Chained (Brides of the Kindred) by Evangeline Anderson

curled into fists at his sides.
    “One who what?” Maggie prompted, curious
despite herself.
    “He had the cell next to mine and he
always liked to brag that he broke in the females who were sent to him
properly. I remember one little virgin slave girl—barely old enough to bleed.”
He shook his head. “It was fucking inhuman to try and get her with child at
such a young age but her master wanted her to have a son with warrior’s blood.
So he…”
    “He what?” Maggie leaned forward. “What
happened?”
    “She was given to Raban—he went by ‘Raban
the Animal’—and for a damn good reason.” His eyes flashed red. “He hurt her…badly.
All night long I heard her crying and begging through the window that connected
Raban’s cell to mine. I shouted at him to stop but he just laughed. Bastard.”
He took a deep breath. We were locked in so there was nothing I could do. I
paced all night, listening to it. Her screaming. Him laughing. And I couldn’t
do a damn thing.”
    "That's awful!"
    "More than you know." Kor closed
his eyes briefly and a look of pain passed over his face. “In the morning they
let her out and I watched her limp away. She could barely walk and her face…”
He shook his head. “I could tell she was never going to look the same again.
Raban fucking brutalized her.”
    “Oh no,” Maggie breathed, feeling sick. “Wasn’t
there anything anyone could do?”
    “Not officially. The masters didn’t
care—the girl had been bred and she still lived, that was all that mattered to
them—greedy bastards.” Kor’s deep voice was bitter. His eyes flashed red again.
“ Un officially though, during my next training session with Raban, my
sickle knife somehow slipped.”
    “Meaning what? What happened?” Maggie
demanded.
    “Meaning that my master was no longer able
to collect a stud fee for Raban anymore. He had nothing left to stud with.” Kor
grinned grimly. “I was beaten severely for the ‘accident’ but it was well worth
it as far as I was concerned.”
    “I’m glad you did it,” Maggie said
decisively. “I’m glad you cut off his…his business. It sounds like he deserved
it.”
    “He did,” Kor said soberly. “But even though
I took revenge for her, nothing could undo that little slave girl’s agony. No
doubt she’ll be frightened of males for the rest of her life.”
    “Poor thing.” Maggie felt a lump in her
throat. “And what a terrible thing for you to have to hear when you couldn’t do
anything about it.”
    “That was an extreme case, but
unfortunately not that unusual around our stable. We lived and died, fought and
fucked all at my master’s command.” A grim look came over his face. “I will never be in that position again,” he swore softly. “I am no one’s fucking plaything
and no master or mistress will ever control me again from now until I die.”
    “I don’t blame you for feeling that way,”
Maggie said quietly. “And I don’t blame you for doing whatever you had to in
order to get free.”
    “Oh, I didn’t kill my master to gain my
freedom,” Kor said. “I killed him for revenge. Some things…” He looked away,
staring out the window which showed the blackness of space speckled with stars.
“Some things can’t be forgiven or forgotten.”
    “Oh,” Maggie whispered. Would she ever
understand this enigmatic man? “But—”
    “Mistress, we are now making orbit around
Twidal,” the voice of their Sporran driver came over the speaker mounted in the
ceiling. “Touch down will be achieved very soon. I will strive for the softest
landing possible.”
    “Oh, uh, thank you,” Maggie said. But
before the words even left her mouth, the hovercoach was descending toward a
bluish-pink planet. It landed with a barely discernable bump—apparently the
ride was over.
    Maggie hastened to put back on her shoes.
    Well, so much for
understanding Kor. As soon as we get out of here I’m headed straight for the
nearest phone or whatever they have