DRAKA’S HEAT

OLIVIA RILEY

CONTENTS

Draka’s Heat

The First Day

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Epilogue

Newsletter

Books and Series by Olivia Riley

Sidonions

About the Author

Copyright © 2024 Olivia Riley

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including, but not limited to, photocopying or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing by the author.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, places, locales and events are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, places or events are purely coincidental.

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DRAKA’S HEAT

For content warnings, please check the author’s website: https://oliviarileyauthor.com/sidonions/

THE FIRST DAY

Ria stood tall in the center of the room, facing the bay door, her faded green coat zipped up, bag cinched tight to her back. Her hands, covered in rough, itchy gloves, held the straps firmly.

She kept her chin high, no emotion on her face, no sign of the utter terror she was feeling inside as she waited for the door to rise. She wouldn’t let the men standing guard around her see. Even as they smirked at her, their guns resting at their sides, knowing what was to come, she didn’t give them the satisfaction of tears. She wouldn’t beg for them to reconsider. The choice had been made.

She closed her eyes and remembered her day of judgment, remembered thinking there was no way she’d be sent here, to Arkona, a prison world just on the edge of the cleave. A place where the nastiest, foulest creatures lived. Criminals who committed acts against the peaceful societies beyond the cleave.

But now, as impossible as it seemed, she was one of them.

“Andria Reeves,” the karaki judge had called her, his yellow eyes narrowed on her. Even she could see the disgust on his reptilian face, one fang slipping from his upper lip. “Your human defendants have asked to place you in a prison of their choosing, within the protected territories. But they forget that you and your crew committed the highest crimes imaginable against the Karaki race. Therefore the council does not consider it fit to send you away with your own.”

She had been silent then despite wanting to scream. They weren’t her crew. They were her ex’s. A gross parasite of a human being she wished she had never let touch her.

But he was dead now. They all were, except her. If she hadn’t been out on a run, she’d be dead too. And a part of her wished she was.

She’d seen her defense look guiltily at her from the corner of her eye. Yes, she deserved to be punished, she didn’t argue that.

But to send her to Arkona was a death sentence. She would rather just die.

The karaki didn’t want her dead, they wanted her to suffer. And they would have done the same to the crew.

“Please reconsider,” her defense had said, an older representative from the human embassy, a woman with a stern expression and sharp, intelligent eyes. “She won’t survive there. No human does. It’s inhumane.”

The judge hissed. “What was inhumane was using karaki secretions to enhance their biofuel. That’s beyond inhumane. That’s evil.”

Ria flinched at that and so had her defense. It was true. And she cursed her ex, Marcel, all the while for what he had made her do. He was a conman through and through and he had lied to them all. He had lied to her about where the product had come from, the chemical compound she had used to mix into the product they were making, a special biofuel that would increase the velocity of ships and long-term travel.

And to think she thought she was doing something for the better, improving something. Yes, they were working in a black market but only because of the super strict regulations. Never would she have thought Marcel would have done something like this.

Karaki secretions. You evil bastard, she thought. If she had known, she would have killed him herself.

Karaki had small sacs that formed along their necks when they went through their transformation into an adult phase. The sacs were used to produce natural chemicals and proteins that were needed for them to transition to a stage of maturity. If the sacs were slit open and the secretions from inside taken…the karaki youth didn’t die, at least not right away. They whittled away until their bones grew so tender they broke and their skin peeled off their body. Then they would die a slow, painful death.

It was a horrible, awful way to go. And that bastard had somehow paid some thugs to extract it, bringing it to their facility and telling her it was venom from a spinadis gul shark and had the right compounds they needed for the fuel.

Oh, the fuel worked well. Too well. When it was done, she’d gone off to send samples to their suppliers. Only to return with everyone dead, the facility in flames, and karaki soldiers waiting for her.

“Your sentence remains,” the judge had said. “You will be sent to Arkona for the maximum term. Seventy-five rotations.”

Seventy-five years. But no one expected her to last even one.

Back in the present, she waited for the first day to begin, for the door to open and start the metaphorical timer on her life. She’d overheard the guards talking, making bets on how long she’d last.

Some said a week. Others only a couple of days.

Because what few humans ended up on Arkona were usually the first to go. They were considered the weakest and easiest prey. If they didn’t get eaten, they got taken, used in whatever manner the other prisoners saw fit before being discarded. If one found a pack willing to protect them, they’d last a little longer. But it meant selling yourself.

This was all the rumors she’d heard, anyway. Some might have been just to scare her, but she took them seriously.

First, she’d find a place to hide. She’d steal food if she could, then better clothes. That’s where she would have to start and hope no one saw her.

The lights of the room dimmed to a low orange, a loud buzzing rang out, and the door began to open. The thick bay door rose, and white light washed into the room, momentarily blinding her. An icy cold nipped right through her coat as the outside air slipped in, sweeping in small flakes of snow.

The guards drew around her as she started to walk with them to the edge of the entrance.

All around was rock and snow, mountains rose in the distance, and to the east and west were several plumes of steam rising into the sky. There were clusters of buildings down the hillside from where they were. People gathered in some parts while others wandered.

One guard, not a karaki but an ashora male, with a much more muscular physique than most of his kind, drew close to her. His skin was a dark gray like the rocks, and his eyes were two large pairs of onyx, black as the depths of space. The color was like her own only she imagined hers had a shine in its depths while his held no spark at all.

“The work areas are that way.” He pointed. They let her keep her translators attached to her ears so she could understand. She looked to the northeast and saw buildings. “You’ll need to present yourself there every sunrise for work duty.”

Well, that put a wrench in her plans to hide. “What if I don’t?” she asked, hoping it wasn’t required.

He pointed to the sky, to the drones hovering over. “You will have points on your record. Too many points and the drones scan for you and you’ll be sent to isolation.”

Great.

“The chip keeps track of you,” he added.

She looked down at the small band on her wrist that they had given her before sending her to the entrance bay. It was locked to her like a cuff, too tight to slip off her hand. She imagined it would be hard to cut or burn off too. It had a small shimmer to it whenever she turned her arm.

“You’ll get your meals there too,” he explained. “One in the morning and once before the sun goes down. “

So, between shifts. Even if she didn’t want to go to work to be seen, she’d have to if she at least didn’t want to starve.

The breeze picked up, making her shiver, tendrils of her black hair brushing against her cheek. She stopped just right after the door and the guards halted with her.

She stared at the vast expanse, noticing a tower way off toward the mountainside.

“Got any other advice for a poor sob like me?” she asked him, not expecting him to give her any.

He looked her over. To her surprise, he took off the scarf around his neck and gave it to her. She took it gladly. The one kind gesture she’d probably ever receive in this place.

“You can try to hide but you’ll likely be found,” he said after a pause. “Your best bet is to make allies with a group or pack. Yes, they’ll make you do things for them. You’ll just have to weigh if it’s worth their protection or not.”

She nodded, expecting this.

He got a little closer, leaning in toward her. “There are big players around here, pack leaders that would probably fight over you like a piece of meat. My biggest advice—especially for you—is to try not getting in their business or their way.” He shifted on his feet, as if the next part made him uncomfortable. “And, whatever you do, stay away from Draka.”

“Who’s Draka?” she asked.

“You’ll hear of him. Trust me, if you care for your life at all…don’t let him see you.”

She’d keep that in mind. She took the scarf and wrapped it around her face, then pulled up the hood of her coat.

“Try not to die,” he whispered before she started down the hill. “I’ve got a bet to win.”

CHAPTER ONE

RIA

One month later

The cave was small, just one room, but the door curved to the left, and with the thick flap, it kept the wind out better than most. With the inner walls thick and the little heat lamp, she could stay warm enough at least to think straight and even sleep a little. Beside the lamp was a thin blanket and a long black wool-like coat with short sleeves on top which she used to rest on. Her bag sat against the wall. Beside it was a scratched helmet that covered her face against the snow and ice. It reminded her of the head of an insect, with a narrow mouthpiece at the front and wide oval eyes. There were straps with hooks laid out to one side of the cave and a small belt with a curved blade attached.

Many of the things she had stolen. Well, stolen off corpses. Or from abandoned properties. Within a week, she had learned that for the weakest and lowest rung in the prison, your best bet was to scavenge. She’d learned that when she had hidden those first few days, looking for a permanent place. She’d come across an abandoned encampment, marked with blood. It was clear a fight had broken out between two small factions. Bodies were strewn about and items scattered across the camp.

The scavengers had swooped in and took what they could before running off. She waited for them to go before she snuck in and had found the small heat lamp, the helmet, and the long coat.

She’d found a few other things as time went on, always waiting until the coast was clear. It was the only way for her to find anything of use. The bag the guards had given her that first day had nothing but extra clothes and a water canteen in it.

She had found the cave three days in, and only by luck. It was actually a room within a cave system going through a fissure, so a bit of light seeped down from above in the wider parts but not in the smaller areas like her room. Kind of like a narrow hive. Apparently there were tunnels all throughout. It was where some chose to stay, usually those who feared the rest who fought to live closer to the geysers and steam tunnels for warmth.

Technically the prison had rooms or cells for prisoners and were heated, but the buildings were taken over a long time ago by gangs and packs, and for whatever reason the people running the place didn’t bother to do anything about it. Only the work areas were kept protected, rigs and mines and facilities where everyone was expected to make their shift.

Except, she also learned quickly on, not everyone worked either. Many pack leaders found ways to make their lessers do it for them. She hadn’t figured out how yet, but she knew it had something to do with the bands.

She got into the work areas fine once she used the helmet and long coat as a disguise, able to trick most into thinking she was an ashora. The helmet and long coat had belonged to one and kept her scent shielded since their odor overpowered hers. The ashora had a similar build as a human, so it wasn't too hard to pass as one as long as she didn’t take her clothes or the helmet off. Working in the helmet was a pain but she learned to manage. They assigned her to water treatment duty in one of the plants, making sure the tanks were kept clean, that the water was kept a certain temp, using machines and computers to make sure the chemicals used to clean the water were at the right amount. It was easy enough but still grueling when it took up much of her day. Especially when she was running around on her feet. At least she was able to work mostly alone and those that she had to work with didn’t talk much to her. Everyone was engrossed in their work because if it wasn’t done right, that meant a point to your record just like if you missed a shift.

She’d made all her shifts except for three. The first two days, she stayed absent because she was too afraid to walk among the various prisoners. The third time was one that she would like to forget, as she was forced to hide for most of the day. She shuddered to think of it now, even as her body heated from the memory.

It was that day she understood why the guard had warned her about Draka.

Each pack leader had their own territory, and you didn’t cross it, not unless you wanted to feel a blade to the gut or be dragged into their building or tunnel and never seen again. There were neutral areas and still a lot of fights happened there. The work areas were the only places where inmates were kept under control by prison guards. And anything beyond the prison was free game except no one went out because there was nothing to find except likely your death.

She had made the mistake one day of going into Draka’s territory. She hadn’t known it was his—she had thought it was some secret place that no one had touched. But she had been very, very wrong.

She had never seen him until then, had no idea who he was. She’d only heard his name whispered in conversations at the meal hub, mostly about his infamy.

“Did you hear Draka took out several of Margrul’s pack last night? He stole one of their tanks, can you believe it?” she had overheard one ashora say.

“Old Margrul?” said a silderhyde, a small, goblin-like male with striped arms and red eyes. “No one’s been crazy enough to challenge him.”

“Draka did. Who knows, he’s got more men at his side than Margrul now.” The ashora had looked around nervously. “Jori said he met him once and he’s unhinged. Don’t know what he’s thinking. One moment he’s calm and collected, the next he’s got a blade to your face, having his men ready to dunk you in a boiler. Never know what will set him off.”

“Oma said if you hear his hum, then start running cause trouble is coming,” commented another ashora near them.

She had listened then but hadn’t thought much of it, only a slight curiosity. By the end of that day, she hadn’t thought about it again. For a week, she went on with her business as people gossiped around her and she never once took it as a sign. As a warning.

She’d gone hiking on one of the few clear nights after her shift. The giant moon was shining, giving off enough light to see by, as did the little moon beside it. The sky was a brilliant green-blue from the shimmer of solar flares along the surface of the atmosphere. She wanted to get close to the mountainside just to take a look around her, and she’d seen plumes of steam out to the west, along the rocking hills, hoping there might be some places to scavenge.

She’d taken a turn around one giant boulder and had found a narrow entrance into a cave. It was a short passage and easy to maneuver.

She hadn’t expected to find much of anything on the other end. But what she found nearly brought her to tears.

A hot pool. Empty and clear, with wisps of steam floating into the air. Most were controlled and guarded by packs, more precious than gear, weapons, or even food. They were maybe one of the only luxuries on this planet one could find. And this one was unprotected, unused.

Even a week in this hell was enough to make the weakest temptation easy to break. She’d been exhausted, cold, hungry, and irritable, ready to kill if she thought she had a chance to take any one alien on. She was scared all the damn time, jumping at every little fall of ice or stone. This was her one little peace and she was going to savor it.

She’d placed her clothes in her pack and set it beside the entrance, tying her boots to the straps. She hadn’t taken the helmet that day, having decided to wear the scarf since few wandered outside the buildings or their territories and she wanted the fresh air. She had brought the long coat which she set aside with the scarf, then she put up her hair and slowly dipped into the pool.

It was heaven. Or the closest she’d ever be.

A soft moan had escaped her. She lay back and closed her eyes, letting her head rest on the rock which was also warm. She’d sat there for some time just soaking it all in, relishing in the heat. Then she’d started thinking about whether she could find a place nearby to stay. If the pool was somehow one that was undiscovered, it might just be hers for the taking. At least until someone bigger and badder came along.

When she’d relaxed enough to believe she was alone in that moment, she started thinking less about survival, clearing her mind of it, letting herself go. She opened her eyes and saw the solar waves above and thought, for all the harshness, there was at least some beauty in this world. Tension melted from her and in its place a subtle ache lingered between her thighs. The heat surrounding her was so mind-blowingly fabulous that it was euphoric. And that euphoria had made her horny.

She was lonely too. So painfully lonely.

She had let her hand slip down her belly and down to the sensitive spot at her center. The water lapped at her breasts like the hot lick of a tongue as she touched herself. She’d spread her legs and closed her eyes, dipping her fingers inside herself then out to swirl gently around her clit. She worked slowly, winding herself up to a deep climax, moving her hips, her body rising and falling in the water, her back arching as her head still rested on the rock.

She was too caught up in her need for release to notice him. She whimpered and writhed as her body tightened, thinking of the few random hot men and women she’d encountered in her life, anyone but her ex at least, thinking about their mouth on her, discovering some were not all human and that was just fine, it didn’t matter.

When she finally broke, her body shuddering, forcing her to clamp down the cry rising in her throat, she saw him move at the corner of her eyes.

The shuddering cry turned into a scream. She righted herself and bolted out of the water, scrambling as far as she could, till her back hit another rock.

He stood there on the other side of the pool, staring at her with eyes like nothing she had ever seen. Black eyes with slits for pupils, criss-crossed and the color of green fire.

For a moment it appeared as if he wore thin armor, black in color, but when she looked closer, she realized it was just the outline of his skeleton through his near translucent skin. His hair was white and silver and his skin was a pale gray-green like the coming of a storm.

He was huge, terrifying. Some kind of monster that had come out of the depth of the mountain.

She’d seen his kind before but only in historical records.

A sidonion.

He tilted his head a little at her. His face appeared as if he wore a skeletal mask from the translucent skin. He smiled at her, silver fangs protruding from his upper lip.

“A human woman,” he said softly, like a purr. He crouched down at the pool’s edge. She realized he was naked and tried not to stare. Even for his alien anatomy, she could see just how excited the scene had made him. His intense glare made her shiver. “Such a strange gift the brightburn gods would give me.” He lowered his face to the water like a crouching tiger, and his split tongue lapped at the surface. He hummed in satisfaction. “I admit the scent caught me off guard. That doesn’t happen very often.” He lapped at the water again, his tongue curling. A low growl rumbled in his chest. “But the taste, now that’s…what’s the word?” he hummed, as if thinking. “Stunning. Do all you humans taste like this? No, I doubt it. This is unique to you, isn’t it? It’s lovely.” He laughed a little at that. “Lovely…no, it’s delicious,” he hissed. His talons, sheer black, protruded from his fingers and dipped into the water. “I could just eat you right up.”

She hadn’t moved, hadn’t made a sound. She watched him, as frozen as a mouse in the company of a starving cat. She hugged her knees around her, never letting her eyes drift from his.

Her knife was in her bag, but it was too far away. He’d get to her before she could even touch it.

“Your heart is racing.” He straightened, his movement making her flinch. “Poor thing, I’ve scared you nearly to death. I won’t eat you. I was just being funny. You’ll freeze sitting there. Why don’t you come back in the water with me, eh?”

She didn’t move.

“You didn’t know this pool was mine, did you?” he continued. “Yes, you’ve stumbled into my territory. But it’s fine. I’m not angry. Really, I’m honestly as shocked as you are.” When she didn’t respond again, he studied her closely. “You can understand, I see the translators in your ears. Are you mute or just too speechless? I know I’m a lot to take in, but you don’t have to be scared.” He slipped into the water and slowly moved toward her. “If you come with me, you’ll be well taken care of, I promise. My home is in the tunnels beneath you and the buildings along the mountainside. All heated. We have plenty of food and water. You could have as much as you like. A comfortable bed too. Large with heavy blankets. And I wouldn’t smother you, though I tend to kick in my sleep, but we can remedy that. I’m not usually this forward, but you did something to me, and I want you now, very badly. Never thought I’d say that about a human, but it’s true. Seeing you squirm like you did has gotten me feeling a little feral.” He moved closer, now halfway across the pool. “I’d protect you from everyone here. None of them would so much as touch you. Just come with me, be mine, and you’ll never have to worry for the rest of your days here.”

It was hard to believe that he was being honest. He moved like a predator ready to snatch her up, to take her down into his lair and devour her. This was all happening too fast. He was a sidonion. Their kind were enemies, and yet he begged her to come with him just from the sight, smell, and taste of her.

Prisoners are lonely too. Real lonely sons of bitches, a little voice told her. You think the sight of a female wouldn’t make them lose their minds, when few are to be seen let alone to warm their beds?

She could take his offer, but she’d seen how other prisoners treated each other. She’d seen enough violence and bloodshed in only a month that most would barely see in a lifetime. And the sidonions were killers through and through—she’d learned that from the blade wars. How many of his kind had killed her own?

No, she saw the look in his eyes. He really did want to eat her. It was bloodlust that excited him. The idea of breaking her apart.

He was near to the other end now, reaching for her. But she still couldn’t move even as her inner voice screamed at her to run.

From the end of the pool where she’d first found him standing, her eyes caught the movement of the rock moving back and forth. No, it wasn’t rock after all but some sort of cover that camouflaged itself into the rock. The covering opened and another stepped out from a dark tunnel beyond. An ashora as pale as the snow.

“Draka, a fight has broken out at the tower. Some of Margrul’s men got in and—” He froze when he saw me. “Is that a human?”

Draka twisted around, and the look he must have given the ashora somehow made him go paler. He ignored his question. “How far in did they get?”

“Not far yet, but—”

“Lock it down, get Freys down there immediately. They are trying to get to our gear. Use the lower tunnels and catch them from behind.”

As they spoke, she glanced at her bag and the entrance next to it. She might make it out but how far?

Now wasn’t the time to question, only that she try. As Draka gave his orders and pried his man, she took that chance.

She shot up, lunging for her bag. She snatched it with her long coat and flew down the tunnel faster than she’d ever run in her life. She thought she heard a splashing behind her, but she didn’t dare look back. She stumbled out of the tunnel and veered right. She jumped from rock to rock down the hillside, blindly running, then falling as she tripped. She slid down a snowbank and rolled, then fell straight down a small incline, the snow cushioning her back. Pain shot up her spine, but the adrenaline made her ignore it. She propped herself up and shoved on her long coat before moving again.

It was a miracle that she wasn’t caught. She hid behind great rocks and kept moving until she made it to flatter ground. She snuck her way into a set of tunnels that eventually led to the larger, hive-like one where her room lay hidden. She only encountered a few, but in the dark and with the hood covering her, they didn’t get a good look at her face. Or so she hoped.

When she found her way back into her cave, she used the last of her energy to put on her heat lamp before collapsing, lying still for hours. Eventually she got up and assessed the damage. Bruises and cuts from rocks, the worst on her feet and ankles. Her back was sore, but otherwise she was able to move without too much pain. It was lucky she hadn’t gotten frostbite.

She’d slept through the morning and missed breakfast and the beginning of her shift. When she’d found the strength to get up and put on her clothes, she ventured out in hopes she might be able to make the second half and only garner half a point to her record.

What she found on her way to the work areas were dozens of prisoners with armbands on their prison uniforms, each sporting a symbol in the shape of a jagged green star. They didn’t look her way because she wore her helmet, but she’d overheard them speaking to the others, going from group to group.

“A human, have you seen one? A human female.”

“If you’ve seen a human female and know where she is, you’ll be rewarded. Two full crates of food, water, and your choice of hunter blades. Also a pack of viluum, and a canteen of brim. If she’s with your pack, Draka will make a trade you can’t refuse.”

She found herself turning around after that and slinking back to her cave. She hid there that whole day, too afraid to leave.

By the next morning, she forced herself out only because she didn’t want to garner more points and because she was hungry. When she returned to the work station, she was semi relieved to find only a few of Draka’s men wandering, still trying to sniff her out.

She’d gotten through her work without being noticed, grateful for the clothes that hid her but worried her scent would seep through eventually and she’d be forced to discard them.

From then on, she had to remain on alert at all times.

A week had gone by now since then, and the events with Draka had made her more paranoid than ever about being found.

She rested now in her little cave, watching the heat lamp, her coat wrapped around her. Today one of his goons had pulled her aside. Thinking her an ashora, he asked her if she had seen the human, and she had said no.

“If you do, Draka will pay you,” he said, giving her the same speech she’d heard from the others.

“Why does he want her?” she asked, unable to help herself. She still didn’t believe anything he had said back in the pool.

The serpentine-like alien with shiny scales flicked his tongue at her. “It’s hard to know with one like Draka. Some would say for a pet or maybe a companion. Tender flesh to warm a nest is a luxury many would seek. So the rhyme goes. Or maybe he seeks to gain some needed vengeance. After all, what sidonion would not want to play with an enemy from their past when given the chance? Either way, he claims to have seen her and he wants her. He’ll reward those who give him what he wants, simple. So, if you find her, we will be close by, waiting.”

Waiting. She closed her eyes to the tiny glow of the lamp, trying to focus on the little warmth it emitted.

Seventy-five years of hiding. That’s how long she would have to endure.

But how long was he willing to chase?

CHAPTER TWO

DRAKA

He sat on a low, flat rock overlooking the small decaying city down in the valley below. The chill of the earth beneath him seeped into his rough clothes, but he was used to it by now, as he was to the icy air in his lungs. He gazed from one end of the city to the other, quietly watching. Billows of steam rose above at one end, and drones hovered low as people walked along the paths, working, dealing, fighting. The wind kicked up, throwing back the hood of his coat. He caught the scent of metal and fire in the cold air.

What had once been the hope of a new colony was now turned into an industrial wasteland where the righteous threw the scum of the galaxy. Prisoners from every part of the cleave… killers, gang leaders, disturbed folk with nothing to lose.

But there was one out there who was unlike the rest. A little gem in a sea of blood and piss.

He’d gotten a taste of her, a real good taste in the heat of the water. He’d smelled her first as he climbed his way up to the pool, and it had struck him like a blade to the chest.

Shock had engulfed him at first.

Then he saw her.

And, oh, did he see her. The way her body moved, rising and falling and arching in the water. Shivering and shaking. He hadn’t expected that. Not at all.

He’d felt himself harden almost instantly. That confused and shocked him even more.

He closed his eyes and imagined the scene even still. It had been several rotations since then and still his memory of it was clear. Pure. Her scent overwhelmed his senses, her sweet taste in his mouth.

He couldn’t believe he’d let her get away from him. He had her and there she went, disappearing down the mountainside. He probably could have tracked her, but he had gotten cocky thinking he’d find her once he’d dealt with Margrul’s clan. But he had been wrong. She’d hidden herself well. Either someone was helping her hide or she’d found a nice secret little hole no one thought to look for.

Still, he wasn’t going to give up easily. Eventually she had to come out. Someone would see her and report back.

He hadn’t explained to the others why exactly he wanted her so badly. Maybe he didn’t understand it yet himself.

“Just a new toy to play with? You get bored so easily, Draka.” Freys had smiled, teasing him. The kyrwori had one bad eye and patches of fur missing, but he was a good fighter and a decent second.

“He just wants his cock to be warm for once,” Kreed said, a burly ashora with a scar across his bare head. They had laughed and laughed, and Draka had smiled.

“We’ve got a lot to fix,” he told them, kicking a piece of metal away, the area trashed still from the fight between his men and Margrul’s. “Run your mouths all you like but do it while you work.”

He’d sent out several men to go searching across the prison for her and not one had come back with any good news.

It was unacceptable. Someone would have seen something.

“Where are you, pet?” he whispered to the wind as he stared down at the scattered buildings. For one awful moment, he wondered if another pack did have her and were keeping her locked up or whether someone had grabbed her while she fled down the mountainside and eaten her, bones and all.

No, he wouldn’t curate such thoughts. In time, he’d know for sure.

The black scarf in his right hand whipped along with the wind. He gripped it tight. It was the one thing she’d left behind, the only thing now that carried her scent. He wrapped it around his neck and mouth, tying it.

He felt the presence of one of his men behind him but didn’t look to see which one.

“We got some bad news,” Freys said.

His body tensed. She was dead. They’d found her and someone had already left their mark. “What?” Draka said.

“Jaxis is gone.”

His body relaxed. Then the heat of anger rose. “How?”

“He got caught by the bonelickers in one of their storehouses, trying to steal some of the fuel capsules they’d collected.”

His eyes narrowed into slits. Idiot. He had told him not to attempt stealing from them, but the fool hadn’t listened. So desperate to speed up their plans. Now they would be halted until another with his expertise could be found.

A low growl slipped from Draka’s throat. Damn him.

Draka rose from his seat and turned on Freys who looked annoyed but also on edge, if not wary of him. Everyone always did when he was in a bad mood.

“Start sending out scouts tomorrow morning, see who you can find to replace him as soon as possible. We can’t have our plans be delayed any longer.” He scanned over the city one last time, his gaze wandering to the west, to a less populated, rockier area where scavengers were said to hide in caves. “Send a few into the cave systems to search.”

Freys didn’t ask what for. He slipped away. Draka watched the last of the sunlight sink in the distance before he turned back to the entrance within the rock, passing by a row of impaled corpses that had once been Margrul’s men, now swinging in the wind. A warning to any who dared try to attack them again.

CHAPTER THREE

RIA

She shrugged on her pack, securing it over her long coat. It was too dark yet to tell that morning had arrived, but the little watch she was given with her pack vibrated softly, telling her it was time to leave for her shift.

She’d hardly slept last night, hearing prisoners moving around the passageways, making noise. It had kept her on alert in those late hours. She started to wonder if she was going to have to move along sooner than later.

Quickly, she turned off her heat lamp and stashed it with her other tools into a small alcove in the rock. As she left her cave, she put on her helmet and started straight for a passage to the outside. Light was already beginning to break from the split open canopy above, what she’d heard called the spine.

Outside the wind caught her firmly but she didn’t hesitate. She made her way past a row of sharp rocks and a set of giant bones from a creature she didn’t want to imagine. Drones hovered above, watching prisoners make their way into the working sector. Ria followed them down until she was forced to walk with the groups heading inside.

In the food hub, she kept her head down, getting in line for the usual gruel that was given over by menacing-looking bots. From across the wide open area of tables, she caught the sight of Draka’s men—mostly ashora—by another doorway. Other prisoners were gathered around as they spoke. She couldn’t hear what they said, but whatever it was, it caught the attention of many.

When she picked her gruel up off the counter where the robot set it, she bee-lined for the outside.

She found her small hidey-hole at the back of the hub, behind a garbage compactor, against a wall closest to the kitchen and ovens where it was just a tiny bit warmer. She took off her helmet and threw her hood over her before digging into her bowl, eating as quickly as possible.

“Sick of this crap,” someone cursed on the other side of the compactor. Ria stiffened, her hand flying immediately to her helmet. Feet crunched from one side to the other but didn’t travel around to her. She heard a bowl clatter against the ground. A low grunt followed. “I need some more viluum. This stuff is starting to make me sick.”

“That’s the withdrawal,” someone hissed back.

“Yeah, I need another supply, but Graal’s pack isn’t sellin’. Don’t know what to do.”

“Heard you can get a vial of it from Draka. He and his pack are looking for a new guy. Get in and you get access to his supply.”

“Really?”

“Jaxis, one of their oldest members, just got sacked by the bonelickers. They’re looking to replace him. Need some kind of chemical engineer.”

The other snorted. “What are they cooking up in there, you think?

“Won’t say, but it isn’t viluum. I heard they get that supply some other way. Probably through a trade. My guess is it has something to do with fuel they want for whatever they might be keeping inside their territory.”

“Heat has been shutting off more and more lately. People are going savage for the territories around the steam vents, but packs aren’t budging.”

“He’s got plenty of those too. Who knows, he might be trying to use them for something else.”

“Too bad I’m no chemist. I’d soon blow this place sky high.”

They both laughed. She heard them move on, hearing their voices mixing with others as they left for the work buildings.

Ria sat unmoving for a moment, then quickly finished her meal. Too bad she had such expertise, but she was the wrong specimen to be helping someone like Draka.

Maybe if he hadn’t scared the shit out of her at the pool, she would have been naive enough to try, hoping he’d spare her any harm. But she wasn’t stupid, and she had no reason to trust him.

She set her bowl aside and put her helmet back on, moving out of the shadow of the hub and off toward the water treatment plant.

She cleared her head of anything but her work for the next several hours, mixing solutions, testing the water, then moving the tanks on to the next section to be packed off, ready to be taken off world. Sure, some of it remained behind for them, at least the stuff that was left after a day, but most was sent out to more civilized planets, bottled up, and put on sale for just a few credits, calling it clean mineral water from the crystal lakes of some blue mountainside on a planet without chemical poisons or diseases.

It was a crock of shit of course, but the civilians bought into it, not knowing who was making it. The other buildings were the same. Products made by prisoners and sent out. It was the prison system’s way of keeping them busy and hopefully distracting prisoners from more “unsavory” hobbies or keeping them from fighting. Neither worked of course, but the wardens didn’t really care as long as the product got made.

At least she wasn’t in the mines. She’d heard those were to the east and the heat and steam that billowed out from below seared off skin. Sometimes monstrous things woke up from the deep and ate groups whole. Most times people just fell into the earth.

Yeah, it could definitely be worse for her.

Before she knew it, the light was fading and her shift was done. She made for the hub once more and ate her food the same way she had in the morning, then she started back for her cave, avoiding everyone as best she could.

She’d been lucky this time to have stolen an extra piece of bread and a small block of graidon, a chalky substance that when melted was close enough to eating cheese. With that and her canteen filled up with warm water, she tried to appreciate the little things. She’d hunker down like she always did, with her little heat lamp, sharpen her blade at her side, and maybe try to make a durable knot to tie around it so she could practice throwing without losing her weapon. She’d practice every night so if she ever needed to use it in an attack, she’d be capable.

It didn’t take long to get back into the caverns and make her way down the usual path. When she got to the entrance of her little cave, however, she knew something was wrong right away.

The flap was torn off. She took out her knife and cautiously slipped inside. When her boot crunched on glass, she knew someone had gotten inside and broken her heat lamp. Her hooks and rope were all gone.

She let out an angry cry, hitting her blade against the cave wall. Scavengers must have found her hideout. Now she didn’t have that little warmth or light to see by.

Which meant going out again and scavenging.

Cursing, she secured her knife back on her belt and turned out of the cave. She would have to move too, since the cave might hold her scent and most of the aliens had a much better nose than hers.

For now she’d just have to find a place to sleep. Then tomorrow she’d go out again after her shift and look around.

She made her way out by a different path, up into the spine, and on to the surface from there. From the top, she could see around her. By the little light still left, she could see the buildings scattered around the side of the mountain, some dipping down into a valley. She looked away from the mountain toward a small cluster of buildings along the cliffside of a low hill with an old watch tower some ways off, trying to remember if a pack held them or not. Going into another territory at this hour was reckless, but she had to find shelter before nightfall.

She stood there for a few minutes considering, then decided to take the chance.

Crossing around the edge of the main sector, she crept up the hill, keeping watch for any wanderers. When she got close to the set of buildings, she ducked down by a wall and waited to see if anything moved.

The only thing that stirred was a torn-up flag in the wind. Nothing moved inside either. She slipped silently past the wall and across a barren courtyard into the largest of the buildings.

What she expected to find—and feared to find—was sleeping inmates, lying low. What she found instead was mostly empty rooms. One after another. She slipped down halls and through doorways, seeing nothing of value. The building was empty from what she could tell, the windows were broken out, and there was evidence that people had been inside, but at the moment there was no one to be seen.

It would probably do just fine for the night if she found a room she could barricade. Or maybe the tower was still intact enough to climb.

As she came into a large central room, she slowed, looking up at a broken-in ceiling where icicles hung down from the roof, dripping water below. Her gaze followed the water down and halted.

In the middle of the room were several dozen crates. She gaped at them, absently pinching herself, glad to find she wasn’t dreaming. She stepped around the crates and lifted the lid off one.

Boxes of food. Stuff she hadn’t even seen in the hub. How the hell the packs got a hold of some items, she’d never figure out. But she wasn’t going to stand around just staring.

If the food was here, it meant she was definitely in someone’s territory, and they would be back. She should leave, but the temptation to search around was stronger. She went through other crates and found more food stuff, along with canteens, clothes, and—oh, hell yes—a big heat lamp.

Take what you can now and get out of dodge, she thought. Just a few things. She wouldn’t have time to look through it all. In another life, she wouldn’t be so ready to steal. But now she didn’t think twice. Survive or die was all one could expect in this hellhole.

She opened her bag and pushed down her spare clothes to make room. Then she started grabbing what she could and stuffing it inside. Food, mostly, with an extra canteen and some kind of digital compass. The heat lamp, she fastened to one strap. She zipped the bag up, looked around one last time, then hurried out of the room.

She encountered no one as she weaved her way out of the building, which was a miracle in itself. But it also worried her. Why would the crates just be lying there with no one watching? Someone should have been keeping guard.

Soon after she thought it and stepped outside, she had her answer.

“I walk away for one second and some little insect comes crawling,” came a voice behind her.

She whirled around and something hard hit her across the face, sending her flying sideways across the courtyard. Her helmet flew right off, rolling across the ground several feet away.

She saw stars, pain burning across her face from the blow and along her thigh from hitting the hard earth.

“A human?” the attacker hissed, sounding shocked.

