I try to think back to everything Vexar told me about his oldest friend and advisor. He took care of Vexar and his siblings when they were little. He helped guide Vexar’s training for the arena. He?—
God damnit.
Marius helped Vexar investigate the Tusku slave-ships. I was right. It’s not just Gaius.
“Why do you want him dead?” I ask, as I grip the holoCom tootightly.
“It’s nothing personal.”
“Are you sure about that? Cause it’s starting tofeela little personal.” I need to keep Marius talking. If he’s the one ordering those guards, I need to distract him while I figure out how to tell Vexar what’s going on.
“Trust me, this is much more than a personal matter.”
“Oh, great. I feel so much better, thank you…” I suck down a deep breath and regret it as the hot, sandy air burns my throat. Holding back a cough, I ask, “Do you still want to know about the bond?” With shaky hands, I reach down and start to unwrap the gauze from my knee.
“Is someone trying to strike a deal?” Marius asks slyly.
“Sure,” I answer, parroting his earlier response as I wrap the gauze over my mouth and nose.
“Then yes, tell me everything, and we can go from there.”
Everything.“Alright,” I say slowly, as my brain works overtime trying to decide what I should and shouldn’t reveal. “For starters, he can feel my heartbeat in his chest.”
“Obviously.”
“And my emo—” Wait. Did Vexar actually hear me when I screamed at him through our connection earlier? I feel like he did.
“And?” Marius prompts.
Shit. Focus.“Uh, he can feel my pleasure. When he makes me come …” I continue describing, in great detail, the most uncomfortable things I can think of while mentally screaming Vexar’s name into the space between us. A few seconds later, Vexar’s eyes flick to mine.Holy shit. I think it worked.“As far as connections go, it’s pretty powerful. I’ve never come so hard …” I keep rambling out loud, while I shout internally at Vexar, saying, “Marius is not a friend! We have to go. No ship.”
“What about your shade? Has that made an appearance?” Marius asks.
“My shade?” I parrot. I’m still not certain if Vexar can hear me, so I repeat myself a few more times, praying for another sign of acknowledgement.
Marius hums and then asks, “Have his eyes gone black?”
“Black? No. Should they?” I’m not sure why I’m keeping this piece of information from Marius, but I’m running on gut instinct here, and it feels like he really cares about this detail. I keep talking to Vexar through our connection, adding, “Marius is watching. He’s going to kill us. We need to go.”
Vexar finally looks at me, his eyes narrowed with confusion.He definitely heard me.
“He’s not sending the ship. We’re on our own,” I tell Vexar.
Marius makes a non-committal sound. “So he has not exhibited any … violent tendencies? Beyond the incident in the arena?”
“No. He’s been a perfect gentleman. You on the other ha?—”
A loud crack splits the air. Gunshot. My body reacts automatically, and I drop to the ground. If Marius is the one calling the shots, it’s clear he’s done talking.
Vexar lunges towards the guards, sweeping one of them off the edge of the box with his axe. I tuck the holoCom between my boobs as another crack pierces the air. With as much speed as I can muster, I crawl along the wall, scramble to my knees, and wrap my fingers around the metal bar. With a heaving tug, the bar pops free, and the microphone drops. Wielding my improvised weapon, I turn towards the melee.
Vexar’s moving on the second guard, but the third has turned towards me. I tighten my grip, wincing as the cuffs dig into my flexed forearms.
The guard steps forward, weapon raised, but he doesn’t shoot.
Idiot.
I take a short step before lunging and swinging. The barimpacts the guard at his knees. I take another step, bringing myself nearly chest-to-chest with the guy, and slam my elbow into the barrel of his gun, pushing it away. It goes off. Heat sears the back of my arm. I swing again, aiming higher. There’s a nasty crack as the bar hits his head and he crumples.
