Page 19

“No?” I step back and meet his gaze.

“No.”

“I thought I wasn’t a prisoner here.”

“You’re not.”

“Then why can’t I go out there?”

“Commander, good, I caught you.” Altis jogs down the corridor toward us but slows when he catches the look we’re giving each other. “What’s going on?” he asks slowly.

“Good question.” I look up at Raiz. “Enlighten me.”

“This is a pleasure planet.”

“And?”

“It’s not safe.” His eyes narrow. “Are you aware of what types of establishments one finds on a pleasure planet?”

“Brothels. Bars. Gambling dens.”

“Exactly. It wouldn’t be safe for a human female out there.”

Altis’s gaze bounces back and forth between us. “He’s right. There’s slave trading here, too. A human female this far in the outer belt would be worth a large amount of credits.”

“Are either of you going?” Both of them are wearing cloaks with their hoods up, so if I were to guess, I’d say yes.

“On business.”

“I could come with you. I’ll stay out of the way.”

My eyes meet Altis’s and find him open to the idea. “I’d be okay with it.”

Raiz whips his head to his second in command. “You’ll take responsibility for her safety?”

“Yes.”

My lips lift in a smile, and I launch myself at Raiz, wrapping my arms around him in a hug. He stiffens against me.

“What are you doing, human?”

“This is called a hug. It's a human way of showing gratitude, happiness, love, et cetera.” I release him. “Thank you.”

“You need a cloak before we go.” Raiz walks stiffly back toward my quarters. “I’ll lend you one of my extras.”

Altis and I follow along behind him. He walks back into the bedroom, and I hear several of the locked cabinets open. A moment later he walks out into the main living area with multiple weapons and a black cloak draped over his arm.

He puts the weapons in various hidden compartments on his body and slides a dagger into his boot. Then he steps up to me and throws the cloak around my shoulders. It smells just like him but hangs down past my knees when the ones they wear hit them just below the hip.

He buckles the collar of the cloak and lifts the hood over my hair. “The rules are simple. Stay with Altis. Do what he says. Don’t speak to anyone. Don’t let anyone see your face.” He steps back and looks me up and down before looking over to Altis. “Does my cloak mask her scent?”

Altis steps forward, bends toward my neck, and sniffs. “It does, but you could scent mark her for extra protection. Who knows what species we’ll be near.”

The two males look at each other intently. The stare down lasts an oddly long time. And scent mark me?

“What the hell is scent marking?”

“Males on our planet scent mark others for protection. It serves as a form of protection.” Altis’s gaze moves from Raiz to me.