She blinked several times and looked up to see a huge lizard staring down at her, black and blue scaled with orange eyes and short stubby horns across their head. An uugari, she realized. Usually not very clever, but this one might be an exception to the rule.

They bared their teeth at her in what she could only guess was a delightful grin. “The human Draka seeks. I’ll bet my spurs on it.”

She tried to scramble away, but he caught her ankle and pulled her back. “Brightburn gods favor us at last,” they hissed. “Margrul will piss himself with happiness.”

Margrul.

She glanced at the uugari’s clothes, blue-black attire with pads across the chest and along the arms and legs. A belt similar to hers. And on one arm, a band, similar to the kind Draka’s men wore only instead of the spiny green star drawn at the center, it was three curved, black claws dipped with red.

She’d never seen the infamous pack leader, but she’d heard his name enough times and seen the brutality of his men—only matched by Draka’s own—to know who he was.

A really big problem.

Panic flooded her. She kicked their hand away and pushed herself to her feet. She started to run, but the reptile rushed her and caught her with ease, ripping the bag right off her, items falling from the torn opening. They wrapped their arms around her, lifting her off the ground. She struggled in their grasp, squirming, yelping in pain at their crushing grip. She kicked behind her, trying to hit something solid, and met her target right between the legs.

The uugari barked in pain, their arms loosening. She pulled her arm out and elbowed them in the throat and the mouth. They growled deep and let her go. As she stumbled forward, they lunged and swiped at her.

Their claws ripped through both her coats and clothes underneath, sinking into the skin of her shoulder. She screamed in pain and crumbled to her knees. They went for her again and she rolled away onto her stomach. The pain blinded her, but a primal need to fight or flee forced her to keep moving. She went for her knife, unsheathing it and holding it close to her chest. When the uugari turned on her again, she rolled onto her back.

They came down on her, ready to tear her apart. She threw up her arm as she turned her face away, striking her knife upward.

She felt her blade pierce something hard. The uugari froze, and she looked up to see that her knife had sunk into the side of their neck, just below the jaw.

Their eyes widened, and they tore away from her, black blood trailing across the ground. She sat up, putting a hand over her shoulder, feeling the warmth of her own blood soaking into her coats.

The uugari stumbled back, then fell to their knees. They bared their teeth at her again, now stained with black. Their eyes held enraged disbelief, then started to cloud. They dropped to their side and, a moment later, went limp.

Ria sat there staring, too shocked to move. Then she came to her senses. She needed to go. Right now.

She rose carefully to her feet, still clutching her shoulder. Cautiously, she stepped closer to the uugari, standing over them.

They were dead. She was sure of it. Black blood pooled beneath them, their mouth hanging open, eyes sightlessly aimed up toward the sky.

She crouched down and pulled her knife from their throat, blood dripping onto their clothes. Her hand shook as she straightened up, trying to come to terms with what just happened.

She had defended herself. That’s what happened. They came at her, hurt her, and she had been forced to fight back. She hadn't expected to kill them. It made her stomach turn. But relief also flooded her because they couldn’t hurt her again. They couldn’t take her to Margrul.

The sound of crunching ice and rock made her look up. Another of Margrul’s followers stood a few yards away, staring at her. They saw her face, saw the knife in her hand, saw the body at her feet.

The only thing that went through her head then was to run. So, she did. She bolted out of the courtyard and away from the buildings, running back toward the caves as the last of the light slipped away.

She didn’t go back to her cave but instead found a narrow chamber that she hoped most of the others wouldn’t be able to fit through with a small crack in the ceiling where the light of the moon slipped through. She had left all her possessions behind. Her bag, her helmet, the heat lamp. She sat in the dark, wanting to cry but knowing tears wouldn’t help. Instead, she tore the ends of her long coat that she still had wrapped around her and used it to stop the blood still seeping from her shoulder. From what she could assess, the wound wasn’t deep, only because it had to go through several pairs of clothes first to get to her skin.

Shallow or not, she was in danger of infection. She had lost her water canteen too, so she had no way to wash it properly.

She cursed herself for going into the building, for getting greedy and thinking she had any chance of taking all those items without consequence. She had to be smarter than that. But she felt like the biggest idiot in the world.

With little else to do, she slumped down against a wall and fell asleep.

Sometime later, she woke again with a start, the moonlight still seeping in. She had no idea what time it was, but something told her it wasn’t even close to morning.

She sat still in the dark and realized what had made her wake so quickly. She heard voices and footsteps close by.

Shivering, she rose, groaning. Her muscles ached and her shoulder still burned, but she forced herself to her feet, to walk over to the narrow entrance and peek out.

A glow of an orange light shot through the dark and she saw a couple of silderhydes walking past.

“They’re out in droves hunting,” one hissed to the other. “Bigger bounty than Draka’s.”

She stiffened, listening.

“Dead or alive?” the other asked.

“Both want her alive.”

She closed her eyes. She knew Margrul’s man would have gone to tell the pack what he’d seen. She’d hoped that the uugari she killed hadn’t been worth the need for revenge. Clearly she was wrong. Now two of the largest packs in the prison were out for her blood.

And she had no way to hide.

“Is Serval back from the mines yet?” she heard one say.

“Yes. He’s brought gifts back with him. Caught a fight between two groups and stole away a few of their bags while they weren’t looking.” They laughed.

“Perfect. I want to eat before we go searching around for the bounty.”

“She’s defenseless, they say. Might be hiding in the caves somewhere. Put out some food to trap her.”

“Good idea.”

She stood with her back to the cave wall until the light began to fade. Then, before it was gone completely, she slipped out of the narrow entrance and began to follow them.

She didn’t know what she planned to do, but she had to do something. Fear of being caught brought her out of hiding, forced her to take out the knife again and follow quietly behind.

As they weaved through the tunnels, eventually the silderhyde pair ducked into a low entrance of another cave. It was wide enough that she could peer around it and see inside.

There she saw the little group of them huddling around. Another entrance could be seen curving around the opposite side, leading out of the caverns. They greeted each other and crouched around the several heat lamps that sat around the room. She didn’t pay attention to their conversations but instead drew her focus to the bags huddled to one wall along with a stack of clothes and a couple helmets, used by those who worked in the mines.

She waited in the dark, knife poised as they took out food bars they’d also stolen and scarfed them down.

“You think she’s close?”

“I say we try the entrance to the west. There’s a stream there.”

“Yes, good idea.”

“Let’s go and get a head start.”

She backed away, ready to hide as they came out, but they left through the other tunnel opposite. Only two remained behind to watch their things.

She might be able to take them if she wasn’t already injured. They were smaller than her, but they could be vicious when they wanted to be.

Instead she waited patiently for a better opportunity. They hung around playing some game using bones and rock gems from the mines. They talked and ate some more. A few times she thought about charging in but caught herself every time. Just a little longer…

Eventually one left to go piss outside, leaving the other alone. It was her best shot.

Carefully she crouched forward and slipped inside. The silderhyde had his back turned. She didn’t want to have to kill again if she could help it, so she flipped her knife around with the butt of it facing away from her. She got a few feet away when the alien caught sight of her. They screeched at her, jumping away.

She fully expected them to attack. Instead they screeched louder, hoping their brother would hear.

“The human! The human is here!”

No time to try and stop them, so she went for the goods. She sheathed her knife, then grabbed a bag, a coat, and one of the helmets.

They didn’t stop her, and she knew now it was because they were scared of her. They saw the knife, they knew what she’d done, and they were alone, a better fighter in a group than on their own.

So, she took the opportunity and ran with it. She ran like hell back the way she came.

She flew down one tunnel after another until she found herself back at the narrow hole she had found. She slipped back in, praying they wouldn’t be able to track her.

She hunkered down and once again waited, ready to hear the sounds of footsteps and cries. But nothing came. Still, she couldn’t stay. Quickly she opened the bag and searched inside. She found a canteen and drank heavily from it before putting it back. She shucked off her old coats and shirt, then searched through the bag for something to wrap her shoulder in. She found an old scarf and used that, ripping it and wrapping it around her chest then across her bad shoulder and under her arm, tying it tight. She searched some more and found a stretchy long-sleeved undershirt and put it on. Then she shrugged on the thick, long coat, a deep green instead of the black one she had, with a furry hood. She didn’t spend much more time digging around. She needed to get out before others came looking for her. She zipped up the bag and swung it over her shoulder, then she gripped the helmet in one hand and made for the exit.

It took her forever to get out of the caves. She had to go slow and hide several times as prisoners searched for her. A few times, she had to take out her knife again, certain she was going to get caught and forced to fight again, but each time they moved on. She realized her coat reeked of something she couldn’t place but it must have been deterring them the other way.

When she finally made it out, she put the helmet on and started to walk. Not toward the city but the mountain.

While she had hidden and waited within the caverns, she’d come to a very ugly conclusion. Eventually she would get caught. No matter how much she ran, someone would find her. She needed protection and she needed it fast.

But no pack could protect her from the two that sought her out. They were too powerful, too deadly. No pack would take on the risk. So, she had to make a decision.

She knew Margrul would kill her slowly for taking the life of one of his men. Or use her in some awful way. Draka might do the same. But unlike Margrul, she hadn’t killed one of his members. Hadn’t tried to steal from him. The problem with Draka was he was psychotic. He scared her too, but he was the only other one who might protect her from Margrul.

But she didn’t have to go to him on her knees begging. What she had planned was crazy in itself. But she’d rather try something than nothing at all.

She tested her helmet as she walked, to see if the communicator on it worked.

“Hello,” she spoke. She brought her fingers up to a soft button on the side and repeated her words, testing her voice at different frequencies. It was meant to make her voice clearer, but instead she dialed it down so it was lower and more grating. Like a male’s.

It wasn’t going to work. He’d force her to take the helmet off and reveal herself. But she had to try. As she climbed the mountainside, the moons rising above her, she made up a story that she hoped would be convincing, letting her hide in plain sight.

If not…

While she’d been hiding in the caves, she’d looked into the bag again, just to see what else she could find. She’d found a pair of gloves and in one of them she’d found a vial stashed within. A highly potent vial of viluum.

Someone who took it a lot would have no issues. But if someone like her were to take the whole thing…she imagined it wouldn’t take long for her to go into a full deep sleep she’d never wake from.

It was just a precaution. In case Draka proved to be as wicked as she feared him to be.

CHAPTER FOUR

RIA

Stay away from Draka.

That’s what the ashora guard had told her a month ago. Now, she trudged up the side of the mountain wondering what the hell she was doing.

Maybe this was a bad plan after all.

If you care for your life, the ashora had said, don’t let him see you.

Problem was, he’d already seen her. He was looking for her and if he didn’t get to her, then Margrul would.

No, she was sticking to the plan. Try to hide in plain sight first, negotiate after.

Halfway up the mountainside she found a little cavern and took a moment to rest. The more she thought about what she was doing, the more that little vial of viluum kept popping into her head.

She’d made it a month. That was better than most right? She could say she really gave it her all, pat herself on the back, maybe say a little prayer, then take the viluum and be done with it.

She hunkered down beside the entrance of the cave watching for shadows moving against the snow. Water dropped from icicles above, and she could hear the soft trickle of water. There were small wisps of steam coming up from a vent a few feet away where the water could be heard.

She thought of the pool. Maybe she could find it again and at least feel warm before she put herself to sleep.

Closing her eyes, she took several deep breaths. She slipped off her helmet and set it by the entrance, then she took out her knife, gripping it tight. She crouched for a moment, searching for any signs of others nearby, then she crept out of her little hiding place and over to the narrow vent where the steam seeped out.

If she was really going to go through with her idea, she’d better give it some leg to stand on. Or better an arm.

She rolled up one sleeve, icy air biting her skin. Aiming the blade down into the vent, she slid the metal end into the stream of boiling water and kept it there for less than a minute. She put the collar of her coat between her teeth, biting down hard, then she counted to three. In one swift movement, she pulled the knife out and pressed the metal to the skin along her wrist.

Fiery pain licked up her arm in an instant. It took all her will to not release the knife right away. She screamed into her coat and hunched over, trying and failing to keep quiet. When she couldn’t take it anymore, she let the knife fall on the ground. She clutched at her arm, searing pain blinding her, making her stomach twist, nausea setting in. She stifled a moan as she picked her knife up and stumbled back to the cave.

Waves of burning pain came and went, her arm throbbing as she rocked back and forth. She would have stayed in that cave clinging to her wrist until morning, but she knew the longer she remained outside unprotected, the higher the chances were she’d be caught.

Ria gave herself one more minute before she forced herself to her feet. She reached up and snapped an icicle off the top of the cave and pressed it to her burning skin. She held it until it grew numb, then let the icicle shatter on the ground. She gently rolled down her sleeve, then sheathed her knife and picked up her helmet, putting it back on. She readjusted her gloves and cinched up her pack then, without hesitation, left the cave, continuing on up the mountainside.

She tried to not touch her arm, keeping it bent and against her chest as she trudged her way through snow and up rocky inclines. The wind blew down, sometimes whipping snow across her legs. Every so often, she looked back to make sure no one was following.

When she came to a set of towering rocks, she halted. Tilting her head up, she gazed at them. They looked like two shadow-clad giants in the night with the moons rising above them. There were long pieces of cloth at the top of each, swaying in the wind. Though it was hard to tell, she could just make out a star painted across each side. The rocks told her all she needed to know.

Past them was Draka’s territory.

She hadn’t encountered them the first time when she’d gone up and found the pool. She had steered clear of the path that had led straight to the entrance to his domain, trying to keep a wide birth along the mountain, unthinking about the paths that might weave deep in the rock. Now, she went right between them, continuing onward to the set of buildings not far ahead.

Carefully climbing up a set of flat rocks, she came to the landing and found a short wall. Along its length was a row of corpses—five to be exact—hanging on pikes. She nearly recoiled until she noticed two people watching her just beyond the wall, one on top of a small flat-roofed building and another leaning against the wall of a domed structure opposite.

She slowed to a halt as she came upon them. They watched her curiously—one a wolf-like alien called a kyrwori and the other a thick-skinned reptile like the one she had killed—an uugari. They wore thick padding and dark coats with the green star on their left arm.

The uugari on top of the building jumped down with ease and sauntered toward her as did the kyrwori.

They didn’t greet her or say a word. Guess it was up to her to start the conversation.

“I’m here to see Draka,” she said, her heart pounding, grateful the helmet’s voice box worked to keep her voice low, unrecognizable.

“What for?” the kyrwori asked after a pause.

She turned her head to look between them, noticing their blades—larger than her own—at their sides. “I heard he’s looking for a chemist.”

The wind whipped between them. Their eyes remained locked to her, studying her.

“Draka isn’t here,” the uugari growled. “Come back tomorrow.”

They were already turning away. She took a step toward them, ready to protest, and they turned back to her, hands on the hilts of their blades.

“Did you not hear? Leave or end up like those around you,” the uugari said, gesturing to the bodies along the wall to her left and right.

“I heard you,” she said. “When will Draka return?”

“Who knows,” answered the kyrwori. “Tonight he hunts.”

She could bet on who exactly he was hunting for.

“He could be out past morning,” the uugari added.

They turned away again, expecting her to leave. She had a bad feeling if she tried to protest again, one of their blades would end up in her gut. Still, she couldn’t be left in the cold, and she doubted they were going to let her stay in one of the buildings.

Before she could decide what to do, she heard the sounds of gears. The ground vibrated at her feet and a low hum filled the air.

Past the buildings and the men, the side of the mountain was opening up like a huge maw. It took her a second to realize it was the entrance leading inside.

From the mouth, another kyrwori stepped out. One eye was glossed over with a scar running across and the fur on his neck and face was in patches like he had mange. He was smaller than the other kyrwori who’d told her to leave and yet, somehow, more menacing.

Beside him was a huge ashora with a scar across his head.

The two guards stood their ground as the other two approached, their hands falling from the hilts at their sides.

“Storm’s coming,” the mangy kyrwori said. “Probably will last the night. You good out here?” His eyes drifted to her, his nostrils flaring.

She stiffened, waiting to see if he would catch her natural scent.

“We’re fine,” the other kyrwori replied. “This guy showed up. Says he’s here for the new position.”

The mangy kyrwori studied her, then said, “Draka’s not here.”

“We’ve told him to leave,” the uugari hissed.

She didn’t move as the kyrwori came toward her. He tilted his head, his nostrils flaring. He grimaced.

This was it. She wasn’t even going to get inside before they figured out who she was.

“Smells awful,” he said. He pinched her coat, tugging it lightly. “Did you dip yourself in qualka oil or what?”

Qualka oil. Ah, that explained the pungent smell that made the others turn away when looking for her. They used that sort of oil in the factories making engine parts and sometimes to fuel generators. If it got on someone, they smelled for days even after bathing. If it got on clothes, it was better to just burn them then try to wash them. Whoever had worn the coat before hadn’t yet bothered to do so.

She could tell he was waiting for an answer. She cleared her throat and said, “I was sprayed by some on accident.”

“Clearly.” He laughed a little, showing long canine teeth. “So what? You got sprayed and your pack kicked you to the wilds so they didn’t have to smell your stink all night long?”

“I have no pack,” she said.

“I wonder why?” His smile widened. “So, you say you’re a chemist, huh?”

“I know a few things.”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” He examined her some more, and she tried not to tense up, to keep her fear stifled lest he smell that too. “Well, you’re just one guy, right?” He looked at the others.

“We saw no one else,” the uugari confirmed.

He turned back to her, his yellow eye shifting over her. “Small guy too. Check him.”

The two guards came around her, and she almost stepped back but feared that would give her away. She stood frozen as their hands padded around her coat, hoping to all hell they didn’t notice she had tits.

They slid their hands up her sides and around her legs, checking her pockets. The only thing she had on her was her knife which they took. They forced her bag off her shoulders and searched that too, discarding the extra clothes and canteen onto the snow.

“Doesn’t look like much,” said the scarred kyrwori, kicking the canteen.

Thankfully they hadn’t considered checking her boot where she had hidden her little vial of viluum. The kyrwori sniffed her some more and backed away.

“I can’t smell what you are but by your build I can only assume ashora. That right?”

She dipped her head. “Right,” she lied.

He snorted. “Well, ashora, it’s your lucky day. Because I know Draka so well. He’d probably be more pissed we turned you away with a storm on the horizon.” He smiled again, that toothy grin. “Better to test you first, make sure you really got the skills we’re looking for. And if not, then we’ll throw you out into the storm.” He laughed and the others followed. “So, you picked a good time to come, eh?”

She didn’t respond. Instead, she went to pick up her things when the alien halted her.

“Leave it. If you’re a worthy candidate, you’ll get better than that garbage. If not, maybe we’ll give it back if you ask nicely.”

She straightened, letting the things go seeing as she had no real attachment to them anyway. The kyrwori turned for the mountain and she reluctantly followed.

The wide open doorway, she noticed as they came to it, was just a bay door placed into the rock bed. Beyond was a driveway more than a path that went up a small ramp. As they walked up the concrete drive, she almost jumped when she heard the gears turn again and the door began to slowly shut behind her. It was a thick slab of metal dropping down from the ceiling to lock her inside.

Can’t go back now, she thought. Sweat began to lick at the back of her neck, her breath making the dark blue eye-holes of her helmet fog up a little. She noticed it got warmer the farther in they got, especially now with the cold air shut out behind them. She wished she could feel relief being out of the weather, but instead she grew more on edge.

From the top of the ramp, they came to an open space not unlike a garage, with junk—crates, large pieces of metal, machine parts—placed on either side into specific piles. Things they had scavenged or stolen. There was a small group of prisoners, mostly consisting of silderhydes and smaller ashora, sitting on a set of crates, talking and drinking from a shared canteen. Each of them turned their eyes to her as she passed. The kyrwori didn’t look their way as he made for a set of stairs at the opposite end leading up to another smaller doorway.

They climbed the stairs and went through a small passage. When they came out the other end, she halted.

In the center of a circular chamber was a giant drill, pointing downward, kept up by thick chains and scaffolding. From the rust and the grime, it was clear it hadn’t been in use for some time. The path went from concrete to metal along the edges of the drill where she could see straight down into a deep tunnel, where small plumes of steam rose, swirling around the drill. That explained the heat coming from below.

Around the railing surrounding the drill, they had barrels tied with rope. From the greenish glow of lanterns also hanging from the rails, she could just make out the shine of water swirling down in the tunnel beneath.

It was a mining base at one time or another, drilling to get to the water. Now that was long gone, used by Draka’s pack. Who knew what lengths it had taken for him and his group to fight to get this place. To become the king of the mountain.

There were several doorways leading to other paths around the chamber and another set of stairs leading up to a second level. A few prisoners walked along the metal grates on both levels, some pulling ropes with the barrels to bring up water, then unhooking the barrels and taking them somewhere unseen.

“Get moving,” the kyrwori said to her when he looked behind to see her standing at the entrance. Quickly she returned to his side and followed past the drill to another passageway.

They went by a few other rooms, most using curtains as doors so no one could see inside. At one point as they weaved along the passage, she caught sight of one open doorway and the room beyond with generators in rows and a bulky ashora working to fix one of them. That explained how they had electricity, with rows of lights along the floors lighting their way.

The path widened and they came to a dead end with one door leading straight into a room and another, to her right, blocked off by a thick metal door like the one at the entrance—the only real door she’d seen within. The kyrwori took her to the room straight ahead where she found what she could only describe as a lab.

Dim yellow light above showed rows of tables lining one side with glass containers and tubes, two large storage units took up one corner, and several tanks lined one side.

All things they must have stolen from the factories though she suspected the storage units and tables were already here when they took over.

The kyrwori took a large metal box by the door, carrying it with both hands, then he pointed with his chin to two black bags that had been next to the box. “Get those and follow me.”

She did as he asked. They left the lab and headed back down the passage into another until they came to an open doorway leading outside again.

Or sort of outside. It was a wide space but with rock all around, the rock below their feet smoothed out. When she looked up, it was like looking up from a huge open well. There was another metal door beside where they stood, and across the opposite side stood a tunnel next to passage like the one they had come from.

The kyrwori set the box down a few feet away from the passage entrance and motioned for her to set the bags down beside it.

“I would have waited for Draka, but he’ll probably be out for who knows how long looking for the supposed human everyone claims is hiding somewhere out there.” He went to the box first and opened it, the top half opening up like a flower, revealing a little burner in the middle and two small side tables. Then he opened up the bags, setting tools, bowls, pans, and glass vials down on the ground. Next he set several small lidded jars of unknown substances on the tables—some powdery, others liquid. The last thing he set on the burner was a little notebook.

“First page in the book, follow the instructions. If you do everything right, you should have no problems, and the solution should turn a deep blue almost black. If you do it wrong, you won’t have time to realize you messed up, as you’ll be scattered in several places, got it?”

She dipped her head to show she did. Fuck up and get blown to pieces—she understood that perfectly.

“Get it done before the storm blows in and then maybe you’ll have a chance.” The kyrwori turned back for the passage. He stopped right before the doorway and looked back at her. “Someone will be watching. Try anything and you’ll regret it.”

He left her alone. Or so she thought. But she didn’t doubt there were eyes on her. Not like she was going to try anything anyway. She was way outnumbered and didn’t know these tunnels at all.

She turned to the setup in front of her instead, focusing on that, knowing she had little time.

She flipped open the book. The writing was in karaki as were most things in the prison. She knew some but she wasn’t fluent. Thankfully the numbers were the easiest to remember and that’s what mattered. After that it was connecting the names of the chemicals mentioned with the labels on the jars. There were pictures also which helped. It was a short list, seemingly simple if one knew what they were working with.

Placing the open book beside her, she went to work.

Clouds were beginning to cover the moons above, and soft flakes were starting to fall on the ground.

She sat by the kit, carefully mixing one solution into a bowl with another while stirring. Something had been way off with the instructions as she went along, and she had to read through them again and again to figure them out. She recognized only a few of the chemicals out of the dozen, and she knew at least two needed to be boiled before they could be mixed with another. That’s when she knew that particular instruction had been purposely left out to see if the person making the solution would catch it. Someone who knew what they were doing.

Problem was she didn’t know all of the chemicals. But she also knew how to test properly if something wouldn’t mix right, by making a sample of each solution in tiny increments to see how they reacted. When they reacted the way she wanted, she made the larger batch and continued on.

After an hour she was getting close to the end, but the storm was coming and she was losing time.

She worked carefully but swiftly. She turned down the burner a touch and dropped the solution she mixed into the pan atop the burner. She stirred carefully, waiting for the solution to grow to a pale green. She was so focused on the liquid in the pan she didn’t hear the group come upon her or notice them at the corner of her eye.

“Interesting place to work,” said a familiar voice.

She jumped, her metal stirrer almost falling out of the pan. She looked up and stared right into Draka’s face.

He was wearing a thick black coat with gray fur along the hood, and his padded black pants and boots were dusted with snow. His mouth was covered by a black scarf. Her scarf.

Behind him was a group of his men wearing similar attire, some with goggles or a helmet like hers. Based on the tracks of snow, they must have come from the tunnelway on the opposite end.

He glared down at her with those wicked eyes, his pupils narrowing. He pulled down her scarf, showing off an expression which was undoubtedly annoyed.

Say something, she told herself. But she was having a hard time finding words. This was a mistake. Seeing him now again brought the fear right back. She was crazy—no, idiotic—to have come here thinking her plan would work, thinking it was in any way safe to close the distance between them.

His eyes flicked down to the chemistry set before her, his head tilting. “Please, don’t stop for my benefit.” He made a gesture with his hand—claws halfway out—and the men behind him dispersed, continuing on inside. He crossed his arms and waited for her to finish.

She turned back nervously to the pan, feeling his eyes burning into her back. Just finish it, she told herself silently. Don’t fuck it up now.

She continued stirring, watching the liquid turn green. She took the last jar of powder and measured it out, then she carefully siphoned it into the pan with the liquid while slowly stirring.

The liquid went from the pale cloudy green to a full blue-black almost instantly. Ria quietly blew out a breath. She’d wipe the sweat off her brow if she could. She turned off the burner and poured the liquid into the little capsule like the notes instructed, then capped the lid.

“May I?” Draka asked, holding out his hand, his claws now curling.

She gave it to him, making sure their hands didn’t touch. He flipped the capsule upside down and swirled the contents within. His look of annoyance lightened if only a little. He gripped the capsule in one hand and glared back down at her.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“Oza,” she answered. A simple but common ashora name.

“Oza,” he repeated. “I assume Freys let you in?”

“A kyrwori with…” She gestured at her eye.

“That’s him.” His mouth twitched. “You can get up now.”

She did, cautiously, like she was in front of a predator and one wrong move meant she was dead. Snow started to fall heavier now as the storm began to reach the mountain. But the flakes didn’t stick to the smooth ground, too warm from the heat below.

He tilted his head, his nostrils flaring. “You get dunked in qualka oil?”

“Sprayed.”

“Where do you work?”

“The mines.”

His eyes narrowed. “I didn’t think they worked with qualka oil there.”

She tried not to wring her hands. “Only a little, with the generators,” she lied.

“Ah.” He moved, stepping closer, showing just how much bigger he was compared to her. “So, is that what you do? Fix the generators?”

She hoped that wasn’t some question to catch her deceit. “No, I filter water from debris in the inner pools,” she said. “I checked on the generators as a favor to a fellow worker.”

He started to circle her, like a stalking giant. “That’s very selfless of you. Or did you owe them?”

She tried not to tense and failed. “Owed. He helped me when I desperately needed it.”

He stopped again before her. “And you’re not the kind of person to go back on a favor owed, are you?”

“No, Xia.”

His pupils widened, and a hint of a smile spread across his face. “Xia...you know who you’re speaking to. I like that.”

She dipped her head. “Yes, Xia,” she said quietly. She was lucky to remember that one term of authority used amongst the high-ranking sidonions. Something she’d learned in her studies a long time ago.

“Why don’t you take off the helmet, Oza, so I can get a good look at you?”

She didn’t move.

“I’m sorry, Xia, but I can’t,” she said, hoping he didn’t hear the break in her voice.

His eyes narrowed again. “And why not?”

“I…had an accident.”

His eyes drifted down her body. “What sort of accident?”

“I tripped into a boiling stream in one of the caverns I was drilling in. I was badly burned all over.”

He tilted his head, “Oh, really?”

“Yes, Xia.”

He pointed to her helmet, one sharp claw extended. “So, that helmet is stuck to you?”

“N-no. But the air hurts my face. It’s still healing.”

He didn’t respond but she could see the doubt—and suspicion—on his face.

“I can show you.” She put out her arm, and his eyes flickered downward then back up at her.

“Go on.”

Carefully she rolled up her sleeve just enough to reveal the fresh burn she had given herself. She was not the same skin color as any regular ashora. They were all pale white or dark gray or blue, not brown. But reddening the skin hopefully hid that fact. Even she could see the blisters and shiny red skin where part of her flesh had been peeled away from her knife.

“Interesting,” he said softly as he glared at her burned wrist. “A unique flesh burn for an ashora.”

She quickly pulled the sleeve back down. Was it? Shit, she’d figured they were red on the inside too. Or maybe he meant the way it had blistered.

When his eyes met hers, she saw the amusement in them. Ah, he might be fucking with her. Maybe he didn’t know either. Probably none of his men were stupid enough to trip into a boiling stream.

“It must be painful like you say. Since you succeeded in our little test, I’ll choose to believe you. For now. But you can’t hide forever.” He grinned at her, and she had to choke down her gasp as a shiver slid across her body from seeing his silver fangs.

From the passage, Freys appeared. He froze for a second seeing them, then came to Draka’s side.

“I didn’t think you’d be back so soon,” he said.

“The storm was coming,” Draka answered without taking his eyes from her.

“Didn’t find your little human, I take it?”

The amusement fizzled out in his gaze and was replaced again by that tight look of annoyance. “Margrul didn’t find her either from what I’ve been told, and he might just be more desperate than me.”

“Think someone else got her first?”

“No, the scouts found her hideaway, but she wasn’t there. I’ve been told she fled.”

“If she hasn’t been caught, then she might be dead.”

Ria was astounded that the kyrwori could talk so freely in front of him. Especially about something that clearly upset him.

Draka slipped past her, his talons fully extended. “Oza has been recruited. Get his room set up and show him everything in the lab, what will be required of him. He’s also injured, so make sure he gets seen by Serbril when given the chance.” He stopped at the doorway and looked back at her. “See you around, Oza.”

CHAPTER FIVE

DRAKA

The storm grew into an impressive monster by the time he’d gone around the mountain, making sure everything was secure. Most of his pack had hunkered down for the night, with a few remaining to finish filling buckets or those on shift to take watch until morning.

Freys had already done the rounds, bringing in new supplies that the scavengers returned and making sure the generator that needed fixing got fixed. Draka had gone and checked on the men guarding the entryways, giving them permission to take shelter for the night, not expecting anyone to be stupid enough to come around and to try to sneak in.

When he was certain everything was taken care of, he climbed the stairs up to his room, a little keep within the station. His body was weary even as his mind was restless.

The hunt had gone badly. He might have thought it entertaining that the human female thwarted him so well, but after learning of what had happened—how she had killed one of Margrul’s closest packmates and fled—he had been much less amused and much more concerned. He knew Margrul would go looking for her, seeking blood. When the news had hit him, he’d left Freys to defend the mountain and took off with a small group.

They’d searched the caves, the city, and the mines but found no trace of her. They spoke to those in the city, but none knew of the human’s whereabouts. They caught one of Margrul’s men and forced him to confess that Margrul’s pack had come up empty-handed too.

Thank the brightburn gods for that at least. But even with a sliver of hope that she was still alive, the storm was slowly crushing that hope the longer it raged on through the night.

He came to the door of his room and curled his hands into the little crack of the door before pulling it open. The mechanism to open it automatically had been broken before he'd come but even having a door at all was a luxury. He stepped into the room and wrenched the door close behind him.

The room, he was certain, had once been an observation deck. The station embedded in the rock might have been military at one point in time or even a base for the Arkona guards. Many planetary cycles later, it had gone abandoned before eventually being taken over by prisoners, then by territorial packs, and now by him.

He and many of his packmates theorized those who had started Arkona were starting to slowly abandon it, turning it into a slave camp now run remotely by their drones. Even the guards in the city now were mostly bots. Most of the living ones stuck to the transport station delivering fresh new prisoners.

From opposite the door, along a crescent-shaped wall, was a row of darkened windows looking out to the city. Now, of course, there was only darkness and snow, but when it was clear, he could see down to the valley.

The lights above didn’t work, but he had several heat lamps along the perimeter of the room. Between them and the heat below, the room stayed nice and warm. Set to one wall was a wide mat with two thin pads, several furred blankets, and pillows to serve as his bed. Near the foot of the bed was a burner kit used as a small stove with his kettle and mugs and a couple of cushions to sit on. He had a large metal basin to another side, a table with a small stack of books, and a couple of gems and animal skulls he’d found in the tunnel-ways of the mountain. A metal chest was pushed to one wall filled with a few spare food items, extra clothes, gear, and a couple of knives he’d made himself. Next to the basin were two barrels of hot water ready to be used.

It was no king’s room, but it was better than what most had on Arkona and for that he was thankful. Though he wished now he had a certain someone to warm his bed at night, he couldn’t ask for much more.

He took off his coat and set it on a chair by the table, then he used a sparktool to light a bowl of wax, watching the flame dance within. As if responding to the light, something moved underneath a handmade map beside the books, shifting back and forth. He heard a soft chittering and scratching. He pulled back the map and revealed a hairless creature with dark blue skin, eyeless, and a pointed nose with two large fangs for the front teeth. Bushy whiskers where its eyes would be wiggled intensely, its sharp claws curling.

“Crik, you menace.” He picked up the little blue ball and clicked his tongue when he saw the little teeth marks on the table. “I won’t have a table left if you keep this up.” He put the creature down onto a set of rocks he’d piled in one corner, Crik’s mountain. He’d found the ground dweller many moons ago looking lost, one paw mangled. He took him to Serbril, their physician, demanding he fix the poor thing. He told Draka he’d be better off eating it and Draka told Serbril he’d break his teeth for considering it.

Maybe he’d been a little over the top, but the truth was he was so damn lonely even a pet gave him some measure of joy. He had his pack, some he dared to call friends. But, in many ways, he could never fully trust them. They were all the scum of the shadow cleave after all, even himself. No one could be trusted.

As he took off the rest of his clothes, he thought of the human woman again as he did every night when he lay alone in his room. Because of their kin’s past, he shouldn’t trust her at all. He should have wanted to kill her as soon as he saw her.

But he hadn’t. It took him some days to figure out why he had reacted the way he had. Why such a strange primal need, a sort of desperate hunger, had driven him to want her.

She had awakened his heat.

Not something easy to do, not even for sidonions, let alone another kind. Some males didn’t even recognize they were in heat since it happened so little. They could feel aroused by others at any other time, but the heat was a whole other beast. Having a human awaken his heat, however, was not normal.

He had to think about that too. Why her?

