She gasped when his smooth tongue lapped at her wound. Something hard pressed against her thigh, growing with each passing moment.
She was afraid to move, to fight. Here was a side of the prince that she had never seen before, as he went from an attacker to . . . an aroused caregiver?
Was the male she had seen during the mission the true prince? Or wasthiswho he really was?
“Idris! You must release Diplomat Aydin and leave before you do any more damage!”
Jaiya opened her eyes, the sudden brightness from the room momentarily blinding her as she searched for the source of the assistant’s voice.
When her vision cleared, she saw Erlyn staring down at them through Idris’s curtain of hair. His pale green eyes were filled with alarm and worry.
He reached down and touched his liege’s shoulder. Instantly, the prince flinched, jerking his head away from her neck. He sat up, releasing her hands as he snarled at his assistant.
Jaiya quivered in fear, helplessly pinned beneath an angry male.
“Get off of him now, or I am afraid you may jeopardize everything we have worked so hard for,” Erlyn hissed.
She watched as something snapped into place, as the reality of the situation dawned on Idris. He shook his head and stared down at her in shock, as if unable to believe what he had done.
He scrambled to his feet and stepped away from her prone form, failing to hide the large bulge straining against his tight black pants.
“Diplomat Aydin . . . I . . .” He opened his mouth at a loss for words to explain what happened.
“It is better if you leave before you make things worse,” Erlyn growled.
The prince nodded and turned to leave. Before he left the practice room, he shot a glance over his shoulder and met Jaiya’s gaze. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. . . I don’t know what got into me.”
“Leave!” Erlyn barked. As the doors closed, he looked up to the viewing windows above. “Raizxl, you are to follow the prince and make sure he remains inside his quarters until I get there.”
“What was that?” She asked, wincing when her voice cracked.
“The Daextru have always been lethal in combat.” Erlyn hesitated before offering his hand. “Something about your sparring match must have triggered an instinct deep within the prince. He has never acted this way before.”
“But why was he here?” She took his hand and allowed him to help her stand. “I thought he was just a projection until he started babbling. What he said didn’t make any sense.”
“I have never seen him like this before, not even in a high-pressure situation. I don’t know what’s gotten into him, but I will get to the bottom of this.” Erlyn reached for her neck and paused before his fingers touched her. “May I?”
She nodded, trusting that he wouldn’t snap and attack her.
She watched his face while he gently touched her neck, where the blade had sliced it. She was prepared to wince in pain, but when none came, confusion settled.
“It doesn’t look like it will scar, thank the Stars.” He pulled his hand away and met her questioning gaze. “It seems like the prince used his saliva to heal you. Who knows, perhaps he was trying to correct his mistake. But he shouldn’t have been in the arena in the first place.”
“What about tomorrow?”
Erlyn opened his vest and pulled out her sheathed beamblade.
“I want you to have this,” he said, handing it to her. “May the Stars be damned if anyone complains. After tonight, I want you to be armed. You have proven your honor throughout this whole week—we were always the ones making the mistakes. I don’t want you to be afraid during your final day on this starbase.”
Jaiya grabbed her weapon from his hand and instantly felt relieved. “I want you to know that I don’t fault you for the others’ actions. You have been fair and honorable to me.” She pulled the beamblade out of its sheath and flicked it on, inspecting its condition. She did trust him not to tamper with her belongings, but for her own peace of mind she also needed to make sure it still worked. “If we ever meet again after tomorrow, you have a friend in me.”
He gave her a soft smile. “Thank you.”
