Epilogue
Jessa
The woman dangled from the gray-skinned monster’s hand.
Her honey-colored eyes flared with rage, and she kicked and clawed at him.
She didn’t stop trying to reach him, even as he locked her into shackles and hung her from a hook to keep her from fighting.
Even then, she kicked her feet and cursed at him, snarling ferociously.
I wished I’d had the strength and skill to fight the way she did when I woke up in this horrible nightmare.
Instead, I’d been so frozen in fear and disbelief that I’d barely reacted when the monsters dragged me out here and started taking bids for something.
I was so numb that it had taken me too long to realize that the bids were for me.
One minute, I’d been asleep in my bed, and the next I’d woken up with a heavy weight on my chest and a bitter taste on my tongue. All I saw before the world went dark were a pair of glowing red eyes.
When I woke, I’d been naked, a thick leather collar locked around my neck and connected to the wall by a long chain. There were other human women in the cells next to me, some awake and sobbing or rocking in the corners, and others unconscious.
The woman fighting the contraption holding her right now had been passed out in the cell next to mine. They’d left her in there as they’d dragged us out one by one, only bothering to grab us when we were awake.
Apparently, unconscious slaves weren’t as desirable as the ones who were shivering with fear and staring at the monsters surrounding us with wide, frightened eyes.
The crowd of monsters roared. Some looked like the gray-skinned assholes with red eyes who had kidnapped me and dragged me from the cell.
The others were even larger, most around seven feet tall, with long black hair, thick black horns curving up from their scalp, and deeply bronzed skin.
Only a few of them wore shirts. Some wore pants and boots. Others wore nothing but loincloths.
They had claws, fangs, and tails that lashed the air behind them as they roared in approval at the wild rage of the woman on stage. I couldn’t even hear the monster calling out prices over their noise.
At least not until the auction was over. The crowd’s dispersal was the only thing that told me it was done.
I watched as a monster approached the gray-skinned male guarding us and gestured toward me.
He looked older than the others, white streaks in his black hair and wrinkles around his eyes and mouth.
The gray bastard lumbered toward me, pulling a ring of keys from the waist of his loincloth.
I realized that the older male had been the one to purchase me.
Hope flared in my chest, warming my chilled skin. I thought about how the woman on stage had fought. I didn’t have her abilities, but that didn’t mean I was defenseless. And if my new owner was old, maybe I would have a better chance of escape.
For now, I would learn as much as I could about this place and where it was. I would make friends, pretend compliance, and gather supplies.
I could be smart and sneaky. I would watch, wait, and plan. I wasn’t strong enough or trained enough to hurt any of them.
That didn’t mean I was helpless.
When my opportunity to escape arose, I would be ready.
And I would get the hell out of here.