Page 10 of Champion (The Outlander Book Club… in Space! #6)
Willa’s steps rushed beside me, keeping up with my strides as we rushed back to her quarters.
Her incessant questioning had ceased, thankfully.
Especially since we were in an area easily overheard.
Her aggravation with my silence hadn’t waned, exasperated puffs of breath echoing her footsteps.
Yet she did not pull her hand from mine.
I didn’t want to answer Willa. Saying it out loud might make it true. The guard’s words roiled my head and stomach, worry feeling like slime over my skin.
Kissing.
I’d rather think about kissing. It was nothing like I imagined from reading descriptions in my Earth studies.
Not even watching my Chieftain and his mate share a kiss has prepared me for the softness of Willa’s lips against my own.
Her taste, reminiscent of a sweet frozen tweet from my childhood, lingered on my tongue.
I wanted nothing more than to step into the shadows, pull her into my arms, and kiss her until the sun rose.
But Willa was in danger, much more than she even realized.
As much as I desired my mate, her safety was paramount.
The row of stone cottages was silent, save for murmured words and the grumbling rattle of snores. Dim bulbs glowed yellow from overhanging lights, illuminating tiny windows along our path.
Adtovar lounged on Willa’s cot when we entered her room. Part of me wanted to growl at him to remove himself from my mate’s bed, but we had—as humans were apt to put it—bigger fish to fry.
“What happened?” His eyes swept over us, his mouth curving into a teasing smirk as he noticed our joined hands. “Did you speak with him, or did you get carried away with the pretend mating?”
Willa pulled her hand from mine, issuing a low growl of warning to the warrior as she slumped into one of the small chairs.
I raised a finger to my lips, signaling silence to the both of them before moving toward the one small window that looked out onto the pathway.
Nothing but darkness greeted my perusal.
I tilted my head, listening for any sound that indicated someone was nearby.
Satisfied we could talk in private; I returned to where Willa sat beside the table and pulled out the other chair, moving it close to her side.
With a flick of my gaze, Adtovar rose from the bed and joined us. Pulling up a small stool that hopefully would accommodate his massive frame. His countenance had lost the teasing lilt, and nothing but concern wavered in his pale eyes.
“He said Nansar plans for me to kill his father.” Willa crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes so far back into her head that I worried they might not return to normal.
“I was afraid it was something like that.” Adtovar rubbed a hand over his chin, eyes troubled.
“Well, he’s shit out of luck,” Willa huffed. “I’m not killing anybody.”
I adored my mate’s stubborn determination, but it did not alleviate my worry. Not one bit.
“Unless….” I hesitated to say the words, catching Willa’s gaze. Her dark blue eyes widened slightly, and she issued a short, jerky nod for me to continue. She seemed hesitant. Like me, did she fear saying the words aloud would conjure them into existence?
“Unless what?” Adtovar demanded, squirming on his stool.
I took a deep breath. “There are rumors Nansar has engaged a Zarpazian.”
“Fuck!” Adtovar had picked up some of Willa’s more colorful verbiage. “Any idea which Zarpazian?”
“Vrases.”
“Double fuck!” Adtovar stood from his stool, paced back and forth a few paces, then settled again with a thump.
“Okay, somebody tell me what’s so scary about these Zarpazians,” Willa demanded, watching him.
“Zarpazians are shapeshifters.” I shifted, resting my elbows on my knees so I could meet Willa’s dark blue gaze eye to eye.
“They can shift into any like-sized being they make contact with. As such, they make excellent assassins, and from what I’ve heard, Vrases is one of the best.” Better than one of the best. According to Alliance metrics, Vrases was the most prolific assassin in the universe.
I flicked my gaze to Adtovar and recognized from his expression that he’d heard the same statistics I had.
“So, you think Nansar will use this Vrases to kill the Duke while looking like me?” Willa studied me curiously, lips slightly pursed. Which, of course, made me think about kissing her again.
I took a deep breath, quelling the rush of desire. “Yes.”
“Well, as long as Nansar doesn’t try to make me do it,” Willa quipped, bristling when she noticed Adtovar’s and my startled gazes. “Don’t get me wrong, I’d hate for the Duke to die. But I’d hate worse, Nansar hurting or killing one of you to try and make me do it.”
Without conscious thought, my hand moved to rest on her shoulder. “You don’t understand. For a Zarpazian to shift into your form, he would need to touch you.”
Willa shrugged her shoulders but didn’t attempt to dislodge my grip. “So? Look, I get you don’t like other guys touching me with all his mate shit. But really, he has to touch me? So what?”
