Total pages in book: 20
Estimated words: 17648 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 88(@200wpm)___ 71(@250wpm)___ 59(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 17648 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 88(@200wpm)___ 71(@250wpm)___ 59(@300wpm)
The creature’s jaw cracked open, its teeth snapping together mere inches from me, its breath a noxious plume blown across my face. It leaned in closer, its claws tightening around my arms until I cried out.
“Little human, I’ll have fun breaking you and putting you back together.” He hauled me through the crowd, but something shifted suddenly.
The air became hotter and thicker, and everything and everyone fell silent. The monster still held me, but his hold loosened. I looked into its grotesque face only to see fear as he scanned the crowd.
Whatever—or whoever—was here was something even darker and more terrifying than the monsters in this room.
I felt it and heard it before I saw it—a deep, rumbling growl that vibrated through the stone beneath my feet. The sound echoed off the walls, and I swore it rattled the iron chains that bound me as a prisoner.
The crowd around us fell silent, their bodies tensing, their glowing eyes flicking nervously toward the door I’d entered from. And then, I felt this pressure right before the door splintered inward, the force throwing me backward until I hit the hard ground, the wind knocked out of me.
I heard roars and screams, the vibration all around me a stampede. Survival instinct told me to get up or I’d get crushed. I rose and quickly moved toward the wall. There were too many bodies trying to flee in all directions that there was no way I could try and get out of here safely.
That’s when I saw a massive figure step forward, his shadow stretching long and intimidating, his presence sucking the air from the room.
My heart hammered painfully against my ribs as the beast stepped fully into view, the torchlight illuminating his ashen-colored skin. His massive, muscular form towered over every other creature, his very presence making everyone stand still.
They feared him.
I pressed fully against the wall, feeling smaller than I ever had. And then his black eyes locked onto mine, unblinking and intense, and there was this darkness that swirled in their depths.
A primal, instinctual fear claimed me, and I felt a cold shiver slide down my spine.
Everything else around me seemed to vanish as I took in his appearance. He had thick, curved horns that jutted from his head, their sharp, wicked points catching the torchlight as he kept a stoic expression.
One of the creatures made a move to leave, and he snapped his head in its direction, baring his fangs, the long, sharp teeth glistening with a thin sheen of saliva as his lips curled back in a snarling challenge.
“Do it,” he said to the beast in a gruff voice, his words accented as he spoke my language.
His massive hands were curled into fists, the thick, powerful muscles of his forearms flexing as he stepped closer to the creature who tried to leave.
“Try and get past me and see what I do to your body.” The beast was smart enough to take a step back from this male who clearly held uncontestable power and authority.
The humans who’d been taken stood off to the side, pressed against the far wall, their tear-streaked faces looking just as terrified as mine surely did.
“Who sanctioned this illegal auction in my kingdom?” His voice boomed, and everyone shrunk back. When no one answered, he smiled and lifted his arms. “If no one wants to claim this, then all of you will be held accountable.”
A rush of heavily armored monsters swarmed into the room and to either side of what I assumed was the king, seeing as he said this was his kingdom.
Everything was a blur of shapes and shadows and roars and screams. I smelled blood, felt it splash on my partially nude body.
It all happened in a matter of seconds, and when I opened my eyes—not realizing I’d squeezed them shut—all that was in front of me were corpses, blood, and trafficked humans who looked shell-shocked.
For a heartbeat, everything and everyone was silent. Then, the ragged, panicked gasps of the other captives and the soft, wet drip of blood filled my head.
“Take the humans back to where they came from,” the monster king said, and I snapped my head to look at him.
He watched me.
His gaze slid from my head to my toes, and I clutched my arms to my body, shielding my nudity. I don’t want to stay here, but I don’t want to go back home. I thought I’d said those words in my head, but when his brow furrowed and a low sound left him, I realized I’d said them out loud.
The king beast swiftly moved in front of me. He reached out, his massive, clawed hand wrapping around my wrist, his rough skin gently scraping against my bare flesh as he pulled me to his chest.
I couldn’t scream even though I was terrified and knew I should.