“More than you do at the present moment,” Azz’lx remarked. “For instance, I know that the merchant who originally bought her from the Commercians took possession of her again last night—probably while you were sleeping.”
“What? You’re lying!” I exclaimed.
“Actually, despite you calling me a ‘lying sack of shit,’thistime I’m telling the truth,” Azz’lx snapped. “Gumpas has the same kind of technology the Commercians do now—he can abduct women through any shiny surface, such as a mirror or a viewer.”
“A mirror?” I demanded and my heart clenched again when I remembered how I’d found Natalie’s night dress lying in the sink right under the golden framed mirror.
“Yes, indeed.” Azz’lx smirked at me again in that self-satisfied way that made me want to wipe the expression off his face with my fist.
“Where is she?” I demanded, glaring at his holo. “Goddess damn it—tell me right now, Azz’lx!”
“All right, Iwilltell you—but only because I know you have absolutely no chance of ever getting her back,” he sneered. “Gumpas said he was going to sell your little whore to the Dark Emperor of Tangella Alpha-Prime. And once she belongs tohim, you don’t have a chance in all the Frozen Hells of ever getting to her—let alone having her for yourself again.”
“You asshole! You contacted him and told him to come get her, didn’t you?” I demanded, my voice thick with rage.
“That’sexactlywhat I did.” Azz’lx’s eyes flashed. “That little whore cost me my job but she’s going to pay with herlife.You see, the Dark Emperor specifically wanted La-ti-zals and I told Gumpas that Natalie was one. Once the Emperor finds out she’s a fake, he’ll cut her head off!That’show he deals with people who ‘displease’ him,” he added, smirking again.
I realized he must have told the merchant who had taken Natalie what hethoughtwas a lie. He didn’t know she reallywasa La-ti-zal—though I had no idea how her visions, (which only seemed to happen when I was giving her sexual pleasure,) could help her in this situation. And more to the point, how couldIhelp her if she’d already been delivered to Emperor Shadout on the other side of the planet?
“You son of a bitch!” I swore at him. “You’re going to pay for this!”
“I doubt it,” Azz’lx said coolly. “And even if I do, you’re still getting the worse end of this deal. After all, what could be more painful than losing the female you love?”
His words struck home in my heart as though he’d stabbed me with a fucking knife. Because, for once in his miserable life, Azz’lx was right. Ididlove Natalie! I had told myself I was willing to take her home to Earth—willing to lose her forever.
Now I realized that was a fucking lie. I wasn’t prepared to let her go—wasn’t prepared to lose her. Somehow I had to get to the other side of the planet and convince the Emperor to give her back to me.
But how?
Without another word, I cut the connection to Azz’lx and blocked him from calling me again. I didn’t need to hear anymore of his bullshit. Right now what I needed was to find a way to get Natalie back before something bad happened to her.
If it hadn’t already.
FORTY-EIGHT
NATALIE
“You sure you’re ready to do this?” Rylee asked me seriously, taking my hand. “They’re probably going to be back at any minute, you know.”
“I know.” I squeezed her hand. We’d been plotting what we were going to say the next time we were dragged before the Emperor and it had been hours now. She was right—we were surely going to be called back soon. “I’m ready,” I told her. “But I don’t know if—”
Suddenly her grip on my hand tightened and she gave me an excited look.
“Oh my God—it’s back! It’s finally back!”
“What? What’s back?” I looked around the cell, but didn’t see anything different.
“My link with my guys! My mental connection with them!” Rylee exclaimed. Her eyes filled with tears and she sniffed. “I…I was so afraid being dragged through the mirror that second time had burned that part of my brain out or something! But I can feel them trying to contact me. It’s faint right now but I’m sure I’ll be able to talk to them in just a minute.” She let go of my hand and rubbed her temples fiercely. “Come on, come on…” she muttered.
“So…you can feel it coming back?” I asked. The idea of having mental contact with someone still seemed strange to me.
Rylee nodded, her eyes still focused inward.
“It’s kind of like when you’re getting over a cold and you’re finally getting your sense of smell and taste back—like that,” she explained. “Once you get Bonded to someone, that connection is so strong it’s like one of your senses. Sight, touch, taste, smell, hearing…and knowing where your guys are and how they’re doing at any given time. Oh wait…here they come…”
She closed her eyes tightly and I heard her murmuring, clearly speaking to her two husbands.
“Yes, guys, I’m safe,” she said to them. “For now, anyway. I’m on the male side of Tangella Alpha-Prime. I was captured by a merchant called Gumpas and sold to the Emperor here because he wanted a La-ti-zal. Well,twoLa-ti-zals, actually and you’ll never guess who the other one is—my cousin! I know, it’s messed up, right? She came looking for me while the three of us were off trying to sever your bond and the Commercians got her. I know, right?”