I pressed my ear to the door, holding my breath, and listened.
“You wish to see the human female Vaktaire? Then you must get through me.”
Shit! That was Adtovar’sdon’t fuck with me voice, which meant a fight was brewing.
I yanked open the door, striding into the small alley and putting myself directly between two massive alien males.
Adtovar appeared more relaxed than I expected to find him. I cast a glance at the other male, and it took my breath away… literally.
He stood as tall as Adtovar, but was broader through the chest. I could discern the definition of the muscles roping his arms and shoulders despite the robe he wore, which reminded me of a Catholic priest’s cassock, save for being a deep green color.His hair was dark, almost black, with a few strands of gray at the temple, that he wore in a single braid that lay halfway down his back. Despite being an alien face, he was classically handsome, with high cheekbones, a Romanesque nose, and full lips.
His eyes! Dear God, his eyes were the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. Irises the color of the morning sun swimming in a sclera as deep blue as the sea off the coast of Corfu, where I’d spent my honeymoon.
His eyes widened at the sight of me. I noticed his lips purse slightly as he released a deep breath, and the faint scent of cinnamon and allspice filled the air.
“Willa.”
The sound of my name in his deep, rich voice made goosebumps prickle over my skin. I started to ask him how heknew my name, but then the fog that encased my brain since seeing him cleared, and I remembered.
“I know you.”
He’d been at Nansar’s estate on the desert planet. I remembered the way he roared, running toward me, fighting off the guards and grizzly men with the medieval-looking weapon he carried. More than his actions, I remembered how seeing him heading toward me as Nansar wrestled me aboard his ship, imparted the most curious sense of comfort. It was like I possessed some inner wisdom that told me if he could get to me, I’d be safe. Even now, that strange inkling of comfort settled in my gut.
“Yes.”The full lips twitched at the corners in a suppressed smile, and his eyes brightened as though he was happy to see me. “I am Charick, Sage of the Bardaga.”
Well, it was nice to have a name to go with his handsome face, but that told me squat. He’d been with my friend Emmy. He had to know what had happened to her, maybe to the rest of my friends.
I stepped closer to Charick, hearing my trainer’s grunt of displeasure as I drove the point of my finger into the center of Charick’s chest. It felt like poking granite, but I persisted, demanding in as stern a voice as I could muster.
“Alright, Charick, Sage of the Bardaga. Where the fuck is my friend Emmy?”
Chapter 2 - Charick
Adtovar.
I’d met him once during the dark, foolish days of my youth. The gladiator fights on the Hartouk Lenaii were renowned, and the male standing before me legendary. Undefeated in the arena. The greatest gladiator in the universe.
Despite being older, he still appeared formidable. As tall as me, with broad shoulders and honed muscles despite being an Aljani. Of course, unlike most of his kind, Adtovar was an augment. Taken captive at the end of the Romvesian-Vaktaire skirmish, the Ulkommanian had experimented him on, imbuing him with increased strength, stamina, and speed.
He tilted his head, watching me, pearlescent horns that bore the signs of many battles glinting in the early morning sun.
“You wish to see the human female Vaktaire? Then you must get through me.”
He threw down the challenge, standing tall with squared shoulders. Adtovar carried no weapon, but he had won many fierce battles using nothing more than the strength of his hands. As impressed as I was by his reputation, not even the greatest gladiator in the universe could keep me from my mate.
Unless.
Could Adtovar have claimed Willa as his own?
I glanced around, noticing a pile of furs to the right of the doorway. Surely, if they had mated, he would share her furs andnot make his bed outside her quarters. I drew a deep breath, watching Adtovar’s eyes widen at my interest. His scent held notes of dust, stale sweat, and old blood, but not a hint of the wonderfully fresh, floral I remembered as belonging to Willa. Nothing indicated a mating, still, I worried.
I gave him a nod, hopefully showing I meant no threat. “My name is Charick. I am Sage of the Vaktaire warship theBardaga. I have a message for….”
The creak of the door opening cut off my words. The scent I’d chased through the galaxy washed over me with such intensity it made my knees go weak.
“Willa.” I breathed her name like a prayer.
Her eyes flared at the sound of my voice, her full lips parting slightly.
