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I hope I didn’t endanger the Order by accidentally mentioning them to Eryx. I might not want to go back to them, but that doesn’t mean I want any harm brought to them. It’s been my home and all I’ve ever known. I’ll always feel loyalty to the Order and the females who raised me, but I just don’t fit there. I never really did, if I’m being honest.

The question is, do I fit here? I have strong feelings for Raiz, and his friends feel like they could become mine, too. He wants me to stay, that much is clear from last night. Could I be his partner? He mentioned it last night before I drifted off, but it wasn’t like he was asking me for that type of commitment. He was just speaking in generalities. At least that’s what it sounded like.

I’m contemplating sitting on the shower bench and aiming the water to beat over me there when the door opens and Raiz steps into the room. He halts for a second, looking at all the steam but then moves toward the shower. He pulls open the door and steps inside with me, his body taking up most of the space.

He hisses as the water hits his skin and jumps back. “How can you have the water so hot, female?”

“It feels perfect like this.” I step back into the spray, blocking it from hitting him. “The hotter the better, I always say.”

He reaches around me to the control pad and a nozzle drops from the ceiling. Lukewarm water rains down over his head and he arches his neck, running his hands through his hair. I take the opportunity to study his body some more. The scar on his neck is by far the most noticeable on his body, but looking closely in the light, I see several dotting his torso. My thumb grazes one on his side.

“What happened here?”

He steps out of the water and looks down. “I don’t remember, I’ve had it so long.” He turns and shows me a circular scar on his other side. “But this one is from the Xlyopian Invasion, one of them ran me through with a spiked staff.”

“Zeahiri was invaded?” I didn’t see anything about that in the history books I read, although I didn’t have time to read that many. My knowledge of their history and culture is still lacking.

He smirks. “They tried.” I wait for him to explain while he rinses the shampoo from his hair. “It was short lived, and they failed, rather spectacularly if I might add. This,” he points at his side, “only happened because I was shielding a group of children.”

“Has anyone else tried?”

“Yes. Our entire existence has been filled with others coming to invade.”

“Why? I mean no offense, but your planet isn’t in a desirable system.”

“It’s not, but we are rich in minerals due to the volcanic past of our planet. There are many reasons to try to wrest it from our control.”

“Even though technology doesn’t work.” Which, now that I think about it, leads to many more questions. “Wait. How did you become advanced enough to have ships like this? And your hospitals in space?”

“Trade. Not everyone who comes for our minerals wants to take the planet, some just wanted to trade. One of our most long-lasting trade relationships is with Chortlotal 3, they brought us all the tech we have now. Taught us how to use it, how to mold it to suit our needs.”

“How long ago was that?”

“Long before I was born.” He turns the water off and grabs a towel.

“Which was a long time ago.” I shriek when he shakes his hair off, splattering my recently dried body with specks of water.

He laughs, fangs poking out the tiniest bit from beneath his lips, and my heart does a summersault in my chest. It’s beyond attraction. Deeper than affection. Warmth spreads through my body, and I rise onto my toes, pressing a kiss to his lips when he bends to meet me. If there was a way to bottle this feeling and keep it locked inside me, I would.

CHAPTER23

RAIZ

* * *

“What are we doing here?” Neev looks around the empty training center with curiosity. She walks over to the wall of training weapons.

“You’re going to choose a weapon, and I’m going to give you a crash course on using it properly.”

“Why?” She looks over her shoulder at me. “Do you think I’m still in danger?”

“Yes. You’ll be in danger until my mission is completed. Especially when we go underground to the temple. I need to know you’ll be able to protect yourself in case I can’t get to you.”

“Are you worried about the males who attacked me following us?”

“Not really. I’m mostly concerned about the creatures we’ll encounter on our journey.”

Her eyebrows rise. “What kinds of creatures?”