“Going down?” he asked, operating the lever for the door.
“Yes.”
The health status of his unmentionables was ensured by his silence as the lift dropped.
8
The ancient lift rattled and vibrated as it bounced to a halt.
Aria held her breath until it stopped moving. The mechanization in this realm was often sketchy and poorly maintained, another reason she preferred the stairs. She barely waited for the guard to open the door before stalking through.
The main room was set up to showcase Udo’s wares. Display cases lined the walls. The ones closest to her offered an assortment of swords and knives. Firearms were in another case—they were uncommon in this realm, due to the lack of availability of gunpowder. Most used air compressed weapons, swords, and knives.
That Udo valued both his life, and his stash, was made obvious by the number of guards, and the fact they all carried firearms.
Every eye in the place snapped to her as she entered. Not a single one rose above breast level. Aria clenched her teeth as she walked across the room to stop before Udo.
Xolto stood beside the underlord, his gaze frozen on her. And something in those yellow eyes made her uneasy as hell. An assessment that had little to do with exposed skin.
She did her best to ignore it. Just behind him was another Trog who stared at her with wide eyes. Aria recognized him. It was one of the guards she’d put in the infirmary. By the stare, it was apparent she hadn’t sliced him deep enough.
Something about him seemed subtly off, but she was distracted by Udo. The underlord perused her in a manner that would have sacrificed certain body parts if he had been anyone else. Aria stood stiffly before him, trying to tamp down on her temper.
The beady eyes finally rose to hers. “Still too much coverage, Aria my dear. Haven’t seen a concubine yet that didn’t show some butt. And you have lovely breasts—why are you so reluctant to display them?”
A quiver ran through her and her talons itched to emerge from her fingertips. “I am not a concubine,” she growled.
“No. But you must look the part. You will be standing close to me and to our new customer, I need you to be convincing.”
Aria narrowed her eyes and struggled to keep hold of her rage. How dare he? But if she refused...
Moments later, she’d reduced the bustier to a much scantier version and slid the scale shorts up to reveal the curvy part of her ass.
The Trog she’d wounded had his gaze fastened on the back of Udo’s furry head. It surprised her to see anger in the leathery features. A Trog who empathized with her situation? His gaze slid to hers, and a tremor ran through her. For just an instant, the eyes churned pitch black, rimmed in vivid green... She blinked, and they were once again the ordinary reptilian yellow.
Just great. Now she was hallucinating.
Udo’s grunt drew her attention to the underlord. His mouth hung open as he purveyed her exposed ass, then his eyes drifted back to hers. She braced herself to rip a strip off him, but he apparently decided he’d pushed this as far as he dared. “That will do,” he offered. “You look quite ravishing. Our customer is sure to be impressed. But you must lose the sword.”
Aria had hoped he would relent on that issue—but carrying the weapon would immediately mark her as something other than a concubine. She walked to a small display case and slid her tail spike between it and the wall. It wasn’t too far away, and she was hardly defenseless—she could always pop off the collar and embrace her Dragon.
Aria did her best to ignore the guards’ stares as she took her place on Udo’s other side. She’d been in this position before, but as a Dragon. The display room had been tight for such a form, and she’d had a hard time maneuvering, but her presence tended to discourage bad behavior.
Aria took a deep breath and soothed her jagged nerves by visualizing the castration of every male who dared glance her way.
* * *
Lucas almost lost control over his morph when the Dragona walked into the room.
The shock pulsed through him. His spine’s sensory hairs stood straight on end, brushing against his clothes, sending electric tingles through every cell until his entire body was rigid and trembling. His natural form threatened to break through the Trog’s. Lucas had to look away and focus hard to keep it stable.
He took a deep breath before, like a compass to true north, his eyes snapped back to her.
It was the Dragona from his dream.
He had no doubt of it. Every inch of her spoke to him. Gorgeous. She’d been beautiful then, but nothing compared to the reality. The exposed flesh was exquisite perfection, and her scales gleamed a vivid red and gold as they hugged her most luscious bits.
When her gaze met his, he lost it. Just a little—the eyes were always the hardest to maintain and the first to go. Hers widened as she glimpsed it before he could lock it down.
