Page 6 of Champion (The Outlander Book Club… in Space! #6)
The dining hall was located in the largest stone building on the row.
It reminded me of every other arena dining hall.
Long tables and sturdy chairs made of roughhewn wood occupied the center of the room, while along a far wall stood the table offering the daily selection of gruel manned by bored Aljani guards.
The space was hot, filled with the stench of tasteless food and sweating males, and the few windows that broke the monotony of the stone walls were not enough to let in a breeze of any consequence.
Everyone hushed as we entered, Adtovar in front, followed by Willa and then me.
The gazes that regarded us were curious, darting between the three of us, perhaps with wonder that I’d let another warrior this close to the female I’d claimed as my mate.
I still wondered about that myself. If not for the fact that the care Adtovar expressed toward my mate was fatherly in tone, I wouldn’t have allowed it.
My mating with Willa would take patience.
From watching my Chieftain woo his female, I knew human females were nothing like Vaktaire when it came to mating.
On my home world, when a male spotted a female that held his interest, he simply communicated that fact.
The couple would then have sex to determine if they were compatible.
If so, then the priestess would be called to perform the valakana.
If the goddess blessed the couple, the ritual would be successful, ending with a paired heartbeat.
If not, the pair would either choose to stay together or go their separate ways and hope to be blessed by the goddess with another match.
While I would like nothing better than to explore the lusciousness of my mate’s body and bury myself deep within her, I knew that would take time.
Based on my research and observation of Khaion and Emmy, unlike most Vaktaire pairings where physical congress led to emotional intimacy, humans did it backward, with emotional closeness more necessary to the female than the physical.
Still, I stayed near my mate, not touching her, but physically present, standing close with only a few inches separating our bodies lest anyone doubt my claim.
The guards eyed us curiously as we approached the serving table.
While none of them were present when I made my claim, I’d been in enough pits to know how gossip traveled.
Thankfully, the interest didn’t seem more than idle curiosity at my presence—at least for now.
I would admit, we must look strange, two large warriors sandwiching the dainty female that truthfully had us both wrapped around her little finger.
We waited our turn in the serving line, the guards sloppily loading metal plates with protein porridge, stale bread, and some type of greens that smelled of bitterness.
Adtovar and I gave a nod of gratitude when handed the sustenance.
I knew from experience that insulting the pitiful fare served might cause lesser rations or downright starvation.
Willa didn’t attempt to hide the scrunch of her tiny, upturned nose, signaling her distaste. Perhaps she had never known hunger as I had. I vowed to myself that she never would.
The other gladiators settled at a central table, huddling over their food with little conversation. The pit wasn’t conducive to making lifelong friendships.
“We usually eat at that table.” Adtovar stalled at the end of the serving line and nodded to a smaller table in the far corner.
“We can’t make friends being standoffish,” Willa mused.
Setting her shoulders and plastering a smile on her face she marched straight toward the central table.
Adtovar and I shared a worried glance before following.
We had decided that Willa should make the overture of acquaintance.
Friendly gestures coming from Adtovar or myself might seem…
strange. Although how the others might wrongly perceive a friendly gesture from a female human churned my stomach with concern.
I stayed close to her side lest I need to battle away an overzealous male.
Other than Adtovar and myself, the pit housed nine other gladiators. The table where they gathered accommodated sixteen, leaving room for the three of us at the far end. Adtovar and I plopped our plates on the tabletop and took seats, keeping Willa between us.
“Hi, I’m Willa.” My mate announced. Half the gladiators looked like they wanted to jump and run, but she didn’t let it deter her.
Smiling broadly, she swept her hand out, “This is Adtovar and...” she paused for effect, “Charick.” Most of the gladiators heard me claim her as a mate.
How they felt about it, and whether one or more of them might challenge my claim, remained a worrisome unknown.
“I hope you don’t mind.” Willa flashed an even broader smile, and the sight of it touched my heart. “We thought we’d join you tonight, maybe get to know each other.”
Eighteen eyes jumped between the three of us, cautiously assessing. Finally, the smallest in the group, a yellow-scaled Irvikuva, spoke in a faint, timid voice.
