Assured mutual destruction.
The Andarion didn’t flinch or move as he kept his own dot clearly centered between Bastien’s eyes. If he wasn’t wearing his shooting goggles, that light would have burned out his vision and left him blind. “One twitch, human, and I promise you’ll be dead before I will.”
Bastien refused to back down or let his words rattle him. Honestly? He’d heard worse threats from his mother for leaving the toilet seat up in her personal bathroom.
So he kept his own dot right where the Andarion’s heart was. But he also knew that a lengthy standoff would give the Andarion’s family time to move in behind him. Better to defuse the situation and let him know Bastien wasn’t a threat than risk an injury.
With his left hand held up, he moved slowly forward. “Ditto.”
The Andarion scowled as he raked a look over Bastien’s ragged clothing that said he’d figured out Bastien was alone and not in much position to be a big threat to him.
Other than the blaster he held.
He could only imagine what the Andarion must think. Bastien’s clothes were worn out. And though he had his hair tied back, away from his eyes, it was long and ragged from where he’d been keeping it cut with a blunt knife. He always meant to request shears from Jullien or Unira, but somehow he forgot about it whenever he talked to them. Those brief breaks in loneliness made him forget a lot of things.
His cheek itched, reminding him of how scraggly his beard was, too. Yeah, he probably looked like a reject from some psych ward.
After a few seconds, a slow smile of appreciation spread across the Andarion’s face. “So are we going to stand here all day, weapons drawn? I’m game if you are.”
His humor caught Bastien off guard. He relaxed a tiny degree, as the Andarion’s demeanor and manner reminded him a lot of his old friend Fain Hauk. Only a mighty War Hauk could be this relaxed and nonchalant with a blaster trained on him.
Or an idiot.
That led him back to his War Hauk analogy as they were made up of equal parts of stupid and courageous.
But he didn’t miss the way the Andarion watched his eyes carefully, as if to see whether or not Bastien intended to attack him. That alone told him just how skilled a killer this gargantuan male was.
Which meant he’d kill Bastien if he sensed a threat.
With no choice, Bastien did something he hadn’t done in a long time.
He trusted his gut and lowered his weapon.
Yet not so much that he couldn’t get a well-placed shot off should the Andarion make a move he didn’t like.
“Look, I’m just here to scavenge before the others arrive. You do your thing, I do mine, and we part ways.”
The Andarion nodded. “You’re Kirovarian?”
That set off every alarm in Bastien’s body. He took aim at his heart again. “How do you know that?”
The warrior holstered his weapon with a nonchalance that said he had no intention of attacking. “Your accent. So what was your rank, soldier?”
Yeah, he was an astute bastard. Deciding the best course of action would be to attempt a friendly encounter, Bastien finally put his own weapon away. “What kind of Andarion knows humans so well?”
“I was schooled with humans.”
Bullshit! Bastien knew thatneverhappened. He brought his weapon up, intending to kill him where he stood. But before he could pull the trigger, the Andarion disarmed him with lightning speed.
Bastien attacked.
The Andarion deflected the blow and returned it with one that would have incapacitated him had it made contact. Luckily, Bastien dodged just in time. But before he could counter with another strike, the Andarion twirled, and delivered a staggering fist to his jaw that rang his bell for days. Worse, the oversized bastard head-butted him then flipped him to the ground.
Stunned and dazed, Bastien waited for the Andarion to finally put him out of his never-ending misery.
He didn’t.
Instead, the Andarion stared at Bastien’s stomach, where his shirt had lifted to betray the brand that cut through Bastien’s soul and dignity every time he saw it.