Then he managed to come to some basic but plausible conclusion. In a way it was because she was familiar. Even if their kind had a dark, bloody past. And yet she was completely new, fresh, someone he’d like to sink his teeth into.

She was not his kind and yet she appeared as this rare, beautiful creature. Like a brightburn goddess gifting him with her presence.

He wanted to see her submit to him in a way none had.

Crazy. He knew he was. The others knew it too. He saw the looks they gave him when they thought he didn’t notice. Maybe he thought it was his loneliness at first, driving him mad. But he was certain now it went much deeper than that. Not just his heat but a strange force that drew him to her like a flame in the cold night.

With his clothes in a pile, he stepped over to the basin and lifted one barrel, pouring the hot water into the basin. He poured the other next, leaving a little of the water for tea after. When the water settled, he carefully lowered himself in.

He laid his head across the top of the basin and closed his eyes. He thought of the pool at the other side of the mountain. He’d gone there many times, especially after she’d appeared, in hopes she might return. It was sad he couldn’t be there now, waiting for her, enjoying the heat while watching the stars and the solarstreams above.

The image of the female came clear into his head, as clear as the day he had first encountered her. He hid within the entrance camouflaged in the rock by a thin sheet. He stayed deathly silent as she pleasured herself, watching her body arching, head thrown back. He heard those little breathless gasps coming from her, then a whimper and moan. Water licked between her breasts, tender flesh begging to be bitten. She writhed and rose, coming to her need, and he was so stupidly enthralled he had no other thought in his head but to go to her. Her scent was intoxicating, her taste maddening.

His cock hardened from the memory. He imagined what he would have done if she had not fled, if she had given herself to him like he had hoped she would. He would have closed the distance between them in the pool, lifting her up on to the rock, lying her on her stomach, then spreading her out and tasting her, exploring her with his tongue until he felt her body shudder and shake against him and heard those sweet whimpering moans.

He took a hold of his cock, brushing his hand upward. His thumb slid between the two curved prongs at the tip, making him hiss softly. He stroked in a slow rhythmic pace, his mind always on her, always on that lovely, raw image. As he squeezed himself a little harder, he circled his thumb along one of the sensitive ridges near the head. He gritted his teeth as the heat and pressure between his thighs started to peak. The fibers on his back stood on end and his muscles started to tense, feet curling.

He envisioned her arching against him as he took her, his heat filling her, her body writhing in need underneath him. He never had a human, but he imagined she’d feel good, and even if she didn’t he doubted that would stop him from finding his release.

Desperate, he sat up and reached out of the tub for the scarf. He grabbed it, bunching it in his fist, pressing it to his face.

Her scent took over his senses. A low growl clawed up his throat as his release came in waves of heat, which spilled into the water. He bit the scarf, imagining it was her flesh instead as he marked her as his.

He rode his mating fires, one hand gripping the side of the tub, his claws sliding out to dig into the metal. His heart hammered in his chest as his breathing hitched and he let slip a quiet groan.

The heat subsided, leaving him only hungry for more. He dropped the scarf on the ground and felt the swell of ecstasy turn into a sinking disappointment as loneliness set in again, like a blade digging into his heart. The vision was gone and reality hit him like a slap across the face. That the little human he wished to have was still out there but might not survive for long.

He really hoped she wasn’t dead.

CHAPTER SIX

RIA

She couldn’t believe she hadn’t been caught yet.

Inside the little room, she had a heat lamp, a mat with a blanket, and a small crate to put her things in. The room was heated like the rest of the place due to the steam vents and water below. She’d been given a pair of spare clothes with Draka’s green star stitched onto the sleeve of the shirt. She was offered a new coat with the star on it as well, and she took it but didn’t yet wear it. She needed to find a way to mask her scent first.

Along with the clothes was a new pack with a nicer canteen, a green bar that smelled like lemon which she figured was soap, a long metal tube with a switch that served as a lighter, a watch like the one she had lost, a few food bars, goggles, a new pair of gloves and scarf, some rope, and a rag.

They had kept her knife, Freys telling her that no one new got a weapon until cleared by both him and Draka. If they found a weapon on her before then, she’d enjoy the feel of being boiled alive.

“Gain our trust, do your part, and you’ll earn the respect of carrying a blade,” Freys said.

She didn’t argue even though she hated not having something to defend herself. All she had for a door was a thick curtain. Thankfully, her room was near to the lab and away from many of the others, but that didn’t make her safe. She might have better comforts here, but she’d put herself in a den of snakes—one wrong move and she’d get eaten alive.

And Draka would demand the first bite.

He still scared her. But there was something about the way he had talked to her when he didn’t know it was her. His demeanor was less creepy and more civil, respectful.

Probably had something to do with him not seeing her as a piece of meat.

She curled up on the mat, back to the wall, eyes toward the curtain. She waited until the sound of footsteps faded before she took off her helmet. She shucked the coat off next and set both close to her in case she had to quickly put them back on. She took off the long-sleeved shirt, then unwrapped the scarf around her shoulder and torso. From her coat pocket, she took out a small flat jar. She unscrewed the cap and peeked at the contents, a green jelly-like substance, its scent stinging her nose. She hooked some in her fingers and started to spread it on the side of her burned wrist. She’d braced for pain and was relieved to feel a cool tingly sensation instead.

After her trial, Freys had taken her back to the lab. There he’d shown her exactly what they wanted her to make.

“Jaxis left his instructions in the journal,” Freys explained. “You have all the materials you need including the compounds which you’ll find in the cold storage.”

She’d looked over the list. Some of the words she recognized right away. Moxathane, beramium, B3 kerosene, liquid hydrogen, and liquid metatrol.

She had to bite her tongue to keep from asking how the fuck they acquired all this. But she already knew. Stolen from machines or other sources within the factories and the mines.

The better question was why did they want her to make fuel?

And not just any fuel. Fuel usually made for transportation.

Freys didn’t explain why, and she doubted he’d give her a clear answer. Still, she was too curious and asked, “What is the fuel for?”

He looked her straight in the eye and said, “Generators.”

He didn’t say more, and she felt if she pried it would make her look suspicious, so she held her tongue.

“Once you’re done making a batch,” he instructed, “put the fuel into one of the empty capsules. They will be collected every two days.”

Two days. It took at least half a day just to siphon the beramium and mix it with the liquid metatrol.

“It will be difficult to work my shift and this with such a tight timeline,” she said carefully.

The kyrwori laughed. “A little thick in the head, eh? Then again, you mentioned never being with a pack, so I guess you don’t get how it works. You aren’t working in the mines anymore. You’re staying here and working specifically for us.”

“What about the band?”

Freys looked down at her wrist. “Come with me.”

He took her out of the lab and through the tunnelways, left, then right, then left, until he stopped at a wide door with the curtains drawn back.

Inside, a tall, lanky, snake-like alien with silver-blue scales and a black striped neck called a nilgani was stitching up the arm of an ashora sitting on a metal stool. Next to him was a table covered with several medical tools. The room looked similar to her lab, only smaller and with more cabinets for supplies. There was another room to one side with a bed and crate.

The nilgani looked their way, slitted eyes falling on her, then on Freys. “What is it?”

“Hi to you too, Serbril,” Freys answered. “New guy needs his band deactivated.”

The snake hissed. “Can’t it wait till morning?”

“No.”

The nilgani hissed. He finished up with the ashora, then beckoned Ria over to the stool.

Cautiously, she went to him and sat down. Her gloved hands clenched into fists on her lap as he pulled out a box and flipped it open.

“Pull up your sleeve, the side with the band,” Serbril ordered. Carefully, she rolled up the sleeve just a little above the wrist, glad she’d thought to burn herself on the same side. Serbril eyed the burn but didn’t make any comment about the oddness of it or the coloring around the skin.

The nilgani took out a needle and syringe filled with a liquid black substance like oil. If he gave her an irritated look for only showing so little skin, she couldn’t tell. He grabbed her arm in a tight grip then brought the needle down.

Before she could ask what he was doing, he jabbed her and pushed the oily liquid into her veins. Then he set the syringe aside and held on to her wrist. She could see the black substance flowing up her wrist, disappearing past the sleeve.

“Freys, you might want to hold him so he doesn’t fall off the chair,” Serbril said.

She looked to Freys as he came around behind her. “Why would I fall off?” she said.

“Because you’re going to pass out,” Serbril answered.

“Why?” she said, panic starting to rise.

“Because your heart is going to stop beating.” He took out some sort of timer. “For about thirty seconds.”

Thirty seconds. What the fuck. If she didn’t die here, they’d take the helmet off her while she was passed out. She tried to stand up and Freys forced her back down.

Before she could struggle or scream, she was out. She felt her head drop, felt Freys gripping her tight and Serbril keeping hold of her arm before all thoughts ceased. There was darkness, then a sliver of light above. She thought she heard voices echo somewhere in the distance. She felt like she was floating. Floating down into an endless dark.

Before she sank deeper, light exploded around her in a kaleidoscope of colors. She rushed back to the surface, feeling like she was strapped to a rocket.

She opened her eyes, then jolted out of her seat, gasping for air. She moved out of Freys’ grasp, backing up into a cabinet. Confused, she brought a hand up to her face—and felt cool metal. She sighed with relief and looked down to see she still had her clothes on too.

“It’s been deactivated,” Serbril said smoothly, closing up the little box.

She looked down at the band. The light that was usually glowing softly around the rim was now gone.

“Neat trick, huh?” Freys said. “Programming deactivates and shuts off the band if it considers you dead. You’re no good to them as a corpse, so they no longer monitor your shifts. Loss for them, win for us.”

Shit. So that explained why she never saw his pack work a single shift. And she suspected the guards weren’t monitoring that sort of thing either, expecting the program to keep track of them.

“Now that that nasty business is over”—Freys smiled—“let’s get you to your room. Ah, but before that, you got any salve, Serbril?”

Serbril went into another cabinet and took out a small, flat jar and handed it to her. “For your burn, I assume.”

“Burns. Guy nearly boiled himself alive.” Freys laughed.

She took it gladly. She tried to ignore the nilgani’s eyes on her back as they left.

Now she sat quietly in her room spreading the salve on her burn before examining her shoulder. She didn’t have a mirror but from the dim yellow light she could see it was covered in dry blood. She took the rag, water from the canteen, and soap to wash it off and saw the skin was still red and a little swollen while also painful to the touch. Not a good sign. If it got infected, she was a goner for sure.

She dabbed the salve on the cuts, then took the new scarf she’d been given and wrapped it around her. She lay down after but not to sleep. She doubted she’d get any at all.

She’d risen early and got to work in the lab. She counted herself lucky that she recognized the formula needed to make the fuel even if it wasn’t the kind she was used to creating. She put all her focus into getting the first batch going. Thankfully, everything was still set up from the previous chemist they had who had some moxathane already cooked in the tank and ready to be mixed.

She started the burners and got the other compounds ready, shifting from one side of the lab to the other.

She’d had a lot to think about while she’d lain staring up at the ceiling. About how long she might last before they caught her, how she might have to take the viluum after all. Maybe if she was lucky, she could ride it out long enough that she could eventually steal a few more things before sneaking out and leaving for good, taking her ass as far from the mountain as she could. That train of thought lasted for maybe a few minutes before she realized it was likely futile now. She’d have eyes on her for a long time and by then it might be too late.

By the end of the night, she had another crazy epiphany. She got it into her head that if she really dedicated herself to the work, showed she wanted to help, maybe Draka would spare her.

That idea somehow stuck.

She was confident she could get a fresh batch done on time, maybe even earlier if she didn’t take too many breaks. Once she got into an effective routine, she’d have a solid flow of fuel made for…whatever it was they needed it for. She didn’t dwell too much on it, letting her curiosity stay at the back of her mind for now until she felt safe enough to worry about anything other than staying alive and hidden.

Only one day at a time, Ria, she thought, carefully pouring the beramium into a large flask.

An hour went by and then another. Freys checked on her once and never returned. She siphoned the beramium and went to work cooking more moxathane. No one came to bother her, and she was just fine with that. More than fine. She didn’t stop. Didn’t want to.

Once the beramium was properly mixed with the liquid metatrol, she started to place it on the burner. As she turned to check on the moxathane, someone caught her eye at the door.

She froze as she locked eyes with Draka standing there.

She tried not to shudder at those dark eyes, how unnerving they were as they studied her. She had no idea how long he had been watching her. He had snow on his boots and coat which told her he had just gotten back from being outside again.

He looked tired and, dare she say, disheartened. Something told her he had been out hunting again, and still failing to find his prey. She would know.

“Freys told me you got to work early,” he said. He moved toward her, and she stiffened, forcing herself not to back away. He looked over the compounds mixing in the large pot and around to tanks where the moxathane was cooking. “You’re a quick learner, aren’t you?” He turned and eyed her curiously. “Or you’ve made this sort of fuel before.”

She realized she was gripping the end of the table and released it, keeping her hands at her sides. She could see he was expecting her to respond. She licked her lips and said, “I worked in shipyards before coming here.”

He walked along the tables, past beakers, tubes, and pots. “You got mechanical skills then?”

“Not much. My skills are mainly in chemical engineering.”

He hummed. “It’s almost like you were fated to come here then.” He smiled at her and she shivered.

He came around to stand close to her again. He was so big she had to lift her head back to meet his gaze. “Did Serbril give you something for your burns?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said softly.

“Good. You’ll have that helmet off in no time then, eh?” He took off his coat and placed it on an empty table. “Let’s get this fuel going.”

She stared at him. “Are you…”

“Helping? Yes.”

She stood there watching him uncertainly as he moved toward one of the cabinets. “You really don’t need to. I can make it on my own. You must have more important things to do.”

“Yes. But we’re behind on stock since Jaxis died. I want to catch up. And I need you for another task before night falls.”

If she fought him, he might get suspicious. Better to let him, even if his closeness put her on edge.

“Do you know chemistry?” she couldn’t help asking. If he didn’t know what the hell he was doing, he could blow a new hole in the side of the mountain.

“Not much.” He grinned, showing off those shiny silver fangs. “But I am confident you will guide me.”

It took her a moment to get comfortable with the idea of ordering him around. She told him which materials were needed and how to set up the first solution. He did as she ordered, only asking a few questions. They worked mostly in silence as they prepared a new batch while she finished the first, Draka becoming as focused on his work as she.

Eventually her watch beeped, signaling the sun was beginning to set. Her first batch was in its last phase. She placed the solution into the pressure tank to let it cook overnight. In the morning, if all went to plan, she’d find the solution turned into the fuel they wanted and all she’d have to do was transfer it into one of the empty capsules.

The second batch obviously needed more time, but Draka appeared pleased with the work so far. She set away the chemical solutions, ready for tomorrow, and checked the moxathane in its tank, satisfied it would be cooked properly by morning.

“A good start,” Draka said as he slipped his coat back on. “You’ve proven yourself pretty useful so far, assuming you don’t blow this place sky high.” He laughed low. “Come, follow me.”

She did as he commanded. They left the lab and made their way through passages until they came out through the doorway leading outside into the area enclosed by rock where she had done her trial. As they walked across the flat smooth rock, it occurred to her that it was probably some sort of landing bay, used when the base had been in operation. They came to the other end and slipped into the tunnelway opposite. She was forced to keep a fast pace with Draka’s long strides as they weaved their way through the mountain.

They passed more rooms, one that looked like a mess hall, another a gathering space, and a few storage rooms. They went down a flight of stairs and into a room similar to the one at the entrance to the base, with the scraps of metal and machine parts. Only here it was mostly empty except for a row of troughs filled with water. As they walked past, below the surface she saw creatures moving.

When they came to an entrance not quite as big as the one at the front but the same thick sheet of metal, Draka made for a small door beside the entrance and walked out. She followed suit, bracing herself for the cold wind flaked with snow to hit her.

The first thing she noticed was the roar of water. From the doorway, she saw to the left a waterfall flowing down one side along the rocks and pooling into a deep bed that poured over into another waterfall, which then fell all the way down to the base of the mountain. There was a path going down toward the pool where it came to a flattened section of earth beside the water. Flat-sided rocks were scattered around the circumference almost like seats around a stage. There she saw a large group of Draka’s pack sitting and crouching on the rocks as if waiting. Careful where she stepped lest she slip, she followed him downward. As they got closer, she saw the group circled around three others. One was Freys, another a large ashora, the third was an uugari with yellow scales kneeling between them, hands tied behind their back.

Some distance away, she saw a tower by a rocky hillside, one that looked off to the east of the city, toward the mines. She only glanced at it before her focus set on the three near to the water. When she stepped onto the flat ground, Draka gestured to a rock nearby. “Take a seat, Oza.”

She did, sitting away from the others.

Draka moved toward the three, stopping a few feet from them. He looked down at the uugari. “Agar,” he said. “You look well. Considering you’ve been in a hole in the ground for—how long now? Seven, eight nights?”

The uugari scowled at him, a low hiss escaping him but nothing more.

Freys and the ashora lifted him up, keeping hold of his hands. Draka got closer and the uugari cowered.

“You broke trust with me and this pack. Don’t deny it now. You lied your way in here and spied on us for Margrul’s benefit, but look where it got you. Look where it got the members of your pack.” He pointed a sharp claw down the hillside. Ria followed his hand down the rocky incline where more corpses were staked. “You’re lucky you didn’t join in that fate. Too bad your luck has run out.”

Freys and the ashora turned the uugari around toward the waterfall. Draka took out his blade.

“You lied to me and you hurt this pack. You killed one member and allowed Margrul’s men to infiltrate the tower. I know you already know all this, but I wanted to make sure you heard it out loud so when you’re drowning, these will be the last words you hear. Start walking.”

Freys and the ashora shoved the uugari toward the waterfall. The uugari hesitated then took a few steps. He froze at the edge and turned back to them. She could see the fear in his eyes. She sat perfectly still, knowing there was nothing she could do but watch.

The other prisoners barked and hollered at him. The uugari snarled back and went to charge them, perhaps thinking to use those last minutes of his life to fight. Freys got in his way and kicked him over the edge.

The uugari barked in surprise as he stumbled and fell. Whatever other cries he might have made were drowned out as he fell into the pool and was taken by the waterfall.

Some of the prisoners laughed. “Goodbye, Agar, you scum,” she heard one behind her. “Hope you break your skull on the way down.”

“That was for Higgs,” another spat.

Ria felt a sharp pain in her legs and realized she’d dug her fingers into her thighs. Draka turned and they locked eyes. He smiled at her as he walked back toward her.

“Now that that’s done,” he said, standing in front of her, “let’s keep going.”

She got up slowly, hoping he couldn’t see her body shaking. He turned away down the hillside and she forced her feet to follow.

CHAPTER SEVEN

RIA

He took her over to the tower. It was a simple gray structure with windows all around, most of the glass broken. There was a small building next to it and a door in the rock leading inside to the tunnel system. Men were stationed here too, watching to the east. Like those guards at the south entrance where she’d come in, they were silent and still, only dipping their heads and mumbling a greeting to Draka as they approached.

Draka didn’t take her inside the tower. Instead they stopped beside a low wall. He took a seat against it.

“They should be coming soon. Sit with me,” he said.

She took a seat beside him, trying not to stare at the corpses that had been staked not far down the hill, Margrul’s men, she now realized. “Who’s coming?” she asked.

“Traders.”

She didn’t ask what exactly they were trading. She sat beside him for a moment in silence, looking down the mountain. She could see the mines, the steam billowing up into the sky. To the south she saw the edge of the city and the factories.

A distant roar reached them, and she looked over to see, down at the bottom across a field of ice, a pack of large animals. They looked like large raptors with white fur. They turned toward the mountain in unison like birds changing direction. They roared and shrieked as they moved toward them.

She sprang up, her muscles tensing as if ready to run. No way she was getting eaten by one of those.

She heard a low laugh beside her. “Jumpy, aren’t you? What? Never seen a skaleg pack before?” Draka said. “Sit, Oza, they won’t hurt you. They don’t eat prisoners. Usually.”

That wasn’t comforting. Slowly, she sat back down.

“Is this the first time you’ve seen them?” he asked.

“Yes. At least a live one. I think I’ve come across bones before.”

“Interesting. Most don’t come near the mines or city. They stick to places around them. Scavengers mostly encounter them. You a scavenger then?

She stiffened a little. “Sometimes, yes.”

“Freys mentioned you didn’t have a pack.”

“No.”

“Then you haven’t been here long.”

She side-eyed him. He wasn’t looking at her but down toward the valley.

“Not very long, no,” she said honestly.

“It’s good you chose to serve me then,” he said quietly. “You wouldn’t have lasted much longer. Scavengers are the first to go.” He said it almost bitterly. “And ironically that’s how most of us start before we find a pack.”

“Did you?” she asked, unable to hide her curiosity.

“What?”

“Start as a scavenger?”

He glanced at her and smiled. “Yes.”

She looked away, surprised. “I find that hard to believe.”

“Why’s that?”

She curled her fingers into the snow next to her. “Because you’re a sidonion. You could have fought the first pack leader you saw and won, claiming a pack right away. And if not that, you’d take what you want because people would have been too scared to say no.”

“That’s bold of you to say.”

She shifted next to him. Shit, Ria, she thought, maybe just keep your damn mouth shut and keep your opinions to yourself.

“But you’re right,” he continued. “I could have.”

“Why didn’t you?”

His eyes darkened. “I was afraid.”

She gazed back at him, speechless. He scanned the valley before his eyes drifted to her.

She shook her head. “Why?”

He hummed. “I wasn’t myself. Hadn’t been for a long time. Paranoid, unable to get over the wars, I think. Knew I’d have to kill to survive here.”

“So, more scared of what you would do to others,” she said.

“Yes. I knew how vicious I could be, how…cold and calculating. Something my kind loved to use me for.”

A shiver raked her body. “You were a commander?” She’d learned how ruthless they had been back in the blade wars. Deadly, cunning, kings of destruction, destroying whole cities, taking over worlds.

He looked back to the valley, his mouth in a hard line, his expression dark. “At first, yes. I was their top engineer. Head of the weapons department. I made unspeakable machines, things that not only killed but maimed, tortured. I made these things to destroy our enemy. An enemy I was told had done unforgivable things to us.”

She remembered hearing about the experiments. The torture her kind had enacted too. She’d never even been a part of it and yet it made her feel wrong, regretful.

“But it was an enemy I had never actually seen with my own eyes,” he said. “Only in images on a screen. And yet I still killed with my weapons. Still did as my leaders ordered without a thought.”

“Is that why you’re here now?”

He laughed a little. “No. I blew up an embassy.”

She did a double-take. “A federation embassy?” she choked out.

“They had traded with my kind for the weapons I made. I didn’t want them to have them.”

She stared at him in disbelief. And yet she believed every word he said.

They sat silent for a moment as she took in his words. He appeared to be in his own head as well.

She was sitting next to one of the deadliest sidonions in the systems, and he was so calm, but something about his expression told her he was regretful. It was odd seeing a sidonion feeling anything but hate. To actually believe he might feel a measure of guilt.

She was told they were monsters, so why did this one feel so human?

He was messing with her head, and she wasn’t sure how to feel about it.

From out of his coat pocket, Draka took a meal bar and handed it to her. “For later. I know you haven’t eaten.”

She took it, feeling strange at his kind gesture.

But that’s because he doesn’t know who you are, she thought. If he did, he wouldn’t be so kind.

She turned the bar over in her hands, thinking. Finding her courage, she asked, “Do you really hate them? The humans?”

He went quiet again, and she waited to hear his answer.

“Once, yes,” he said softly. “At first because I was told to. Then I heard about the atrocities the humans did when they were lucky enough to capture one of us.” When he exhaled, she saw his breath rise in the air like smoke. “I definitely didn’t take that well. I made some of my worst machines after learning about it.” He shifted, one elbow on his knee as if the memory made him uncomfortable. “Yet, I also saw the absolute cruelty my kind bestowed upon them in return. Enslaving many, treating them like animals. Through the circuit, I heard of the humans getting sold. Even on a screen, I could recognize the utter fear in them. I knew not everything was black and white. When I saw what my machines did, how my leaders used them to take out more than just human soldiers but cities filled with families, I started hating my kind too.”

She studied him closely. “And now?” she asked.

She caught his claws slipping out of his fingers then sliding back in. “It’s been so long. No, I don’t hate them anymore. In fact, I’ve grown very curious about them…more than curious. I met one for the first time…You might have heard.”

She gripped the bar in her hands. “Yes. You’ve been hunting her.” She tried to keep the bitterness out of her voice.

He glanced at her. “I’m aware of how insane it is.”

“May I ask why you’re so fascinated?”

He leaned forward, watching the steam rising into the darkening sky. “I caught her in a vulnerable moment. Any human I ever saw was only an illusion, what our leaders wanted us to see. Either mindless with rage or fear. But this was something new, shocking. Beautiful. A hidden piece of her none like me had yet ever seen. I was so drawn to her at that moment, so utterly entranced. I’d caught her scent, and it was maddening, something I didn’t expect. And her taste…by the brightburn gods.” He turned to her and grinned. “She awoke something feral in me. Never have I lost control of my own body like that. She looked strong and yet so innocent at the same time. I want to know more, to see that primal side that reminds me so much of my own kind.” He gave her a sheepish expression.

He couldn’t see her more flabbergasted one. Now how the fuck was she supposed to feel about this?

The sidonion really did have the hots for her. Was all that stuff he said at the pool true? What crazy ass universe had she slipped into?

“Strange to be telling you all this…” he said absently. “But, you know, you’re the first one to even ask. Everyone just keeps making jokes.”

She thought back to the pool, how he had behaved. The way she had seen it, he was just trying to trick her so he could sink his claws into her. Or torture her. Anything else but this. She hadn’t actually thought he had been serious about the offer, that he actually felt these things.

“What will you do then if you catch her?” She had to know. Even if he wasn’t planning on hurting her one way, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t hurt her in another.

“Bring her back here was my first thought,” he admitted. “Here she would be safe. I did get carried away and offered her a place in my bed, but I think I might have come on a little too strong. She’d been terrified, poor thing. I tend to get a little…possessive. I don’t want the others to touch her.”

“You should definitely go slow if you do catch her.” She couldn’t believe she was giving him advice. What the hell was wrong with her? Still she continued with, “Make sure she can trust you aren’t going to hurt her.”

He studied her curiously. “Have you met humans before?”

She tried not to squirm under his insistent gaze. “A few. I know they are very cautious. Some find it difficult to trust easily. You may want to give her space and let her warm up to you.” Like strangely what is happening now, she thought. He’d opened himself to her and she wasn’t going to deny it was endearing even if the confession was disturbing. She would have almost forgotten the fact he’d let a guy fall off a cliff to his death less than fifteen minutes ago before showing this side to her. But then he was just protecting his pack, wasn’t he? This place was savage, and he understood what needed to be done. Who was she to judge, anyway? She’d killed a man just yesterday.

No, no, she was not going soft for this guy. Surely he was just messing with her.

“Warm up. Yes, I could do that,” he said.

“You understand what I mean right?” she asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

“Yes, let her warm up to me…My body is perfectly heated for her to snuggle up against.”

She glared up at him. He glanced back at her and laughed. “Yes, I understand what you really meant.”

“No touching right away. It might make her uncomfortable. Humans get weird when strangers touch them.”

“It will be difficult, but I will try.” His smile dropped. “This is all assuming I find her.”

“Who knows. You just might,” she said softly. No, she couldn’t seriously consider revealing herself to him already. This conversation was a strange and admittedly fascinating revelation, but she still couldn’t trust him fully. Not yet.

She had to wait and see.

Draka straightened, his eyes falling to a point down the hill. “Here they come, finally.”

She followed his gaze and saw a pair of prisoners climbing up the hill, dragging a cart behind them. Two silderhydes from the looks of them.

Draka rose and so did she as they reached the wall.

“Did you get everything?” he asked.

“Yes, but know it’s becoming more difficult,” one hissed. “The guards are starting to punish for missing items even if they don’t catch you.”

“Thankfully we shouldn’t need more,” Draka said. “Oza, go ahead and check the crates. Make sure nothing is contaminated.”

Curious, she slipped over to the cart and opened one of the crates lying within. She saw several jars. She took one and saw on the label it was more of the compounds needed for the fuel. She’d noticed they were starting to run low on a few of them.

She looked over each jar and they all looked clean to her. She went to the next crate and checked, and they all appeared safe too. She also noted several small metal pieces situated with the jars, but she didn’t question what they were.

“Good?” Draka said.

She nodded.

“Good. Go ahead and grab one, and I’ll get the other.”

They took the crates out, and Draka slipped something to the silderhydes before they started back down the hill. In turn, she followed him back up toward the tower. They returned inside through the small door and made their way through the narrow passage.

When they made it back to the lab, they set away the new compounds in the cool storage cabinet. She checked again on the two tanks and saw no issues.

“I enjoyed our little talk, Oza,” Draka confessed when everything was settled. “You should know if your plan was to avoid me now and keep your head down while working, you’ve failed.” He smiled, showing the tips of his fangs. “Most here don’t ask questions like you do. Or listen like you do either. Not without cracking some snide remark. Not that I don’t like those every so often. But you don’t strike me as one to talk of vulgar things.” He started for the door. “Night draws in and I still have work to do. But if you need me, just ask for me, and I will come.”

She didn’t doubt it.

She watched him disappear down the passage, wondering if she was going to feel guilty for enjoying their talk too and if it was going to cost her.

CHAPTER EIGHT

DRAKA

Four moons had now passed, and still no trace of her. It was maddening. Unacceptable.

He was starting to lose hope, afraid she might be dead after all.

Still, he wasn’t one to give up. He decided he would have to change his method. Instead of hunting every corner of the prison, he started having pack members wait within the city for any signs including the coming and going of inmates from the work yards and those returning from isolation. If the drones got her first for missing work, it was likely she could be in the one place he couldn’t get information out of and that was the isolation block. He had another small group continue to search the caves where she was last seen and several spies within other packs to see if any might be hiding her.

He could tell some in the pack were starting to become concerned. He could see it in their eyes. But they didn’t question him even if they thought he was losing his mind. Only Freys and Kreed made comments. At first more jokes, then they too started to get worried.

“Who knows, she might have fallen in the caves. Maybe she fell in a hole and died,” Freys said.

“They would have caught her scent and found the body by now,” Kreed commented on Draka’s behalf, noticing his irritated expression at having to hear that possibility for the dozenth time. “And there are only a few water sources, but they too have been checked. Her body would have floated out by now.” Draka would have thanked Kreed for his defense if his next words weren’t, “She probably got eaten by the skalegs. She got too far from the protection of the city.”

“Maybe,” Freys said. “But they might have found bones by then, eh?” He’d turned to Draka. “I think it’s time to call off the hunt. Get back to working on the you-know-what. Now that we got more fuel coming in, we could be done soon.”

“Right, what do you say, Draka?” Kreed said, agreeing. “I know we’re all desperate for a good rut, but I’ll bet you could get a few members to lay for you. Just close your eyes and use your imagination.”

“I’m willing to bet Ruus and Dreek would happily oblige,” said Freys, grinning like a fool.

They laughed and Draka would have considered cracking their skulls together if he didn’t need them to keep their haven in check.

Sick of the jokes and the uncertain glances of his men when they thought he didn’t see, he’d started avoiding them. All except for one.

He found himself inside the lab more now than ever, hiding away from the others and finding peace in Oza’s presence. The ashora didn’t speak much, but Draka knew he listened well. Sometimes Draka worked beside him, helping, other times he just sat and watched when he could tell Oza wanted space. Draka found the ashora surprisingly easy to talk to. He could go off on a full rant, thinking Oza wasn’t listening until, after a pause, the ashora would stop what he was doing and look over and ask him a question or two, or even give some advice in turn. He was the only one who gave Draka hope he might find the human female. Oza didn’t crack jokes about her death but implied that Draka not only could find her but might actually have a chance to win her if he took his advice to heart.

“Listen to her when she has concerns. If she doesn’t like something or seems irritated, don’t blow it off,” Oza mentioned. “Treat her with respect, especially in front of your men. Not a piece of meat. She won’t like submitting to you if you don’t treat her at least like she’s more than just a pet.”

“Do you think she would?” Draka replied.

“What?”

“Submit to me.”

Oza went quiet for a moment, then said, “Is that really what you want? A slave?”

“No. But I like the idea of her letting go, of submitting to me for the sake of our pleasure, so that I can explore her in all ways.”

He thought he’d caught Oza shiver, but he must have been mistaken.

“If she trusts you, she may submit in that way,” Oza remarked, stirring contents in a pot viciously while concentrating. Then he turned and pointed a finger at him. “But I would treat her like a queen in all others.”

Draka had no qualms with that if the female let him. He trusted Oza to not lead him astray. Only because the ashora swore he knew of someone who had once coupled with a human, and this was what they had told him. If Oza was lying to purposefully destroy Draka’s chances, he would regret it. But Draka felt no reason not to believe him.

“Humans do find pleasure in sex, don’t they?” he asked, undeniably curious.

Oza didn’t turn to him when he said, “Yes.”

That was a relief.

“If done right and in a way she likes,” he continued. “Every human woman is different.”

Of course, why would they not be? He was sure they were as diverse as his own kind.

When he wasn’t pestering Oza with these questions, he tried to pry about the ashora’s past. His life before Arkona. But Oza was very secretive, giving few answers. Perhaps he was embarrassed about it or had a hard life that he didn’t like to recount. Either were acceptable reasons.

Every so often, Oza would ask him a question in return, and he had no problems answering.

“Are you going to share her with the others?” the ashora asked once. “If you find her.”

Draka must have made a threatening noise because Oza flinched. “No,” he said, unable to keep the harshness out of his voice. He gave Oza an icy glare as he said it. “And if anyone were to touch her, they would find they wouldn’t have the pleasure of touching anything ever again.”

“I was just curious, Xia,” Oza said, his hand shaking a little as he drained one solution into a flask. “You have nothing to fear from me, but I agree you shouldn’t let the others near. Some women might like to be shared but…I’m willing to bet this human would prefer not to.”

He grunted. “I think she will have enough to deal with when she has only me.”

“I’d agree.”

They both laughed at that.

Oza looked over his shoulder. “You don’t do anything…strange when you…you know.”

“When I what?”

Oza rolled his shoulders, clearing his throat. “Strange mating rituals of any kind? Sorry, I don’t know sidonion ways.”

“Strange mating rituals,” Draka repeated.

“Such as…marking your lover after everything is said and done. Or, I don’t know, eating her alive while you…mate.”

“Ah.” Draka hummed, thinking. “I want to taste her. And I’d like to bite her to mark her as mine. But if you mean I’d like to consume her until nothing is left, no, I think not.” He smiled. “Unless she tastes too good to resist.” He saw Oza shudder, and he couldn’t help laughing. “I didn’t mean it, Oza, I was just being funny. No, I would only wish to taste her with my tongue, like a delicacy needing to be savored.” He leaned back on the table, his claws clicking on the surface. “Also…it is no ritual, but between you and me, I enjoy the hunt. The idea of finding her and ravaging her once I catch her.” It was his turn to shudder. “But as you said I would not want to scare her away and make her hate me if she doesn’t already.”

