She saw a large door and Yoz stopped to put his hand on it. Anzons only had four fingers—they didn’t possess thumbs. The door groaned before it opened up and cooler air hit them both. Ariel shivered as the air blasted them. Yoz started walking.

“Hurry or the door will crush you,” he hissed.

She ran to catch up with him. She heard a loud groan and turned her head back.

The door slammed down to the floor with a louder thud. She flinched. The halls were wider here and she heard something that sent fear up her spine again. It sounded like growling.

“It has already begun,” Yoz hissed. Excitement made him speak faster.

They turned a corner and the ceiling disappeared. The corridor ended in a large cavern. She saw more of Yoz’s kind standing there. They were staring below at the cavern floor. Yoz pushed forward shoving at another male alien. Ariel had little choice but to follow since he had her wrist leashed. She saw the bluish aliens staring at her as she walked past at least twenty of them. These aliens wore thick black clothing that looked like hard shells. She saw weapons strapped around their waists.

Yoz moved toward a very tall alien. The alien wore the black shell uniform with weapons attached around his waist. He turned his head and Ariel met a pair of cold yellow eyes. The alien eyed her back, his scary gaze wandering down her body. His gaze jerked to Yoz.

“Strip her down and chain her on the platform.”

Yoz hesitated. “Everything?”

“Is she wearing anything under her clothing?”

“There are small coverings over her breasts and her sex chamber.”

“Leave those on. I don’t want a riot.”

Yoz nodded and jerked Ariel out on a platform. It didn’t have rails. It was a long strip of flooring and then an open round platform like their version of an elevator. This one had two bars coming up from the floor. Yoz jerked her to the center of the platform and pointed to the center.

“Stand and hold.”

She was afraid. “Hold?”

“Do not move. If you fall you die.”

She tried to peer over the platform to below, but Yoz gripped her throat to jerk her head up as he pushed her to the center of the platform.

“Do as you are told.”

She held still and kept her head up. He released her throat, took the leash and yanked it upward so her arm was raised. He touched it to the pole and released it. The leash stayed attached to the bar. He turned and her eyes followed him. He held up his hand and another leash was thrown at him from one of the bluish aliens. Yoz caught it and he gripped her other wrist, wrapping the leash around it as he jerked her arm up, attaching the leash to the other pole. Her arms were above her, spread wide and high.

She could stand fine but she knew she could only move a few inches at most.

Yoz stepped in front of her to stare down into her frightened eyes. “I feel sorry for you.”

She gasped when he gripped her shirt to tear at it roughly—he was strong. She was helpless to stop the alien as the material was torn from her body. He reached down to shove his fingers inside the waist of her skirt. His sharp fingernails shredded the band from the inside out. He yanked her skirt from her so Ariel was left standing in only her bikini briefs and bra. Yoz eyed her with pity. Shaking his head, he walked away from her.

Ariel turned her head to track the alien. Yoz walked back across the strip of flooring to his fellow aliens. The platform she stood on suddenly dropped quickly. She gasped at the falling sensation, fighting a scream. The platform slowed to a stop with a stomach-churning lurch. She had probably dropped fifty feet to the cavern floor in just a few seconds.

She couldn’t help but stare. She saw a group of about eighty males. They were definitely males. She got her first look at what must be Zorn. They looked huge. They had hair all right. She remembered that comment from the aliens. The males had long, thick hair that ran down their backs to their waists. They had hairy chests. She could see that because none of them wore shirts. They had dark brown skin, almost looking deeply tan, and thick, huge muscles.

She saw one in the front the rest. She stared at his face. He looked almost human.

The difference was his nose was flatter and wider than a human’s. He had high cheekbones and thick lips. Those lips opened and she saw sharp teeth. Terror hit her.

They almost looked like what would happen if someone had combined a human with an animal. Her eyes locked on those sharp teeth before she tore them away to stare at another man who moved closer.

The light caught his eyes—bright electric blue. It was a color she’d never seen before it was so blue—they almost glowed. Terrified, Ariel started to breathe faster. She let the sounds around her penetrate her terror. The men were growling like vicious animals. She shut her eyes. She fought the wrist restraints but couldn’t get free of the leashes holding her arms above her.

“The winner takes her,” a deep voice hissed from above. “I want fighting in fours.

Clear the area and pick the fighters.”

Ariel forced her eyes to remain open. She didn’t want to look but she had to. The growling had stopped. She saw the men moving back into the shadows. She couldn’t see anything beyond the well-lit area in front of her. She took deep breaths to try to calm down. These animalistic men were going to fight over her.

They looked savage. Would the winner eat her? Was she dinner? She didn’t know what would be worse, the idea that they were fighting over her to eat or to have sex with her.

Four men walked out of the shadows. She stared at them. They didn’t look at her.

They looked up.

“Begin,” the male voice demanded from above.

The men split into pairs to attack each other. They used fists. They kicked out. The sounds of flesh hitting flesh were loud. She heard growling and grunts as blows landed.

Two men went down. The remaining two turned on each other. One of the men did a roundhouse move that threw the other man out of the lit area. He didn’t return. The last man standing walked to the side of the fighting area. He waited, crossing his arms over his chest.

Four more men came out. It began again. Ariel flinched at the brutality of it. These men were not messing around. Blood splattered on the floor. She heard one man’s arm break. It was that loud. The man roared as he went down holding his arm. Someone came from the shadows to drag him away. The man who’d won that match waited for the other two to finish. When one remained the two attacked each other.

Ariel shut her eyes. She didn’t want to watch anymore. The sounds of fighting continued. It was a brutal sound. Finally silence filled her ears. Her eyes opened from curiosity. Large, muscular men were waiting on the sideline. Some of them were smeared with blood. A few of the men eyed the others and backed away into the darkness to bow out of fighting. Ariel counted the remaining men who stood there waiting to fight.

“Begin,” the voice ordered from above.

All sixteen ended up in the lit area. They were fighting in groups together. Roars and growls erupted as they fought. The injured were dragged away into the shadows. It went down to three males. Two of them teamed together to attack the biggest one.

Ariel studied the lone man being attacked by the other two. He was a huge son of a bitch. He was bigger than his opponents by a few inches and he looked thicker in the arms and shoulders. He fought with amazing speed as he dodged fists and feet. He punched one man in the face. Ariel heard something crack. The man he hit went staggering back, collapsing on the floor. She saw blood on the fallen man’s face. He whimpered and rolled to his side to hold his face with both hands. He didn’t get up.

Her eyes flew to the last two men fighting. The larger one swung out a foot to hit the other man in the chest. The man gasped as he grabbed at his ribs. He dropped to his knees while blood dripped out of his mouth. He looked down before he crashed facedown on the floor. The lone man stood there growling. He threw his head back roaring out into the cavern. Ariel wished she could cover her ears so the terrifying noise could be muffled. The man’s roar cut off as he turned around to glare up at the bluish aliens.