Page 11 of Adtovar (The Alliance Rescue #1)

I sat cross-legged on my cot, fingers deftly tearing apart an old, worn garment for makeshift bandages.

The fabric, once vibrant blue and used as a gladiator’s tunic, was now frayed and worn.

Age made it soft and supple, perfect for rebandaging Lafalia’s wounds.

It was tedious work, yet there was a certain comfort in the rhythmic sound of cloth tearing, a repetitive rip that filled the quiet—something to keep me occupied until Adtovar returned.

I left my room only once, long enough to check on Lafalia, who nestled under a thin blanket, her breathing steady and calm. The once-pinched look of pain had melted away from her face thanks to Adtovar’s medicine. Hopefully, we would be safe aboard his ship before she needed another dose.

Hope.

Ever since awakening as an alien abductee, I found myself faced with two stark options: comply or resist. Each choice carried its own share of inevitable pain.

Each glimmer of hope was a fleeting mirage, leaving behind only the jagged pieces of a broken heart and a yearning for something just out of reach.

I missed Earth.

I missed my aunt.

Yet until I met Adtovar, I never dared dream I might see her again and that this existence could be anything beyond a battle for survival, a daily grind with no promise of relief or safety.

Now, it was all I could do to suppress the effervescent bubbling sensation dancing in my blood.

Home wasn’t merely an abstract idea lingering in the recesses of my past any longer.

Now, it seemed a tangible and vivid possibility.

A loud ruckus echoed down the hallway, snapping my attention upward just as two burly guards appeared, forcefully guiding Adtovar into the cell opposite mine.

They held him roughly by the arms, treating him with the harshness usually reserved for slaves.

Adtovar, though unshackled, offered no resistance.

“Better get some rest, big boy.” The largest of the guards smirked, showing his yellow fangs as he pushed Adtovar through the doorway.

“Your first fight is tomorrow.” The guards weren’t the same species as Bozzo.

I didn’t know their species, only that they looked like alligators with flattened snouts.

They were Bozzo’s personal protection detail, a couple of males I’d nicknamed Fric and Frac.

Adtovar glanced over his shoulder, a sly smile curving his lips as his pale gaze leveled on the guard. “Perhaps I will meet you in the arena... or elsewhere.”

The larger guard’s face turned pale, his light green complexion draining of all color, while his beady black eyes widened with a mix of fear and disbelief.

He took a full step back from Adtovar, as if putting more distance between them could shield him somehow.

It seemed that the mere suggestion of facing Adtovar in combat had shaken him to his core. I bit back a giggle.

“We better get back.” The smaller guard, Fric, had enough sense to beat a hasty retreat. The larger of the two, Frac, reluctantly agreed with a grunt, turning once to issue a well-placed grimace in Adtovar’s direction.

Adtovar watched them depart, his face a canvas of annoyance. However, when his gaze shifted to meet mine, the tension in his features eased, and his eyes softened like the melting of ice in early spring. His full lips twitched slightly, curving upward in a hesitant effort to form a smile.

“You’re fighting?” I asked, coming to stand in the doorway of my cell, trying to hide the confusion and apprehension that gripped me.

Adtovar told me that his days of combat were past. Yet he’d be battling in the arena tomorrow if the guard could be believed.

Had he lied to me? Could I trust him at all?

“I don’t have a choice,” he sighed, the broad shoulders lifting in a shrug.

“Why not?” My mistrust waned somewhat, noticing the resignation on his face.

“It was the only way Bozzo would agree to sell you and the other females.”

“I thought you had a lot of money?” I knew he planned to offer Bozzo much more than we were worth.

“I do, and I offered it to him.” Adtovar’s lips curled in a disdainful grimace. “But he feels he can make more by me returning to the arena.”

“So, he was right. You were a champion gladiator.” I hated gladiators, I really did, but I didn’t seem to be able to conjure that feeling for Adtovar.

“A very long time ago.” Adtovar seemed exhausted by the admission.

“A long time ago?” I snort-laughed. “Really? You don’t look a day over thirty.” I’d guess thirty-five tops.

His deep laugh suggested I might be way off in my estimation. “I am well over thirty, little human, trust me.”