Oza didn’t say much as he swirled the mixture slowly in his flask. He mumbled something after a moment, and Draka thought he heard him say, “She might like the idea of that too, depending on the circumstances.”

He felt heat stir in his lower belly at the thought of taking her and her not only giving in but enjoying it like she’d enjoyed herself in the pool.

After so many years of hate and angry detached numbness, feeling the thrill of such heat and feral need was a blessed change. It drove him to want to fight on. Now he was desperate to share these feelings with the one who had awakened them.

On the fifth night, when Oza was done with his work, Draka insisted he join him in the gathering room to play a game of warriors and fiends, feeling down about his failure still to find the woman. He let him go to his room first to eat and recuperate, knowing he was self-conscious about the burns and that it was likely an uncomfortable process to deal with.

After several games played with a team of eight and the board looking altogether too filled with fiends for his liking, Oza showed and his spirits brightened.

“Next to me, Oza. I have saved you a seat,” he said, tapping the chair. The ashora approached cautiously. Draka knew he was a careful sort of creature not always comfortable being around the others. But Draka didn’t want him to feel unwelcome. The others looked his way, and Freys greeted him as he approached. Oza took the seat next to him without saying a word.

“Do you know how to play?” Draka asked. Oza shook his head no. “I will teach you then. Here, take some of these little pieces of metal. They represent your warriors. You have to get them through the battlefield of fiends without them all dying. You must make it to the center without all your men dying to win. The fiends are the rock pieces on the board and are of different strengths and sizes. You can gain power depending on what you kill to get you to the center. Got it?”

He nodded his head.

“Take the spinner to decide how many spaces the fiends in the area will draw toward you. Each warrior can go one on one with the smaller fiends unless he has extra strength. If it is larger, you’ll need a group.”

He explained more of the dynamics as they went on, helping Oza along the way. He would have offered him a drink and a pipe to enjoy himself like the others but knew he wouldn’t take the helmet off. Instead he assisted him in the game until he could defend himself.

“Are you going out again tonight, Draka?” Targus asked. The lankier uugari eyed Oza as if curious why he was so close next to him.

“Probably,” he said, trying to keep the edge out of his voice. They all knew why. And they all expected him to come back as always, alone and irritable.

“The group you sent out some days ago are still looking. You should just let them and wait for their return,” Freys said.

“Maybe. But then I grow restless. It gives me something to do instead of pacing around.”

“You could work instead,” Kreed said as he moved his little metal men. “On our…project. You know what I mean.”

Draka sighed. “Yes, I know.” He bumped Oza’s knee and snickered when the ashora flinched and tensed. “What do you think, Oza? Should I just stay tonight?”

The ashora seemed to think it over. “You should stay,” he said.

“You sure? Because that means you’ll have to endure my company some more,” Draka said, smirking.

The ashora tilted his head in a sort of shrug, wringing his fingers together. “I think I can endure it.”

His smile widened. The little ashora really was warming up to him quickly.

They played a few rounds, and Oza became increasingly better at each one, even winning the last.

“You’re a quick learner, Oza,” Draka said before rising from his seat. “Come, let’s walk a little before you retire. What do you say?”

Oza stared up at him, and Draka wished now he could see his eyes. Oza pushed back his seat to stand next to him. “Alright,” he said quietly, as if coming to some sort of conclusion.

The others gave him a weird look. They glanced from him to Draka, but they didn’t say a word.

Until Freys decided to open his mouth.

“If you can’t find the woman, Draka, it looks like you have a willing partner next to you.”

They all chuckled.

“Take him up to your room and you might forget all about the woman,” said Targus. “I hear ashora have a similar build to them.”

“Just close your eyes,” Freys said. “If it’s still not enough.”

They laughed some more and Draka’s mouth twitched. “It sounds like you have experience in this, Freys. How many partners did you have to close your eyes for?”

Freys smirked, then fell quiet when the others looked to him for an answer. “None really,” he said at last.

“Probably because your partners are the ones who have to close their eyes.”

They all went silent, shocked as they stared at Oza. Draka gaped down at him, also stunned.

Then it was his turn to bark out a laugh.

The others joined in almost immediately after.

“Yeah, with an ugly maw like that,” Loth said, hissing.

Draka grinned down at Oza and patted his back. “Come on, let’s leave these dirt crawlers.” He bared his teeth at Freys who bared them right back.

He turned for the door and was happy to see Oza following right behind, no longer with hesitation.

He strode through the tunnels with little hurry, every so often looking back over his shoulder to see if Oza followed. “You seem like the curious kind, Oza. Yet I don’t think I’ve seen you once out of the lab, exploring on your own. Not curious enough to know what my haven has to offer, eh?”

“That’s not true,” he said.

“Oh?”

“I’m curious, I just don’t want to get lost. I also want to avoid trouble.”

“You want to avoid trouble…and yet you follow me.” Draka smiled at him. “You’re an odd one, Oza.”

“I didn’t say I was always the smartest,” Oza replied.

“Yet, I’d say you’re the smartest one here.”

He shrugged. “Probably.”

Draka hissed out a little laugh. He went up a small flight of stairs and down a short passage, stopping at a doorway with a thick translucent curtain covering it. He drew it back and went inside.

This time, Oza did stop at the door, peering into the darkened room with only a blue and green glow to see by. Draka beckoned him inside. “Don’t worry, Oza, it’s not my room. I didn’t take Freys’ advice seriously. Even if I did consider it.” He chuckled when he saw Oza place his hands on his hips as if to scold him. “Another joke, Oza, come.”

Oza stepped inside. He looked around. “What is this place?”

The chamber was long and filled with rows of lidless tanks one could see down into like a tub. He walked halfway down to one that glowed green. “Come see,” he said.

Oza drew to his side and looked down. “What…is that?” he breathed.

Draka reached down into the water and brought out the source of the glow. A tentacle-like plant creature in the shape of a star. “A rare creature. Found in the depths of cave pools. Hard to find.” He offered it to Oza who took it in his hand.

“What are they used for?” he asked.

“The theory is that they purify the water. Some say if you drop one into a lake of salt, it will filter the salt from the water in half of a cycle or less”

Oza stared at him. “That’s…dangerous.”

“And useful,” Draka pointed out.

Oza looked down at the star-shaped plant as its tentacles curled around his gloved hand. “Useful…”

“And expensive. I would say worth three billion credits each.”

Oza nearly dropped the star, and Draka shot out his hand to steady him. He cupped his hand around Oza’s, making sure the creature was secure. “Careful now, they may break easily.”

Oza tensed but didn’t pull away. His hand was warm and firm.

“What…what will you do with it?” he asked.

“I haven’t decided,” Draka answered honestly. “In the wrong hands, it could do harm. But three billion credits could be useful when I’m off the planet.”

Oza looked at him and Draka could guess what he was thinking. That he hadn’t said if he got off but when. Draka’s mouth turned up to one side. “Yes, I don’t plan to die here. Do you?”

Oza shook his head.

“You said you’d be here for how long?”

“Seventy-five cycles.”

“Ashora live about one hundred fifty cycles. I don’t know how old you are, but you are no fledgling. So, it may well be half your life, right?”

“Yes.”

“This plant might do well in other ways too, no one knows.”

“The people who had this base, those who own Arkona, they never thought to take it?”

Draka came around behind him. “Didn’t stick around long enough to discover it. They thought the water was the prize they sought.”

“But the mines…”

“Have you seen them there?” Draka asked.

Oza appeared to think it over, then shook his head.

“Because they aren’t looking in the right place. The mines are more streams than pools. The water is all they want. And if they do find one, they know not what it does.”

“How do you?”

“When I first came here, I discovered I wasn’t the only sidonion. Another named Kasora did his time here and eventually died here. But before he did, he started his little experiments. He was a scientist and had seen the creature before. He did his tests and discovered some of its usefulness, determining it’s worth. He told me about it before he died.”

“It’s amazing,” Oza confessed.

Draka shifted closer so that his chest brushed against Oza’s back. The little ashora didn’t seem to mind. For one fine moment, Draka almost thought to hug him. By the brightburn gods, he really was desperate for intimacy. He didn’t have to do anything. He knew Oza wouldn’t want to take off his clothes. It was too bad he couldn’t catch his scent with the qualka oil still staining his clothes. He wondered why the ashora was too afraid to take them off and use the ones Draka had offered.

He wished badly he had the human woman. But Oza was at least a nice comfort in her stead.

Before he could put an arm around him, Oza pulled away and gave Draka back the water star.

The ashora turned to him yet couldn’t seem to look at him directly. “Draka,” he said. “I…”

He didn’t continue, yet Draka waited. Oza shook his head. “Never mind, I—” He touched his shoulder and made a noise as if in pain, hunching over.

Draka reached out and grabbed his arm to steady him. “What is it, Oza, are you alright?”

Oza nodded. “Just the burns,” he said softly.

Draka frowned, gently squeezing Oza’s arm. “You need to see Serbril if the wounds aren’t healing.”

“I’m fine,” he straightened. “They just hurt. I have a salve he gave me. I should go to my room and put more on.”

Draka studied him. He would have ordered Oza otherwise, but he didn’t want to fight him either. As long as the salve was working.

He released him, still watching him carefully. “Get rest then, Oza.”

The ashora nodded.

Draka watched him go. For a moment, he stood there and stared down at the water star in his hand. As he went over to the tank and set it gently back inside, he thought of the human woman, how she might be in danger or suffering somewhere. Then he thought of Oza and how he suffered too. And he regretted he couldn’t comfort either of them.

CHAPTER NINE

RIA

The plan was going far better than expected. She was able to keep hidden for some days now, focusing on the fuel and acting her part as one of them. Draka and his pack might have been suspicious of her in the beginning, but now they didn’t question her. They were more satisfied, she guessed, by having a new team player than worrying about what she looked like underneath. So far, she hadn’t had to worry about food or shelter, and she was protected by Draka even from those in the pack who might try to pick on her.

She was still cautious of him, uncertain still if the words he spoke would match his actions. He was still a scary-ass guy in her eyes, but she had also seen his vulnerability, a softer side she would have never believed existed.

The poor guy was lonely as hell, and he wanted her bad. He was considerate at the most surprising of moments, and he didn’t have to act like an asshole all the time to prove to be their leader. He even showed a measure of compassion.

But there were other times he could be as cold and calculating as he had warned. If anyone threatened him and the pack, he wasn’t hesitant about showing the offender why they should be very afraid. Sometimes he was clear-headed and chill. Other times he looked ready to kill with a smile on his face.

He was an enigma, at least to her. And her feelings for him confused her even more. If she had told her past self a couple of weeks ago that she’d start to take a liking to a sidonion, her past self would have told her to jump off a cliff.

She’d almost been crazy enough to reveal herself back when Draka had shown her the weird starfish plants, a part of her thinking he might understand.

But then she’d wimped out, fear swelling in her again, her mind racing still with all the what ifs. What if he had been lying? What if he didn’t really want her like he said he did? What if it was just a fucked up game he was playing? What if…

So she stayed hidden, still uncertain, waiting to see a side of him that would confirm all her fears.

So far, it hadn’t come. And they had spent every day together since the first day she arrived. If he wasn’t in the lab helping her, then she saw him later after dinner. He would have her follow him around various parts of the base as he did his rounds, checking the scrap heaps brought in, making sure their storage was well kept, making sure the men at each checkpoint were in good shape and could give him a report about any prisoners stepping into his territory.

At night they played games and talked. Draka told her about some of the worlds his kind discovered, about his time on his homeworld, a place that sounded like some dark metropolis of the gods. A place where he had become one of the top-ranking students of his class. Then the war came, and he dedicated his time to the creation of his weapons.

“If you were to leave here, would you go back?” she’d asked him as they sat together on a step just outside the entrance to the waterfall. High above, the night sky was lit up by blue and green solar flares, and the moons bathed them both in their greenish light.

He appeared to think it over, then said, “No. My world hasn’t changed, I think, since the war. The royals and elites live in the past, and there’s been no movement to expand and make allies. They want to keep it frozen in time as it was before the war. They want to close themselves off. That’s why you don’t see many of us anymore. It’s disappointing.”

It made sense since most disappeared after the war. “What will you do then?” she said, more curious than ever.

“When I leave here, I’ll go searching for a new home. I’ve heard of a few potential worlds. Wherever it is, I’ll work on changing it for the better.”

She shifted beside him, their legs almost touching. “If you find the human…will you take her with you?”

“If she comes out of hiding…” He looked at her when he said it and for a moment, she thought her heart might leap out of her chest. She fell into his gaze as he smiled at her. “I would without question. This is no place for the likes of her.”

She definitely agreed with that.

Draka cupped the back of her helmet, pulling her closer. “And you could come too, Oza, and be our little servant, eh?”

“Absolutely not!” she blurted.

He laughed. “Or you can be our driver, how about that? Keep our ship running. Come, Oza, I need someone to make fun of and keep me sane.”

“You honestly think I would keep you sane?”

“Yes. And give me advice on how to please the human because I’ll probably do something stupid.” He shook her a little, as if excited. “That’s it, you’ll be my advisor. It’s official.”

“Why me and not Freys or one of the others?”

He snorted, letting her go. “Freys is good, one of my best. But he would make a terrible advisor.”

“He’s your friend, isn’t he?”

“Yes. But so are you, aren’t you?”

She tilted her head in a shrug. “I haven’t been here that long.”

“I like to think I’m good at feeling others out. You are a good person, Oza. And I can’t explain it but…” He turned to her. “I feel drawn to you.”

That made her feel all sorts of things. Wait till you see the real me, she thought. If I ever decide to show you.

If he really meant to get them out of Arkona, she would reveal herself at an opportune time. A time when she could make a choice to run or stay.

“I feel…the same,” she told him. And, wow, she actually meant it.

But she liked what they had now. Because it was safe. She still hadn’t forgotten how he’d acted at the pool. Or how he pined for her now. And that part of him still intimidated her.

When they returned inside and she went back to her room, she sat down on her mat and let her mind wander to places she’d never let it before.

What would it be like to be with a sidonion? How different would it be? Would it hurt?

She’d only ever been with human men and a couple women. Being with an alien was strange enough, but it wasn’t unheard of in her neck of the galaxy. The idea wasn’t totally unappealing to her. Draka was freaky as fuck looking…but he wasn’t necessarily unattractive to her either.

Just imagine those teeth gliding across your bare skin…

The thought made her shiver.

When she considered it safe, she took off her helmet then her coat before peeling off the shirt underneath. She winced as she unwrapped the scarf around her shoulder. The warm air felt cool on her skin which throbbed. She looked down at the wound and saw the red puffed flesh.

The salve soothed the pain for a period of time, but it didn’t do much else. It wasn’t enough to heal the wound properly.

If she knew what to look for, she would sneak out right now to Serbril’s room and rummage through his stores for some medicine. But she knew nothing of the kind of medicine they had and what would help. Her plan to keep her disguise for as long as she could was coming to an end. She might have to reveal herself if she wanted to get the right treatment.

Just a little longer, she told herself. Tomorrow she’d go to Serbril and ask for stronger medication, something to stifle the infection.

She tried to sleep and kept waking in a sweat, only to fall asleep again, tossing and turning from dreams and nightmares. Many of them about Draka. Draka hunting her through the icy tundra, Draka with a wicked smile on his face as his claws dug into her, Draka eating her.

She could hear his voice even as she came to again. When she realized his voice was real and he was coming down the hall, she bolted up and covered herself with the coat then threw on the helmet just as he stepped to her door.

“Oza, are you sleeping?” he asked behind the curtain.

“I’m up,” she said as she put on her gloves and zipped up her coat.

He pulled back the curtain.

She froze when she saw his face. “What happened?”

“They’ve found her.”

She stared at him in disbelief. “Are you…sure?”

“One of our packmates got wind of a human seen down in the city. There is talk that she will be in the Antiom today.”

“The Antiom?”

“Neutral grounds, like the work areas only for play, not work,” he explained. “Where packs and prisoners can safely be around each other without trying to kill one another. Well, unless there are planned fights. Trades happen there too, and I plan to make one. Hurry and prepare yourself.”

She got to her feet. “What about the fuel?”

“Leave it for today. It will be fine.” His head disappeared as he moved the curtain back in place. “Meet me at the front entrance. I still have a few other tasks at hand before we go.”

He walked away before she could argue, and she didn’t think to call him back.

She took off her helmet and shook her head. Her hair badly needed washing. She reached down beside the mat for a foodbar and unwrapped it. She took several bites as she shrugged off the coat to put on her shirt. She put on her shoes next, making sure the vial of viluum was still snugly kept inside, always as a precaution. Wincing, she slipped back on her coat, noticing she was much warmer than usual, but she would have to endure.

It had to be a mistake. How could they have seen her?

Unless there was another human in Arkona.

Shit.

She ate the rest of her bar and drank a generous amount of water before she put the helmet back on. She left her room and slipped down the hall to the bathrooms, doing her business and washing a little when no one was around, then she headed for Serbril’s.

Maybe she could convince the nilgani to give her stronger medicine that she could take on her own like the salve. It was worth a try. But she needed to go now, or she likely wouldn’t get another chance until tomorrow.

She weaved through the passages until she came to Serbril’s room. She peeked her head inside but saw no sign of the nilgani. She crept in and checked the curtained-off room with his bed but found it empty.

“What are you doing?” came a voice behind her.

She whirled around and came face to face with a silderhyde with one ear missing.

“I’m looking for Serbril,” she said. “Where is he?”

The silderhyde’s red eyes narrowed. “He’s gone. A packmate fell from a small cliffside close to the base. Broke their leg. Serbril has gone to attend to them.”

Damn.

“When will he be back?” she asked.

“How should I know?” the silderhyde hissed at her.

He turned, leaving her standing in the room. She could try to look around and take something, but she risked being caught. And she still didn’t know what to look for.

She left Serbril’s instead and returned to her room to put on an extra heaping of the salve, hoping it would last till she returned and could meet Serbril later. Before she met Draka at the entrance, she checked on the lab but didn’t start any of the mixtures per Draka’s request. Instead she capsuled some of the fuel and set it aside for Freys to collect. Now that she wasn’t worrying so much about keeping her head down and doing her work, no questions asked, she’d started to wonder why exactly they needed the fuel. She had yet to see the giant metal door next to the lab open, but she suspected it had something to do with what was going on inside. Kreed had mentioned a project.

What was Draka really working on?

Right now, she wasn’t too keen on sitting around and concocting theories. Her mind was more focused on the fact that there might be someone like her on the planet. And she was curious to find out who.

After storing the fuel, she left the lab and headed for the front entrance, her heart starting to race. There were a few working around the drill site but the room of scrap by the entrance was empty. The door at the front was halfway open, allowing for her to slide out underneath. The wind hit her, dusting her helmet and coat with a fine layer of snow from the ground. She walked a few paces outside and saw by the wall Draka and a few of his men standing together, Kreed and the uugari, Targus, among them but not Freys who she suspected stayed behind to look after the base.

When Draka turned toward her, Ria almost froze, seeing her scarf around his throat again, covering his mouth. It made her heart do a little flip. No guy had been this desperate for her, and she admitted it excited her in a way she never expected. Knowing it was Draka, a sidonion, scared her a little, but the thrill was there, undeniable.

Still, that little fear, that uncertainty, kept her from revealing herself, knowing if she did, he would consume her, sink his claws in and refuse to let go. And she wasn’t sure whether she’d want him to or not. She liked the tender friendship they were building, but it would be gone when he learned who she was. He might even be angry with her for deceiving him. He might punish her in a way she couldn’t guess, shattering the bond they’d built in such a short time.

She wanted to reveal herself when she was ready, when she thought she could truly trust him. When the time was right, she would, but not now. First they had to see about this human.

“I was just about to have someone go fetch you, Oza,” Draka said when she came to his side. He put an arm around her shoulder. “Stay close to me. You’re so small, and I don’t want anyone to harm you, got it?”

She nodded.

“Good.” He patted the top of her helmet and turned to make his way down the mountain. “Let’s go.”

She placed herself beside him as the others followed a little ways behind. She kept her eyes on the ground, stepping lightly from one rock to another.

“It’s perfect I have you with me, Oza,” Draka commented as he strode with ease down a short incline. “You’ll not only be there to keep me in check, but you will be able to convince her to come with me. To tell her she has nothing to fear.”

“Does she really have nothing to fear?”

She noticed him glance at her from the corner of her eye. “I don’t intend to harm her.”

“But you look dangerous,” she admitted.

He laughed low. “True. But I’ll ease her fears regardless.”

She took a slow breath, pacing herself as they walked down the snowy path toward the city. “Don’t come on too strong,” she said after a pause. “If you want to convince her, show her you can be trusted. When she…opens up to you, be understanding.”

He tilted his head toward her. “Understanding over what exactly, Oza?”

She took a moment again before she spoke. “When you found her, she was afraid, right? And you told her you wanted her in your bed. Then she fled from you and your response was to hunt her down. She needs to know that…when you finally have her… you aren’t going to punish her for hiding from you. That you mean what you say and won’t be upset but understanding of why she was scared.”

“Ah.” He was silent for a moment as they walked, the city coming closer to view. They passed through the arch of rocks that served as the border of his territory then down toward the path leading into the sector where the Antiom was located. “I would not punish her for being scared. Nor for fleeing from me, though it did hurt a little,” he said quietly.

“Just be nice, give her a little space,” she responded. “And that means no grabbing, no pinning her down, and—taking her as soon as you have her.”

He groaned softly, and she wished it hadn’t made her insides melt. “I can’t make any promises.”

“Draka…”

He laughed softly. “Alright, I’ll be as sweet as a ketterling.”

“I don’t know what that is.”

He grinned at her. “It’s the only creature on my home planet that isn’t excessively aggressive.”

She could believe that. “Promise you’ll try.”

“I’ll try,” he said.

She saw his claws slip in and out and knew it would be hard for him. She just wanted him to be chill, to try to take things slow.

But he was like fire, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to stop him. Worse, she was feeling the heat, and she was starting to like it.

Still, she hardly knew him, or understood him. She was still trying to understand her own feelings. He could consume her before she even knew what hit her.

And what would be left?

What if she did lay with him and he didn’t like it at all? What would he do? Would he care even then?

She was sick of the “what ifs” but they still ate at her, kept her from saying “fuck it” and taking off the helmet right then and there, sparing a trip into the Antiom. She found it hard to see past what her mind knew of sidonions. Ruthless tricksters and unfeeling killers. Draka, no matter how different he appeared, couldn’t fully change her mind.

But that fire, that heat was becoming real damn tempting.

If only there was a way to have a taste without getting burned.

Unable to take the chance and risk it, she followed him to a domed building on the west side of the city. At least she could sate her curiosity about the Antiom and the human who might be inside.

Deep in the back of her mind, she prayed it wasn’t another woman. She felt sick at the idea of seeing Draka take another in her stead and breaking every promise he made right in front of her. Seeing some poor lady like herself get caught unguarded by a sidonion made her stomach twist. She imagined they’d react just like she had the first time she’d encountered him. It wouldn’t be a pretty situation.

“Ah, I forgot, before we go in...” Draka took hold of her arm to halt her. From his belt he unhooked a sheathed blade. “It hasn’t been long, but I think you deserve this. Everyone should wield one even in the Antiom, just in case.”

She took the sheathed blade and thanked him quietly, hooking it to her own belt. At least he trusted her. She wondered if that would change too when he discovered her true identity.

Forget it for now, she told herself as she followed him to the doors of the Antiom. There were groups hanging out around the entrance. As she, Draka, and his packmates approached, the others moved aside, acknowledging Draka’s presence like he was some king.

King of the mountain, she thought. And she had to admit it was nicer being by his side and seeing the others stay back than being alone and afraid. Just a couple of weeks ago, she would never have considered stepping into a place like the Antiom, never let herself be this close to so many other prisoners unless she was forced to, like in the work areas. Now she walked freely inside the domed structure as if she was someone to be feared. And it felt good.

She knew it was an illusion of course because it was really Draka everyone saw, and she was just in his shadow. Draka feared no one, and why should he? If looks could kill, Draka would have massacred the whole planet by now.

As they walked deeper into the Antiom, she slowed as she took in the two-story structure with its crumbling pillars and walls. High above, the dome was broken in several places, spilling light into darkness.

She could not fathom what sort of place the Antiom had once been. Maybe some sort of office building back when Arkona had been a civilian city, she suspected maybe even some sort of library or archive. Now there was nothing but bare gray walls and cracked blue and green marble floors. A few tattered pieces of furniture were scattered around and a few machines long dead. In the center were the large skeletal remains of some massive animal no one had cared to move. There was a small fight in one room opposite where onlookers watched, while trades happened all around. Viluum, food bars, heat lamps, knives, tools, and all other kinds of resources to be traded.

Draka lead them toward the back, into a separate room. Less natural light filtered through so green and blue heat lamps were placed around the walls. The chamber was long and had an arched ceiling connected by several metal pillars. The walls, however, were the most impressive, containing strange paintings of giant beasts. A set of wide but deep steps to each side led down to a golden mosaic floor depicting two serpent-like monsters entangling together. In the center was a slight indent in the floor, as if something like an altar had once been placed there but was now gone. It had to have once been some kind of temple of a long dead religion, but now it appeared to serve as a place for inmates to gather.

There were groups already sitting on the steps, waiting. Several moved over for them when Draka approached the left side and took a seat near the center. Ria went to sit next to him then froze, her body tensing, as she caught a pair of white eyes on the opposite side of room.

She’d never seen the alien before, blue-gray like some of the ashora but without the black gaze. He had tusks protruding from his bottom lip and a face like an ogre with a body that reminded her of a bear, only less fur and much bigger. A line of gray hair went across his head and down his neck. One ear had a ring on its pointed tip.

He was the only one who looked as intimidating as Draka himself. And something told her that she knew exactly who he was.

Without taking her eyes off him, she sat herself close to Draka. “Is that Margrul?” she said, low enough for only him to hear.

“Not hard to guess, is it?” Draka said, not bothering to keep his voice down, uncaring whether Margrul heard.

Margrul’s eyes narrowed on him, his upper lip twitching. She peaked over at Draka and saw him smirk back at him.

Margrul made a low growl and the inmates around them fell silent. “You’re brave to show your creepy face here, Draka,” he said, his voice like two rocks scraping together. Those of his pack who sat around him snickered in response.

Draka smiled. “Not as brave as you for showing your whole nasty self here, Margrul. You’ve been so kind in keeping hidden these past few weeks.” He tilted his head. “Come to get a look at the human I’ll be taking home?”

Margrul’s nostrils flared. “That human is mine. They need to pay for what they did to Corik. Just like you should pay for what you did to my other packmates, Draka.”

“They attacked my men in my territory. You honestly think you deserve vengeance for that? You’re lucky I didn’t do worse.”

He scoffed but didn’t argue. “What use do you have for this human?”

“Many actually. She came into my territory first and used my resources. I intend to…pay her in kind.”

He was bluffing, he had to be. He didn’t want Margrul to know what he really wanted her for. Still, Ria tensed next to him. She was stuck in a room with two males who wanted to punish her, in two very different ways.

The tension in the room was unmistakable. Margrul looked like he might be ready to spring up at any moment and go for Draka’s throat. While Draka appeared the opposite, calm and seemingly indifferent, though she knew underneath that wasn’t true. He was just as dangerous, just as ready to kill. She saw him flex his claws as if ready to slice someone open with them, a dark fire in his gaze as he glanced between Margrul and his men.

Unease settled in her gut as a very tall ashora appeared from the door with a line of traders behind him. Each of them either carried or pulled something, whether inanimate or alive. Things she assumed multiple people were looking to take. One ashora had with them a pair of thick feathered, stocky red birds with white bellies. She’d seen a pair before high up on cliffs. She’d also seen a few of their large eggs cracked below, the yolk eaten. An uugari she suspected was female had a baby skeleg, its fur fuzzy and white. Why someone would want one she couldn’t begin to understand. The others had drillers for finding pools outside the city and mines, fishing gear, and various long-lasting items that would be useful for years to come.

The last to arrive down the line was a group of silderhyde, one pulling a rope. At the end of that rope with their hands tied was clearly a person.

She sat up straight as they came into view, but she couldn’t see who they were because they had a black cloth over their head. They wore a stocky coat similar to hers so it was hard to tell what they looked like underneath. All she could tell was they were shorter than her and a little thicker, their head bowed as the silderhyde led them to the center.

Draka shifted beside her, his claws extending one last time before slipping back into his fingers. She could practically feel the heat coming off him. He leaned forward, his eyes keen on the human. He was so focused on them he hardly noticed her now at all, or anyone else around him. He looked ready to spring just like Margrul.

The tall ashora went down the line, naming each item, and the auction began. Only it wasn’t a typical auction since credits didn’t mean shit here. Instead, pack members called out what they were willing to trade in exchange for said item and the sellers would take whatever offer they thought was the best.

She waited with bated breath as each item was sold. She hissed a little in pain as her wound started to bother her again. She gripped the end of her coat in order to keep herself from rubbing it. She really hoped this didn’t take too long.

Draka sat dangerously quiet beside her, not noticing her discomfort, not interested in anything else but the one prize he saw before him, the human.

When they got to the end, the group of silderhyde stepped up, tugging the person before them.

“Last trade. A human,” the ashora announced. “Found on the outskirts.”

It was probably uncommon for them to trade a person since most aligned themselves to a pack. But because she was being hunted so damn badly, they knew the human would make a good trade if caught. She made herself believe this anyway, because she didn’t want to add auctioned slaves to the list of shitty things this place had to offer.

The silderhyde pulled the human down to their knees, reaching up to tug off the black cloth. The first thing they saw as the cloth slid over their head was a mass of curly brown hair. The hair was long enough to cover part of their face. One silderhyde grabbed the back of their head and pulled, tilting their face up for all to see.

Draka growled low beside her.

A human man stared back at them, bright blue eyes wide with fear.

Ria tried not to sigh too loud with relief. Not a different woman for Draka to claim at least.

But the relief was short-lived. Because he was still a terrified human.

The other inmates laughed. All but Draka. He didn’t look amused at all.

“That isn’t the human we seek, you brain-rotted dirtslags,” Margrul snarled. The silderhyde looked panicked.

“We found them in the ravine. It is human is it not? It is what you seek,” argued one silderhyde.

“Not the right gender. Or color from what I’ve been told,” Margrul said.

Clearly the silderhyde couldn’t tell the difference between males and females or notice different skin shades and colors. They heard a human was being sought after and they found one, simple as that.

She glanced at Draka again and saw his claws fully extended, curling on his lap. “Not her. It was supposed to be her…” He said in an almost husky, desperate voice.

He bolted to his feet, ready to pounce for the silderhyde. She caught him by the arm before he could take a step toward them.

“Wait, Draka,” she said, gripping his coat.

He looked back at her, his glare like ice. A warning. Still, she didn’t let go.

“Take him,” she said.

The ice melted. “What?” he whispered in shock.

“Trade for him. If you save him from a worse fate and allow him to stay, I guarantee the woman you seek will see it as a sign of good faith. That you are willing to protect any human. Not just her. She will be much more willing to accept you if she sees you have another like her with you.”

Draka stared at her, his eyes narrowing. “He is a threat.”

She didn’t know exactly what he meant but she could guess. He wasn’t scared of the human harming him or the others in the slightest, it was that he didn’t like the potential competition. Because to him it would make more logical sense for a human woman to choose her own kind over him. And she imagined he really didn’t like that. So the male was a threat to him.

She squeezed his arm. If only he knew how illogical she was feeling right now. “Trust me, Draka, please.”

He studied her for a long moment, and she feared he would deny her. Then his gaze softened. “For her then.” He turned back to the silderhyde. “I’ll take him.”

“Hold your tongue, Draka,” Margrul said. “You think you are some king to have anything you want? Sit down before I cut you down.”

Draka snorted. “It’s cute you think you’ll even get one drop of blood from me before your face is permanently etched into this fine floor, Margrul.”

The tall ashora who had been watching close by glanced between them. “Will an offer be made then?”

Draka stared Margrul down and smiled. “Two cases of food and water.”

Margrul glared back. He bared his teeth and growled. “What use would I have for a pathetic human scum? I want the one who killed my second in cold blood. Until she’s found, I’m not interested.” He rose and started for the door. His pack followed.

“Any other offers?” the ashora asked.

None. The silderhyde looked disappointed. Probably because they expected much more for the human. But they gave him up, not having any use for him either.

The man shuddered in front of Draka who made sure to look down on him at his full height. “It’s your lucky day, human,” he said. He rolled his shoulders and hissed. “I’m still not happy.” He turned away from him.

Ria went up to the man and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “You’ll be okay,” she tried to say in a soothing voice but doubted it got through to him with the helmet. “What’s your name?” she asked.

“Timothy,” he said.

“Timothy…just do as Draka says, keep out of trouble. I’ll try to help you.”

The man mumbled something she didn’t catch and shivered. She took out her blade and noticed the man flinch as she severed the ropes.

“Thank you,” he stammered.

She sheathed the blade. She felt sorry for him, and could see he must be new, inexperienced in the ways of Arkona.

She kept him by her side as they followed Draka out, hoping she hadn’t just put this man in a worse situation. Hoping Draka wouldn’t change his mind and harm him.

They remained within the city and around the Antiom up until the sun started to slip across the sky. Draka’s utter disappointment and vexation at having Timothy instead of her did not go unnoticed by anyone. The tension radiated from him, giving off a warning to anyone who got too close. Even his own packmates gave him space, including her.

He was pissed, it was clear to see, but he’d done what she asked, he’d taken Timothy in. He could have said no, he could have struck her or threatened her for suggesting it. He could have shown a side of himself that she feared to see, but he hadn’t. Instead, his words penetrated her skull.

For her then.

He’d done it for her, even when it had annoyed him, even when he didn’t like the idea of having a human male around as potential competition.

She could say she was grateful, but she felt more than that.

As the day waned, she sat on a pile of empty crates, Timothy beside her, watching Draka wrestle with a huge uugari with reddish skin. The uugari slammed his fist into Draka’s chest, sending him back, making her wince.

He got to his feet, swaying a little. He bared his teeth in a wicked smile.

He was drunk. Or in some way equivalent to it. After the auction, he had Targus and a few others did one last search, a last attempt to see if anyone knew of anything about the one he sought. But he looked hopeless even then. He had Kreed find him someone who was selling a brew called brim. He and the others traded a few weapons for a barrel of the sour smelling drink and cracked it open right away. Some was offered to her, but she declined as did Timothy.

By high sun they’d drank half the barrel and were getting rowdy, picking fights, challenging prisoners, even burning already broken machines. Kreed, she was surprised to find, had a set of firecrackers and set them off, delighting all within the Antiom. The other inmates grew more at ease with Draka, even participating in his antics. Then one of Kreed’s firecrackers burned the red uugari, and in response, he tried to attack him. Draka saw it fit to challenge the reptile that was almost bigger than him by punching him in the snout and sending him back.

