I looked at Derrial frantically. “They didn't say where they're keeping them. How are we going to find them?" I asked urgently.
Derrial had a determined look on his face as he looked after them. A quick look at Thane and Corran’s faces showed that they were on the same wavelength as him. What were they going to do?
Derrial and Thane got up from the table, and Thane took one last drink of his wine before leaving Corran with me, I supposed as my guard. I watched as they followed the two Khonsu, keeping their distance from them so that they wouldn't suspect that they were being followed.
I thought I remembered them saying it was rare for a human to be on their planet, yet these Khonsu spoke about them as if it was common practice. How many of us had these savages kidnapped and brought back here?
I prodded Corran in the arm. “Hey, did you know the Khonsu were bringing humans on this planet?”
He looked at me for a long pause and gave me a small shake of his head, and kept eating, so I did the same.
Several servants came to our table to collect empty plates, while others delivered more food, and when I looked up at the young man with short blond hair, he smiled. “Thank you,” I said.
He leaned over to pick up an empty platter and murmured, “Did you just arrive on this planet?”
His question threw me off at first, and I tried to make sense of it. “I’ve been here a bit, but I really wanna go home.”
“Me too,” he sighed, and something shifted behind his eyes, something that had my heart clenching. I knew the look… it was someone who had been ripped from their home.
“I miss pepperoni pizza so much,” he said. “You’d think I would miss my family, and I do, but it’s normal food I crave.”
I bristled in my seat. “You’re human? How long have you been here?”
“I think five years. I lost track, but there are others who’ve been here longer.”
“More drinks,” a male Khonsu yelled nearby, and the servant stiffened and rushed away, leaving me drowning in his admittance.
I looked over at Corran who hadn’t even paid attention as he leaned away, listening to another conversation from other Khonsu. I got it, this was time to gain intelligence on the enemy, but these monsters built their empire by stealing humans and who knows what other aliens as their slaves.
“Corran,” I mumbled, poking him in the arm, and he turned toward me with concern behind his eyes.
“Is everything okay?”
“There are humans at this party. They’re working as slaves, taken from home. We need to save them.”
He swallowed loudly and lifted his gaze as if searching for the other two. “Let’s wait for Derrial.”
My knees were bouncing under the table and all I could do to distract myself was stare at the others in the huge room. Drinking, laughing, groping women. I could have sworn I stepped into an ancient world of barbarians, and I wanted to get out of here… get off this planet if possible.
By the time the other two returned, I was jumping out of my skin.
“Derrial, there are humans here, kept as prisoners.”
He stared at me just as Corran had.
“I want to free them, please. This world is terrifying, and they’ve been here for years.” I reached out, my fingers curling over his arms, my whole body trembling with fury. I couldn’t stand how they treated females and other species and wished there was so much more I could do to help those in need.
“Once the dance starts, we go and scour the place, then leave. Alright?”
I turned to Thane, who looked a bit pale around the face. “Are you feeling okay?”
It wasn’t long before the music changed to something upbeat, and most of the Khonsu got to their feet, heading for the open floor near the fireplace. Thane climbed to his feet, and I joined him. His hand clasped around my forearm in a possessive manner, and I followed him around the tables, keeping my gaze low.
Thane wobbled into a table, sending the whole thing, food and plates, into a tremendous wobble. My heart soared with fear.
Luckily its occupants were dancing, and I grabbed his arm, trying to hold him up. “You’re drunk,” I whispered, and we hurried out a back door into a hallway. I assumed this was used by the servants.
Thane erupted into laughter, and his face seemed to grow fuzzy, almost like static on TV. Was this disguise playing up?