Erin’s breath hitched, staring down at the rounding of her belly before meeting her eyes. Erin had never seen a Luxirian female before. Only males. She was smaller than the male she assumed was Tavar, but her build was strong. Her hair was loose and long. Her large breasts were bound in brown, cracked leather, leaving her shoulders and growing stomach bare. A long skirt, also of leather, brushed the tops of her bare feet.
She was carrying a tray with a small handful of dried meat, something that looked like bread, only it was grey, and a skin of what she hoped was water.
At the male’s nod, the female entered the cell and deposited the tray within the doorway before backing out to safety. Was she afraid of Erin? That couldn’t possibly be right. Perhaps she feared for the child, thought that Erin would attack her.
Swallowing, Erin’s eyes returned to the male.
“Are you Tavar?” she asked, trying to keep her voice strong and even.
His eyes narrowed. He seemed more annoyed than surprised that she knew his name, as if a human like her shouldn’t dare to speak it.
“What do you want with me?” she asked again, briefly looking back at the female in the darkness.
Tavar was holding the lantern of blue light and it cast shadows over his skin, making him seem even more intimidating. It made her nervous, seeing the mild disgust on his face.
He still didn’t answer.
“Jaxorwillcome for me,” she told him, her façade beginning to crack with her fear.
His smile was sinister, mocking even.
“How do you think you are here, female?” he asked instead, his accented English soft, though it also seemed to cut like a blade. “Jaxor gave you over to us. As he promised he would.”
Her mind swam a little. She remembered the male who’d come to kidnap her from the base had said something similar.
She dismissed Tavar’s words immediately.
Her jaw clenched, her back straightening. “You’re wrong.”
Tavar simply cocked his head to the side, that smile growing. “Iam wrong? Yet,youare here. In my keep.”
Erin was still shaking her head in denial, though the motion coupled with her headache made her want to vomit. Bile was rising in her throat. “No. He wouldn’t. I’m his mate. And hewillcome for me.”
Tavar blinked, like the knowledge that she was his mate didn’t surprise him. “What exactly did he tell you?”
His tone implied that her steadfastnessamusedhim. She bit her tongue, refusing to give in to his taunts. She had to stop herself from biting too hard, or else she might draw blood.
“We made our agreement when we first heard of your existence on this planet,” Tavar said, his tone changing, hardening. “He would bring whatever human females he could find in the Golden City to us. He told us that there was another, but that the Luxirian Ambassador got to her first.”
They knew about Crystal?
Then she remembered. He’d met with theMeviraxnear the base. But why had he told them about Crystal? And Cruxan? What purpose would that serve? Unless…there was an inkling of truth to what Tavar was telling her.
A sick feeling spread in her gut, one that had nothing to do with her pounding headache.
Still, she shook her head.
“He will not come for you, female,” Tavar said. “At least not to rescue you, as you desperately hope. When he comes, it will be to collect on my side of the bargain.”
“And what is that?” she hissed out, glaring at theMeviraxleader, her frustration and confusion overriding her fear.
His smile returned. “Po’grak. What else?”
Po’grak?
What the hell was going on? What was Tavar even talking about?
“Oh, he did not tell you that part?” Tavar asked. “About his hatred for the Jetutian that killed his mother?”