Now everyone was watching the fight, hollering and jeering. She sat high on the pile of crates in order to watch Draka and the uugari kick the shit out of each other.

Her heart fluttered a little, out of fear the uugari might break Draka’s skull, but also that she was kind of turned on by watching Draka pummel the guy to the ground. She’d given up wondering what was wrong with her. Now, as she sat quietly, she thought instead about how the hell she was going to approach him when they got back to the mountain.

“How long have you been with them?” Timothy asked, breaking her thoughts.

She glanced at him, noticing his unease. “Not long.”

He watched the others circling the fight. “How worried should I be?” he asked.

“Truthfully? I don’t know,” she answered honestly. “But if you do as Draka says and don’t get in anyone’s way, you should be fine.”

“That’s reassuring.” He shifted beside her. “But you’re like his second, right? So, if you say it’s okay…”

“What makes you think I’m his second?” she asked.

“He listened to you. He didn’t want to trade for me, but he did as you asked. Doesn’t seem like a guy who would readily let his lessers tell him what he should do.”

“No, he’s not. But I gave him good reason.”

“Another human.”

She curled her hands on her lap. “You heard that?”

He nodded.

She turned her gaze back to Draka. “Yeah, he’s looking for a woman who’s been here for a little over a month now.”

“Why?”

She found it hard to speak at first, then said, “He wants to make her his.”

“His what?”

“His lover.”

Timothy cursed. “No way I’m going to believe that. Everyone always says a sidonion only wants a human for one thing. To hunt and kill. Maybe play with them for a little while before they drop dead. That’s it.”

“He hasn’t done that to you yet,” she pointed out.

“No, not yet. But it’s probably only a matter of time,” he said under his breath, shaking his head.

A matter of time.

Pain shot through her shoulder, and she leaned forward, stifling a moan. The burning sensation had returned in full force—she’d felt it as they’d sat at the auction and it had only grown worse from there. Nausea turned in her stomach from the sudden pain, making her break out into a sweat. She was so hot she wanted to chuck her coat off and roll in the snow. But doing so would reveal her in front of everyone including the few of Margrul’s men still in the crowd. She could imagine the bloodbath that might ensue for those who would attempt to grab her.

And then there was the possibility of Draka’s fury she wasn’t ready to take.

Timothy put a hand on her shoulder as if to steady her. “Hey, are you okay?”

She went to get up and got dizzy, forcing herself back down. “I just need to go outside.”

“Let me help. Are you lightheaded? You should take the helmet off. You might not be getting enough oxygen.”

She shook her head. “I can’t.”

She went to stand again. She saw Draka clock the uugari in the face one last time to bring him down. The crowd of inmates cheered and Draka howled.

Her vision began to go black.

No. No, this can’t happen now.

“I…I have to…go,” she tried to say but her words were slurred.

“Hey.” Timothy tried to grab her. “Hey!”

She went to step down, but her vision swam. The pain seared down her shoulder into her arm.

Before she blacked out, her last image was of Draka.

Please. Please don’t let him…

Her thought was lost as her knees buckled under her and she fell.

CHAPTER TEN

DRAKA

The brightburn gods were punishing him.

That had to be it. Why else would they have played with him like this, getting his hopes up only to shatter them?

It was because of what he’d done, wasn’t it? Because of his past. He didn’t deserve her. That’s why they were keeping her from him. Making him think he had a chance. Only to present him with the wrong human.

He’d ignored the human male, pretending he wasn’t there. If it wasn’t for Oza, he likely would have stormed out of that room just as Margrul had.

Oza had made a good point, so he spared him, but it hadn’t made him feel better about not finding his woman. And now more than ever he thought he wouldn’t, that she really was lost to him.

So, he took that realization hard. And lost himself in brim.

Fighting only freed him of some of the pain, turned his thoughts away if only briefly. He fought the uugari, feeling nothing, letting himself go to the drink, hoping his despair left him if only for a night.

As he swung and hit the uugari across the skull, he watched him fall, hardly relishing in the triumph. He stood over the uugari and howled. The others thought it a howl of victory but in truth he was roaring at the gods.

Please, he prayed. Give her to me and I will dedicate my life to her. I will pay for everything I have done. I will take any punishment but this. Just let her be mine.

Give her to me.

The others yipped and barked around him. He let the prayer go and growled at an ashora who got too close. His vision swam a little, but he still wanted to fight some more. He wanted to fight until he couldn’t.

The inmates circling him began to blur, and he was ready to grab another and go off on them when the human male broke from the crowd and came toward him. Unthinking, Draka bared his teeth and snarled at him.

“So you want to fight, little human, eh?” He grinned. “Let’s fight.”

“No!” The human put up his hand, obviously terrified and rightly so. “No. It’s one of your men. He’s hurt!”

It took Draka a second to understand his words. His expression twisted. “Who?”

The male pointed toward a pile of crates. Draka pushed the other inmates aside so he could better see. They parted and he saw Oza sprawled on the ground.

He tensed, rage burning up his throat. What had happened? Oza had been fine a moment ago. Did someone hurt him?

If someone had, he’d kill them. He’d lost the woman, he wasn’t about to lose his friend too.

He broke from the group and rushed for him, the human close behind. He slid down on his knees before Oza and grabbed him, pulling him into a sitting position.

“Oza? Oza.” He shook him a little, and the ashora’s head lolled to one side. He glared at the human. “What happened?”

“We were sitting, and I heard him groan in pain. He was clutching at his shoulder,” he explained. “He tried to get up but couldn’t. I tried to help him, but he collapsed and fell.” He reached out to put a hand on Oza, and Draka let out a low growl, surprising them both. “Is there a medical lab somewhere?” he asked, keeping back. “We should take him.”

With ease, Draka scooped Oza up into his arms. “Serbril will tend to him.”

They moved quickly out of the Antiom as he carried Oza. Kreed and Targus followed. He didn’t bother to call to the others.

“What happened?” Kreed asked.

“Don’t know. He fell,” Draka said, forcing his focus on Oza even as his vision swam from the brim.

“Weak,” Targus commented.

Draka clutched Oza close to him. “Targus, if you say another word, I’ll break your jaw.” He looked down at Oza and called to him again but still the ashora didn’t respond, his body limp. A slow panic was beginning to rise in him. No, this was wrong.

“Take the helmet off,” the human said beside him. “We should make sure he’s breathing. Give him some air.”

Draka held Oza tight. He’d respected the ashora’s need to keep the helmet on for the sake of his burns but now there may be no choice. If he wasn’t breathing, they would need to take immediate action. If he woke, hopefully he wouldn’t be in deep pain.

They ducked behind a building near the edge of the city, Draka laying Oza down on the snow.

“Wonder what state his face is in,” Kreed commented absently, kneeling to one side to block out curious onlookers. “Hopefully his skin wasn’t so badly burned you’ll peel it off.”

“He was burned?” the human asked.

Kreed dipped his head. “Or so he has said.”

Carefully Draka curled his claws around the inside of the helmet. Please, don’t be dead. I need you, he thought. He might snap if he lost his friend today too.

With one smooth tug, he lifted the helmet off.

Black hair spilled out, crowning around a familiar face. A face that looked to be sleeping save for the furrow of the brow and the hard line of the mouth, indicating pain or discomfort, sweat dampening the skin.

The helmet slipped from his fingers, dropping next to him.

Her.

It was her.

People were talking and moving around him, but he didn’t notice, didn’t hear. He stared down at her in awed disbelief, unable to move or speak.

“Draka? Ay, Draka!” Kreed said. “Shit, human, do something. She doesn’t look good.”

The human male leaned over her. Draka watched him touch her wrist and put his ear to her mouth. Possession of her was already taking over, a great terrible need to send his talons into the male’s throat.

But then the human man gave him a look that could only mean something very bad.

“She’s breathing but her pulse is weak,” he said, his voice sounding like it was far away. “She needs medical help now. Do you hear me? I can’t help her here. I need tools.”

“Are you some kind of doctor?” Kreed asked.

“I have medical experience.” He put a hand on her forehead. “She’s burning up. We need to go or she might not make it.”

Kreed gripped Draka’s shoulder. “Draka, we need to go or she’s going to die.”

Reality slammed back into him. He tugged her into his arms, then he surged up and out of the shadow of the building.

He tore his way up the path to the mountain, flying like his life depended on it.

No, not his. Hers.

There was no other thought in his mind save the single need to get to the base and to Serbril. Time ceased to exist as he put one foot after the other, legs and lungs burning.

When the base finally came into view, he shouted for his men to open the door. Before it had even risen halfway, he rushed inside and made straight for Serbril’s room, ignoring the stares of those he passed.

“Serbril,” he called as he came upon his room. The nilgani was talking with Lygera, an ashora who worked on the generators. “Serbril, I need you now.”

Serbril stared at the woman as Draka placed her on his exam table. Lygera left without a word as the nilgani came closer.

“You actually found her,” he said. “She doesn’t look good though, does she?”

“No. Something’s wrong.” Using his claws, he tore off her coat, then ripped off her shirt. She wasn’t burned save for the one small part of her arm that looked to already be healing. But her shoulder was wrapped, indicating a wound underneath.

“Let me,” Serbril said. He took out a surgical cutter and carefully snipped away the cloth.

Underneath he saw the swollen red skin and the pus coming from the wound.

“Infected,” Serbril said. He clicked his tongue. “Unfortunate she didn’t have this taken care of sooner.”

Somewhere in the back of his mind was a simmering fury, at who or what he wasn’t yet sure. It was clear someone had done that to her, sliced her skin deep. It had been bad, but she’d not come to him for aid. She had kept herself hidden, letting it get worse. More afraid of him than of seeking his help.

The hurt he felt was of little consequence now compared to making sure she lived. “Tell me what to do,” he said.

“Clean warm water.” Serbril rifled through his drawers. “Ice.”

Kreed came into the room with the human male across his back. “Couldn’t keep up without carrying him too. Humans are slow.” He set the man down who quickly righted himself.

Draka bared his teeth at him as the human approached the table. The male put up his hands in defense.

“Please, I can help,” he said.

Serbril scoffed. “I can manage without you getting in the way.”

“Do you understand human anatomy?”

Draka looked to Serbril who glanced between them. “Not particularly, no.”

The human looked to Draka. “I do. Let me help.”

Draka stared at him, at first feeling defensive. But this wasn’t about them. He needed to set his possessiveness aside for now. “Help her.” He turned to Serbril. “Let him.”

Serbril hissed in annoyance but didn’t argue. “Come then, human, and assist me.”

As the pair went to work, Draka pulled Kreed with him to get the ice and water. Once they returned with each, he asked what else he could do, not wanting to leave her side.

“The best thing you can do right now is let us attend to her,” Serbril said. “We will call on you.”

He wanted to argue but there was no time for that. He had no choice but to let them do their work and trust they would do it well.

Night came and went. And he’d never been more restless in his life. He didn’t sleep, not for a second. Instead he paced the halls near Serbril’s room. He stared at the curtain closing off the nilgani’s door, then he’d go off again to pace before cycling back, waiting, always waiting for some news. Everyone stood out of his way, even Freys who didn’t dare utter a word when he saw him, knowing it might set him off.

As he stalked the halls, his mind raced. He thought only of her.

For the first several hours, he considered what would happen if she died. What he would do. It was more of the same of what he had already planned to do but much worse. He’d take Kreed into the sealed room, and they would work until the project was complete. Then he’d burn the world.

But as the hours passed and he heard nothing, he allowed himself to hope. She would live. The gods wouldn’t have answered his prayer only to take her from him. That was a punishment he couldn’t bear.

When night slipped away and the sun began to rise, he couldn’t stand waiting any longer, and he demanded to know her status.

“We stifled the infection,” the human said. Timothy, he called himself. And he assured Draka he really did know what he was doing. “The fever is down. The bad news is the infection went septic which caused her symptoms. You’re lucky Serbril had the means to combat that at all.” He shifted uncomfortably, blocking Draka’s way at the door. “She’s still fighting. She needs time.”

“Will she live or not?” he asked, tempted to push him aside so he could see.

“She’s at a vulnerable moment. She might recover or she might take a turn. It’s hard to say.”

It was an honest answer at least, even if it wasn’t the one Draka wanted. He let Timothy go to continue working while he slunk away, feeling no better than he had before demanding an update on her condition.

He sat alone for some time after, watching the sky brighten from the front entrance. He’d wished Oza was beside him to listen to his grief. But Oza was no longer there.

He could hardly believe it had been her all along. How had he been so blind? He should have demanded she take off the helmet.

She’d hidden in plain sight, had been there right beside him and hadn’t once thought to reveal herself.

Freys came to check on him, but Draka hardly said a word in response. He watched the city and its inmates as he gripped her scarf in his hand.

When the sun was at its peak he knew he should return. He slipped back in and forced himself to work, to make his rounds, to check on the others, trying to keep his mind off what was happening but making sure someone would report to him of any changes.

Night fell again and the moons started to rise. He talked with his men who guarded the tower, reporting that they’d seen a few scavengers traveling around one side of the mountain. More activity than usual. He didn’t need to guess why. He knew he’d been seen carrying the human off toward the mountain. Margrul would have been told by now.

“I want men walking the perimeter,” he ordered. “Anyone who isn’t a pack member who takes one step inside my territory I want to see limping and bleeding back down the mountainside.” He’d have them cut down entirely but too many fatalities and the drones would start looking, and he didn’t want them examining the base too closely.

When he’d finished giving orders and moved to return inside, Serbril appeared from the tunnelway.

Draka’s heart skipped as he approached him, the nilgani’s face unreadable.

“Is she…?” He couldn’t finish his words.

“Alive,” Serbril said.

His heart now raced. “She recovers?” he whispered.

“She recovers,” Serbril said.

Tension he didn’t know he’d been holding melted from his body. He moved past Serbril for the tunnelway. “Take me to her.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

RIA

She was warm. Not in the uncomfortable, sweating kind of way. But that feeling of being in bed swaddled in soft blankets. Her body felt light, relaxed, her mind peaceful as she dozed in and out. No thoughts penetrated her mind save for that she must be safe because someone had taken great care to make her comfortable.

She stirred, sighing softly, only noticing a small tingling in her left shoulder but the pain was all but gone. Her eyes fluttered open, as if some intuition told her to wake. She saw a dark ceiling high above her, soft orange light barely touching the surface.

She blinked a few times, clearing her vision. She moaned softly, then turned her head one way and saw heat lamps along one wall with a curved window above. There was some sort of basin like a tub to one corner and a table near the window.

Frowning, she slowly lifted herself. She didn’t recognize this place, but judging from the view outside the window, she was still in the mountain somewhere. Somewhere high up enough to look down the valley.

She stared at the sky and the sliver of land below, still trying to come to her senses, to understand where she was, when something stirred ever so slightly at the corner of her eye.

She turned and gazed in front of her and the air left her lungs, her heart leaping to her throat.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Draka said softly, his voice laced with something dangerous.

Goosebumps trailed across her skin. He sat only a few feet away, orange light hitting across his back but leaving his face in shadow. Only the glint of green from his eyes could be seen.

He sat in a chair with his hands gripping each thigh, claws fully extended, his stillness unnerving.

Subconsciously, Ria touched her face, as if still expecting the helmet to be there. But of course it was gone. She lowered her hand and stared back at him.

“Where am I?” she whispered.

His claws slipped back a little. “My room,” he said matter-of-factly.

She stiffened, clutching the blanket around her, realizing she was naked underneath. She glanced nervously to one side but didn’t see her clothes.

“Looking for your things? The helmet is gone, I’m afraid,” he said in that husky, dangerous tone. “I don’t think you’ll be needing it anymore since your skin is hardly burned, wouldn’t you say…Oza?”

She pressed her back against the pillows, unable to find the words to defend herself.

“But that’s not really your name, is it?” Draka continued when she didn’t respond.

She shook her head. “No, it’s not.”

“You lied to me.”

She closed her eyes, her throat tightening. “Yes.” Her voice cracked. “I did.” Fear started to grip her. She thought of that uugari, the one he and his pack had kicked into the waterfall. Would he now do the same to her?

No, he might do worse.

She opened her eyes in time to see him move ever so slightly, as if to come toward her. Her body responded by sliding even closer to the wall. “You promised.” She blurted the words out, unthinking.

He stilled again, his body leaning forward. “Promised?”

“You told me you didn’t plan to harm her…to harm me. You said you would be kind and take my advice to heart.”

He straightened. “Yes, I did say that, didn’t I?”

She stared at him, waiting for him to take it all back.

He got up and turned his back to her, his clawed hand gripping the end of the chair. “Do you think now after you lied to me I still must hold to that promise?”

She bit the inside of her cheek, clenching her jaw, watching him like prey watched a predator. “Yes,” she said.

He bowed his head. “Yes,” he repeated in a whisper. He went around the chair and came toward her, his face coming into the light. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes were bright, fierce. He approached her, then carefully knelt by her side. He studied her for a long moment, then lifted his hand toward her. His claws traced the side of her jaw in a lover’s caress, and she only flinched for a second but didn’t turn away, didn’t dare. “Why?” he said. “Why did you hide from me?”

His hand still lingered on her face and, gods help her, she leaned into it, closing her eyes. “You know why,” she said.

He laughed low, his talons slipping back a little save for his thumb which traced over her bottom lip. “You were truly that afraid?”

She opened her eyes to gaze back at him through her eyelashes. “Yes.”

She was waiting for him to say, you fucking should have been. But he didn’t.

“Oza,” he purred instead. “You shocked me to my core.” He laughed again softly. “You are truly remarkable.”

“You’re not…angry?” she asked, timidly.

His hand finally slipped from her. “Oh, no, I’m pissed. But I’m also impressed. You hid from me for so long. I’d be willing to forgive you…if you play nice now, eh?”

What did he mean by that exactly?

His smile dropped when he must have seen the concern on her face. “Sweet female, I won’t hurt you. I will stay to my word. But I wish you had told me.”

“I couldn’t trust you.” Still didn’t know if she could. “After the…incident with the pool and you hunting me everywhere, I could only think of one thing.”

His eyes drifted down her mouth and neck, and she could see he was already itching to touch her some more, to take her like he’d wanted, but he was keeping himself back for her sake. Remembering what she had told him. “Yes, I see I had come on a little strong. I regret that now. I’ve never interacted with a human before. Sidonions can be aggressive in our wants, and I was running on instinct, barely able to contain myself.” His eyes flicked back up to hers. “What must I do now to keep you from hiding from me?”

She swallowed, letting his face come close to hers. “Let me still be Oza to you in some way. Keep to your word.”

His eyes narrowed. “You don’t wish, then, to have me any other way?”

She shifted, biting her lip.

“I will take the friend,” he said. “But I wish to have the lover too. You know more than anyone here how badly I’ve wanted you. Have I not proven you are safe here with me? That I will keep to everything I told you, promising this even when not knowing it was you?” He drew a lock of hair from her shoulder, curling it in his fingers. “You said I had a chance if I followed your rules. That I could make you mine if I proved to be gentle and listened. Will you not let me show you now?”

She studied him for a moment and knew her answer. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yes.”

His eyes glowed, a striking beauty in their darkness. “Tell me what you would have me do,” he said.

She thought it over. “I’ll tell you first what not to do. Don’t throw me over the waterfall.”

He stared at her, as if wondering if she was serious. Then he burst out laughing. He covered his eyes with his hand. “Oh, Oza, you are amusing.”

“My name isn’t Oza. It’s—”

“Wait.” His hand covered her mouth. “Don’t tell me, not yet. When you are willing to let go fully and trust me without question, then I will know, deal?”

She stiffened, then nodded. His hand brushed against her mouth, then dropped.

“With that then, I promise not to throw you off the waterfall.”

“How long have I been here?” she asked.

He stood and looked down on her. “I brought you here a night ago when they told me you’d broken out of your fever and would recover.”

“And you were here the whole time?”

“Waiting for you to wake, yes.”

She pursed her lips. A couple of weeks ago, that might have disturbed her but now it made her pulse race. She didn’t feel sore or pained in any way. She could ask him if he’d done anything, but she decided to trust that he didn’t. She wanted to trust him.

Releasing another slow breath, Ria allowed herself to relax and lay back on the pillows. He could still be the Draka she’d known as Oza. The sidonion who cared, who didn’t want to break her but wanted to make her blood sing.

And she was liking the idea of that more and more.

She watched him move over to the table. He took up a bowl and cup and brought it over to her. “Will you eat?” he asked.

She nodded. Her stomach felt empty and her mouth a little dry. She sat up again as he came to kneel beside her. He scooped some kind of stew onto the spoon, then offered it to her.

She couldn’t help but smirk. He really was trying.

Sweet as ketterling, or whatever the hell that was, she thought as she leaned forward and took the bite.

He watched her take full bites in silence before offering her the cup.

“What is it?” she asked, smelling a minty odor.

“Tea.”

She took a sip and found it warm and refreshing. “Thank you,” she said, wiping her mouth. This wasn’t so bad. There was still hope they could keep what they had going when he’d known her as Oza.

He rose and put the cup and bowl back on the table. “One more night,” he said absently.

She lay back on her elbows. “Until?”

“Serbril and Timothy said you’d be rested enough to move. They sealed your wound and flushed the infection from your system, but the healing process can still take some time.”

She looked down at her shoulder. She trailed her fingers over the fresh new bandage. “Timothy…is he…”

She glanced up and saw him eyeing her. “He’s fine. For saving your life, I’ve allowed him into our pack.”

Our pack? she thought, trying to hide her smile. “You really will protect him then?”

“I said I would, and I won’t go back on it. He has proved useful at least.” He started to take off his clothes, slipping off his shirt and unbuttoning his pants.

Heat flashed across her face. “What are you…”

“I’m tired. It’s been a few days since I’ve gotten sleep.”

No thanks to her, though he didn’t have to stay up. She could imagine what he must have been feeling when he saw her face, what he had been thinking.

He paused, seeing the look on her face. “Would you have me leave?” He didn’t sound hurt, but she saw the flash of pain in his eyes.

She glanced at the side of the bed. This was his room after all, but she had a feeling if she told him yes, he would go without question.

“No,” she said. She shifted over a little. Her heart fluttered thinking of him lying next to her, how the idea was starting to excite her more than scare her. She really was starting to let him in. She hoped she didn’t regret it.

He took off the rest of his clothes and put them on top of a chest against one wall. She forced herself not to stare as he came around to her naked. Still, she caught sight of the monster between his legs just like she had back at the pool. Her stomach tightened, her legs clenching together as a dull ache pulsed between her thighs. The thought of taking him made her squirm, warmth spreading along her center.

Slow, Ria, chill out, she warned herself silently. But her body had other ideas. So this is what that hunger felt like. She’d never responded this…intensely to an alien. Not even her human lovers.

She wanted him. Even her fear couldn’t keep her sane.

He knelt down before her and drew back the blankets. His eyes latched to hers as he smirked, showing her he’d be sweet and not even look down at her naked body next to him. Though she suspected that didn’t help because she saw that hunger now in his own eyes.

“This should be a fun little challenge,” he said as he lay down next to her and covered them both.

“How so?” she asked, licking her lips.

He smirked. “I’m in heat. I have you to thank for that, my sweet Oza. A pain only you can take away. Yet, I have promised to be sweet unless you say otherwise. So there is the challenge. I pride myself on being strong, but this might just be my greatest challenge yet.” He laughed softly. He lay on his side, his gaze lingering on her face, his eyelids lowering, as if he were ready to sleep at any second. “But, if you are curious, you may touch me in any way that pleases you as I rest. If that will ease your anxiety of me.”

She stared at him. “Are you…suggesting I play with you while you sleep?”

The wicked look in his eyes told her enough. “I will be at my most vulnerable and not as easily susceptible to breaking my promise. So, I’m granting you permission. Do as you like.” He reached out his hand, carefully tracing a taloned finger across her cheek. “Explore me,” he said in a gentle voice. “And see what I have to offer. You might just like it.” He turned onto his back and closed his eyes. A moment later, he opened one and looked back at her. “Of course, be careful if you wake me. I can’t guarantee I will be able to hold myself back if you do.”

She lay next to him staring up at the ceiling.

This guy was crazy.

And so was she because for the last half hour, she’d been considering his offer.

She crossed her arms and closed her eyes, breathing in and out, trying to clear her head.

What was she so afraid of? She’d had sexual encounters before. Done all sorts of things.

But not like this. Not while someone slept. Not with an alien.

Not with someone like Draka.

She turned her head and glanced at him. His eyes were closed, his face tilted away from her. His chest rose and fell, a soft rumble heard every time he exhaled. His hands twitched every so often, his claws slipping in and out. One fang slid out from his upper lip.

She shook her head. She turned her body away from his and curled in a fetal position. She still felt the dull throbbing between her legs up to her ears.

She lay there pretending to sleep, her mind racing.

Last chance, a devious little voice said. He might wake up at any moment. Who knows how long sidonions need to sleep, but it’s probably less time than you.

No, she didn’t need to go there. Maybe it would be better to wait until he woke up.

“If you wake me, I can’t guarantee I will be able to hold myself back...” His words penetrated her skull, making her shiver.

She closed her eyes. It was fine. She wasn’t that curious really…

“Explore me and see what I have to offer…” His voice whispered in her mind, tempting, seductive.

She opened her eyes and stared at the door. Her hands gripped the blanket.

Lying right there next to you and you can’t even grow a pair and—

“Fine!” she hissed. She turned back, lying on her other side so that she faced him. She watched him for a moment, waiting for any signs of him waking. He seemed to be in a dead sleep.

Carefully, she peeled back the blanket, exposing them both. She dropped it just past his legs, then she sat up to look down on him.

When she’d first seen him, she’d found him utterly terrifying. He still was. But in a way now she saw the beauty of his horrifying physique underneath. His skin appeared smooth like hers. If she looked close enough, she could see tiny scales, tight-knit across his body, that sometimes shone in the light. She could see his rib cage, thick and wide underneath the skin, and she could see his heart pumping. That part kind of creeped her out, but there were other parts of him she liked—his large muscular body, his strange otherworldly face that was harsh but also, in a way, beautiful. And his ears, pointed at the ends. She found she really liked those.

Before she wimped out, she reached across and let her fingers trail lightly along his skin. He was smooth just like she had thought, and warm. Solid but in a way soft. She moved her hand across his chest, then down his stomach, watching him for any signs of waking.

He hardly stirred which made her more bold. She leaned in and touched his face, studying those fascinating teeth. She traced along his jaw and up to the little point of his ear that wiggled a little at her touch. That gave her the urge to lean closer and kiss it, having to stop herself from biting down.

Her blood throbbed at the thrill of touching him. And knowing he would want every single part of it.

She glanced back down his body, and her eyes lingered just below his stomach. She took a deep breath, then glided her hand downward. He was so solid, she could feel his power underneath her hand, like stroking a large predatory beast. She might have imagined it, but she thought she heard him growl softly. She gazed back at his face, stilling her hand for a second before moving lower.

She paused before exploring the lower half of him, planting her gaze on the thick specimen between his legs.

His cock was already erect, and she didn’t know if that was how they always were or if it had to do with him being in heat. Besides that he looked hard, there was nothing in him that was human. He wasn’t just smooth skin but a whole lot more. Ridges formed along the bottom of the shaft and at the head. The middle bulged out slightly like a knot. At the tip were two pieces of skin protruding like a prong, reminding her of a forked tongue.

She squeezed her fingers into a fist, then unfurled them. She moved to sit on her knees close beside him, still facing him so she could watch to make sure he was still sleeping.

She slid her index finger along the underside of his shaft first to see how he reacted. His mouth twitched, but the rest of him didn’t change. She waited, then gently stroked along the ridges and bumps, circling her thumb around the knot.

He stirred, but only a little. Something in the skin must have changed because he was quickly growing slick with some kind of natural lubricant the more she explored him. She curled her hand around him. He was so thick at the middle she couldn’t wrap around him all the way. She trailed her hand upward and stroked his tip with her thumb, sliding slowly in and out between the prong.

His body tensed and a soft hiss escaped him. She waited for him to wake, but he only turned his head the other way, exposing his silver fangs in a pained grimace. She did it again, moving her thumb along the head, and he growled softly, his talons sinking into the covers.

He really liked that. She moved her hand down and began to pump, at first slow, her hand slick now with his oil. She circled her thumb around the ridges and his cock twitched, growing harder.

He started to stir more, as if he might wake, but she couldn’t bring herself to stop. His toes curled, his legs twitched, and his breath quickened as she stroked him faster.

She could see his blood swelling inside his cock, could see what had to be his cum beginning to rise from the base up his shaft.

She watched, fascinated, hypnotized even. His cock was hot under her hand. It felt surreal to play with him like this, but also so exhilarating. Her own body responded in kind, aching heat pulsing between her thighs, goosebumps trailing along her flesh.

Draka hissed again, his expression twisted, his back arching off the bed. Then the hiss turned into a groan.

“Oza,” she heard him growl as he tilted his head back.

His release came not without warning, but she was still caught off guard. His cock pulsed and cum shot from the tip to land on his stomach.

Unprepared, and unthinking, she lowered her head to him and covered his tip with her mouth, sucking gently as she took him in, tasting him on her tongue. He tasted better than she could have ever guessed.

He groaned again, his body shuddering, and she took his fire, swallowed it down like she was starving for it.

She sucked him and drank him, afraid he might never stop. Oh, gods, how much more did he have? This was more than any human guy.

When she thought she couldn’t take any more, his release began to slow.

She flicked her tongue out to savor the last bit, teasing him just a little more as she still held on to him. When she was sure he was done, she slid her mouth from him.

She made the mistake of glancing upward and caught his eyes.

They were no more than slits as he watched her. But he didn’t seem all there.

“Your mouth is incredible,” he whispered, so low she almost didn’t hear him.

He didn’t say anything else as he lay back. A minute later he was out again.

She let the air out of her lungs and sat there for a long moment in shocked wonder at what she’d done. When the shock wore off, she lay back down beside him, curling up a little closer than before.

She closed her eyes and focused on the memory of his taste, on the feel of him, and this time it made her shudder. But she couldn’t hold back the smile.

CHAPTER TWELVE

DRAKA

He woke as the light of morning broke over the horizon. Snow drifted down from the mountain, falling like dust. He lay on his back, his muscles throbbing, a dull ache between his thighs. The pain had subsided if only a little, and he felt a tingling up his spine and warmth in his stomach.

Beside him, Oza was curled up, dozing soundly, half hidden under the covers. Carefully he pulled back the blanket to witness her naked sleeping form. He watched her for a long moment, still trying to come to terms that she was really there beside him. He could watch her for hours if no one stopped him.

Eventually his eyes drifted away and down his body. There was a sheen across his stomach and when he grazed his fingers over, he knew it to be the result of his release. It finally dawned on him that the wicked dream he had last night had not been just that. In the deep of sleep, he felt the incredible pressure, the heat building, felt soft hands work him, take him to the height of ecstasy.

And then he remembered another part of the dream. Her mouth on him as she sucked at his tip while the fires consumed him.

Only now he realized that had been real.

He winced as the pain returned and his cock hardened instantly once more. By the brightburn gods, that had been real. She’d done that to him.

He sat up slowly and peered down at her. There had been a look in her eyes, a fierce hungry look. She wanted him too. She was just too afraid to show it.

He smiled. I’ll coax you out, my sweet Oza. In time.

Relishing in the discovery that she had given in and explored him as he had so desired, he leaned down over her and put an arm around her.

“Oh, Oza.” He nuzzled her head, trying to ignore the growing ache, the fire rising again in his lower belly. How badly he wanted to take her, to consume her and be consumed by her. He hadn’t thought it in his nature to be so gentle or sweet, but she brought that side out of him. Still, another side felt that instinct, that drive to devour. It took all his will to keep that animal at bay, to not lose control no matter how badly he wanted to.

Oza stirred and he heard her sigh, her little breath blowing against his chest. She slowly turned her head up, and a quiet but noticeable gasp escaped her. He removed his arm, and they locked eyes.

Her eyes were like two dark gems, black but not like an ashora’s, they shined as if a star was caught in their depths. She blinked up at him, her expression hard to read.

“Um, good morning,” she said, her mouth curled to one side, and he saw the color along her cheeks darken slightly with a hint of red. He wasn’t sure what it meant, but he got the impression she was feeling slightly embarrassed. He wondered why.

“It is good,” he said. Then he grinned, unable to help himself. “And you had a good night, didn’t you?”

The skin reddened even more. “Yes,” she said quietly. But not so timidly, he noticed.

He couldn’t help the little hiss of laughter that escaped him. “I knew you couldn’t resist, but you are very lucky I didn’t wake.”

She shrugged her shoulders, then to his delighted shock, reached out her hand and pressed her fingers against his hard stomach. “Curiosity got the better of me I guess.”

“I’m glad it did.” His stomach clenched at her touch, heat swirling, remembering again where her fingers had gone only a few hours ago and how he’d like to feel them there again only this time awake and fully alert.

Unable to help himself, he drew his hand down and pushed a lock of silky dark hair from her face.

She didn’t flinch away or even tense like she normally might but instead closed her eyes and leaned in to him. “Can I ask you something?” she said.

He let his fingers trail down her face and along her neck. “Of course.”

She opened her eyes and looked back at him. “Are you…are all sidonions like you?”

He hummed, thinking. “What do you mean? Like physically? Or emotionally?”

“Both?”

He smirked. “Mmm, physically, I’d say I’m a little bigger than some but not by too much. Besides my skin and eye coloring, my traits are very similar to others.”

“Green isn’t common?”

“Most are blue or gray, only ones more uncommon are purple I think.”

She shifted, her eyes drawing down to his chest where her fingers circled him. “Interesting.”

“What of your kind?” he asked.

“Our traits tend to blend together when we intermingle but not always. But yes, there are all different kinds.”

“Very interesting,” he said. He traced his hand over her arm, along firm, smooth skin of a deep brown with warm undertones that he was tempted to nip and bite. She had wide hips and a muscular frame despite her being smaller than him, and he liked the image of her flushed against him. He found her to be lovely, just as he had the first time he’d lain eyes on her. “I like yours very much,” he confessed though he wished to explore more of her. “Do you like my traits?”

She smirked, and he could guess what she was thinking. “Yes.”

He hummed, satisfied. “As for emotionally, most sidonions tend to be on the more aggressive side. We are also very driven but can get egotistical very easily, especially with power.”

She smiled. “Sidonions and humans do have things in common then.” Her hand stilled on his stomach. “Do you consider yourself that way?”

He thought it over. “I can be aggressive at times. Very self-driven. Egotistical…ah, yes. But I’m learning patience.”

Her eyes searched his face. “Is it hard for you?”

“Harder than it has ever been,” he said honestly.

She stared at him, then started laughing though he wasn’t sure why. He traced the bandage along her shoulder. “We should take this off and see how you fare.”

She started to nod as if to agree, then she jumped, her knees almost slamming into his stomach. “Ah!”

He tugged her close, wrapping an arm around her. “What’s wrong?”

“Something touched my foot!”

