Prince Ryxin raised one clawed hand.
Xar froze. Then backed away with a grudging nod, though his green eyes remained locked on Rowan with barely concealed violence.
“Enough.” Ryxin’s tone carried restrained power, the kind of command that didn’t need volume to cut through noise. Heturned his piercing cyan gaze on Rowan. “Your human laws have no weight here. Not even your Interstellar Protections Agency—that worthless IPA government—can save you.”
Each word landed like a stone.
“You enteredourterritory and landed onourcapital planet, desecratingourHoly Land.” Ryxin’s voice dropped lower, more dangerous. “Consider yourselves fortunate if my brother, the Alpha King, is persuaded by Lux to spare your lives.”
Xar let out a sharp laugh, his muzzle pulling back to flash teeth. “And how is your littlepetearning her keep, my prince?”
The question punched through Elsa’s chest like a fist.
Pet.
Her breath stopped. Her mind flew to the missing woman—the brunette who’d been with them in the escape vessel. The one who’d vanished somewhere between the crash and the medical bay.
“Do you have her?” The words burst out before Elsa could stop them. “The fifth survivor? The brunette woman who was with us?” Her voice climbed, desperation sharpening each syllable. “Does she live?”
Ryxin’s cyan eyes shifted to her. Something flickered in his expression—amusement, maybe. Or satisfaction at her fear.
He chuckled, low and dark, and licked his lips. His sharp teeth glinted in the dim light. “She lives. She’s keeping my nest warm.”
Mia shrieked.
The sound tore through the chamber, high and broken. Her knees buckled, pulling the connected chain with her as she collapsed. The weight dragged Elsa down, her own knees hitting stone hard enough to send pain lancing up her thighs.
Dread coiled tighter in Elsa’s chest, wrapping around her ribs like ice.
Nest. Warm. Pet.
“No,” Rowan snarled, thrashing against the chains. “I refuse to become some mutt’s toy!”
Milo joined him, yanking hard at his own bindings. The sudden, erratic movements sent sharp pain shooting through Elsa’s wrists as the chains connecting them jerked violently. Her balance wavered. Her knees scraped against stone.
“Stop it!” Elsa hissed, struggling to stay upright. “You’re hurting us!”
Ryxin moved.
She didn’t see him close the distance. One moment he was standing several feet away. The next, his massive paws were wrapped around Rowan and Milo’s throats, lifting them effortlessly off the ground.
Their heads looked comically small in his grip. Like an adult playing with children’s dolls.
They kicked. Squirmed. Gasped for air that wouldn’t come.
Ryxin’s grip remained unyielding. His voice dropped to a dangerous rumble, his tail stiff behind him. “Enough. You will stop this foolishness.”
He turned to Xar, who stood at attention, awaiting orders. “Disconnect the two females from these dimstars. They are more valuable and need to be protected—from their own.”
Xar dipped his head. “Yes, my prince. It would be my pleasure.”
He stepped forward, claws working the bindings with practiced efficiency. The chains connecting Elsa and Mia to the men fell away with a clatter, leaving only the cuffs around their wrists.
Behind them, the other guards moved closer to Rowan and Milo. “We will take the dishonorable males to the pits.” One of them spoke, voice low and gravelly. “They’ll learn to behave. Or fail and die.”
Ryxin released his grip.
Rowan and Milo crashed to the floor in a heap, gasping and tangled in chains. Their bodies hit stone with sickening thuds.