Adtovar loosed a deep breath, tinged with a groan as he met her gaze. “When a Zarpazian touches the being they mean to copy—they draw the life essence. Being touched by a Zarpazian means death.”
“Shit!” Willa uttered another of her favorite earth curses, eyes wide.
“Double shit,” Adtovar said by way of emphasizing.
“Didn’t Malakal say it was only a rumor that Nansar met with this guy?” Willa’s blue eyes met mine, wavering with unease. The idea that she felt fear settled into a painful knot in my gut.
“Yes,” I admitted. But quickly added the decision I’d made upon hearing about the Zarpazian. “But relegating this threat to rumor is not a chance I’m willing to take.”
“What do we do?” Willa schooled her features to determination, but the squeak of her chair belied her tremble.
I let my hand slide from her shoulder to the small of her back, noticing the tremors racing through her body seemed to quell at my touch.
Pride bloomed in my chest at calming my mate.
I would do anything to keep her from fear, or harm.
“I came here to rescue you, and that’s what I mean to do.” I accompanied my announcement with slow circles of my palm against her back.
“Except now you have a timetable for completion.” Adtovar didn't scoff at my words. Instead, worry framed his aging features. “A rather urgent one if the Zarpazian rumor is true.”
“Could he already be here?” Willa asked, her trembling returning.
This time, I let my arm slide fully around her waist. She stiffened for a heartbeat, then sighed and leaned against my shoulder.
Goddess, what I wouldn’t give to be able to take her in my arms to comfort and please her. Yet now was not the time.
“I doubt it,” Adtovar answered her worry. “Zarpazian assassins are exorbitantly expensive—especially Vreses. If Nansar is using one, he won’t have him arrive until closer to the celebration several rotations from now.”
“Malakal will let us know if he hears the Zarpazian has arrived,” I added, agreeing with Adtovar’s assessment.
“Do you believe we can trust this guard?” Adtovar’s questioning gaze flickered from me to Willa.
“Yes,” I answered without hesitation. “I saw the pain of a lost mate in his eyes. A mate he lost due to Nansar.”
Adtovar took my recommendation with a nod, a sliver of that same pain flickering through his pale gaze.
“Tomorrow during training, when the guards are distracted by the sparring, I will look for weakness in the arena barricades in order to escape,” I said, a plan formulating in my brain.
My skiff was nearby but having noted the number of guards, I suspected only one or maybe two guards guarded my ship, if any—which was easily dealt with.
The issue was getting Willa to the skiff without detection.
“Stay away from the escarpment,” Adtovar snorted. “The tunnels lead to death, not freedom. Trust me, I know.”
“Should we….” Willa cleared her throat and straightened slightly. “Should we tell the other gladiators about the Zarpazian? If this guy kills with a touch, they could all be at risk.”
Adtovar leaned over, one massive hand covering the two Willa held clenched on the tabletop. “Your heart is in a good place, but our acquaintance is too new. We don’t know how much we can trust the others yet. Plus, there is still the hope that this is only a rumor.”
“A rumor we must behave as if true.” I insisted. To be unprepared for all occurrences could prove deadly. “To be safe, you should let no one close enough to touch you except me or Adtovar.”
Willa sputtered, giving a choked laugh. “Don’t worry.” She flickered her gaze toward me, the pink in her cheeks deepening, just like they did after our kiss. “What about what the guard said about the mating shit?”
“What did he say?” Adtovar’s eyes narrowed curiously.
“That if Nansar finds out, he might use it against me… or Charick.” Her voice grew low and worried.
“That could prove problematic,” Adtovar gave, tapping his chin with the point of a finger.
I steeled myself against growling, against reacting in any way to the insinuation that there was anything of issue about my being mated to Willa… except her hesitancy, of course.
My mate didn’t seem at all ruffled by his statement. Deep thought played over her beautiful face for a few moments before she issued a ‘ pffft’ along with a dismissive wave. “If anybody asks, we can just say we’re fuck buddies.”
Adtovar and I shared a glance of horrified curiosity.
“Fuck buddies?” The older gladiator made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a gag. “What in the moons of Gilese is that?”
Willa’s dark blue eyes danced between her trainer and me, ending when she gave an exasperated sigh. “Seriously? Fuck buddies are two people who get together for the sole purpose of having sex. No mating, no relationship… just sex.”
“Ahhh,” Adtovar grinned. “Like visiting one of the pleasurers on the Hartouk Lenaii.”