“At theLallarix,” he said, as if she knew what that meant.
“Is…is that in the Golden City?” she asked, confused.
“Nix. It is in the wild lands.”
Did he see one of the others with their mates? He must’ve.
Erin was about to speak again, but he added, “It was the Prime Leader’s mate.”
“Kate?” Erin asked, cocking her head. “You saw Kate with Vaxa’an?”
Jaxor seemed to start at the name. He didn’t reply, but she figured it was ayesregardless. There was only one Prime Leader on Luxiria, as far as Erin knew.
“Do I…do I look very strange to you, then?” she asked, wanting to know, curious again. “Since you’ve only seen one other human before?”
Jaxor exhaled a sharp breath. “Humans compared with Luxirians are not so different. There are many species spread throughout the universe. Some that look very different.”
A flash, a memory from the Pit, a place she would rather never remember, returned to her. The darkness of the cages. Seemingly thousands of beings, all congregated in one place. Hot, burning sand. The feel of hot wind across her naked flesh as thousands of eyes were on the line of women. Inhuman howls and grunts and roars. The fear, the uncertainty. The scent of blood, of—
Erin squeezed her eyes shut, locking those memories away.
“Yes,” she said quietly. “I know.”
There were many species at the Pit that day. Thanks to the Luxirians, they were freed of that place. And until Jaxor, she’d been very close to returning home, back to Earth. Back to California, back to Jake and Ellora, back to her students, her old life.
Now what?
A drop of fat fell from the meat and sizzled in the fire. A shriek from the tunnel came echoing down. Thekekevirseemed more active that night and she spared the darkness behind Jaxor a nervous glance.
“Are they…” she trailed off, not quite sure how to phrase her question.
“I will work on a gate in the morning,” was all he told her.
His response gave her pause and she tilted her head as she looked at him. A gate?
“Why haven’t you built one before?” she questioned.
“Because I can handle akekevirif it makes it into my base,” was what he said in reply. His unspoken implication was thatshecould not.
Erin’s brows furrowed, not certain whether to feel thankful or insulted. Even still, him building a gate…that was a big undertaking, wasn’t it? Did that mean he expected to keep her around? That she wouldremainhere? And for how long? Did that mean he’d decidednotto trade her off to theMevirax?
She processed this quietly, trying to decipher what thismeant.
Erin decided to change the subject. If she questioned him about it, he would close off. He was finally speaking with her and she couldn’t waste the opportunity.
“Where did you go today?” she asked instead, pulling the fur he’d draped over her shoulders earlier closer as the wind howled louder. She didn’t know how long he’d been gone, just that she’d slept and then awoken to him tearing the door off the cave’s entrance. At least a few hours, she decided, especially since it got dark not long after he returned.
Jaxor watched as she draped the fur over her body, huddling into its warmth. She still wore the tunic she’d gone to sleep in the night before he’d abducted them. Her legs were bare, the material was thin. If she was going to be there for a little while—at least until she saw her crazy plan through to the end—she would have to try to procure more suitable clothes. These were beginning to smell.
“To check traps and get more fuel,” he replied, sliding his arms away from his knees, planting his hands behind him and leaning back. The muscles in his chest shifted with the almost lazy movement, but Erin darted her gaze away.
“And now is when you finally rest for the day?” she asked, seeing a heavy trail of blood leading from the tunnel entrance. She wondered if it would seep into the stone of the crater floor. She’d found the droplets of her own blood she’d left behind and had scrubbed at them with a spare rag she’d found until they were clean. She didn’t need Jaxor inspecting them close enough to see she didn’t cut her foot near the fire pit, but rather in the tunnel.
“For tonight. There is a storm coming. It will hit soon.”
Erin tipped her head back, exposing the column of her throat. The air felt humid but cold, a strange combination. Was that how he could tell? There was still a heavy cloud covering, no different than it’d been that morning.
“Where are we, exactly?” she questioned. She thought it was innocent enough, until he exhaled a rough breath.
