know.”

  Zaine and I grew quiet. We didn’t speak again until we were near the entrance to the dining hall.

  “It is only this way because of human warfare, and you would do well to remember that,” Zaine said darkly. “Your kind poisoned the Verian women. Made them barren! You’ve murdered hundreds of Verian children before they even had a chance to live! So excuse me if I don’t think it is all that unfair of us to make up for the deficit by using your bodies to incubate the unborn.”

  The anger had left Zaine’s voice, but the sadness, the bitterness, was potent enough to silence me.

  “I didn’t know…” was all I could say. Had humans really done all of that? No announcements had been made. Was that what the small woman in my cell meant by Project V?

  But we were being shoved into the dining hall, and the conversation was forced to end. I marched to my designated table, my stomach rumbling involuntarily as I waited for the little Pelin men to carry out our plates of food.

  But no matter how good the food was, I couldn’t bring myself to enjoy it. I kept sneaking glances at Zaine, who was standing rigidly against the back wall of the cathedral-like dining room, his face drawn and sad. For the first time in my life, I felt a sense of hopelessness. I wanted to make him feel better, but I couldn’t. And even more bafflingly, I wanted to apologize for the human tactic I hadn’t known about. But didn’t it mean we were that much closer to finally ending the war? Life could go back to normal if it did.

  We hadn’t been informed of all the different strategies the armies on Earth had employed against the Verians. All we had ever been told was that they wanted to take over Earth because it was a resource-rich planet, and it was our job to defend it at all costs.

  At all costs. According to Zaine, that meant making the Verian women barren. It meant murdering their children. And, it even meant sacrificing humans here and there to make up for human errors in judgment.

  But that was what we had to do to survive. It was an attack. Everything we knew was in jeopardy, and we were at risk of losing it all to the Verians.

  And yet, despite it all, I was feeling like an asshole, and there was nothing that I could do about it.

  Chapter 4

  Zaine Volaire

  The humans seemed to be getting acclimated to their new settings much faster than I had predicted, especially considering the rabble-rouser in their midst. The thought of Regan’s defiant face filled me with a confusing combination of irritation and longing. She was unlike any other human I had ever encountered, and the idea that she was so close, so ready to be claimed, and yet so unbelievably far away from what I should want made me feel very withdrawn.

  “Yul Volaire, how are things moving along? Well I hope?”

  I froze at the sound of the Doyan from behind me. She had an irritating habit of coming by the prison unannounced, which often sent everybody into a frenzy. Fortunately, the other people working in the prison were preoccupied because of our difficulties in staffing, and so their job performance wasn’t altered by the sudden appearance of the Doyan.

  “Welcome to you, Doyan,” I said, kneeling. I waited for her nod of approval before getting to my feet. “The humans are doing well. Next week we will begin the injections.”

  “Good, very good,” the Doyan said, a shallow smile creasing her lips. “And what of the rebel?”

  “The rebel?”

  “Yes, the Pelin have been quite atwitter with news of a defiant female in your midst,” the Doyan said, raising an eyebrow at me. I frowned.

  “She has been behaving herself after being dealt with by myself,” I said. “It shouldn’t be a problem any longer.”

  “Good to hear,” Doyan Vera said. “The humans we captured this last time are excellent genetic stock. Their tests came back today. I’d like to begin the breeding process as soon as possible.”

  “I understand. We are doing our best to move things along as quickly as we can. We need to be cautious about the future of our people. You understand. But once their bodies have become acclimated to the foods, we can begin injections.”

  “See to it that you do,” the Doyan said, fixing a hard look upon me. “And what of the humans that have been injected in the past week?”

  “They are ready for breeding. Just give me a call ahead of time, and we will move them to the copulation ward.”

  “Of course. And those in the nursing ward are doing well.”

  I nodded stiffly, and she turned away from me. She was silent for a few moments before she finally spoke, without meeting my eye.

  “I’d like to see the defiant human, if you don’t mind. Today.”

  “What?” I asked, my heart pounding hard.