“Greetings to you, female warrior. My name is Zahavi.” Deep red eyes blinked at us from underneath purple shaggy hair as his forked tongue flickered out… testing like a serpent.
“Hi Zahavi, it’s nice to meet you,” Willa was the epitome of politeness, but seated so close, I felt her faint shiver. She elbowed first Adtovar, then me, and we nodded toward the Irvikuva in greeting.
“So, Zahavi, what brings you to this fine establishment?” Willa prodded, tearing off a piece of stale bread with her blunt white teeth. I couldn’t wait to get her back aboard the Bardaga , so I could feed her well with delicious foods… and often.
The red eyes darted about as the Irvikuva shoveled a spoonful of protein porridge between his thin purple lips.
“I hope you have a better reason for being here than the three of us,” Willa prompted. “We’re basically prisoners.”
Zahavi watched Willa curiously, his red eyes darkening as his forked tongue appeared again and again, as though he could osmose Willa’s character and intent from her scent. Finally, whatever seemed to worry him faded, and he laid down his fork with a purring sigh.
“I am a prisoner, just like you, my Lady.”
At his side, a massive Kaelaks growled in warning. Over seven feet tall with ripped muscles covered by deep green scaled skin and deep purple eyes, the Kaelaks, despite their size and reputation with a blade, were mostly known as merchants.
Willa completely ignored his displeasure, flashing him a wide smile. “Hi, I’m Willa. I love your dreadlocks.”
“My what?” The Kaelaks blinked at her, dumbfounded.
Willa lifted a hand to her own soft brown hair. “Your hair. We call that style dreadlocks on Earth.”
Surely, my mate was only being polite. Kaelaks didn’t have hair but thick, coiled strands like coated wire that hung to the middle of his back.
Whether or not my mate was truthful, her words served the desired effect. The scaled green warrior smiled, exposing sharp, pointed teeth. When he spoke, his voice was gruff and bashful, as though he had no idea how to respond to simple kindness.
“I thankee lady.” He squared his shoulders and thumped his chest. “I am called Xabat.”
“Xabat,” Willa repeated and smiled. “Well, Xabat, like Zahavi, you don’t look like you belong here either. What happened?”
Our intent was simple. Find the gladiators who had a reason to hate Nansar and capitalize on it.
Zahavi and Xabat shared a glance, and it was the smaller male who spoke first.
“I was a medic with a mercenary crew,” Zahavi spoke softly, his gaze lingering on the guards milling about the edge of the room to ensure they were out of earshot.
Thankfully, Aljani weren’t known for their hearing.
“It was a good life until Nansar contracted us to kidnap human females from a planet called Tau Ceti. My crew didn’t believe in slavery…
most of us having suffered it ourselves.
When we refused to complete the job, Nansar sent a team of Kerzak to wipe out my entire crew.
He brought here because....” He shrugged with a sigh. “Every pit needs a medic.”
“I am so sorry, Zahavi,” Willa said, the sincerity in her tone shocking the Irvikuva. He blinked furiously, giving my mate a respectful nod.
And so, it went as one by one, each gladiator fell under the charm of my mate.
Xabat had been working on an Alliance merchant vessel that inadvertently discovered Ambassador Yaard of the Kerzak using Alliance trade routes to ship slaves and drugs.
Most of his crew were killed or imprisoned.
Because Xabat was the largest and had a reputation as a fighter, Nansar brought him to the pit.
Xabat’s brother Xytol remained in captivity, and Xabat wanted nothing more than to escape and find him.
A Trogvyk named Gatto—a purple alien with feline features—proved the angriest. Trogvyk were slavers, the species responsible for kidnapping Willa and her friends.
Gatto had been a lone voice among his crew who argued against turning human females over to the Kerzak earning Ambassador Yaard’s ire which led to his imprisonment in the pit.
Ixaka, a Wojonik with dark red skin, yellow eyes, horns, wings, and a tail, who Willa whispered reminded her of someone called Satan, was the friendliest. He’d been working as hired muscle for Ambassador Yaard but became sickened by how the Kerzak treated human females, especially since females were rare and precious on his home world.
He’d tried to send a message to the Alliance regarding Yaard’s behavior and rescue the females held captive, but the Kerzak captured and dumped him here.