“What are you doing here?” he whispered.
“You didn’t show up when you were supposed to. I was worried, and it looks like I had good reason to be,” she replied.
He shook his head slightly, eyes darting all around in case of danger. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“Well, I am, so deal with it. And neither should you, you know. I had to come all the way out here to get you.”
“And him?” he asked, nodding to Arkness.
“I am here because her safety is my priority and sacred duty,” his rival replied.
Rykker’s eyes flashed. “Mine too.”
Olivia moved between them, staring hard at the man they’d come so far to rescue. “Then why didn’t you come see me? If I’m so important, why are you just sitting out here in the woods?”
“It is not like that.”
“No? It sure looks like it.”
“I can assure you, I wanted nothing more than to keep that date, but my honor would not allow it.”
“Honor?” she asked, but Arkness’s expression had shifted from one of annoyed rivalry to curious approval.
“Prisoners?” he asked.
Rykker nodded. “An Alvonkian woman and a human male. The male is injured.”
“I see.”
Olivia was confused. “See? See what?”
Arkness turned to face her. “It is the unspoken code among the elite Maldonians. Never leave anyone behind, especially not in the clutches of an aggressive enemy who will not honor the protocols of captive treatment.”
“And in the case of Raxxians, we know they will not only ignore those norms, but they will also eat their captives,” Rykker added. “It is, as I said, a matter of honor.”
Arkness nodded his agreement, their beef put aside, at least for the time being. “True words. Some things are more important than our own wants and needs.”
“Indeed. It does bring perspective, does it not?”
“It certainly does. So, you’ve been observing them for some time. What are their numbers?”
“Ten, so far as I’ve been able to count. Another five headed out early this morning, and if they follow typical Raxxian recovery protocols, they should not be back for at least a day or two as they make complete their search route.”
“Meaning we have a somewhat smaller group to deal with.”
“Precisely. The two prisoners are merely trussed up and tied to a tree. No cages or other sort of holding areas. This is a very makeshift operation. They seem to have lost most of their gear during the crash, so while they possess numbers, they are not well armed.”
Rykker drew an odd long-handled device from an elongated holster on his side and a very dangerous-looking dagger from the other hip. “I’m ready if you are. Did you bring toys?”
Arkness whipped out two of the same devices, flicking them on briefly, twin blades of charged energy snapping out before he extinguished them. “Oh, am I ever. Shall we do this?”
Rykker just nodded, a fierce grin spreading across his face. He turned to Olivia. “Stay back. This is going to get messy. If we should fall, the route to the ship is in your built-in nav system. Just backtrack.”
“Nothing is going to happen to you. Either of you. Is that understood? I’m ordering both of you, come back alive.”
The men’s backs stiffened at her words. “As you wish,” Arkness replied.
“I will do my best to abide by your request,” Rykker agreed.