He shoved the rest of the blanket off the bed and saw Crik crawling on the edge.

“What is that?” she said, curling her legs closer to her.

He laughed. He released her so he could pick Crik up and show him to her. “Ah, just my little pet. He’s harmless, I promise.”

She looked down at him with wonder. “He looks kind of like a mole.”

“He eats the rocks and dirt. Fascinating little thing I found in one of the tunnels.”

She touched his little head. “He’s pretty cute actually.” Crik wiggled his nose at her, claws scraping along Draka’s hand.

Draka rose from the bed and placed Crik back in his pile of rocks. “As I said, harmless but curious.” He returned to her and sat back on the bed. “Now for your wound.” He reached for her, then hesitated. “May I?”

She glanced at his hand, then nodded.

Carefully, he peeled off the bandage. Her skin was a little shiny from whatever medicine Serbril had put on her, but the wound itself was sealed and already smoothing over.

“Wow,” Oza said. “It looks…”

“Nearly healed, yes. It’s good we have someone like Serbril,” he remarked, lightly grazing his fingers across the tender skin. “I say it no longer needs wrapping.”

She shivered at his touch. Her gaze moved past him to the basin behind him. “I could use a bath. It’s been longer than I care to admit.”

He turned and looked at the basin, and funny, his first thought was that they both wouldn’t be able to fit. But that was part of his deal, to give her space, wasn’t it? She deserved privacy as much as he. Still, a devious thought hit him.

“I can gladly have a bath drawn for you, my sweet Oza.” He gave her a playful smile. “Or I can offer you something far better.”

She gave him a suspicious look. “Better how?”

“Mmm, cleaner water, more space…” He continued to trace his fingers along her shoulder, feeling bold as she let him. “A lovely view.”

Her eyes widened. Then they darkened. “Your plan all along?”

“I admit I’d have liked to see where things had gone if you hadn’t run,” he said honestly.

“I think a little different,” she said.

He snickered. “You’re right. But I’m glad it’s this way instead. I will do whatever pleases you, it’s only an offer.”

He watched her chew her bottom lip, thinking it over. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Take me.”

His gaze flicked up to hers, his spinefibers rising, the warmth stirring in his belly, the dull ache returning. He grinned. “Perfect.”

He led her to the pool which was not far from his room. She wrapped herself in one of his blankets as she followed him, while he hadn’t bothered to put his pants on, uncaring of his own nakedness and whoever saw.

He couldn’t help being amused as she kept the blanket tight around her, eyes shifting around in search of others. His sweet Oza, always trying to hide.

He could tell she was still a little cautious, a little uncertain.

“Will it only be us?” she asked.

“If there are others, I will kick them out, don’t worry.”

That seemed to make her feel better. Quietly she followed after, through one tunnel, up a set of stairs, then down a short passage.

When they came to the entrance, Draka pulled back the covering which hid the passage from the outside.

The pool was empty, a still surface of dark, clear water with wisps of steam rising into the chill air.

He went out first, checking the outer ring. When he deemed it safe, he beckoned her to the pool’s edge. Hesitantly, she approached, still keeping the blanket tight around her. The icy air bit at him but he hardly noticed. He kept his eyes on her as he slunk down into the water. He backed toward the center, then waited for her to join him.

She stood there watching him but didn’t yet move.

He swirled a claw through the water, his eyes narrowing, mouth tightening. “Not still afraid are you, my pretty little Oza?”

She pursed her lips, her gaze unlatching from his to peer at the other side of the pool where the other passage lay. The one that led down the side of the mountain.

He drifted a little closer to her, muscles tensing. “Do you think you could outrun me this time?” he said in a hushed voice. “Because trust me, woman, I would delight in the chase. And I wouldn’t let you slip away.”

She bit her lip but even then he saw her mouth curl to one side. Oh, he liked that.

“I don’t think I want to repeat the last time,” she said.

“Then come join me.”

Slowly, she let the blanket slip off her shoulders, sliding down her arms till it fell at her feet. Pausing briefly by the edge, she crouched down, then carefully slid into the water.

A low hiss escaped her. “Man, this is so good. I didn’t think I’d ever get to experience this again.”

He smiled. “You would have enjoyed it for much longer if you had trusted me the first time.”

She made a little noise. “Yeah, right. You looked ready to split me open.” She backed to the edge as he crept toward her. “Like you might eat me alive.”

He stopped an inch before her, tilting his head. “Even though I said I wouldn’t?”

She shifted, tilting her head up at him. “It was in your gaze. And I was scared shitless.”

He hummed. He brought up his hand and traced a lock of hair, curling it around her ear. He watched her shiver as he said, “I still wished you hadn’t run.”

She blinked twice. But without looking away, she said, “I’m glad I did.”

He felt a sharp pain at her words. “Glad?”

She nodded. “If I hadn’t, I would never have known you like I did as Oza. I don’t think you would have ever let me see that side of you.”

He frowned, letting his talon slide down her neck and across her shoulder. “In time I think I would have.”

“Do you miss him?”

He locked his gaze to hers. “Who?”

“The Oza you knew.”

He searched her face then said, “No. Because you are right here. You are the same person, and I get to have both now.” He waited for her to fight that remark. When she didn’t, his pain eased. “Maybe…it was good you ran,” he confessed.

She stared at him, and he wished he knew what she was thinking. Quietly, she separated from the wall, inching closer. She traced a finger over his heart. “I wanted to tell you,” she whispered. “That it was me.”

His heart flipped. “Still too afraid even when I confessed so much to you?”

She nodded. “I feared you would change as soon as you saw me. I thought I was crazy for coming to you in the first place. I didn’t think my disguise would work so long. I thought I’d give myself a couple of days, steal a pack, and head north. But then I…I got to know you, and I didn’t want to leave. I liked what we had. I liked…being by your side.”

He gave himself a moment to let those words sink in. He cupped the sides of her neck with his hands, tracing the underside of her jaw with his thumbs. She tilted her head back, her thick lashes hiding her eyes, her mouth parting as she exhaled. Unable to resist, he lowered his head down to hers. “You couldn’t stay away,” he whispered. “You felt the pull too.” He slid his tongue out and brushed it across her lips.

She flinched back and then laughed softly. “Is that a sidonion kiss?”

“Hardly.”

“How about this?” She pulled him closer and brought his mouth to hers. She flicked out her tongue, brushing against his fangs, and the heat turned in his belly, pain settling again between his thighs. He moaned, a low growl deep in his chest. He tugged her closer, claws gripping the back of her head. His tongue trailed along hers as he tasted her. So sweet, he thought.

She broke the kiss, but he saw the fire now in her gaze, matching his own. He held her, keeping her head tilted up at him.

“Let me taste you,” he said, trying hard not to beg. “Let me show you why you have nothing to fear. Let me make you sing.”

She closed her eyes, letting out a shaky breath. He feared she didn’t trust him, and maybe that would take time, but he wouldn’t take back his words because it was what he craved, what he wanted since the beginning.

He waited for her answer. When he feared she wouldn’t give it, he started to say, “If your answer is no—”

She quieted him by putting a hand on his chest. She opened her eyes and stared up at him, studying him as if trying to read his honesty. Then she let her hand slip and he saw that fierce fire pass in her gaze once more. “Where do you want me?”

He didn’t miss a beat. He loosened his grip on her and let his hand slide down to her face, holding her jaw, his thumb grazing over her lips. He slid his claw between them, letting his finger roam over her tongue. He hummed in satisfaction. He lowered his face again close to hers, then he grinned, showing her his fangs. “On the edge.”

He backed her up to another side of the pool, shallower than the rest. To one side was a flat rock. He set her on it, where the water barely lapped across the surface. “Lie back,” he commanded.

Without a word, she did, bringing herself down to lie against the rock, water lapping across her backside, while the rest of her was exposed to him.

“Good,” he purred. “Now open for me.”

Hesitantly, she did, revealing her pretty center to him, soft and wet. He caught her scent, and it nearly made him lose control. He started to salivate just at the sight and smell of her.

“Oza,” he breathed. “My little goddess.” He lowered his head down between her legs. “Let me worship you.” He slipped his tongue out and trailed a slow path along her slit, his forked end dipping down between the small, sensitive flesh at the end, gliding across it.

Her breath hitched, her back arching, hips rising to meet him. “Draka,” he heard her moan.

Her taste in his mouth was exquisite, more intense than the little sip he’d gotten from the pool. It would have sent him into a frenzy, but he wanted to savor every bit. He forced himself to keep a measure of control as he spread her legs farther and pinned her in place. He explored her, seeing what made her react the most, delighting in every whimper and moan that escaped her mouth. He swirled around her, the tips of his tongue sliding along the nub which made her cry out, telling him it was the core of her pleasure. He circled and sucked around her, feeling her growing hotter. She writhed under him, and it was like the first time he’d seen her touching herself, her starting to lose herself to a growing release.

“Draka!” she called his name, pleading for him to go faster, but he refused. He slid out, then dipped back in, trailing his split tongue across her so that he brushed around her core. She was incredibly wet, and he sucked again, her taste sliding down his throat.

He released his mouth from her and licked his lips. “So sweet,” he said. “You like when I eat you don’t you?”

“Y-yes,” she breathed.

“What do you call this sensitive part of you that makes you react so well?” he said, brushing along the little nub.

“My clit.”

“Clit.” He traced his tongue along it again and watched her shiver, whimpering. “It is sensitive like my tip, isn’t it?”

She nodded.

He hummed as he brought his mouth back down and sucked gently on her clit, twisting his tongue one way then the other. He wanted to feel her release against his mouth, and he knew she must not be far. He could feel her tensing. She threw back her head and tried to clamp down her cries that were growing louder, echoing off the rocks. Surely others could hear, but he didn’t mind. Let them know she screamed because of him.

He traced up and down her slit and then found her entrance. He circled around that too, then slid deep, curious to see how far she went. She was small and rather tight there, but a little coaxing and he was sure he could stretch her to fit him. He moved his tongue in and out, exploring the inner muscles, feeling them clench around him. She was wet on the inside too, sleek and hot. Perfect. He needed to feel his cock inside her, knew he’d lose his mind if he didn’t.

As he slid his tongue along the inner wall above her center, she cursed. Her body spasmed without warning, growing tighter. She screamed as he continued to eat her, his claws coming out to prick her skin as he kept her in place even as she bucked.

She found her release against his mouth, her scent and taste overtaking him, little bumps trailing over her skin, rising like his spinefibers. It was a beautiful sight and made the heat stir worse inside him.

Carefully he pulled back, watching her center pulse, her own natural wetness trailing down her thighs.

“Incredible,” he whispered. Unable to resist, he bent back down and curled his tongue along her again, lapping up some of her wet heat.

He would have continued on eating her, but she finally kicked out her legs as soon as he found her clit again. It was just as well because he was aching to feel his cock pushed inside her.

He got up on the rock while he dragged her closer. He pulled her onto his lap, seating her on his thighs with her legs still spread. He moved to the edge, dipping his feet back into the water, curling his clawed toes against the wall of the pool for support. “I need to be inside you, Oza.” Looking down above her head, he could see his cock, hard and erect between her legs. Wrapping an arm tight around her, he pressed the side of his cock against her slit, moving along it. “I don’t think I can stop myself,” he groaned.

She was quiet, panting against him, her hips moving so that her center glided along him. “Just go slow,” she said, breathless. “Please, I don’t know if you can fit.”

“I will try to be gentle.” He took hold of her thighs and lifted her. With her back flush against him, he moved so that the tip of him touched at her entrance, dipping in and out just as he had with his tongue. Cautiously, he lowered her onto him until the head of his cock slid inside her, then slowly, little by little, he stretched her until she reached the bulb at his middle.

She lifted her head back, resting it against his chest. He saw her hiss through her teeth as he slid out then back in. Just as he imagined, she was tight around him, but still so warm and wet. Even if he couldn’t fit yet all the way in her, he still shuddered at the feel of her clenching around him.

She cursed again under her breath, another little moan passing through her lips. “Draka, I don’t know if I can take more—oh, fuck.” He twitched inside her, and she arched her back, shifting her hips.

He nuzzled her head, trying to sooth her. “You are doing so well. You feel so good, just like I dreamed.” He slid out again then in, repeating the movement in a steady but slow rhythm. He could feel the heat rising, the pressure building along the base of his cock as her inner walls brushed along his bumps and ridges. He concentrated on the movement, feeling her gripping him. He growled low as he curled his claws around her flesh, almost breaking the skin. His eyes narrowed in on their connection, even if it was not all the way, it was enough to send him to the brink.

Heat rippled inside his lower belly as his release came, his cock pulsing, and a low snarl tore up his throat, through his teeth. His vision blurred for a mere second as he was washed in the waves of his fire. His body trembled against hers, his toes clawing at the rocks. By the brightburn gods, she felt amazing. And she was his at last.

She grew still as he let the waves take him and his release spilled from inside her down the base of him, dripping into the water.

He huffed, his muscles tightening. When the last wave subsided, he lifted her off him and sat her back on his thighs with his cock once more between her legs.

He wrapped one arm around her while his other hand cupped her neck. He breathed heavily across her head as she rested it still on his chest. She looked up at him and he could see stars in her eyes.

“I told you…I wasn’t sure,” she said, breathless.

“It still felt good, you can’t deny that.” He squeezed her throat gently, smiling against her hair.

It was her turn to tremble against him. “Yes.”

“You want more of this, don’t you?”

He felt her swallow. “Gods help me, yes.”

“We are perfect together.”

He felt her chest rise and fall. “Except for the size…maybe.”

He thought it over, his claws brushing against her skin. “This may not have been the best position to find out. If I could just see…”

She snorted, her chest shaking with laughter. “Um, I’m sorry, see what exactly?”

His eyes narrowed as he stared at the water. He could just make out the bottom below.

A sudden wicked idea popped into his head, and he smiled, fangs slipping from his upper lip. “I have an idea of what might help.”

“Oh?”

He pulled her up with him onto their feet. “A neat little experiment.”

She gave him a curious and slightly suspicious look.

“Don’t worry, it will be fun.” He drew her back over to the passage, covering her with the blanket. “And I’m not finished with you yet.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

RIA

She followed him back to his room, her body still aching from what they had just done back at the pool.

She couldn’t believe she’d done what she did. She’d let this terrifying alien man play with her, explore her like she had him.

And she was ready for him to do more.

She took steady breaths, feeling almost high. It was the shock but also the thrill of having this moment with Draka. There was hardly any doubt now how badly he wanted her, and it made her feel a mixture of emotions. Nervous still but also giddy.

Maybe he even loved…

No. No way. He was just obsessed. He said he was in heat and that was getting to his brain. But maybe there was something more.

Maybe she wanted there to be something more.

Still, this was better than what she’d feared, seeing his wrath, being thrown off a waterfall for lying to him. This was way better.

When they returned to his room, she moved back to the bed only to look back at him in surprise as he hurriedly put on a pair of pants.

“I will be right back,” he assured. “I just need to grab a couple of things.”

She lay back on her side. “For this experiment of yours?” Her pulse pounded, wondering what it would be.

He smirked at her as he clipped his belt. “That’s right.”

He shut the door behind him, leaving her. She sat up and watched the window for a while, watching the snow drifting by, noticing her heart still racing. She put out a hand and saw it shaking a little, still dealing with the shock to her system of what just happened. She lay back and took steady breaths, trying to relax.

She felt something tickle at her toes and she jumped. She pulled back the covers and saw Crik there. She picked him up carefully, cupping him in her hands.

“You need to get out and explore, don’t you buddy?” she said, petting his little body. She got up and crept over to his little rock house, setting him inside.

As she went to return to the bed, she paused as she passed by the table. There were maps there and, from what she could tell, blueprints. She glanced at the door, then turned back and flipped through them. Some just looked like machine parts, none really connecting to something she recognized.

Before she could examine them closer, she heard the door opening. She let the papers fall and turned to find Draka sliding the door open enough to fit himself through. Once inside he slid it back, and the look he gave her made her pulse pound in her ears.

“What is it?”

He gestured over to the bed. As she went and sat back down on top, she watched him place a black bag down on the ground. He took off his pants and kicked them to the side before kneeling down on the end of the bed. He opened the bag and took out a pair of what looked like high-tech goggles, handing one to her.

She turned them in her hands, peering through the lenses. “Um, what are these exactly?” she asked.

He placed the goggles over his eyes, adjusting them. “Put them on and see.”

She arched a brow at him but did as he said. As she placed them over her eyes they went in and out of focus until everything was crystal clear, as if she didn’t wear anything at all. She glanced around to see if anything had changed. Everything appeared the same.

“Look down, Oza,” Draka said.

She turned her head downward, first toward him. It seemed almost as if his skin was more translucent than usual. Strange.

Then she looked down at her own body and her heart leaped to her throat. “Shit,” she muttered.

She could see her innards. Bones and organs, even veins. If she focused on a certain part of her, she’d see all these things, but if she looked away, she could see nothing but the shadows of her body parts.

“Draka, what the fuck?”

He chuckled at her. “Never seen your own insides before, eh?” She looked up to see him tap at the sides of his goggles. “Useful tools to see inside of machines or, in Serbril’s case, inside bodies if need be.”

She stared at him, speechless. She swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. “And you want to…to…”

“I can see how I fit inside you better this way.”

She cursed. “We could just feel around, couldn’t we?”

He smirked at her. “But this is much more fun. And useful information.”

“You want to write a paper about how humans and sidonions fuck and what it looks like?”

He tilted his head. “Not a bad idea.” He turned back to her and grinned. “I think I could write a whole book just about you, my sweet Oza.”

She sighed.

Again, he laughed. “Are you not curious?”

She shifted around. “Can we at least adjust it so I don’t see every organ? It’s disturbing.”

He snickered. “As you wish.” He showed her how to adjust the settings on the side so that she could only see what she wanted. She set the controls while staring down at herself until she only saw her uterus, her vaginal canal, and cervix. He set his controls to the same so as not to embarrass her like she asked.

When she was ready, she lay back down, resting on her elbows so she could see. She spread out her legs and tried not to tense as he knelt before her. He rubbed his shaft along her clit, his cock still slick from their previous act. He rubbed along her a few times before pressing himself to her entrance.

She watched him slide in, saw as her own muscles stretched and constricted against him inside her canal. At first, she was only fascinated, watching as he moved deeper, seeing it as well as feeling it. He moved in and out, stretching her more to deepen his thrusts, and she could see the ridges of him sliding along her. She shivered at the sight, then felt incredibly hot. Her muscles clenched around him, and she saw and felt his cock twitch in response.

“Like that?” he said in an amused voice.

She blew out a slow breath and nodded. “More than I expected.”

“I can tell. Because I can see just how much it affects you.” He pulled out then back in and she watched him do it, saw him slip back inside till he met resistance once more from the slight bulge at his center. “Now let’s see how far I can go.”

She inhaled as he slowly worked his way deeper, inch by slow inch as he made small thrusts. She could see him stretching her with each movement, she could start to feel pain at first, but as he kept going the coil of heat only tightened, and there was pleasure within the pain. Watching him fill her only made her pulse race even more, made goosebumps trail across her skin. A little noise escaped her, both shocked and aroused. Wanting him to go deeper, she bent her knees and lifted her legs back. As if understanding, Draka grabbed the back of her knees and bent them farther.

A few more harder thrusts, and the knot slid its way into her canal. The pain came just as before but was quickly replaced by an aching need as her muscles formed around him and his cock pumped faster inside her. She let out a gasp at the sudden intense pressure while also seeing him close to hitting her cervix.

“If you hit me there,” she panted, “it will hurt,” she warned him.

He had his teeth bared in a snarl, his face twisted from what she gathered was another release building in him, but he nodded all the same, fighting for control.

Knowing now he would try to avoid that spot, she focused on the spots he was hitting, how his ridges moved across her, how his knot made her feel more full than she’d ever felt in her life. It was almost too much, but seeing it somehow eased her anxiety just as it thrilled her. By whatever gods in the heavens, it was amazing.

The pressure coiled in her even more, bringing her to the edge. She was going to come, but she didn’t want to throw her head back—she wanted to see.

The orgasm hit her, and she saw her muscles clenching like a vice, as if trying to get a hold of him while he slid along her. She let out a loud moaning cry as she stared down at her body and watched him come right after her, saw his cock throb inside her and his seed fill her.

Her body lit up, one wave after another. As if thinking in tangent, they both threw off their goggles, and Draka eased himself on top of her, his body jerking against her, a groan escaping him that turned into a low growl deep in his chest which she felt run across her whole body.

Little breathless moans rose from her, and she couldn’t stop them. She lay there letting them go until she started to calm and slip into that quiet peaceful state. Draka lay still on top of her, but she knew he didn’t put his whole weight down so as not to crush her. She felt his breath on her hair, then his hands slipped down her thighs in order to let them fall back to the bed. He caressed her hips, then her ribs, and said something too softly that she didn’t catch. Breathless, she clung to him, petting his sides, feeling the smooth tight-knit scales of skin. She could feel his heart pumping away, felt his heat surrounding her.

“Draka,” she whispered, letting her fingers brush along his chest and stomach.

He rose from on top of her and the warmth that was lost almost made her cry out. He glared down at her, and for a moment she thought something was wrong. She looked up at him and couldn’t read his expression save for the shadow that passed over his gaze. For a split second, that awful fear came back to her.

He’s had you, now he’s done with you, a nasty thought whispered in her head.

She waited for him to give it all away, to see a murderous gleam in his eyes or a wicked grin before those silver teeth came down on her.

He didn’t smile and there was no murderous glare. He looked like he wanted to say something but then thought better of it. He brushed his knuckles along her face yet the look he gave her still made a chill run down her spine.

“Stay with me,” he said softly.

His expression told her nothing, but she forced that little fear down, deciding instead to ignore it. Because she still badly wanted to trust him. To believe every word he said and every look he gave. That he meant every single one.

“Okay,” she said.

“Okay?”

“Yes.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

RIA

She didn’t leave his room for two days after. The main reason being that after their time together, she got very lethargic. She slept again for some time, long enough that Serbril was called to check on her. He deemed that her body was still trying to regain its energy after what it had gone through with the infection and the sex only prolonged that healing process. Draka, unknowing of this, allowed himself to behave, more concerned now with her wellbeing, never showing whether it pained him to not take her every night.

“I will keep the goggles here,” he said, showing her a wolfish smile, “until next time. When you are all better of course.”

With her still needing to rest, he pampered the hell out of her, becoming especially protective and focused on her needs. He brought her all sorts of food, even cooked for her, and made her his special tea. He only ever left for short amounts of time, doing his rounds as usual, checking on the others, and making sure everything was still running smoothly. When he came back and settled in for the night, they would lie together in the dimly lit room watching the snow, talking in whispers.

“You have to tell me now, where you really came from,” Draka said one night. “You kept yourself a mystery for too long, Oza. Tell me everything.”

She snuggled up beside him, thinking of where to even start. “I lived on a civilian world called Gideon. My father worked as a pilot and my mother was a professor in biochemistry.”

“Ah, so you learned your trade from her?”

“Mostly. But also through schooling. I liked going on the ships with my father and took a liking to how they ran. That’s how I got an interest in material and inorganic chemistry.” She felt a lump in her throat grow as she thought of them. “I…haven’t seen them in a long time.”

“They are alive then?”

She nodded. “I got into some bad business with an ex-lover. I grew apart from them trying to achieve my own goals. I didn’t want to just be a worker. I wanted to be an inventor. My dad was hardly ever home because of the long trips. I lost a couple of my friends and their parents in a ship accident on some space cruiser, because of a bad fuel compactor, some say, though not everyone is sure. Anyway, I wanted to improve ship travel, so I started working with my ex who convinced me that had been his goal as well. Only…he was looking to do whatever it took. He did something awful, and I paid for it. So, now I’m here.”

He traced his fingers along the side of her hip. “I’m sorry.”

She smirked. “It hasn’t been so bad now.”

He grinned. “I think not.”

She shifted on her side. “I still wish we could be somewhere else.”

“Me too. But this place won’t be around much longer.”

She arched her brow. “You think so?”

He hummed. “I know so. And then we can leave and go wherever we want.”

She propped herself up on one elbow to study him closer. “You really mean that. You really will take me with you?”

He kissed her forehead. “Yes.”

They fell asleep not long after. By the next morning, on the third day, she was antsy to get up and leave the room. “I need fresh air,” she told him when he felt uncertain that she should yet. But she had a feeling it was less because of her healing process and more because he liked keeping her in his room where it was safe.

Eventually he gave in, and after they had breakfast together, he took her out. They went to the front entrance first so that he could check in on any happenings in the night. She was relieved when they went out to find the corpses gone. Only a few banners with the green star now waved in the icy wind.

His men gave her looks, side eyeing her when she passed. She wore new clothes now, black pants and black coat with a silver hood, matching Draka’s own. She wore the star over one arm and couldn’t be happier to not have to wear her old clothes that had been thrown away, including the helmet. In a way, she was no longer Oza and yet she still was. Whatever any of them might think, they knew if they fucked with her they would have to answer to Draka. So, they made the smart decision and didn’t.

“Noticed a few stragglers last night,” one kyrwori reported, glancing at her before turning to Draka. “Found one trying to climb up one of the rock walls. Took him out before he could make it all the way.”

“Good,” answered Draka.

“They are getting bolder,” the kyrwori confessed.

“Then they will have to be shown why that is the wrong choice.”

As she walked with him along one side of the perimeter over to the tower, she asked him why so many were starting to break into his territory.

He glanced at her, and she could tell it upset him to even think about it. “They know you’re here,” he said in a low voice.

She stiffened at his words. “They are trying to get to me?”

“Margrul is paying anyone willing to try.”

“He still wants me.”

She saw his eyes darken. “He won’t have a chance,” he said, quiet but threatening.

She felt her stomach turn and anger burn up her throat. She’d like to see Draka cut that animal down.

He spoke with those at the tower and got a similar report but that the north side had been empty of anything but a few skalegs. No signs of intruders.

When he was finished, she followed him back into the mountain. As they went past one room to the next, it dawned on her that she had yet to see Freys or Kreed—his second and third—anywhere. She would have asked, but in all honesty, she was happy for it. She didn’t want to hear any more of their pathetic jokes.

When Draka finished his rounds, they visited Serbril last. Appearing at his door, they found him with Timothy in his lab.

“You stupid human,” Serbril hissed at him. “Andrils do not have five stomachs, they have two.”

“No,” Timothy argued. “You’re thinking of peranodons. And they are vegetarians.”

The snake-man scoffed. “You’re crazy.”

“Have you dissected one? The answer is no, or you’d know I was right.”

Serbril turned to her and Draka at the doorway. “I cannot deal with this human man. Annoying pest.”

Timothy crossed his arms, but he only smiled. “You look a lot better,” he said to her.

“I feel a lot better,” she said, smiling back.

Draka got between them. “Serbril, check her.”

The nilgani hissed again. “She was checked the other day.”

Draka gave him a look and Serbril quieted. He took out an old looking scanner and beckoned her to take a seat.

“Energy levels are stable,” he said after scanning her thoroughly. “She’ll be fine.”

Ria looked to Timothy again. “Are you okay?” she asked.

He waved her concern away. “No problems.”

“Yet,” Draka added.

Ria gave him an exasperated look. “Come off him, Draka, he’s harmless.”

Draka smirked at Timothy though his eyes said something else.

They didn’t stay long after, Ria getting a few words from Timothy before Draka was dragging her away. She followed him down another passage, eyeing him curiously.

“I didn’t take you for the jealous type,” she said beside him.

It took him a moment to answer and when he did, he said, “You are an exception.” He glanced back at her. “I didn’t consider myself a possessive type. Until now.”

For some reason, that made her heart flutter. She didn’t think she was the kind to go for possessive guys. Guess Draka was her exception to that rule too. “You don’t have to worry about Timothy,” she assured. “It’s just that he’s my kind and that I feel sorry for him. But he seems nice—in a friendly sort of way.”

Draka grunted. “I will try to not feel threatened by him. I know it’s foolish. It’s only my instincts getting the better of me.”

They passed down a tunnelway toward the landing bay. When they got closer to the entrance, she heard shouting. She tensed, ready to encounter a fight. Draka glanced at her, then started off in the direction of the noise, looking more curious than concerned.

Outside, they found a small group of Draka’s pack fighting—or at least that’s what it looked like to Ria, only in the same vein of the kind of fights she’d seen Draka and the others play at the Antiom. Here they had made a spiral across the ground using chalk and were fighting within it. As she watched, she noticed whenever someone was pushed out of one ring of the spiral, the group moved in closer to the center, only staying within the next ring. They fought and others would be pushed out until only two in the center remained. It was some sort of last man standing game.

When the pack members saw Draka they hollered to him, some coming over to grip his shoulder as a sign of respect. He returned the gesture in kind.

“Too afraid to have me join?” He grinned at them. “Don’t want to lose too hard, eh?”

They laughed. “Yeah right, we’ll all just gang up on you,” one bulky ashora said.

“Come play, Draka,” said another.

He turned to her and gave her a sly smile. “Only if Oza is on my team.”

Her eyes widened. “You serious?”

“Of course. Serbril cleared you.” He tilted his head at her. “And you took on an uugari by yourself. You are clearly strong enough to fight.”

She peered around at them, and no one argued. From what she’d observed, they were more careful with their blows to each other and she had a feeling Draka would make sure they didn’t get in one hit. Still, they were all way bigger than her which meant more powerful.

She glanced between them. Ah, to hell with it. Let’s see how far she could make it. “Alright.” She smirked. “One game.”

They started at the outermost ring where they were able to move around with several feet between them. Draka kept her close beside him as the others waited, ready to pounce.

“Don’t worry,” he said.

Yeah, right.

Someone gave the signal and the game began. In the beginning, Draka was able to keep the others at bay, even kicking out a few who dared to try and charge him. He was fast, impressively fast for his size.

Keeping himself between her and the others, they were able to move two rings up before he was ganged up on by several, and she was left to defend herself. One came at her, but she slipped past him. She was agile enough to keep out of their hands, but she knew once they had her, she would have a difficult time getting out of their hold. She dodged another attack, then—thinking quickly—she dropped down and kicked the legs out of one burly kyrwori, having him fall outside the circle boundary. Before she felt triumph over that little trick, another kyrwori with gray fur picked her up, ready to throw her out of the ring. She shouted and flailed, twisting in his grip and catching him in the stomach with her knee which made him flinch. Before he could send her out, Draka pulled him back. He released her and she rolled out, just stopping on the edge. Draka picked her up after sending the kyrwori flying, and the circle tightened.

The chaos in the rings grew higher the more inward to the center they got, but she found herself laughing and shouting with them every time a player got knocked out. When there was only her, Draka, and one of the bulky ashora named Prys left, Ria was forced to keep herself low and watch. Draka and Prys collided, pushing against each other to make the other take a step back. Draka looked to her, and she nodded. He turned the ashora around toward her, and when Prys went to steady himself, she kicked his legs out, sending him falling out of the ring.

The group hollered once more. Ria dragged herself to her feet, unable to keep the smile off her face. Draka pulled her to him and lifted her off her feet. The group circled them, and as he set her down, they gripped Draka’s shoulder—and hers.

“A rematch. One more!” they shouted.

Draka agreed to another game, but she declined, preferring this time to watch. She settled herself against the wall near the passage doorway as they moved to play again. Light snow began to drift down, melting instantly on the ground, while trails of steam rose off the inmates’ backs.

“You’re moving up here quickly,” a voice said from beside the entrance.

She looked around and saw Freys at the doorway. He moved out of the shadows to join her by her side, watching the others fight.

“Guess it’s no surprise,” he continued. “Everyone is just relieved to see him not pining after you anymore.” She saw him smirk. “I think a thank you is in order.”

“How so?” she asked.

“Well, I’d like to think I had a hand in this, seeing as I was the one who let you in. No one would have guessed though the human was such an impressive little trickster.”

She eyed him uncertainly. “I think I was just lucky you and Draka trusted my word so easily.”

He grunted. “I kept an eye on you. Just clearly not close enough. But it doesn’t matter in the end, does it? Draka gets what he wants, and you get to live. Win-win.”

She crossed her arms, turning away from him to watch as Draka kicked a member out of the circle, and they closed it in. “Win-win,” she muttered.

“Assuming Draka doesn’t change his mind at least,” Freys added after a moment of silence.

She tensed, clenching her jaw. She didn’t want to give in to his bait, but her curiosity made her weak. “What do you mean?” she asked.

Freys shrugged. “Look, I’m not trying to play sides. Draka is my leader, and he does what he likes. But he’s also a little crazy to a certain point, and he has a tendency to hyperfixate. I don’t know much about the whole heat thing with sidonions, but I imagine, like with others, it has to wear off eventually.”

She turned back to him, trying to gauge how serious he was. “Are you trying to say that…if he stops being in heat, he won’t like me anymore?”

Freys scratched at the back of his ear. “It’s just a possibility. He’s all cracked up. A heat like that can do all sorts of crazy stuff to the brain. Chemicals going wild. You get that, right?”

Yes, in a way she got that.

He moved closer, talking lower. “Between you and me, he really loved hunting you. I think that got him off too. It drove him mad that he couldn’t find you. Imagine the disappointment when you just came tumbling out as Oza. You beat him at his own game. Still, he’s got you and he’ll keep you as long as the heat remains. But after, well, he may start wondering what he was thinking. That post sex clarity can hit anyone hard.”

Heat burned up her neck and face. “Why are you telling me this?”

“I’m not trying to create a problem,” Freys said. “I’m only trying to warn you. If he starts giving you weird looks, maybe acting distant, you might want to get out, find another pack to protect you.”

She shook her head. “I don’t believe you.”

“That’s fine. I’m telling you out of courtesy as a fellow pack-mate. Once Draka has his share of you, gets that animalistic side out of him, it could get ugly. And I won’t be able to help you. No one will.” He started to move away from her, then he stopped. “If you do run again though, just know, there’s no way you’ll hide from him a second time. And that hunt will be a whole different game.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

RIA

Snow drifted down the mountain, falling silently in large bluish flakes. Ria watched them floating across the window, sometimes catching in the soft glow of yellow from the city lights.

Beside her, Draka lay sleeping, one arm thrown across her, soft snores vibrating in her ear. His thigh brushed against hers, his cock resting against her backside. Only a few hours ago, he was filling her again, resting inside her after he’d taken her from behind—going as deep as before, her body adjusting quickly to his and giving in.

“See?” He had smiled, sliding his fangs across her neck and nipping at the sensitive flesh. “Perfect.”

He’d rolled them both to their side and had fallen asleep not long after.

She let him be for a while until eventually the ache became too much and she carefully slid from him, making sure not to wake him.

She went in and out of sleep for a while until eventually she found herself staring across at the window. She didn’t want to consider Freys’ words from the day before, but ever since their conversation, that seed of doubt had grown, her anxiety with it.

She’d reserved herself to not believe him. At least at first. That night after their talk, nothing changed between her and Draka. He didn’t appear any different. In fact, he was more responsive than before, touching her and exploring her. She focused on that for the remainder of the night, but in the morning, the memory of Freys’ words returned and a thought hit her.

