Her leg hooked around his hip. Kedar pressed into her more, squeezing the air out of her lungs as he settled his full weight on her. She was face to mask with him. If he wore no helmet, they’d be sharing breath.
“I’ve never once backed down from a challenge to handle you, Ves,” he rumbled.
Something swooped in her stomach. Thatname.Sekens saw it as a sign of respect to call one by their whole name or title.But this was the kind of thing that Xaal gave to close comrades and family. Kedar had bestowed it upon her like a gift. Like a promise. That no matter what, they were always exactly who they thought they were to each other. Comrades. Best friends. Something more that couldn’t be confined to a single word?
Fuck.
Before she could react, before she could force them into another roll, a scraping sound came from one of the tunnels. Kedar’s muscles tensed against hers as they both looked into the recesses of the cave.
“It’s probably a Vydera,” she snapped. “Get off.”
“It’s just the wind,” he murmured, and his abdominals relaxed. When he turned to face her again, she could almost imagine his lips parted beneath the mask. But she didn’t want to hear what was yet unspoken.
“Seriously,” she huffed as she pushed against his chest, all strategy forgotten. She was suddenly suffocating. Like he’d taken all the damn oxygen.
He rose to the knee that was planted between her legs. The hesitation was almost too much to bear. Then he stood and offered her his hand.
Vessa ignored him as she rose on her own and brushed off her suit. Kedar was already on the other side of the cave when she said, “I may not have Xaal senses, but Isawone of their nests down there. You’ve trapped us in a cursed Vydera lair.”
“I assure you, that was nothing.”
“Fine. Maybe you should go down there, make a bunch of noise, and prove me wrong.” She smiled innocently, trying to rid herself of the discomfort from just a few moments ago. It meant nothing. Such things were expected when being confronted by the past. She didn’t hate him any less now just because he smelled the same and called her a stupid nickname.
Kedar laughed, a low, rolling thing. “Don’t misunderstand me, there are Vydera here. They’re in all the cave networks in this area. I’ve dropped dead Orcru down their trap tunnels for them to feed on or store away.”
“Excuse me? You’refeedingthem? You’re in cahoots with the giant fucking spiders?” And there weretraps? The thought that she could fall into one before she even realized her mistake was chilling.
“I feed them,” he drawled, “so they don’t feel the need to come looking elsewhere for a meal. Their exoskeletons act as armor that even a plasma dirk would have a hard time cutting through. Two or three would be an interesting fight—an entire cluster on the other hand…”
“Great,” she muttered as she strode back toward the flames. “Not only am I trapped with someone I loathe in an ice cave on a hostile fucking ice planet, there are starving Vydera in need of bribing so they don’teatus.”
Kedar made a thoughtful sound. “You also lost.”
Vessa grabbed the warming blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders before finding her spot near the fire once more. “Hardly. Ten seconds didn’t elapse before we were distracted by what was undoubtedly a murderous eight-legged creature lurking in the shadows. I was close to either rolling you or gaining the dominant position on your back.”
Kedar picked up his plasma dirk and spun the blade in his hand. She didn’t need to see his face to know he was far too proud of himself, smug smile and all. “You wouldn’t have made it in time. Accept defeat with grace.”
“I bet you add three inches to your dick size, too. If you want to call victory aftersevenseconds, go for it,” she said. “As for me, I’ll be sleeping. If any Vydera come, let them eat you first, will you? Since you’re so empathetic to their plight.”
“I have no need to lie about my size. It would work against me more than it would for me. As for the time, it was ten seconds by my count.”
Vessa refused to think about the size of his cock. She needed to fall asleep and forget the entire conversation.
But an hour later, she was still wide awake.
It was too cold and the past was too near. Too loud. She and Kedar used to spar and joke like that all the time. Their battles of wits were always deeply competitive and on the edge of flirtation. There was an ease with him—the way they fed off each other, trying to one up the other. They competed in everything they did, from kill counts to made-up challenges.
That ease shouldn’t exist anymore. There shouldn’t be a single moment she forgot who he was. What he’d done. Kedar was her enemy. That night he came to her faction, he’d spilled Seken blood.
The firelight glimmered off icicles hanging high above, and part of her wished they’d fall and impale her. Put her out of her misery.
Instead, the wind roared outside and echoed off the walls, bringing the past with it.
“Don’t bind yourself to Nikel,” Kedar said. “It is a great insult to you.”
Vessa couldn’t see him through the steam that rolled off the natural heated pool. Though there were several of the raised, overflowing, bowl-like structures, they’d decided on sharing one so they could talk. It wasn’t like the mist would suddenly part to expose their naked forms. Instead, it hung heavy and thick between them.
“I don’t have a choice.” She wanted to forget what the Elders had decreed just five days ago—she was to life-tie herself to Nikel, the favored son of Elder Fren. He was considered the best male warrior of her age, but Vessa was better. Far better.Regardless, the Elders had determined it was their obligation to give the faction future strong warriors.
