“Lyro, you’re doing yourself no favors,” my uncle warns. “Comply with General Raknu’s orders, and I will see what I can negotiate on your behalf. I have no interest in separating you from your mate.”
I have no interest in spending time with her, but if this is what convinces them to let me go, I can keep my mouth shut. I nod, and the Frathik guards reluctantly move toward me, securing my arms before leading me away.
“This may take some time,” I hear my uncle murmur sympathetically.
The terrakin sighs. “Fine. Then I’ll stay in there with him.”
The light sounds of her feet drum the metal floor she follows us to what is presumably a more secure room. It’s empty of furniture and has featureless walls and a sliding door that locks with a dramatic click. We are left there, alone together.
She smiles at me with her flat little teeth. “I guess we should get to know each other.”
Alioth spare me this torture. I raise a brow. “Why? I know everything I need to know.”
She laughs. Does she have any other response? It seems I could flay a Frathik in front of her, and she would think it was a joke. Maybe I’ll try it and see.
I turn my back on her, facing a corner. There are no windows to orient me to Alioth’s position nor altar to focus my prayers, but something draws me to this direction. I kneel and say the words that are the only balm I know.
“Dust in my hand, light in my eyes. Alioth illuminate my path and cast the rest in shadow.”
I bend my neck and wait for her to welcome my words. As always, the goddess says nothing.
“I did not ask for this blessing,” I tell her anyway. “This is no reward. I beg you, free me from this, or I will free myself, one way or another.”
Nothing.
I recite other prayers, ones that praise her wisdom, ones that promise her loyalty, ones that describe her beauty, until my tongue is dry. I almost forget that the terrakin is there until I finish and rise, only to see her odd smile. At least she is not laughing.
“That was beautiful,” she says.
“Was it?” She nods, expression earnest. “Did you like the part where I begged the goddess to rid me of you?”
She tilts her head thoughtfully. “I imagine it’s a big adjustment, learning that you have a fated mate. I’ve heard that the pull is very strong. I can understand being afraid of it. That’s why I came in here with you.”
“Afraid?” I scoff. “You’re the one who should be afraid. What do you think is going to happen, alone in a locked room with an Irran warrior?”
“You’re not going to hurt me,” she says confidently, her hair-rope swinging behind her. Oh, I want to hurt her. I want to pull her hair and squeeze her throat and sink my teeth into her shoulder.
I move away from her to lean against the wall. “I could kill you with one hand.”
She hums, weighing the truth of it. “Will that get you what you want, though?”
“Half of it,” I say darkly. The other half is a ship that can fly, and unfortunately, I won’t get that if I kill her now.
“Well, I hope you don’t.” She leans against the wall next to me, the bare skin of her arm touching mine. The mere brush of her body heat sears into me, and her scent tangles all my thoughts except one:keep her.
I have no interest in having a little pet terrakin. AndI will not be pulled.I do my best to shut her out, breathing through my dust-filtering gills and drawing my cloak around my shoulder to put a barrier between us.
Mercifully, it is only hours until the door unlocks and my uncle strides in. “I have done my best for you. Your ship is in the hangar, and you will have access to any tools and supplies you need to repair it. You will be able to move freely about the base, although there are some limitations, of course.”
“Of course,” I say sourly, anticipating the worst.
“You must stay with Lena at all times.”
“Who?” And then I remember—that is the terrakin’s name. The one who is laughing, yet again. I glare at her. “Fine. If that’s what it takes.”
Amusement plays at the corners of her mouth. “Am I your punishment, Lyro?”
My jaw muscle flexes as I grind the points of my teeth. All I want is to be away from her, and now I can’t leave her side. “Apparently.”