What if he really wasn’t himself?

Chemistry was her life’s work. She might have found that passion in the inorganic, but she’d done plenty of studying on the organic as well. She knew what chemicals could do to the brain. She’d never studied their process in nonhuman lifeforms, but she imagined they could have similar effects if the body was looking for a specific reaction. In some it could be like a drug.

She was Draka’s drug to keep the painful heat at bay. But what would happen if he no longer needed her to satiate the heat? Would he still feel the same for her?

That question ate at her for the rest of the day. And it still ate at her now as she lay beside him watching the snow drifting down. Several times she’d caught him watching her, and in those few times, she’d seen that shadow pass over his gaze as if he were seeing her anew. She still couldn’t gauge what it meant. She only considered again Freys’ words:

If he starts giving you weird looks, maybe acting distant, you might want to get out.

Thing was, she didn’t want to leave. What she wanted was to know the Draka before he had laid eyes on her. Before his supposed heat kicked in. The real Draka.

She didn’t think he’d harm her even if his heat were to settle. He’d said before he felt guilty for his past transgressions against her kind. That he wanted to make up for it. And she believed that part of him. So, no, she was sure he wouldn’t hurt her, not physically at least.

But he could grow numb to her. After all, lust can only take a bond so far. There had to be more. She’d had his friendship as Oza, but that had changed too ever since she’d been forced out of that disguise.

You’re fretting, a little voice told her. Why are you so worried? That Draka will kick you out of the pack and you’ll have to fend for yourself again? That if he were somehow able to get off world he wouldn’t take you with him?

Yes. The answer was yes.

She’d be all alone again. Only this time her heart would be burned.

If she hadn’t already been hurt in the past, maybe she could squash her doubts. Trust never came easily and what human had ever been able to trust a sidonion?

She lay listening to Draka behind her, his claws twitching against her hip. There was no chance she’d fall back asleep again with her mind racing.

Carefully, she slipped away from him, rising from the bed. She glanced at him to see that he still slept as she quietly put on her clothes. When she laced up her boots, she made for the door, slowly pushing it back and nudging herself through the opening.

As she crept down the stairs, she felt no fear of being encountered by the others this time, even if Draka wasn’t by her side. She didn’t know where she walked at first until her feet took her in the direction of the lab. She hadn’t gone back in several days, not since the day she went to the Antiom. Draka hadn’t mentioned her getting back to making the fuel, and she was still meaning to ask him about it, but for now she just wanted something to take her mind off the growing anxiety.

The tunnelways were empty. It was still early, so everyone besides those on lookout were likely still asleep. When she got to the passage toward the lab, she headed straight down, noticing the lights were still on inside. She paused partway down to look over at the large metal door that must lead to whatever Draka was working on within. It was quiet inside.

She went into the lab and found everything as it was the last time she’d been there, the tanks filled and needing to be drained.

She got to work on them while starting a new batch, feeling sort of at ease as she focused on the task at hand. Once she got the capsules finished and sent to Freys, she’d tell him she’d need more empty ones…

Maybe not for generators but a ship. A ship she’d be on whether he changed his mind or not.

She mixed up some of the compounds and got them cooking, setting the other ingredients aside as she went back over to the tanks. She drained one, filling up one capsule, then started on another.

A ship. That had to be what was beyond the metal door, what they were working on.

A soft knock at the doorway startled her out of her thoughts. She looked over and saw Timothy standing there.

“Hey, hope I’m not intruding,” he said.

She shut off the drain and sealed the cap. “No, come in.”

She set the capsule aside as he stepped in, looking over the lab. “First time I’ve seen you in here. Is this what you were doing before?”

“Pretty much.” She smirked at him. “It’s how I got my free pass in here actually.”

He shook his head as he leaned on one of the tables. “Can’t believe you got away with it. Hiding in plain sight. You’re kind of my hero.”

She snorted as she moved back to the burner and stirred the mixture carefully. “You’re lucky too. If it hadn’t been for me, you’d probably be in a worse place right now.”

“I know,” he said. “I still can’t thank you enough for that.”

She glanced back at him and smiled. “No one is giving you trouble I hope?”

He shrugged, looking down at his hands which tapped softly on the steel surface. “Serbril tolerates me, I think, and the others…haven’t bothered me. I just get a few looks now and then. I mostly keep to myself.” He glanced back up at her through his mass of curly brown hair. “That’s why I noticed you here actually, I kind of just wander around when Serbril kicks me out.”

“They didn’t give you a room?”

“Oh, I got one. I just don’t sleep much.”

Ah, yea, she got that.

He looked over his shoulder at the doorway, then turned back to her. “It’s not that I don’t want to trust them,” he continued, “but I think you and I have to be a lot more careful.”

“I don’t disagree,” she said in a low voice. “Everyone here is dangerous.” She eyed him closely. “Including us.”

He gazed at her, stunned, then laughed softly. “Technically, you aren’t wrong.”

“So what got you here?”

He exhaled slowly, dropping his head. “I, um”—he cleared his throat—“I got involved in some bad business.”

“You and me both,” she said, then arched her brow. “What kind?”

He rolled his shoulder, and she could see it made him a little uncomfortable, but she didn’t take it back. Everyone was here for something. No shame in hiding it now.

“I got into the organ trade,” he said.

She paused her stirring to face him. “Human, alien, or both?”

He swallowed hard. “Both.”

She glared at him. “You didn’t mess with karakis, did you?”

The look he gave her told her enough.

“I know it’s bad,” he said. “I was in a lot of debt and my family was in trouble. Trust me, I know I deserve to be here. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t still suck.”

“No.” She went back to stirring, unable to look him in the eye. “I’m here because I made fuel with karaki secretions.”

He cursed softly. “Yeah, those...went for the highest price.”

She closed her eyes. “I didn’t know though. The person I was working with didn’t tell me, and I’d made the fuel thinking I was using something else. I hadn’t bothered to ask where he got his sources.”

He was silent for a moment, and when she glanced back at him, she caught him watching her.

“You sound like you regret it too.”

“I do.”

He straightened. “And now we’re both doing the dirty work for other criminals. At least this time you know what you’re getting into. You do what you have to for protection.”

She stiffened at his words. She hadn’t really thought about it like that. “It may be for criminals but it’s for a much better cause.”

He frowned at her, as if confused. “Is it?”

She frowned back at him.

“They did tell you what the fuel was needed for, right?” he said.

“I was told the generators,” she answered. She turned back to the burner, getting ready to siphon the compound. “But I think it’s for something else.”

“You’d definitely be right there.”

“I think it’s for a ship,” she said. “The fuel is a type made for travel, so it makes sense.”

Timothy fell silent. She looked over her shoulder and caught his eyes.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

He looked almost guilty about something. “It’s not a ship,” he said.

She stared at him, then turned to face him fully, forgetting her mixture. “And how do you know that?”

His eyes turned downward. “Serbril talks. A lot. Sometimes he says things I don’t think he is meant to. Especially to me.”

She grew still, watching him. He knew. He either knew what it was or at least had a hint.

“What are they making, Timothy?” she asked, almost scared to know the answer.

“I…don’t know a hundred percent. Serbril didn’t tell me straight up. He only said Draka’s project would stop everything once and for all. And then he’d be free. They all would. He said…if the world had to burn, so be it.”

Her heart slowly sank to her stomach.

Timothy looked to the door again and stepped around the table, closer to her. “Also, I caught something inside that hangar. I was in here just looking around one day when I heard people coming down that passage. I hid, afraid I wasn’t supposed to be here. I saw it open and I got a glimpse inside.”

She clenched her fist against the counter. “What did you see?”

“Not enough to know for sure. But something big. And it wasn’t a ship. There were parts scattered around. One looked like…” He shook his head. “Some kind of weapon.”

As he said it, the blood drained from her face.

No. No, he wouldn’t.

This time she shook her head. “That can’t be right,” she said softly. “You had to have seen wrong.”

He gave her that guilty look again. “I know what I saw. I thought maybe you knew something. He didn’t tell you?”

“I…” She swallowed hard. “I hadn’t asked. I thought it had to be…”

“A ship,” Timothy said when she couldn’t finish.

She nodded.

He couldn’t be making weapons again. It wasn’t possible. No, she had to see, she had to know. Had to know what she really was helping to create.

Was she really fueling his weapons?

Timothy put a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, you okay? Shit. I didn’t know you didn’t know. I’m sorry.”

“Didn’t know what?” came a low, threatening voice by the doorway, low like thunder.

Ria glanced beyond Timothy and saw Draka there, Freys, Kreed, and a few others behind him. The look in his eyes made her shiver, like looking into a storm.

He glanced down at Timothy’s hand on her shoulder. Like a shock, Timothy released her, dropping his hand.

Draka stalked into the room toward them. Timothy went to step away, but out of rebellious need, she grabbed his arm and kept him in place. That made Draka stop, his claws extending fully, then going back in, a flash of surprise—and was that pain?—in his eyes.

“I found you gone,” he said. “I worried.”

She glanced again at the others behind him. “I can see that.”

“Thought you ran off again,” Freys blurted. A few of the others snickered.

She looked back at Draka. “Did you think that?”

He didn’t say anything. His eyes only drifted down to her hand on Timothy’s arm.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” She dropped her hand. “Is this how you respond because I’m not at your side every waking hour? You think I’d disappear?”

He tapped his claw on the metal table. “I don’t know, Oza. You do like to hide.” He tilted his head. “From me.”

She could just make out the sad tone of his words in the edge of his voice. “Maybe I have reason to,” she said. “If you are going to watch my every move. And not let me hang out with another human male without you wanting to rip his throat out. If you look at me again like you wonder who I am.” She shook her head, stepping closer to him. “But it’s just the heat, right?” she said quietly. “Maybe it’s gone to your head.”

He glared down at her. “No. It’s not that.”

“You sure? Or are you afraid to lose the one thing that brings you relief? So you have to keep me close. Because if I do run again, you won’t ever be able to find me?”

His mouth twitched. “No, I don’t fear that.”

“No?”

“Because you have no chance of hiding from me again.”

His words struck her like a knife. So there was his arrogance he’d warned her of.

“She was just trying to help, I interrupted her work,” Timothy said, trying to fix the tension that cut through the air, but he was unsuccessful. “We were just talking—”

Draka’s icy glare and her hand stopped him mid sentence.

“You think so, but I hid pretty well from you once,” she argued.

“It was luck, my sweet Oza.”

She shook her head. “No. I think it wasn’t. And I think if I had to, I could again.”

He leaned down toward her, his eyes darkening. “Is that a challenge, pet?”

She clenched her jaw. Oh, yes, it fucking was.

“Yes,” she said. “It is.”

The others whooped and laughed. Draka stared at her, studying her closely, then smiled.

“You don’t have to do this,” Timothy said. “We can work this out.”

“No,” Ria said. “I want to.” Let him have this chance to hunt and catch her for real just like he wanted. “I want outside.”

“You stay within the boundaries of my territory,” he said. “First rule.”

“Fine.” She didn’t want to encounter anyone else anyway.

“You have till sundown. If I find you before last light, then you submit.”

Submit. Of course. “And if you don’t find me,” she said. “I want something in return.”

He tilted his head back. She could see the fire in his gaze. Oh, how he wanted this.

“I want inside that hangar.” She pointed toward the metal door. “I want to see what the hell you’re really creating in there. And you’ll tell me everything.”

Freys started to protest and Draka silenced him. “Deal.”

“I also want me and Timothy to be a part of this pack and under your protection no matter what. Even after your heat settles and with the possibility that you will lose interest in me, you can’t go back on your word. You will still keep to your promise to take me off world.” Saying all this out loud actually hurt. But it had to be said. She had to have his promise, even after everything was done, and if he really did have that post sex clarity hit him like Freys said, he wouldn’t abandon her.

She couldn’t read him this time. Couldn’t tell if that hurt him too. “I swear it,” he whispered. He turned for the door, then looked back at her. “Come, follow.”

They left the lab with him and followed through the tunnels to the entrance by the waterfall. She waited first in the room with the tanks full of sea creatures where Draka ordered one of his men to grab them coats and for her to have a pack. She took both, putting on the coat, then pack over it, expecting there was food and water inside.

When she felt secure, he led her and the group outside and down the path along the waterfall. Past the tower, there was a bridge which they crossed, taking a new path over to the north side of the mountain. Timothy had managed to grab a coat and join her, keeping close to her side. Draka stayed a step ahead of her, not once glancing back to see that his pack followed, knowing that they did without question.

When they got to a point where the waterfall pooled and turned into a small stream that eventually dropped down into the earth below, Draka stopped. From the edge was a rocky decline, not as steep as the other sides but with several towering boulders scattered across the landscape, leading the way down. Steam rose in small pockets among them.

“Keep to this side of the mountain between the towering rocks. That is your boundary,” he said to her, pointing to the boulders. “No prisoners have been seen this way, but if they should, I will cut them down as I hunt you. That means anyone in the pack too.” He glared back at them. “None will help.”

They agreed. She was certain none of them were intending to betray him to aid her.

He turned to her and motioned her forward. She approached as the others backed off. He got close, leaning forward, then reaching out, raising her chin with one finger so that she was made to look up at him. He searched her eyes. “You’re certain this is what you want?”

She stared back at him, stomach twisting and her pulse racing. She nodded. “Yes.”

His eyes searched her face one last time before he dropped his hand and brought it to the sheath at his waist, carrying his blade. He unhooked it from his belt and place it on hers, opposite the blade she already had.

She flinched back. “I don’t need this. I already have the one you gave me.”

“Take both, in case of skalegs. They shouldn’t pass this way, but it’s a precaution. You don’t have to use it against me, but I will not fault you if you do.” He brought his hand up and cupped the back of her head, bringing her closer. “You have permission to fight me in any way you choose.”

The words chilled her as did the breeze that swept across her body. “Fight you…”

“If you run, I will chase, and my instincts will kick in. I will take you, Oza, do you understand? And I cannot guarantee I will be able to stop. With this game and the heat that still drives me, I will be consumed by the fire to claim you. As I’ve wanted to since the beginning. And I can’t promise now I will be gentle. So, you must choose. Do you still want this?”

Her heart pounded, breath catching. Only one answer came.

“Yes. I still want this.”

He closed his eyes, and she could feel his hand trembling at her nape. “Tykara.”

“What?”

He opened his eyes. “Tykara Draka. That is my full name. Use it if you start to fear for your safety and I become too rough. Call to me, and I will try with all my power to calm the flames and separate from you. It’s all I can give you.”

That made her smirk. She took his hand at her nape and gently pulled away before stepping back. “I won’t need to use it. Because you aren’t going to find me.”

That made him smile back at her. “I love your spirit.”

She turned to start down the hillside when he caught her one last time, his lips to her ear. “I’ll give you as much of a head start as the first time you ran, so fly as fast as you can, my sweet Oza. Because you’re mine.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

RIA

One foot in front of the other.

She ran. Just like she had the day she met him, just like the day she’d first killed that uugari. She flew across the terrain, not daring to slow or stop, running past plums of steam and weaving around the giant rocks in hopes of disappearing from Draka’s sight. Her heart hammered in her chest, sweat running down her chest and back, her legs and lungs burning.

She couldn’t run forever. She needed to find a place to hide. She climbed down a set of rocks and ran ahead. From a distance, she could only see more towering rocks, several on their side or broken in half. There had to be other caves nearby, maybe around the mounds and sides of the boulders. But she wasn’t going to have time to look around at all of them. She had to hope she’d spot something promising as she went by.

Far above, coming down from the northwest, was a thick layer of clouds, a storm threatening snow. She even saw little flashes of lightning within. If she was able to hide once that hit, it would give her more cover.

She heard something crack behind her, like rocks falling. Her heart leapt and she made the mistake of looking back behind her.

No sign. Not yet. But he had to be on her trail already.

She turned back to focus in front of her, then yelped out in surprise, sliding to a halt as she came to a small dip in the hillside, almost throwing herself off. She came down on her ass and dug her feet in so she didn’t fall.

Shit.

She was forced to slow in order to carefully make her way down. Not good. She gripped one rock after the other, taking her time even though it pained her to do so, but she couldn’t afford to get hurt. That would only slow her down more.

At the bottom, she took off again, but at a much slower rate. It hurt to breathe, and she was already beginning to tire. Now was a time to start looking to hide.

No signs of caves still but a few of the towering rocks were broken in some places. As she jogged past, she weaved around one of them and placed her back to one side.

Catching her breath, she looked around.

Something. Anything. There had to be somewhere…

She scanned the area, then paused on a set of rocks across the other side. She saw one smaller rock leaning low against a thick, stumpy boulder which had a piece missing on one side, making a shallow alcove.

It would have to do.

Taking a few more deep breaths, she counted to three, then bolted from the shadow of the rock, rushing across a small clearing. Once she got to the leaning rock, she climbed her way up, almost slipping halfway. Slowly, she dug her foot in and pulled herself up, straining her muscles until she got to the end between the rock and the boulder. She lifted herself into the little alcove and pressed herself to the rock wall. She flung off her pack and shoved it as far back as she could before lying flat on the cold rock. She tried to slow her breath while she listened, waiting to hear any sign of him, fearing he might have seen her cut across the clearing.

Several minutes passed and nothing. By now he would have come and found her.

She closed her eyes, her pulse in her ears, her feet throbbing. No, he hadn’t seen her, not yet. She could take a moment here, but she couldn’t stay. She couldn’t stay in one place, or he’d find her, likely catching her scent on the wind.

But once the storm came, it would be harder for him to track her. And it was coming in fast.

She opened her eyes and watched the sky, watched as the clouds slipped over the sun, watched everything darken and grow quiet.

There she waited. Waited for the storm to give her cover. To give her a chance.

It was only a matter of time.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

DRAKA

He stalked silently through the icy mountainside.

Calm.

Focused.

Alert.

His senses were heightened, blood throbbing in his veins, driving him forward.

Only a matter of time and she was his. He could smell her on the wind, and knew she was close. It hadn’t taken him long to catch her scent, hadn’t taken him long to catch up.

He could smell her excitement and her fear. It was intoxicating. As was the heavy arousal, one he’d sensed many times from her now. She couldn’t hide it if she tried and always it triggered that primal hunger in him, twisting and spurring the heat within. His claws flexed and his spinefibers shivered just at the thrill, the need to consume her.

Those times they were together, he had to fight not to give in fully to his powerful urges, to be sweet like she so desired. But that time was done.

The storm ahead was coming in fast. He quickened his pace, moving swiftly across the rocky terrain with natural ease, as if he knew the land by heart.

Like the storm, he wouldn’t stop. Couldn’t even if he tried. The exhilaration of the hunt was the only force within, pulling him toward her. His beautiful prey.

The wind picked up and her pungent scent of fear mixed with her arousal hit him once again, almost making him halt. Oh, she craved this like he did, she must. He was so close, he could hear her pulse, a soft throbbing in his ears.

The beast in him reared its head and inhaled, fangs slipping from his upper lip, wanting to bite, his cock so hard he had to ignore the pain, the desperation to plunge into her soft, warm body. He wanted to devour, needed to. His heart pumped heavily in his chest, his blood soaring. His eyes searched from one side to the other, not missing a beat.

Movement came to his right. No, just a rock falling. Then another. A small furry creature bolted and slipped into a nearby tunnel.

He slowed, hearing her pulse quicken. Close. So close.

He moved along the side of one towering rock, slipping into its shadow. She was hiding now, he was sure of it. He could search for her, but he wanted to see her run. So, he waited instead in the darkness for her to move.

The clouds slipped across the sky, over the light. A flash of lightning lit up the sky, and the thunder boomed in the distance. The first few flakes of snow drifted down, melting onto the ground.

Just a little longer…

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

RIA

The storm came and the snow with it, heavy flakes drifting down. There was little wind, however, like she had hoped, the storm more of a simmering giant than a chaotic demon like she had expected. Still, the snow would give her some cover as would the dark.

She’d hardly been able to get her heart rate to slow. The adrenaline was coursing through her, keeping her alert but unable to keep calm. She needed to go. It was now or never.

As silently as she could, she lifted herself an inch and peered down, afraid she might see him waiting down on the ground below. She searched for any sign of movement but could see none with the snow.

Quietly she took her pack, searched around for a canteen, and took sips before capping it and shoving it back in. She placed the pack back over her shoulders, then with careful movements, she slid herself from the edge of the boulder down the leaning rock she’d climbed up the first time, letting herself slide down slowly till her feet touched the ground.

She had a plan. Lead him a ways down, trying to place her scent where she could then backtrack and hope that threw him off. The storm would also help to mask her. If she was lucky, she’d find a cave as she turned more west. She’d seen larger amounts of steam rising in that direction from her perch on the boulder and hoped there’d be some caverns nearby.

With light steps, she took off, her gaze settling lower to the ground to watch where she ran since it was hard to see too far ahead anyway with the snowfall.

The sky brightened in flashes as lightning sparked overhead, thunder shaking the earth at her feet. The sound made her fly faster, made her heart hammer. She wouldn’t be able to hear him coming now, nor likely see him.

She moved northwest, the towering rocks becoming more spread out as the ground became smoother. She slowed to peer across.

One landmark stood out against the snow, several mounds connecting each other making one giant hill. Close to the top, where several broken rocks leaned inward, she could make out several small cave entrances.

She went for the hill, digging her feet into the ground. She didn’t slow down again until she came to the edge of one mound and started to climb.

The hairs on the back of her neck suddenly stood on end, her breath catching in her lungs. He was behind her.

She dared to glance over her shoulder and see for sure. It was still hard to see through the snow and the dark. But when a flash of lightning cut across the sky, lighting up the place she’d just run across, she saw a figure stalking in her direction, coming straight for her.

Her heart leaped into her throat.

Oh, shit.

She turned and took off up the hill, scrambling toward the top. Get into the caves, came a panicked thought, Get in and he might not find you.

But in her heart, she knew, as she started to slow, her vision blurring, she knew she’d lost.

She made it up the first mound and saw a cave entrance. Whisps of steam crawled along the roof, drowned out by the drifting snow. A little ways up the next mound was another entrance, only this one was much smaller, one she knew Draka wouldn’t be able to fit through. She steered away from the larger cave for that one.

Just a little farther, just a little--

She pushed her legs forward, reaching out for the rock, when Draka swiftly yanked her back by her pack. Yelping, she slid her arms out, freeing the pack from her, and lunged for the hole once again.

She got halfway in when Draka reached inside and grabbed her by the collar of her coat. She wasn’t quick enough to get it off this time before he was dragging her out.

She kicked and flailed. She actually fought him, like a goddamn wild cat, not letting him have this victory easily. Still, he kept a firm grip on her, his arm locked around her waist as he lifted her off her feet and swung her around, bringing her back down to the wider cave entrance.

She writhed in his hold which only tightened. He dragged her inside the cave, striding into the dark but out of the snow. Here it was surprisingly warm from the steam venting along the roof. There had to be a stream somewhere deep within.

When he got far enough inside, Draka released her. As she fell to her knees, she went to crawl away and was promptly grabbed by the ankle and pulled right back.

He pinned her down, one hand gripping her shoulder. The other went down the small of her back. He ripped off her coat first. Then, with his claws, he tore a line down the back of her suit from collar to waistband, exposing her flesh. She shuddered as his claws trailed across her naked skin. He tugged the suit down more until her backside was completely exposed to him, feeling the air down between her thighs.

She tensed as a guttural growl escaped. A sound she’d never heard from him. Her hands curled into fists as he pulled her hips up, spreading her legs.

Just breathe, Ria. You can handle this. There was no sense in fighting now. Her blood raced, feeling his hot, heavy body at her back. She just hoped he didn’t split her open, making her lose her will too.

His claws came down and gripped her hips as he brought her flush to him. She felt his hand undoing his coat and the bottom of his suit to release himself, his shaft settling at first on her back. He rubbed his cock along her ass, then down along her center, already slick with his natural lubricant. He rubbed against her clit, and the movement made a moan tear from her throat. He didn’t stop until her body was wet, mingling with his. Her center ached, pressure already beginning to build little by little.

He pulled back, then pressed against her center and, without hesitation, slid deep, sliding down past his knot.

Her breath hitched at the movement, making goosebumps crawl along her skin. She was stretched thin, her hips bucking, her back arching. Unlike before, he didn’t start slow. He moved like he was already on the verge of release and desperation now clawed at him. He lowered himself, one hand now planted on the ground, the other sliding down her back, then gripping the nape of her neck. He kept her down, his thrusts jolting her forward, but his hand keeping her in place. She turned her head, her cheek against the cold earth as he took her hard and without restraint, gritting her teeth as the pressure and heat between them built to a peak, one that would have them both spilling over. His hand splayed across her head and face, claws in her hair, his thumb curling over her mouth. Some instinct made her bite down hard. He didn’t move his hand, groaning in response, as if he enjoyed the pain she inflicted. His thrusts quickened, becoming wild, and she writhed under him, biting down and not letting go.

Her body tightened, coiled, then broke. The orgasm hit her like a violent surge, and she rode it, a scream crawling up her throat and spilling past her teeth. She jerked under him as he lifted himself, and a low growl tore from him, turning into a deep roar. She felt his heavy throbbing, his heat filling her, his body shuddering against her.

Without warning, he pulled out of her, his hand releasing her. He lifted her, and before she could wonder what he was doing, he brought his mouth down, biting her between her neck and shoulder.

She gasped, feeling his teeth puncture her skin. Before she could utter a word or move to break his hold, he released her, leaving a row of teeth marks along her shoulder. Beads of blood rose from the marks, trickling down her shoulder.

He brought his mouth down again, and this time she flinched.

“Tykara…Draka,” she panted, a whispering plea in his ear.

He paused, his fangs still exposed. His heart hammered at her back as he hugged her close to him, his arm wrapped possessively around her.

“Don’t be afraid,” he breathed against her shoulder. “My heart.” Gently, he trailed his tongue over the skin, cleaning away the blood.

She shivered, watching him lick away the blood before kissing the marks. He lifted his head and their eyes locked. For a clear second, she saw his darken into that distant, hard stare.

“It’s gone isn’t it? The heat,” she said.

He dipped his head.

She tensed, readying herself to see him look at her and wonder what the hell he was thinking.

He stared at her, his eyes raking over her face and body. But they didn’t grow cold or indifferent. They glowed.

“It’s done.” He smiled, and it was like the sun breaking away the storm. His hand lifted, brushing his fingers over her jaw. “We can rest for however long you need, my mate, then we will go.”

Her mouth grew dry. “Mate?”

He hummed, nuzzling her neck. It dawned on her how calm he was now, how entirely…peaceful. Satisfied. Content. “It’s an old way, I admit, the mark. But when we are off world, I will find an elder to have a proper one made for us both.”

She gently pushed him away so that she could study his face. “You’re serious?”

He frowned at her, appearing confused. “I wouldn’t joke about this. Especially with you, Oza.”

She watched him, as if seeing him anew. For the first time since coming to Arkona, she felt light, like a weight was gone, like she could float away. “Ria,” she said softly. “My real name is Andria Reeves. But everyone calls me Ria.”

The slits of his pupils widened. “Ria,” he breathed. He cupped her face in his hands, brushing his mouth against hers, and she felt him smile. “My beautiful mate.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

DRAKA

He couldn’t stop looking at her.

She glowed. Her smile, like the sun, warmed him to his core. The heat was gone, yes, but she made him burn just the same.

They walked back to the mountain, hand in hand (something humans did with their mates, she said) as the sun began to set, the storm now past them. She wore his coat which covered her well enough, her suit wrapped around her waist was still tattered, but the coat went past her knees, keeping her unexposed.

As they had waited in the cave for the storm’s passing and he’d held her in his arms, he let her know every promise he made would be fulfilled.

“When we go back,” he said. “And we’ve cleaned and dressed. I will show you everything.”

She rested her head against his chest, looking up at him. “Even though I lost? You’ll still tell me?”

“I wouldn’t hide anything from you, especially now.”

“I was so sure it was a ship. But it’s not, is it?” She frowned up at him. “Please, Draka, tell me it isn’t really a weapon.” He saw the hurt in her eyes, an almost look of betrayal.

“I can’t lie to you,” he said. “In a way, it is. But it will be what frees us all.”

Her mouth twisted. “You’re going to use it on the guards and the entry station?”

“Not just that, but yes. Then when everything is done and we are on one of their ships, I’ll be sure that it is destroyed. It only has its purpose here and nowhere else. After…I don’t plan on making another.”

“What is it exactly?”

He thought about it, then said, “You saw the mural in the Antiom, remember?”

“Yes,” she said.

“The pictures of beasts. Of…giants. Let’s just say it’s something like that.”

“Cryptic, but okay.”

He chuckled. “You’ll see. I promise.”

“And you’ll take all of us off here?”

“If all goes to plan, there will be a ship for you, me, and for those of the pack. The others will have to fight with what is left. Hopefully they will come to a deal and help one another out.”

“When?” she asked. “How long? If you need more fuel…”

“We shall see,” he said. “But not long. A couple of adjustments then some tests and we should be ready.”

She shook her head, as if it still seemed so impossible to her. “How did you keep it hidden for so long? The guards, the drones…one of the other inmates. None got wind of it at all?”

“We made it seem like we were doing what every other pack was doing, scrapping for parts to trade. The drones only look for those trying to get out of work, and the guards…they just make sure people stay in line while working. This place is a prison, but they’ve grown too at ease caring about the supply of water going off world and less about prisoners starting riots or takeovers. They’ve had their system for so long they think it’s foolproof.” He shrugged. “Also, it helps to tip the guards to keep away from the base. They get a fresh supply of viluum or brim or whatever else they want, and they stay away.”

“And the pack? No one has betrayed your secret?”

“Only a few of the members really know,” he answered honestly. “Ones I could either truly trust or know they would die if they got abducted before giving the secret away.”

“Freys and Kreed,” she said. “They were working on it too, weren’t they?”

“Yes, they were.”

She let out a slow breath. “You would have told me, wouldn’t you? If I had asked?”

“In time, yes, I would have.”

“I was so sure I knew until Timothy told me what he saw.”

His arm around her tightened. “What did he see?”

“Just the room and a few parts. He had his theories. That’s when I got suspicious.” She glanced up at him again, her mouth set in a hard line. “He was only curious. He saw by accident. But I’ll talk to him to make sure he knows not to say anything.” She gripped his forearm gently. “Will you let him stay?”

He blew out a breath. “I’ll let him. But he will be monitored more closely. And he won’t be allowed out of the base until the giant is let loose.”

“You’re really going to burn this place to free us?” she whispered, still in disbelief.

“Not everything, just a path to the entry point.”

She closed her eyes. “Good. And for a minute I worried you might burn the whole world down.”

“Only one reason I’d do that.” He pressed his mouth to her forehead. “And that’s if someone takes you from me.”

And he meant it too, even now as he watched her while they walked back to the base. The sky was beginning to darken again now that the sun was setting. But she was still glowing. His mate. For many days, once he had her, he’d let that sink in, that she was his. Even as Oza, he’d felt that pull.

Ria and Oza, she was his companion, and as they walked silently hand in hand, he’d never felt so happy in his life.

When they saw the edge of the waterfall, it started to snow again but nothing compared to the storm. It was then he noticed a group of his pack lingering by the stream, around a cluster of rocks. He grew tense, bringing Ria close to him as they approached. He hadn’t told any of them to stay out waiting for him.

They turned as they noticed him, their faces hard-set, eyes alert. Freys was there, as was Targus, Zira, the ashora who had warned him of Margrul’s attack at the tower, and his siblings Meerz, Ashar, and Kenra. Among them he also saw Rods and Bara, kyrwori guards. Some of his best fighters.

Something was amiss.

They’d been in a tight circle but parted as he and his mate closed the distance. Between them he saw a silderhyde and a small ashora, both bruised and bleeding.

“Who are they?” Draka asked.

“Intruders. Caught them while you were gone,” explained Freys.

“Trying to get into the base?”

“Not sure,” Freys said. “They claim they were following you when we found them wandering.” He turned his eyes to Ria.

Draka squeezed Ria’s hand gently as fiery rage overtook him. He turned a frigid glare toward the pair. “Too bad I didn’t spot them first.”

They cowered, as they should. If he hadn’t been so focused on his target, he would have cut them down as soon as he saw them.

“We kept them alive because they claim there are others,” said Zira. “They say they came with a group who are waiting out not far from here, somewhere in the territory. Targus was the one who spotted them first.”

He let go of Ria’s hand to crouch down beside the pair, tilting his head at them. “Who sent you into my borders?”

The silderhyde spoke first. “Our pack leader, Leer.”

“And why would he have you come here?” he said softly.

The silderhyde glanced at his partner, the small bluish ashora. “He made a deal with Margrul.”

Draka smirked. “Of course he did. You thought you could ambush us while outside the base. Now, because of his arrogance, I get to hunt again instead.” He rose and turned back to his mate. He brushed a lock of her hair from her face, then started to unhook his blade from her belt.

She looked up at him wide-eyed. “You’re going after them?”

“It would be one thing if they threatened the pack or just me. But they threaten you. They’ll find out why none should make a deal with Margrul or think to steal you from me.” He paused, seeing her concern. “They should pay.”

She lowered her head to glance at his hands on her waist, then she returned her gaze to him, looking back up through her lashes. “Then find them and make sure they don’t come back.”

He locked eyes with hers, seeing the fierce fire growing there. Oh, how he loved that look.

He fixed her with a wicked grin as he slipped the blade from its sheath and gripped it tight. “I won’t be long.” He brought his mouth down on hers, kissing her firmly, hungrily, knowing when he was through with coating the land in blood he would come back to her and wrap himself in her warmth.

He broke from her and turned back to Freys. “Take her back up. Secure the base. I’ll return before the moons are at their peak.”

Freys didn’t argue though he looked like he wanted to, wishing to join in the hunt. But Draka needed someone he could trust to protect Ria and their haven while he was gone. Freys understood this and so he beckoned Ria to follow.

As Ria moved to step away from him, Draka wrapped an arm across her, pressing his mouth to her ear. “I will see you soon.”

She squeezed his arm and he let her go.

“I’ll go with them and help,” Targus said, stepping over to Freys.

Draka didn’t protest. The others would be more than enough for the hunt. He gestured for the group to bring the silderhyde and the small ashora with them, then they started to move out.

Let this be done quickly and for good.

CHAPTER TWENTY

RIA

She watched him and his pack leave, racing back down the mountainside, past the rocks and across the icy ground, two of the members making sure the silderhyde and his ashora companion stayed with them.

She felt a tug on her sleeve. Freys came around beside her. “We should get back inside before dark.”

The light of the sun was slipping, and it was already growing colder. She wished Draka had gotten another coat before he’d gone, but he’d been so eager to hunt for the intruders, he’d taken off before anyone could mention it.

“He’s going to be fine,” Freys said, trying to assure her. “He’s gone out like this before. Come on.” He tugged at her sleeve again, trying to get her to follow.