  What did the Doyan want with Regan? I couldn’t help but feel fiercely protective of the human. It wasn’t that the Verian were cruel, per se, but it was difficult to know how certain people of my species might react to such close contact with our sworn enemies; the people responsible for our lack of fertile females. I didn’t know why, but I didn’t want anything to happen to Regan.

  “The human! The defiant girl. Bring her to me.”

  “What do you want with the likes of that waste of resources?” I asked, trying to conceal my nervousness with disdain. “Giving her special treatment by letting her out of her cell is hardly going to look good to the others. Especially if you want them ready for the injections anytime soon.”

  “It’s hardly special treatment, Zaine,” the Doyan said haughtily.

  “You know that the human nervous system is delicate. We need to make sure they are treated equally for the injections to start working,” I said irritably. “If they’re allowed to move too much, their muscles will be too tight to take in the injections when it’s time to distribute them.”

  “Don’t treat me like a fool,” Doyan Vera exclaimed. “I know all of this. I work side by side with the men responsible for the technology you’re using, you know! I just thought that maybe…”

  I was silent, waiting for the Doyan to continue her thought.

  “I thought perhaps the female with the most courage would make a suitable carrier for my next child; that’s all.”

  I was surprised, then baffled, then concerned.

  “She isn’t the human with the most courage,” I assured her. “She’s just the human with the least sense.”

  “Still,” the Doyan said, making herself comfortable in the lounge outside of my office. “I’d like to meet her. If I have to wait a little longer for her muscles to soften, then I will. It’s worth the risk.”

  I frowned and nodded, knowing that if I defied my duties, I would be in even more trouble than it was worth.

  “I will fetch her for you,” I said. “Please, do nothing to strain yourself. My Pelin or the secretary will attend to you.”

  “Of course,” the Doyan said coolly.

  I knelt again before leaving the room abruptly. If Regan made a good impression on the Doyan, that would mean she would be subject to who knew what kinds of advances from the Doyan’s elderly husband. The mere thought made me want to retch.

  “Yula Lawrence,” I said sternly, banging loudly on the door of Cell 3. The inmates looked out at me fearfully, and I saw Regan right away, her eyes as bright and as inquisitive as ever. “We need to have another talk about your conduct.”<
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  “But I haven’t done anything!” she protested.

  “Not yet,” I said, opening the cell door and waiting for her to step outside. She was reluctant but soon stood from her spot on the floor. When she was in front of me, the smell of her nearly drove me to madness. The memory of our bodies pressed so closely together during the rush for the dining hall hadn’t left my thoughts since the moment it happened. I’d have given anything to replay it again and again in real life, if I had the means.

  “I don’t think this is very fair,” Regan pouted as I led her down the long corridor. I said nothing to her until we were out of earshot of the other cells.

  “You cannot speak courageously in front of the female you are about to meet,” I said, my head bent low to her ear, my voice a whisper.

  “What? Why? Who am I meeting?”

  I gritted my teeth. “I am telling you this for your own good. The woman you are to meet is the Doyan of this planet. She is in charge…for now. You have a reputation, and she is considering you to be the incubator of her child. It is an honor nobody should wish to have. So please. Play dumb with her. Do whatever you can. Embody all stereotypes of humans if you must. Just do not impress her.”

  Regan’s piercing blue eyes locked on me and she frowned. “How do I know you’re telling me the truth?”

  “You don’t,” I admitted. “I just need you to try to trust me. This one time. You do not want to bear a child with that woman’s mate.”

  I could tell that my voice came out much more bitterly than I meant it to, and Regan’s features softened.

  “All right,” she said quietly. “I trust you.”

  Heat engulfed my entire body at the words, and I gazed at the small, strong-willed female, feeling as if I were about to burst. If I could have touched her then, reached out to string my hand through the long, silken locks of her auburn hair, I would have. But we were already too close to my office.

  “Remember your manners,” I said sternly, pushing the heavy doors open and showing Regan inside.

  She knelt reluctantly, studying the Doyan with a little frown. Thankfully, she said nothing.