Mastered by the Zandians (Zandian Brides 3)

My head swims.

He tosses me back to the floor and I cry out at the pain everywhere.

“Stick her in the cage,” he orders.

One of them grabs my leg and drags me, and my head bounces on the floor as he tugs.

I must have blacked out, because when I open my eyes, I’m locked in a small metal cage. It’s dark in here, but lights flash on some panel outside my bars; red, green.

It’s too hard. I didn’t think it would be this hard.

I try to get up, but only flop back down.

Mother Earth, how could my mother have done this? It’s impossible.

I lie there panting, tasting the blood on my tongue, swallowing hard so I don’t vomit. I don’t even know if I can hold my hands to my mouth long enough to do what’s necessary.

I black out again as the craft throbs and thrums, and when I open my eyes again, we’re vibrating softly, the feeling of hovering.

Muffled shouts ring out. “Bring them on board.”

A muffled scream—humans.

It’s Mandy and Tess, and the sound of it jars me into full consciousness. I’m doing this for them. I am a freedom fighter.

Desperation sends adrenaline through my veins, and I use my last bit of energy to raise my hands upward, leaning my neck down to my thumb. I’m in so much pain elsewhere that I don’t feel a thing as I rip open the skin under the nail with my teeth and extract the capsule there.

I flop back, and the motion forces my jaw down, crushing the poly exterior of the capsule, and it’s immediate. The mix of herbs and medicine in there surges into my bloodstream, giving me a boost of energy so raw and powerful that I cry out, a guttural hoarse shout.

My heart pounds erratically, but it’s good, because the medicine floods me entirely and the pain fades just enough to allow me to put my hands back to my mouth. This time I go for my index finger, and when I pull out the little metal shard with my teeth I know I can do the rest of it.

I drop the shank into my hand and get to my feet. I’m shaky, but the pain continues to recede, and my mind is sharp. It takes only a minute to unlock the cage, and then I’m out of the dark hold, blinking in the light of the main cabin.

It’s unattended. Hubris, always a downfall of the Ocretions.

I already assessed my surroundings earlier, and I remember the code he typed to unlock the war panel. I enter the symbols and the door hisses open, showing me a beautiful array of deadly weapons. I grab the most lethal one I can hold with the cuffs still on, lift it to my shoulder. Look through the sight, and wait. I’ll have one chance, and I need to do this right.

He doesn’t see it coming, not even for a second. The first two of them come in, loud, excited, dragging Mandy and Tess by their arms. Tess’s arm is overextended, probably popped out of the socket, but there’s a clear shot to both Ocretion heads, and I take it. One, Two.

Two soft rushes of air, and their skulls explode in a beautiful firework of red and white, splattering the walls.

The third one shouts, grabs his weapon, but just as he aims at me, surprise in his face, I fire the laser into his chest, and he drops, leaking like a sac of blood.

“Mirelle?” Mandy is dumbfounded. Tess is in shock.

“Yes. We don’t have time. Grab his hand and unlock my cuff.” I point to the first one, lying in a pool of blood.

“But—”

“Hand. Cuff.” I make eye contact. “Do it. Now.” I make a grunt of frustration at her blank gaze. “Only his index fingerprint will unlock my cuff. You need to press it to the flashing light.”

She moans a little but obediently grabs his arm, and I inch myself closer, extend my arms. She presses his index finger to the metal and my cuffs pop open with a little click.

“How are you…I don’t…”

“We have to go.” I stagger to my feet, slipping in the blood. “Mother Earth.”

“Go where?” Her eyes are wild.