She obeyed, only because it was no use standing there with the wind biting at her face. She backed away, turning for the base, allowing Freys to lead while Targus stayed close behind.

They took the path beside the stream, unhurried. She could see the base above and the tower close up ahead.

Her haven. For now.

She considered Draka’s words to her again inside the cave as they walked in silence. He was going to get them out, she really believed it. She was anxious to see the mechanism—the weapon—he was going to use to make that happen. She wasn’t ecstatic still that he’d made another weapon, but he swore it was to free them. And for that she could forgive him. This place was wrong. Even if most of the prisoners deserved to be locked up, they didn’t deserve to be enslaved. Hopefully something better would come of this world.

As they crossed the bridge, her thoughts turned to what would happen after. She—and Draka—would be felons on the run. He’d told her before that he had a few places in mind that he’d go, and there had to be somewhere they could be safe. If they did find such a place, maybe they really could make a difference somewhere else. Maybe she could return to the fuel project she’d been working so hard on, and this time have exactly what she needed to create it, no nasty workarounds, no karaki secretions, no one else getting hurt in the process. Finish it the right way.

She felt lifted again, her steps quickening as they came upon the tower. She was ready to get out, ready to take on anything the galaxy threw at her and Draka.

A few of the tower watchmen were sighted, walking their way, an uugari with yellow scales leading them. She lifted a hand to greet them when Freys halted, putting out an arm to stop her.

“Who put you out here, Ikar?” he said to the uugari. “You’re supposed to be on water duty.”

“Change of plans,” Ikar said. His gaze moved beyond Freys to her.

In an instant, Freys let out a snarl and whirled around toward her. Before she could bring her hand to the hilt of her blade, another of similar making was at her throat, sharp end pressing just below her chin.

“Back away, Freys,” Targus hissed.

Freys growled in response, teeth bared.

Ria didn’t move, didn’t even breathe as Targus shifted behind her, careful to not move his blade off her. His warm breath brushed at her ear. “Try anything and she’ll bleed out before you can howl for help.”

Ikar and three of the other watchers closed in, a lanky ashora with a scarred mouth and two kyrwori, one with black fur, the other silver. Freys snapped at them but they hardly flinched. They had the advantage and knew it.

“We're gonna go,” Targus said. “Don’t follow.” He moved, forcing Ria to move with him. She caught Freys’ eyes and could see him grow still, knowing he was in deep shit when Draka returned.

Carefully they moved off from the tower. When they made the mistake of turning their backs, Freys struck.

He went for Ikar first, lunging at him, a blade she hadn’t seen him take out already in his hand. The lanky ashora joined in, both blocking Freys’ way to her.

“Let’s go,” Targus commanded. He released his knife from her and shoved her down. She went for her blade, freeing it from the hilt, but the two kyrwori were on her in an instant, one kicking the blade out of her hand and the other hitting her across her face so hard she saw stars, a black cloud casting over her sight. She went limp, her knees buckling. Before she face-planted on the ground, one of the kyrwori caught her, then lifted her up on his shoulders.

“Move!” she heard Targus yell. The kyrwori took off down the mountainside, snow and ice splashing into her face. In the distance, she heard a piercing howl that was quickly silenced.

Halfway down, when her head had cleared and they got sick of her struggling, they tied her hands and feet together, wrapping cloth around her mouth to stifle her screams. It was already hard to move in Draka’s large coat, but she fought all the same. Only when she started to tire and found it pointless when nothing she did slowed them down did she force herself to remain still, trying to keep what little energy she might have left. Fear gripped her knowing where they must be taking her. Rage filled her too for the same reason.

After everything, this was how she was going to go out?

No, Draka had to come for her—he would come for her.

And he’ll be too late, said a little voice.

Her insides twisted, heart sinking to her stomach. Margrul might play with her for a little while, or he might slit her throat as soon as they dropped her at his feet. It didn’t matter in the end.

Night fell as they moved out of Draka’s territory and into terrain that sat between the mines and the edge of the city. From the kyrwori’s shoulder, she could see the lights across to the west. They moved up another hillside and along a set of cliffs. Targus and the kyrwori never stopped. Not until they came upon a building some ways from the city. One that even in the night she recognized.

The same building where she had first killed the uugari, Margrul’s second in command.

They moved inside and set her down against a set of crates, the same ones she’d discovered when she first entered the place many weeks ago. The place was too dark to see if anything else had changed.

They waited there for what felt like hours, Targus watching her while the other two guarded the front. She could only watch him back, the cloth keeping her silent. But her eyes told him everything she felt.

He glared back at her, his mouth widening. “Give me that look all you want,” he said. “It changes nothing. I’ll be gone before Draka can even think to look for me. And you’ll be dead.” He laid a heavy hand on her head as if to pet her but instead jerked her head forward. “Weak. How could one of you have killed my kith? Your luck ends now, human scum.”

He moved away, leaving her alone in the dark where all she could hear was the sound of water trickling from above.

Eventually, Ikar and the scarred ashora caught up, giving no indication of whether Freys survived their fight. But they looked like they got out fairly unscathed. They moved around her, talking low to one another, then the kyrwori with silver fur picked her up like last time and they headed toward the door.

The building must have been the beginning of Margrul’s territory as she caught flags flapping in the wind with a familiar symbol on tattered cloth. They must have made the building theirs recently because she hadn’t seen them there when she’d explored the first time.

They trudged up a path on a rise, then broke into a run at the top. She didn’t see much, only hearing the crunch of their footsteps. She lifted her head and caught a glance of the moons rising to the east. Draka would be back to the base by now.

Several strides on and she noticed firelight not far ahead. The fire grew brighter until a wall came into view, and she heard voices as they passed the wall into a courtyard. Inmates—Margrul’s pack—lingered within. They passed through a wide doorway and short anti-chamber into a room washed by an orange glow and the heat of a fire. They moved across the room, past the bonfire, and set her down.

The room had a high ceiling with an opening at the top, and there were drawings all over the walls, reminding her of the Antiom, what once might have been paintings but were now scribbled over by ugly symbols and letters. There were doors leading to others passages with lights along the ground similar to the tunnelways in the mountain.

There was movement at the corner of her eye, a hulking shadow at the back of the room. Out from the darkness, Margrul appeared, his face as grotesque as the last time she saw him, made more savage by the firelight.

He strode calmly toward her, forcing her to crane her neck up at him.

“Draka, what an arrogant fool,” Margrul said, in a low raspy voice. He stopped in front of her, white eyes raking her over. “Did he tell you that mountain once belonged to me? I consider this fair payment, his little pet. You stole something from me too.” He nudged her with his boot. “A good friend, someone who was by my side since the beginning. You took him from me.” He crouched down so that her sight was almost in line with his. “I should toss you into the fire and watch you burn. But I want Draka to see your corpse. I’ll hang it from the Antiom for all to see.” He sprayed her with spit as he spoke, making her wince, his breath making her gag.

“That will come at dawn. For now”—he rose and backed away from her—“you can suffer in a way Draka made another of my own suffer.”

The two kyrwori picked her up and dragged over to the back. Another inmate opened a door in the ground. She screamed as they tossed her in. She fell down a set of stairs, landing on her side, sharp pain stabbing into her ribs, before rolling a little ways in. She lay curled up in a fetal position, pain burning up her shoulder and side. She didn’t even try to move as the door slammed shut above her, washing her in cold darkness.

She didn’t know how long she lay there, curled into herself, pain washing over her every time she inhaled. She prayed something wasn’t broken. She was almost too scared to move to find out.

But she couldn’t stay in that position forever. She heard things scurrying in the dark, moving closer. She was of the belief that if there was one species that could be found on every ship and every world, it was a rat or something to its equivalent. And if there were hoards of them, she’d be picked clean by morning.

The cold air seeped through her coat into her bones, making her shiver. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to shift onto her knees. She groaned, planting her hands flat on the frigid ground, her breath coming in short puffs. She lifted her head and tried to look around. She could hear the scurrying and scratching of some creature around and even above her.

She stared in the dark, trying to see what it was, feeling around with her hands. The earth under her was uneven, like most cave floors. She knelt there waiting for movement, but she couldn’t even see her hand in front of her face. She reached out in hopes of feeling something, a wall, a rock, anything.

Something whipped by her head, then a second later slashed across her outreached hand. She shrieked as she jerked her hand away, her skin on fire. She gripped her hand in her other and felt the blood trickling down her wrist from the spot where her flesh had been ripped away by unseen talons. Quickly, she lifted the hood of the coat over her head to protect her face and slid back in hopes that she’d hit a corner of the room and could protect herself. Instead, she knocked into something. No, several somethings, hearing them clatter across the floor. Her good hand touched whatever she’d run into, and she knew right away it wasn’t just pieces of rock. Nor was it metal. At first, she thought it was sticks, curving and bending in weird ways. Then her hand settled on something more rounded, her thumb brushing across a hollow space, like…like a socket…

Her stomach twisted and she jerked her hand back yet again as she cried out in disgust.

Bones. There were bones around her.

Panicking, she tried to get away, but they were everywhere, scattered all across the unseen ground. Then they were underneath her as she tried to scramble away, discovering a pile.

Everywhere, they were everywhere.

A scream tore up her throat, and the skittering heightened around her. Several winged creatures flew past, and she covered herself with her arms. She felt them against her back, tearing at the coat, creatures with long talons and what she imagined were long, spindly legs. They hardly made a noise save for their talons scraping against the walls and their wings flapping nearby.

Terror gripped her, and she curled into herself even more, every so often something hitting her, then landing on her. She’d shake them off only for more to come back. The creatures were beginning to circle her.

She dared search the ground with her hand until she felt the side of a bone, a thick thigh from what she could make out. She gripped it firmly, then swung it behind her, hitting one of the creatures. It hissed but hardly made any other sound. She swung again and they flew off her, back above.

She crawled around the piles of bones, swinging out whenever she heard the flapping wings nearby. She moved slowly across the cave floor until finally she found one wall, a rock piece jutting out above her head. She slid underneath it and pressed her back in, hoping the rock was fixed firmly into the cave wall and didn’t crush her.

She kicked away pieces of bone, then curled into herself once more, cradling her bad hand against her while gripping the thigh bone tight, hoping the little flying monsters didn’t come down to swarm her.

She was stuck where she was. Stuck and alone. And if the creatures didn’t tear her apart, she had death to look forward to by morning.

Till dawn, he’d said. And that was hours away.

She tried to take deep breaths. She could already feel her energy draining, like all she wanted to do was take a nap.

Don’t fall asleep, she ordered silently. Don’t give in. Draka will come…Draka will come.

He has to.

Just hold on.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

RIA

There was the sound of a latch lifting.

For a moment, she thought it a hallucination, or maybe just a dream, that she had lost the will after so long and had finally fallen asleep after what felt like years of struggling to stay awake.

But then the door opened, letting light stream inside. The creatures flew from the light, dissolving like shadows.

She blinked several times and knew she wasn’t dreaming or hallucinating. A pair of men—two uugari—came rushing down the narrow stairs. They kicked away the bones and took out their blades. Their orange eyes shone in the dark as they searched around.

“Where is she?” one hissed.

“Come on, find her quickly!” It was Margrul, calling from above.

The uugari moved, crushing bones under their feet as they advanced farther into the cavern, checking every corner. She didn’t move as she watched them. She hadn’t moved since she crawled into the little space below the rock. She wondered if she could even move at all, her body so stiff, as if she’d been stuck that way for more than just several hours. The blood on her hand had dried, but there were new cuts on her cheek and jaw, and her coat was shredded all across the arm and back from those damn creatures that hadn’t let up. She still gripped the bone in her good hand, now stained with black blood from one of the little monsters she’d managed to kill.

She’d been so fucking tired, her eyes glazing over several times, her body straining, her pulse in her ears, the pain in her lungs a dull ache. But she was alive. And now, as she watched the uugari, she grew suddenly alert, her last reserve of energy pouring through her.

One of the men moved along the wall nearest to her. “We need more light,” he grumbled. “I can’t see enough.”

He stopped to inspect a pile of bones in front of her. She gripped the thigh bone tighter, waiting.

“Nothing over here,” his packmate called from the other side of the cavern.

Something must have caught his eye as he turned to face her. A growl slipped from him as his dim gaze cast down on her. “There you are—”

She swung out, whacking him across his ankles with the bone. The bone split down the middle, and the uugari snarled as he stumbled back, tripping over the pile he’d been inspecting and falling on his back with a thud.

Ria snapped the rest of the bone in half, now sporting a sharp end. Adrenaline rushed into her veins, and she surged out from the rock, ignoring every pain and strained muscle as she pulled herself up onto her feet and stumbled forward.

The uugari started to rise, and she rushed for him, kicking him in the face, stomping it back down as she jumped over him. She stumbled again, then pushed her legs up to make for the stairs.

As she started up them, the other uugari saw her and lunged for her. She got halfway up when he caught her ankle. She swiped at his face with the bone and slashed him across one eye with the sharp end, making him howl and let her go.

Before she could turn to climb up the steps, the ground shook underneath her, making her flinch. Dust fell from the cave floor and dozens of wings flapped around in the darkness. The uugari fell back while the other on the ground yelped as the creatures overtook him.

Steadying herself, Ria crept up the stairs, making sure not to fall back with them.

“To the front! Get outside now!” she heard Margrul roaring above her. As she snuck her way up the staircase, she could see him shouting at his pack, ordering them outside to fight. Not to run and hide.

When his back was turned, she clenched the bone tight in her fist. He partially blocked her way out. She wouldn’t be able to sneak past him without him seeing her and she couldn’t overpower him once he caught her.

But he was distracted now…and he didn’t see her coming up on him from the dark. Only one chance.

She sprinted up the rest of the way, pushing herself with all the strength she had left. As he turned on her, she leapt toward him, plunging the bone into his neck. His mouth opened as if to roar or scream in her face, but it was silent. He swung an arm at her and knocked her back, knocking the air from her lungs. She slid across the ground, hugging her chest.

He started to move on her as she crawled back away from him, gasping for air.

“You…you.” His voice cracked like thunder, the need to kill dead set in his eyes. He lunged for her, and the ground shook again, a powerful boom making the very building quake.

Margrul collapsed to his knees, and she shuffled away, backing into a wall. She stared up at the ceiling, wondering if it was going to come down on them. She could hear shouts everywhere. Men were bolting away and out of sight.

What the hell was happening?

Another boom and debris startled to fall, crashing on the ground.

Using the wall at her back, she lifted herself up. She pressed a hand to her ribs, then lurched forward. Margrul swung out for her once more, but this time he missed. She side-stepped away from him and bolted like the others for the front.

No one tried to stop her. Everyone was too panicked by the chaos going on outside. She raced for the front door and shot out into the courtyard. The night was fading, and she could see the sky brightening along the horizon.

It was a soft yellow light that penetrated the darkness to the east. But as she looked over, across the distance that led down to the city, she saw orange. She halted as smoke, not steam, rose in a plume over her.

She turned her gaze back across the courtyard and inhaled sharply, like she was about to scream.

The shadow of a giant lumbered across the path toward where she stood, its glowing green eyes fixed on one side of the courtyard where a group of Margrul’s men stood their ground by the wall. The giant lifted one fist and, from the top of the arm, shot out a set of narrow missiles. They hit the side of the wall, exploding one after the other in plumes of fire, taking out the wall and the men with it.

She lifted her arm to cover her face from the heat of the blast. In the sudden bright light, she caught the giant’s true form, a huge black and silver mech, assembled with the parts Draka had stolen and scavenged. Drones, machine parts from the factories and mines. It towered over everyone at least two and a half stories tall, with a narrow, serpent-like head and body that reminded her almost like the skalegs, raptor-like. She could even see along its spine the fuel capsules being used to power it.

She would have stopped to marvel at how incredible it was that he’d made such a thing, and how long it must have taken, but she was in the middle of a firefight and the adrenaline in her blood was starting to wane, her energy fizzling out.

She moved steadily across the courtyard toward the mech in hopes he would see her, one arm hugging her ribcage, the other waving toward him.

“Draka, I’m here!”

The mech lurched around, green eyes scanning across the yard. It paused when it saw her. It dropped its arm and moved to meet her. As the distance was closed between them, the mech dropped to its knees, then bent forward into a cat-like pose until the head rested on the ground. The top of the head opened, and Draka jumped out. Before she could utter a word, his arms were around her, holding her tight.

“I feared you were dead,” he said in a shaky voice. “I was ready to burn everything if you were.”

“I know,” she sighed, her arms wrapped around his waist, head buried in his chest.

She could feel his muscles tense as he peered toward the building, his claws digging into her tattered coat. “Margrul, where is he?”

“Inside. I stabbed him with a bone. I’m not sure if he’s dead or not.”

He pulled her away so that he could look at her, his eyes wide with shock. “You...fought him?”

She shrugged. “More like got a lucky jab in. He had it coming, didn’t he?”

His awed expression turned to giddy excitement, a wide grin splitting across his face. “Yes. Yes, he did.” He pulled her in and hugged her again, lifting her off her feet, his chest shaking with laughter. “Gods, I love you. Ria, my fierce queen.”

She winced as she smiled. “I’m determined to get the hell out of here. And it has to be with you.”

“As you command.” He set her on her feet and saw her grit her teeth as she pressed a hand to her ribs. His smile dropped as his hand covered hers. He examined her body and face. “What did they do?” he said in a guttural voice.

“Might have broken a rib. They threw me down a hole.”

The look in his eyes was murderous and determined. Carefully he lifted her and returned to the mech, using one arm to climb back inside while holding her. He set her on his lap as he reclined back in the single seat. She shifted around and sank into him, her back to his chest, allowing him to bring his arms around her to take hold of the steering and controls.

“Hold on, my sweet Ria,” he said. She could feel his smile against her ear. “This is going to be fun.”

The top of the head came down, enclosing them inside. As Draka worked the controls, the mech began to move. It lifted up onto its feet, making Ria’s stomach drop as it rose, then started back across the yard.

As he came upon the building, he raised one giant metal arm and aimed at the door. “If he isn’t dead, he will be now,” he growled. He pulled a trigger and another set of missiles speared through the entrance, and the walls crumbled as the building went up in flames.

They watched Margrul’s place burn down before Draka turned the mech around and moved back down toward the city. At the edge of one hillside, she saw down into the city center, saw the factories up in flames, half the buildings decimated. Inmates were running out, crowds of them waiting at the edge, watching the fires.

“Shit,” she cursed softly. “You weren’t lying. You took out the factories. But what about all the people?”

“I sent teams down to warn them I was coming and to evacuate,” he assured. “Not so much the guards though.”

“And the drones?” She gazed over the sky, looking for them.

“Gone,” Draka said. “Now, let’s go get us a ship.” He steered the mech west, heading toward the port. Groups of inmates started to follow.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

RIA

Never in her thirty-two years had she ever seen such a psychotic way off world, let alone a prison. Being pressed up against the mad man who ran the show, the man she’d feared, now the man she called hers—it was like she’d fallen into some whacked out alternate universe. But she was happy she did.

Draka had busted down the door leading inside, the same entrance she’d step away from and into the cold world of Arkona, where the ashora guards had walked out with her. Those same guards shot their guns at them, denting the sides of the mech, but it wasn’t enough to stop Draka. He fired back in turn, forcing them down or to scatter. Inmates flooded inside. She saw others of the pack, including Freys and Kreed, both sporting guns of their own, clearly of Draka’s making, and rushed inside to join the chaos.

The mech was too big to fit through the door. So, Draka made one instead. He crushed and broke his way to the bay where the ships were docked, about a half a dozen. Some of the prison workers were already trying to take off, but the prisoners who broke inside stopped them before they could.

“Energy is at ten percent,” Draka said, tapping on the panel. “Looks like that’s the last of the fuel backup. Too bad, would have liked to play with my toy a little longer.”

“Too bad I got so distracted by you and your antics I didn’t get a chance to make more,” Ria teased.

Draka hummed. “It was worth it.”

Carefully he brought the mech down till its head rested once more on the ground. As the top opened, he scooped her up and climbed out. Freys was there as he hopped down. His bad eye was swollen, and he had a wrap around one ear, what she gathered were wounds from the fight with Ikar.

“We’re taking the big one, over there.” Freys pointed to a ship across the way. “It should be enough to fit the pack. Kreed is already taking over.”

“Good,” Draka said as he carried her toward the ship, even though she didn’t really need to be carried.

Freys glanced at Ria as he followed, and she smiled at him. “You look good, Freys,” she said, half-jokingly. “I thought I’d never see you again.”

“I’m glad you survived,” Freys confessed. “I was certain I was out once you got taken. If you were dead, Draka was going to fling me off the waterfall.”

She shot her gaze up at Draka in bewildered disbelief. “Draka.”

He cast a glance down at her, his mouth curling to one side. “It would have been too hard to lose you and my second in one day, but I was sorely tempted. Thankfully, he and Kreed convinced me to get the giant ready and go after you in hopes you might make it through the night.”

“Good thing, huh?” Freys said.

Ria smirked at him. “Good thing.”

As they came to the ship, they climbed aboard, and Draka began to yell orders to his pack as he moved within the passageways. “Where’s Serbril?” he asked a silderhyde. The alien pointed down to a room at the end. Draka didn’t put her down until he came to the room and slipped inside as the door opened.

Serbril was inside the small space, packing away the few things he could carry within a stack of bins, arguing with Timothy who was there helping him.

When Timothy looked around and saw her, he nearly dropped the jar of whatever medical supply he had in his hands, his face lighting up. “Ria, you’re okay.”

Draka moved to a seat by a window and set her down. “Serbril, Ria is injured. See to her,” he said.

The snake-man hissed in irritation. “Of course she is.”

Draka ignored him as he knelt down before her. “I need to go see to the ship. I’d have you by me but if you have internal injuries…”

She brushed her knuckles across his face. “Go. But come back as soon as you can. Promise?”

His gaze softened as he pressed her hand to his mouth. “Promise.”

Serbril didn’t hide his frustrations after Draka left. He could hardly look Ria in the eye as he went through his inventory. Only when Timothy convinced the nilgani to let him see to her did Serbril grow quiet, watching them both before returning to his packing. He allowed Timothy to use some of the tools set out for an emergency. Timothy took a seat next to her by the window.

“No internal bleeding,” Timothy said as he scanned her. “Just a cracked rib. Some bad cuts and bruises, but you’ll live.” He set the scanner down and went to grab gauze from one of the bins. “You’re kind of a badass.”

Ria snorted. “I just really didn’t want to die. You’d be amazed at the crazy things you can do when your life's on the line. Trust me, I’ve learned more than I care to.”

He smiled. “Yeah, right. I’m honestly just still in shock I got to this point unscathed. It doesn’t feel real. And I have you partly to thank for it.”

She watched him unravel some of the gauze. She reached out and gripped his hand, making him pause. “Just promise me something—that you won’t get back into the same awful shit. Don’t go back to the black trade. Will you do that?”

His gaze locked with hers, and he seemed stunned at first. But then he nodded. “I promise. I’m done with all that. I wish now I never had.”

“Good. Because if I catch wind that you did, I will have Draka hunt you down, got it?”

He laughed nervously. “Yes, ma'am. You can be assured I won’t.”

She let go of his hand. He gave her the gauze to wrap around her lower ribs, looking away as she did. He then offered her some topical agent for the cuts on her hand and face and allowed her to bandage the rest. He then searched for a clean outfit and brought it to her when he found one. She changed in an empty storage space, shucking away the tattered, dirty clothes and Draka’s old coat, hoping she’d never need to wear one like it after they left, that she’d never have to spend time on a cold planet like Arkona again.

When she came out of the storage space, she sat back down by the window, feeling the ship’s engine vibrating at her feet, preparing to take off.

“Where will you go?” she asked him as she watched him set his tools away.

He glanced over at Serbril who was ignoring them or at least pretending to. “Serbril and I have talked. He’s letting me come with him, he has friends in need of assistance in some lab. He told me it wasn’t anything nefarious this time.”

“Good. Glad to see you two getting along.”

He glanced over at Serbril and smirked. “Me too.”

She turned back to the window. While the ship quickly began to warm, the last bit of her energy finally dissolved. As she pressed her head to the glass, watching the prisoners take over the other ships, her eye-lids grew heavy and she felt that powerful pull to let go. Without a thought or care, she let herself fall asleep.

She woke to a warm hand brushing across her forehead. Her eyelids fluttered and she moaned, rubbing at her face. She sat up straight, realizing she’d been slumped over on the seat. No...rather on a large man’s lap, one she recognized. She blinked a few times, turning her eyes upward to stare at Draka’s face as it came into focus.

“Draka,” she heard herself say.

His gaze was soft on her just like the last time she’d seen him, when he promised to return. He brushed away a lock of hair in her eyes. “As promised,” he said.

She put her head against his chest, covering her mouth as she yawned. “How long did I sleep?”

“Long enough to miss saying goodbye to Arkona for good.”

She turned to the window. And saw nothing but deep space. Arkona was gone.

And that was fine by her. There was nothing there she cared to say goodbye to only—

Her heart skipped. “Crik? Did you get him?”

“I’m afraid he couldn’t come with us. Serbril mentioned he wouldn’t do well in space or outside of the mountain. So I took him out of the room and found him a new place to call home, somewhere that suited him better. I said goodbye for you and he seemed happy to go exploring.”

She closed her eyes and nodded. “Good.”

“I didn’t leave everything.” He took her hand and rose. “Come follow.”

Blinking away the sleep, she let him pull her up gently and lead her out to the passage. She could feel the hum of the ship as it raced on to whatever destination they had set.

Draka stopped at what appeared to be a locked door. He plugged in a code into a pad and the door slid open. The room was dark save for a dim green glow. Like Serbril’s room it was mostly bare except for a few rows of crates stacked side by side.

Draka brought her over to one then carefully lifted the lid.

Within—below cold-filtered water—she saw them. The water stars.

As she stared down at the little tentacled plants, still awed by their glowing beauty, Draka came around behind her like he had the first time he’d shown them to her, only this time he wrapped his arms around her, his chin resting on her head. The way he held her made her feel that it was how he had wanted to that first time, even as Oza, when he still wanted to be close to her, still wanted to feel her against him.

She leaned into him, wishing she could be wrapped in his warmth forever.

“I know you said you worried if these got into the wrong hands what damage they could do,” he said. “And you're right. So I got to thinking, I won't sell them. But I couldn’t leave them, as useful as they are. We find another way, maybe we only let those in need use them . Or we use them to clear the poison out of the water left behind by our wars. Make something new from them. Whatever that way might be, we keep them safe. And we do it together, you and me. Because I can’t think of anyone better to have at my side. What do you say?”

She stared down into the water. She could do this. Her fuel could still be made as they traveled, and she could do something right for once, something that really worked.

“Yes,” she said after a while. She tilted her head up to him and smiled. “Together.”

EPILOGUE

DRAKA

He watched her sleep, petting her hair gently as her head rested on his lap.

Behind him, the bloodsun was fading and the city lights were flickering to life outside the darkened window.

It was done, finally. They were one until death took them. It was hard to believe, all his time on Arkona, and never did he imagine he’d make it to this moment.

They’d traveled on from port to port for some time. He wouldn’t bring her to his homeworld, deeming it unsafe. But there were few of his kind outside of it. Still, he’d been tracking someone. And he finally found them on a moon planet called Seriph.

Kasora, before he had perished on Arkona, had mentioned a friend, one that he’d aided once in his escape off their homeworld. An elder sidonion by the name of Ambaris.

Ambaris had accepted his invitation but he hadn’t been happy in the slightest for Draka’s reason in seeing him.

“Is there something wrong with sidionions’ brains that they’ve been utterly poisoned? Turned to nothing more than useless slabs of meat in their thick skulls?” The elder sidionion spat after Draka had asked him to perform the mating rites. Apparently, Draka hadn’t been the first to ask to be tied to a human.

“Times are changing, old man.” Draka smiled, admittedly stunned and amused by this sudden revelation. His eyes then darkened, making sure the elder knew how serious he was. “Perform the rites, or maybe you’ll find a different sort of sidonion at your door, carrying a blade with your name on it.” He knew from what Kasora had told him that the elder was hiding from court assassins. Draka wasn’t usually one to use blackmail but, in this case, he was willing to make an exception.

Ambaris surprisingly wasn’t phased. “I’m protected here,” he said matter of factly, showing little fear save for the slight glint in his gaze. “If you threaten me, you’ll have to deal with the sidonion whose protection I am under.”

Draka’s eyes narrowed. “Who?”

“Axaria Shade.”

Draka’s mouth twitched. Ah, yes, he’d heard of the ex-commander. “Fine, I will go to him then and tell him you did not wish to help me with this.”

Ambaris snorted, his frail claws clinging to the seat of his chair. “You’d fight him to force me to do this for you?”

“Yes.”

Ambaris stared at him in disbelief. Then he grimaced. “Fine. You go to him first. If you are somehow able to best him in a fight, then maybe I will do this for you.”

So be it. Draka called his bluff and went to Shade.

When he arrived at the Hive—Shade’s territory, an elite club for all members of Seriph—with Ria beside him and Freys and Kreed at his back, there had been tension in the air. Shade’s second greeted them first at the entrance. A tall, bulky guy with stone-like skin called Mika. When Draka informed him why he’d come, the male had looked like he might piss himself with excitement.

“Shade’s at his other home with his woman,” he said. “But I think him—and his mate—would be very interested in this. Come with me.”

Keeping Ria close, Draka and his pack followed inside, up to a private room some levels above.

“I’ve heard of Seriph but I was told it was a hellhole,” Ria said after Mika left and she peered around the room full of pretty furniture, silver-gold lanterns, and a dark marble floor that shined like onyx. “This is not what I expected.”

“My kind of city,” Kreed commented, looking out the window. “It’s been years since I’ve been here, it’s definitely changed.”

Freys scoffed as he slumped in a black velvet chair. “Half the people here are worse criminals than us. I’d take this ‘hellhole’ over Arkona any day.”

They waited for longer than Draka had cared to. As Ria sat by the window talking with Kreed, looking relaxed, and as beautiful as ever as she laughed at one of Kreed's idiotic jokes, Draka was preparing himself. It was unfortunate that he might have to fight another like him, one he might have called a brother in the wars if their paths had ever crossed. But if he had to take him on to win his mating rites he would do so in a heartbeat.

Eventually, Shade did arrive. Mika and other members of Shade’s pack slipped into the room first. Then Shade entered behind them–along with his very human mate.

Draka admitted he was stunned speechless for a solid moment. But then he couldn’t help laughing. Because Ambaris was a poor old fool.

Shade’s mate stared at Ria as if she were a ghost. The woman was beautiful though not like his Ria. She wore a stunning black dress with silver chains around the torso and on her neck was tattooed the mark of Shade’s house.

Envy squirmed inside him, desperate to have his mark on his mate just the same.

“I thought this might be some prank of yours, Mika,” Shade said softly. He glanced at Ria before locking onto Draka. “I’m glad to see it wasn’t.”

Shade’s woman stepped across the room to them. Her eyes shifted to him then back to Ria.

“You two are really together?”

Ria came up beside him and Draka took her hand. “Yes. She’s my mate.”

“You’ve marked her?” Shade asked.

Draka’s mouth twitched. He looked to Ria who only nodded, then he took hold of the collar of her suit and pulled down so that they could see the mark he’d placed on her skin with his teeth.

Shade smirked. “An old way. I should have considered that with you, Maddie.”

“Too bad you didn’t,” his mate answered, smirking back at him.

She slipped over to Ria, speaking to her quietly in her ear. Ria’s eyes widened and, when Maddie offered her hand, Ria took it.

“We are going to talk,” Maddie announced. “You two do the same—without fighting.”

Draka gazed at Ria and she glanced at him, nodding her head, “It’s okay.”

He watched her go, forcing himself not to follow and to trust them—and her.

When they were gone, he and Shade sat down. “So, brother,” Shade said after ordering everyone to leave the room. “Why have you come here?”

Draka told him everything. There was no fight planned after that, instead, they talked of their mates and the strange impossibilities of the universe. He told Shade his wish to have the mating rite performed and knew no one who could do it but Ambaris.

“He is set in his ways,” Shade said, tapping his claws on the table. “But…I have been meaning to gift him something. A trinket I found at an auction. Something I think he will find special to him. If you take it to him for me, along with a message…I think you might be able to convince him.”

“It’s very generous of you to help us with this,” Draka mentioned. “Ambaris told me I'd have to fight you to convince him. I was prepared to win that fight.”

Shade laughed. “I’m sure you were. For your mate, you’d do anything. As much as I’d gladly take that challenge, Madelyn would prefer the more peaceful route.” His claws curled along the table. “If we keep it to ourselves, however, I haven’t had a good fight in a long time.”

Draka grinned. “Accepted. As long as it’s not to the death like the old ways. I don’t think our mates would appreciate that.”

Shade smiled back. “I think not.”

By then Maddie and Ria returned. When Draka looked around for his mate, a gasp escaped him, his heart nearly leaping into his throat. He rose from his seat and went to Ria, who now wore a stunning dress like her new friend, a deep green that turned to black at the ends, the fabric glittering like stars. Her deep black hair was braided and tied from behind, sweeping down her back.

“My sweet Ria,” he whispered, bringing her close. She buried her face in his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.

“Go to Ambaris,” Maddie said, now standing beside Shade. “And when you're done come back here. You're welcome to stay as long as you like.”

They did go back to Ambaris, taking Shade’s gift with them secured inside a long black box. Ambaris allowed them back in only after he read Shade’s note. In his study, they stood watching as Ambaris opened the box. His eyes widened and the look he gave could only be described as devastated as he took out a long black and silver blade and held it to the light. Draka had seen that kind of blade before, weapons given to a queen’s guard.

Ambaris put the sword back and cleared his throat, giving Draka a cold glare.

“Let’s be done with this then,” he said. “Quickly.”

Once the rites were performed Draka didn’t hesitate to find an artist to ink the mark into their skin. It took three cycles to schedule someone and to have it made but it was worth the wait.

Now was their last night on Seriph under Shade’s roof and he wished only to sit alone with her while she napped. The travel, and the strange cycles of Seriph, had taken a toll on her. The sun was almost gone and they would soon be gone too. Freys and Kreed had gone back to the ship to prepare to leave. To turn for the stars and begin their journey out to other worlds.

His eyes saw nothing but her, and the mark now on her throat—the green star—which he grazed with his fingers.

She stirred as he trailed his fingers over her. Her eyes opened slowly as she looked up at him.

They stared at each other for a long time. Then she smiled and, as always, it warmed him like nothing else could.

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BOOKS AND SERIES BY OLIVIA RILEY

Dark World Mates

Heart’s Prisoner

Dark’s Savior

Shadow’s Chosen

Heart’s Keeper

Vrisha Warriors

Xora

Axrel

Vrexus

Xeda

SIDONIONS

Shade’s Embrace

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Olivia Riley loves the frightening possibilities of deep space, where dark heroes and brave heroines reside. She loves creature-feature films and gaming.

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