My face burned with embarrassment from seeing the evidence of my arousal, even though I had done nothing wrong.
Xelthar continued, unaware of my emotional reactions. “She is a lovely, soft human.” His free hand grasped under my neck, lifting my chin, as if showing me off. The slickness on his fingers from my body’s response coated my skin, and heat flared in my chest that had nothing to do with pleasure and everything to do with humiliation. “Should I sample her here and now? Maybe I will take her with me. You know that space travel is lonely. It would be nice to have someone to cater to my every whim. Someone I did not have to pay for, and who cannot deny me.”
Cair roared an inarticulate cry and stepped forward, fists balled at his sides, muscles straining against his shirt.
“Careful, Enforcer.” Xelthar’s fingers tightened around my neck, the tips of his digits finding the sensitive spots, not of an erogenous zone, but of my trachea.
I wheezed through my narrowed airway. Was this how I would die? Neck broken by some alien fugitive?
Xelthar’s fingers tightened further.
I grabbed at his hand, desperate to pry the fingers loose. My chest rose and fell in a futile attempt to force air into my lungs. Spots appeared in my vision.
Around the spots, I saw Cair release his balled fists and place them palm-to-palm against his chest. Like praying.
“That is better,” Xelthar said.
He released his fingers from my neck, and I gulped long, loud breaths of the fragrant alien air. I couldn’t get enough. My heart thudded in my chest, nerves screaming with every pulse. If I wasn’t careful, I’d hyperventilate. That warning in my brain helped me calm my survival reaction. I forced my shaking limbs to still and took slow, measured breaths instead.
Xelthar gripped my hip and pulled me against him. There was no mistaking his reaction to this conflict. Cair may have engaged in his sexual interrogation when trying to determine whether I was working with Xelthar, but at least he didn’t intend to make me a sexual slave, the way Xelthar not-so-subtly implied.
Rage howled within me. I took action, slamming my head backward into where I guessed Xelthar’s solar plexus or equivalent would be. I hoped to leave him breathless as he had done to Cair.
Xelthar grunted, released me, and staggered back a step before barking a laugh as he steadied himself. “Unless you wish to be punished severely later, I would not recommend continuing these pathetic attempts to escape. You are vastly inferior to me in both size and intellect.”
While I despaired that he was correct about my chances of escape, my so-called pathetic attempt accomplished more than either of us bargained for.
It gave Cair a moment unwatched by our captor. And that was all he needed.
Chapter Nine
Cair launchedhimself at me and Xelthar. My heart slammed against my ribcage to see Cair’s muscular form barrel down on us. I closed my eyes, steeling myself for the collision. A smooth hand clamped around my upper arm—the grip firm but not bruising—and yanked me from Xelthar’s loosening hold. I careened sideways before toppling over and landing, bare ass on the ground. Thank god for those silky flowers.
The world narrowed to sensation: the sting in my throat, the ache in my upper arm, the cold sweat slicking my spine. A thin ringing filled my ears, as if my body was still readying for the next shove. I hugged my arms around myself and realized I was trembling. Not from cold, but from the delayed shock of being yanked and held and choked. The fear arrived late and sharp, adrenaline finally recognized.
My eyes popped open in time to see Cair wrap Xelthar in a bear hug. They grappled like gladiators. Muscles straining. Limbs flailing. A chaotic dance of power. Cair’s biceps bulged under his taut, shiny skin, veins pulsing as he tightened his hold. Xelthar’s hands scrabbled at Cair’s arms, leaving jagged scratches in the luminous skin. The air filled with the sounds of their combat—a cacophony of guttural grunts, the heavy stompof boots on the ground, and the sharp slap of flesh colliding with flesh. Each impact sent a faint vibration through the earth, tingling against my palms where I pressed them into the soft ground.
I tried to push myself up on wobbly arms. Humiliation flared hot in my face as I sank back into the flowers, naked and useless, reduced to watching. And watching wouldn’t stop Cair from losing. My gaze flicked over the ground for anything—rock, branch, anything—and found nothing that would matter if Cair went down. The realization hit hard that I couldn’t help. I wasn’t combat-capable; I was barely upright-capable.
All I could do was watch and pray Cair stayed stronger than the monster he was holding.
The ambient hum of Novaelus itself—the distant chirps of unseen creatures, the low drone of wind weaving through the towering plants—faded, as if the planet held its breath. All I heard was the raw intensity of their struggle. The ragged breaths and the occasional crack of a twig-like plant snapping underfoot.
Cair spun Xelthar in his arms, the Brakian’s frame twisting like a trapped animal. Cair’s arm snaked under Xelthar’s chin, his fingers digging into the Brakian’s thick neck. Cair’s eyes narrowed, his jaw clenching as he applied pressure, likely targeting whatever passed for a carotid artery in Xelthar’s physiology. Xelthar’s dark eyes bulged, the whites stark against his ashen skin, visible beneath his beard. His mouth gaped in a silent gasp for air.
A twisted thrill curled in my chest, my lips parting as I whispered, “Fuck you, fuckwad. You deserve to be choked out.” My voice trembled, a mix of exhilaration and unease, the words tasting bitter on my tongue. I should’ve felt only horror. Instead I felt satisfaction, sharp as a spark, and anger followed right behind it. Anger at him, but also at me for enjoying even a second of it. This wasn’t justice in a story. This was my survival,and it had teeth. Clenching my hands, my nails bit into my palms, the sharp sting grounding me as I watched Xelthar’s desperate struggle.
His long fingers clawed at Cair’s arm. Given his impaired strength, the action proved ineffective against the tracksuit between Xelthar’s nails and Cair’s skin. Xelthar’s thrashing slowed, his limbs hanging heavy. His eyelids fluttered, the dark lashes stark against his paling face. Finally, those fathomless eyes rolled back and closed, his body going limp in Cair’s iron grip.
Was I about to watch someone die? Fantastic. My stomach twisted at the thought. As I opened my mouth to object, Cair released Xelthar, who dropped like a stone to the ground. Unconscious. The rise and fall of his barrel chest made clear he remained alive.
Novaelus exhaled the moment Xelthar hit the ground. Sound flooded back. The soft rustle of leaves in the wind. Insects chirping from being disturbed. The planet pretending it hadn’t watched. I realized my lungs were burning—I’d been holding my breath without noticing.
“Did you believe I would kill him?” Cair asked.
“In the heat of the moment…” I trailed off, shrugging, my shoulders stiff with lingering tension. “Xelthar seemed to have no problem killing one of us or simply leaving us here to die.” My skin felt raw, exposed to the cool air, and I shivered involuntarily. Cair’s gaze flicked over my nakedness, his yellow eyes—now that deep, molten amber—lingering for a moment before he moved.
He stepped over Xelthar’s prone form, his boots sinking slightly into the soft earth, and gathered my clothing from where it lay strewn across the ground. Cair closed the gap between us in two steps and held out my prison garb. “As much as I hate to cover you, I do not like to see you uncomfortable.”
