She finished the pudding and stood, giving her spoon one last lick. “Thank you so much, Barr. If I only had that to eat for the rest of my life, I would die a happy woman.”
He chuckled and took the bowl away, his skin flushing violet again.
Gunt gripped her elbow. “Let’s go, slave.”
Barr frowned. “The prince said to call her Lamira. That she serves him like we do.”
Gunt shrugged. “Let’s go, Lamira.”
She flashed Barr a grateful smile over her shoulder. At least there was one being in this pod who liked her.
Once in the hallway, Gunt stopped. “Do you want a tour? Of the whole pod?”
It was too good an offer to turn down, even if she disliked Gunt. “Yes, please.”
He led her down the hall in the opposite direction from Zander’s chamber. Like her first day, she noticed how beautiful even the corridors were. The walls were plastered in beautiful hues and natural light— she stopped and looked up. How did they get so much natural light in there? Ocretia’s atmosphere was covered in smog. Normally, the three suns did not offer so much light.
A giant crystal was embedded in a skylight in the ceiling above. Its crystalline structure magnified the light coming in. Was this what he meant when he spoke of light baths?
“Whoa.”
“The crystals are all from Zandia. They provide our species with energy. They’re also used in laser weaponry, which is why the Finn invaded our planet—to control the supply.”
Gunt pilfered crystals from Zander and sold them on the black market.
The knowing dropped into her head from nowhere. Things she shouldn’t know arrived in her head without any deductive reasoning. Without being told.
She hadn’t liked the male, but she couldn’t tell Zander. Not without revealing the trait that would equate to certain death. Humans with gifts like hers were executed. Zander would be required to turn her over to the Ocretion law for disposal.
He opened a door into a huge open room with vaulted ceilings and even more light. The longest table she’d ever seen took up much of the floor. Embedded like skylights glittered five giant crystals—each twice the size of her head. The light pouring in wasn’t only magnified sunrays—the crystals cast rainbows around the room. She gasped.
She could grow things in here. Wonderful food and flowers.
“The formal dining room.” He pulled her back and shut the door, continuing down the corridor. “The great hall.” Another enormous room, with a domed ceiling and a giant crystal beaming light down. A large, stone chair sat upon a dais. “This is where Prince Zander hears the complaints, requests, and cases of our species.”
“How many Zandians are there?” From what she’d heard, the majority had been wiped out by the Finns when they invaded the planet.
“Very few. Two hundred. Maybe three. They’re scattered about, but many come to visit this pod for the crystal light baths. They are open to any Zandian, one planet rotation a week. The same day Prince Zander hears cases and pleas from our species.”
He tugged her elbow, pulling her from the beautiful room, and led her down a narrow hall with lower ceilings. “This is the staff quarters.” Even though they were not as magnificent as the rest of the pod, they were still beautiful to her.
“This is my chamber.” He stopped and opened the door, pushing her forward, as if to guide her in.
She froze, catching his intent. “I should get back to Prince Zander.”
He swiveled his dark-violet gaze to her. “You’re the only female we’ve had around here in a long time. We’ve never had one live here.”
She tried to back up. “Well, I’m just a human—hardly pleasing to your species, if Lord Zander can be believed.”
Gunt’s eyes glittered. “Oh, I think every male in the pod finds you pleasing.” He pushed her against the doorframe, pressing his large body against her, mashing her back into the hard wood frame.
She threw her hands up to push him back, but he was too solid.
“I could help you around here. Protect you from the rest of them.” He leaned forward, his horns pulsing, his breath foul in her face. “Maybe even help you escape.”
“Oh sure. And all I have to do is what? Suck your cock?”
Zandians didn’t understand sarcasm. Gunt’s eyes turned dark-purple. “Not all. But, yes. That’s a start.”