Chapter Six
Ival woke up and tastedchocolate.“What the fuck?”She was in a hospital-style bed, and there were flowers in a vase next to the table.She fumbled around and found the controller.It elevated her to sitting and must have triggered something.
She expected a nurse or something, but a member of the Sethir royal family walked in.
“Sand dragon.Here to finish the job?Letting prey run around wounded for nearly a decade is just bad hunter activity.”
He smiled slightly, and then his golden-scaled features smoothed.“Are you well?”
She checked her arms, and the smock was showing her unblemished skin.“Oh, shit.They took my skin off.”She reached up and touched her hair or rather...scalp.“And my hair.”
“The healers consulted with your scans and the cumulative effect of using your activation.So, your hands are now under your control, and you can probably still use your feet or saliva to attack your targets.”
She nodded and reached to touch her neck.“How the hell is this still here?”
“It has my DNA, not yours.The mark defended itself.”
Ival nodded.“Right.”
“When Riithan told me that he had seen you, and in what a state, I got myself together and made my way here.Your healing had already occurred.”
“What day is it?”
“Saturday.I am sorry, but you missed the party.”
She checked her com and her balance, smiling slightly.“I do love my friends.Caska got the funds from Thorassen.Anything to keep them away from that bitch.”
“You are cursing a lot.”
“You haven’t seen anything yet.”
He smiled and asked, “May I touch you?”
“Why would you want to?When last we met, I ended up dead.”
“Because I didn’t want to kill you.You had been injured in your previous bouts.I wasn’t aware of that until I was holding you.”
“Crushing.”
“Your ribs were already broken, and the heat in your abdomen showed internal bleeding.”
“Yeah, that happened frequently.”
“You said you died?”
“Yup.Just a regular day for me.They had a reviver, and she would carefully wake me up, and then I would go back to the cells until the next time they wanted me to try to kill someone.”
He took her hand, and her heart thumped at the comforting warmth of him.
She sighed.“What is your name?”
He smiled.“Riimal.I am Riithan’s uncle.”
“Yeah, that figures.You were on an ambassadorial visit?”
“Trade mission.After I won my bout with you, my people arrived to haul me home.My beast was freaking out that you were ours and you were gone, but he was insisting that you weren’t.”His thumb rubbed the back of her hand, the fine gold scales were smooth and so warm.
She wanted to pull her hand back, but it had been so long since she had just enjoyed a simple touch.She blinked and felt tears tracking down her cheeks.She touched her face.“My cybernetic eye is crying.”
