Dark and Light (A Kindred Tales Duet)

Catching her eye, he gave Allisandra a stern look.

“Go with the guard,” he told her. “I’ll see you at the feast.”

Allisandra’s lovely green eyes widened under the royal blue hood and she nodded.

“Yes, Master,” she said softly. “I…I’ll see you at the feast.”

And then Kane had to watch as she followed the guard away to the Harem complex.

As she walked away, he thought of their conversation on the way here. He’d never spoken to a human about what they thought of what had been done to their world, he realized. To him it had seemed right—necessary even.

The humans had been in the process of destroying their planet and themselves when the Kru’ell One Kindred had found them. That was all changed now—there were no more wars, no more crime, no more hunger or poverty and the climate was almost back to normal.

But no more emotions either, he thought, watching the gray-clad servants moving silently through the halls as he found his way to what had once been the Oval Office. No more free will.

For the first time, he questioned the actions of his people. Of course, the Kru’ell Ones had never been purveyors of peace. They conquered every world they landed on, subjugated every race they came in contact with. They had always assumed it was their God-given right.

But what makes us better than them? Kane asked himself as he looked again at the servants. Why should we dominate them instead of working with them the way the Kindred in Allisandra’s universe have done?

He had no answers for these extremely uncomfortable questions and he knew better than to ask them of the Overlord, who was known to rule with an iron fist.

Kane sighed. Maybe later he could start to make some changes but for now, his first order of business had to be getting himself and Allisandra through the feast without any kind of an incident or drawing any attention to his lovely little female.

It was the only way he could take her home to her own universe where she would be safe.

Twenty-Six

“This way,” the guard said and led Alli through the maze of hallways until they came to a concealed elevator.

This must be the way to the secret bunker, Alli thought as she followed him uneasily into the dimly lighted box which had only one button marked with a down arrow. Or what used to be the secret bunker. The place the Secret Service hid the President if he was threatened.

And now it was apparently the Harem Complex. The place where women who were eligible to become concubines to the Kru’ell Ones were kept until they were chosen one by one, like pieces of ripe fruit to be devoured.

The thought made her shiver and she was glad for the soft, warm fabric of the Peace Cloak that Kane had draped over her shoulders before they parted. Apparently the cloak imparted some kind of protection from other Kru’ell Ones, which was good. From the way Kane had spoken about the others of his kind, Alli had an idea they were a bunch of sadists—especially the Overlord whom she was not looking forward to meeting.

The elevator seemed to take a long time to descend and the guard ignored her. So Alli had nothing to do but stare down at her feet. She was wearing soft black slippers that went with the gauzy black dress Kane had given her to wear. It was sheer but not see-through and for once there were no holes for her nipples or pussy to show through.

All in all, it was the most modest garment she’d worn since she’d first come to stay at the big Kru’ell One’s fortress. Alli had an idea that Kane wanted to shield her from the prying eyes of the others of his kind. She was grateful not to have to go naked or mostly naked in front of a bunch of strangers.

At last the elevator dinged and the doors opened onto a luxurious area with thick, soft blue carpet and dove-gray walls. The large sitting room they stepped out into was dotted with leather padded armchairs and comfortable looking couches arranged in groups around little round tables, like tiny islands in a carpeted sea. It reminded Alli of one of those informal bistros where they wanted you to feel like you were relaxing at home while the wait staff served you ridiculously overpriced lattes.

There were women seated at the various islands but none of them were talking very much. Most of them were just smiling vaguely, staring off into the distance as though thinking serene thoughts. Or maybe not thinking about anything at all.

They must still be under the effects of the Calm drug Kane talked about, Alli thought, looking at them with a frown. She supposed she would have to emulate them in order not to draw attention to herself. Accordingly, she pasted a vaguely content smile on her own face as she looked around the room.