I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me that Gaius himself would have a reason to want Vexar dead, but it makes sense. It also explains why the guards didn’t try to stop me. They knew.
“Wait, how did he know I would do it? Enter your cell, I mean.”
“He did notknow, but it is clear why you were selectedfor the task.” I stare at him blankly, and he gives me a disappointed frown. “You cannot tell me you have never done something against your own self-interest to save a life.”
“Well, yeah, but not here—” I pause, and an annoyed huff escapes me. “Fucking Thoratliums.”
“Thoratliums?” he asks with a lopsided grin, clearly no longer fixated on the issue of the Senate.
I wave my hand dismissively. “Ok, he wants everyone to know you broke your vow so they don’t come digging and find out he’s a treasonous sack of shit? And then he plans to … what? Kill you in the arena?”
Vexar nods and stretches one of his legs out. “I believe that is the plan, yes.”
My muscles tense with a strange kind of rage, and I swear, if Gaius were within arm’s reach right now, I’d rip out his jugular with my fucking teeth. Vexar, clearly noticing my rage, appraises me with a hungry look that does nothing to cool the fire beneath my skin.
“Don’t look at me like that when I’m angry,” I snap. “It’s …” I let out a groan and drop my head into my hands, looking up through a curtain of hair. “Why are you so calm about this? He’s about to ruin your reputation and kill us both.”
“He is not about to do either of those things.”
I straighten, and Vexar’s eyes catch on my very exposed breasts. I snap my fingers to get his attention. “Hey, sexy alien.” When he looks back up, I say, “If we both survive this, you can look at my tits whenever you want, but right now, I need you to focus. Why can't Gaius ruin our lives and kill us?”
“My reputation will be fine. As I said before, our bond supersedes any vow or rule about mate determination. My peoplewillrally behind us—behind you—once they know what you have done. You have done the impossible and ensured Gaius’s plan will fail. Now all we must do is survive and clear our contracts.”
“But I broke your vow.”
“My people will forgive that when they learn that you have awoken the ancient miracle of my people.”
“Ancient m…miracle?” I stutter out.
“The Zhyrrak bond,” he says plainly.
Well, that’s something we’ll have to dig into at some point.
Pushing my hair back from my face, I ask, “Why are you so confident he’ll let us leave here alive? We know he’s committed treason, so aren’t we a massive liability to him?” If I were in Gaius’s shoes, I would definitely not let us leave here alive.
“He doesn’t know about our bond,” Vexar says thoughtfully.
“Ok …?”
“So, he won’t see us leaving as a risk. Not a large risk anyway. From his perspective, he has already won. Even if I survive the arena, my vow is broken and my throne is lost. He will be confident that anything I do after that point will be seen as little more than a desperate attempt to regain power. No one would believe me. I would have lost all credibility. All we need to do is ensure that Gaius is in a position where letting us leave has a more favorable outcome than killing us.”
“And how do we do that?”
With a sly grin, Vexar says, “Visibility. If there are millions of eyes on us, any action he takes will be heavily scrutinized. He will be forced to maintain the illusion that everything is normal, or risk implicating himself in a serious crime.” He scratches the short stubble on his chin. “When I win my fights and claim my prize, we will leave as conspicuously as possible and avoid ever being at his mercy.”
“Yourprize?”
“You. You will be my prize,” he says simply.
My eyes feel like they’re bulging out of my skull. “First, I’m not anyone'sprize; I’m a person. Second, I can’t tell if you’re delusional or just really bad at explaining things. Gaius doesn’t wantyou alive. What’s stopping him from doing what he already did and just shooting you?”
Vexar smiles. “He wants his fights. That is how he makes his money, and the fights of a future ruler bring in a shocking sum. He will not do anything that might jeopardize his income unless he sees a larger risk at play.”
“Ok. Then what’s stopping him from putting you in the arena with a monster that’ll definitely kill you?” That’s what I would do. “And on top of that, how are you planning on getting me in the arena, too? And how the hell are we supposed toleave?”
He nods gently and waves a hand, beckoning me to him. “Come here.”
Without shoes on, I’m not risking stepping on the floor, so my plan is to jump the gap. But, before I can even stand, Vexar’s arms wrap around my waist, and he lifts me onto his lap with ease.