“Why don’t you trust me and tell me what the fuck is going on?” I snapped. It was becoming more and more apparent that Adtovar had a secret. A secret I needed to know if I was going to put my trust and hope of rescue in his hands.

Adtovar strode into my room, crossing the few steps needed to take a seat on my cot. I followed, sitting as well. Not close—it was perfectly respectable, but my heart increased in tempo, nonetheless.

“I am not as young as I appear.” Despite his words, the crooked grin he gave me was absolutely boyish. “A short while ago, I was gravely injured, and the only way to save my life was to put me in the Garoot Healer.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s a healing technology that can repair and regenerate cells. Treatment by a Garoot Healer returns a body to its most optimum level.”

“So, you’re telling me this machine can not only fix injuries, but it can also restore youth?” Damn, I’d kill to get my hand on one of those, if for nothing more than to help the females recover after prize night.

“Something like that,” Adtovar agreed. “At my age, I am considered an elder of my species.”

The plot from Benjamin Button swept through my brain. “And you were a gladiator when you were younger... before?”

“Yes, for many years.” Adtovar cut his eyes away as though he regretted the admission.

“How good were you?” I asked.

He drew in a deep breath, muscular chest expanding as the hands he held in his lap turned into fists. “I was champion... undefeated.” He grimaced at the memory. “But I was a different male back then. My mate and child died, and I fought to numb the pain of their loss. I was... brutal.”

The shame in his voice tore at my heart.

It wasn’t a secret Adtovar was hiding. It was pain.

I knew pain... and secrets. “I’m sorry about your family.

” I gently placed my hand on his forearm, intending to offer solace for his loss, but the moment our skin made contact, it felt as if a current of electricity surged between us, crackling like a live wire.

Adtovar’s eyes followed the movement as I pulled my hand from his arm. “How long has it been since you’ve been in the ring?” I asked to cover the awkwardness. Despite not touching him any longer, I still tingled.

“Not long,” he grunted, but then his expression softened with a faint smile.

“I was imprisoned in a pit only a few of your Earth months ago. It is where I met my human daughter, Willa.” His expression shifted again, the pale blue eyes growing dark.

“Before I came on this mission, I promised her I would not fight again.” His regret at breaking his word was so palpable it seemed to hang in the air like a heavy, cold fog, making my heart ache.

“I don’t want you breaking your word to your daughter, not for me,” I insisted.

I knew what it felt like to have a parent’s promise not come true.

Granted, mine had been because a drunk driver killed them.

But my eight-year-old heart felt the betrayal just the same when they didn’t come home as promised.

“There’s got to be another way. What about that ship of yours?

Can’t they just come down here and blow Bozzo to hell and rescue us? ”

Adtovar glanced at me, a faint hint of amusement brightening his pale eyes.

“There are layers upon layers of politics involved in the rescue of human slaves. The Alliance took Earth as a protectorate, which made it illegal to enslave or harm humans. But there is a caveat that doesn’t allow humans to be liberated by force.

Acts of aggression are seen as a declaration of war.

Stealth and trickery have proven best until now. ”

“Stealth and trickery,” I murmured, thinking how well the cunning tools had served me lately. “Bozzo still doesn’t know the real reason you’re here... correct?”

“Correct.”

“Well then, we’ve still got stealth and trickery on our side.

.. we may just have to adjust the plan a bit.

” Ideas danced in my mind, a vivid tapestry of chaos and explosions woven together with strands of general mayhem.

My lips parted slightly, an involuntary response to the urgent need to give voice to the tumultuous musings that clamored for release.

Adtovar gently placed his finger across my lips, and his touch seemed to flip some kind of switch in my psyche. My brain emptied in an instant, leaving only the tingling sensation of his fingers against my lip, ushering me to silence.

As his fingertips left my lips, I would swear his hand trembled. Or maybe I was the one doing the trembling. A moment later, I caught the sound of heavy footsteps approaching and understood the need for silence.

One of the guards who escorted Adtovar earlier—the smaller, nicer one I’d nicknamed Fric—appeared, carrying a couple of bottles of water and protein bars that he tossed to the male sitting at my side. Adtovar caught the bounty easily in one large hand, his chin lowering in a nod of gratitude.