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CHAPTER

NINE

CORVAK

We travel through the day, climbing higher, heading for the tallest peak in the range of jagged, purplish mountains.

I enjoy the climb—my muscles burn with the workout, and I like that I'm getting to exercise.

Aidy's breathing is heavy behind me, a sign that she's struggling to keep up, but she never complains.

When dusk approaches, there is no cave to shelter in, so we look for rocks that will protect us from the worst of the wind and relax wrapped in furs, seated upright and pressed against one another.

Aidy's mood is terrible. She's no longer chatting or teasing.

She's been silent since our earlier conversation, and I don't know how to break her from her sadness.

I am beginning to suspect that Aidy is not a human captive as she thinks, but a clone like me.

It would explain the lack of specific memories, and the fact that the hand that grips mine when we climb has no calluses, no scars of any kind.

I keep these thoughts to myself. I do not think she is ready to hear them.

I do not like her silence, though. I am good at answering her questions, but when it is my turn to ask what troubles her, I do not know how to begin.

I want her to smile and say teasing things.

I like Aidy best when she is joking, her mood light despite the danger of our situation.

Now her expression is bleak, as if she has lost all hope.

I have to give it back to her somehow. But how?

The skies darken as we sit under the furs together.

As they do, the stars come out. Like grains of sand, they fill the night sky and pepper it with light.

There are two moons here, but the stars are the true beauty.

The skies begin to dance with greenish and pink hues in addition to the colorful nebulas splashed amongst the darkness.

It is awe-inspiring to see, and I wonder if she appreciates it as much as I do.

I nudge Aidy with my elbow. "Do you see the stars? "

"Hard not to." She sounds a bit like her old self, and she leans her head against my shoulder.

I like that she pulls closer to me. "Which one is yours?"

"No idea," she says. Then her face crumples and she sobs.

I panic. She is that sad today? I turn to face her fully, wiping at her wet cheeks. "Do not cry, Aidy."

"S-sorry." She sniffs hard and wipes her face, her hand tangling with mine, but the tears keep coming. "Not trying to be a baby."

"You are not a baby." I brush her hair back from her wet cheeks as if my fussing will somehow help the situation. I need her to be happy. I need her to laugh. So I think fast. "Do you want me to kill something?"

The sound she makes is a cross between a choked laugh and a cough, but it's a good sign. "Kill something?"

"It makes me feel better to be productive."

Aidy sniffs again and gives me a woebegone look. "Something's wrong with me, Corvak. I keep trying to find memories that I know should be there, but I can't come up with anything. It's freaking me out. I hated the movie Memento , you know. Now I'm living it."

My suspicion that she is a clone heightens, but that might alarm her even more, so I keep it to myself.

"I am here with you. Whatever happens, I am with you.

" I offer my hand to her, palm up, and I am pleased when she slides her cold fingers into my grasp.

I give them a reassuring squeeze. "How do you feel physically? Any pains? Weaknesses?"

She swipes at her nose and gives me a wary look. "Fine, I guess."

"Are you still aroused?"

This time she snorts. "Always."

"Then I do not see a problem." And I grin.

This time, she does laugh. It's a little reluctant, but she manages a small smile. And even though my cock aches and throbs, and I want nothing more than that little smile of hers. "I appreciate the pep talk. It's just…the memories thing? It scares me."

I nod, then hold up a finger. "Do you know what this is?"

Her eyes flash with irritation and she grabs my finger and pulls it down. "Be serious, Corvak."

"I am serious. You know the basics. You know what a hand is. You know how to drink water. You know how to put on your clothing. You know how to work my cock. So you do have a few memories." I shrug.

Her gaze grows suspicious. "Why is it we always end up talking about your cock again?"

"Because it proves my point."

This time, Aidy's brow goes up. "How, exactly?"

"I did not know how things worked and you did. That tells me you have more knowledge than you think."

She grows quiet at that, her expression thoughtful.

"But I don't know my name. My full name.

Aidy's short for something. And I keep trying to picture my parents, but I can't see them, either.

I can't remember what I did for a living, just that I had a commute that was forty-five minutes each way and traffic was a nightmare. "

I decide to give her an answer—but a vague one.

"We cannot rule out that you were drugged or left in stasis for so long that it has clouded your memories.

The ones that sent us here have no boundaries to what they will or will not do.

It is likely that this is temporary, just like the suppressants they gave me, and your memories will return with time. "

Aidy brightens, hope on her delicate face. "You think so?"

I smile at her and lie because the truth will hurt her. "I do."

She buries her face against my arm, holding it to her thrumming chest. "You're the best, Corvak. I'm glad if I had to be stranded out here, it was with you. Thank you for being so supportive."

The pleasure in her voice makes me want to pull her close. To haul her into my lap and hold her tight. Grind her against my throbbing cock, sure, but mostly to just hold her. "We are together in this, Aidy. You are mine and I am yours."

She peeks up at me. "I'm sorry I didn't jerk your cock for you this morning."

Just like that, my sac tightens, and I am ready to release. I grit my teeth. You could jerk it now.

But I still do not yet understand Aidy's moods, and she said she had to want it.

That her touching me is not a given. That it must be her choice.

And if I try to think like Aidy, I am thinking that she is not in a cock-jerking mood, despite the arousal that perfumes the air around her.

It kills me to simply nod. "You did not want it. I am learning."

Her smile grows broader, Aidy leaning against my arm with such trust. "You're a good guy…" Her gaze goes to the night sky. "…and the stars are really pretty tonight."

"Better than on your planet?" I ask, glancing up at them. "I only have memories of a space station and laboratories, so they are new to me."

"Back home there were so many city lights that you couldn't really see the stars, not like this.

I don't know if they're different or similar, but you can see them here.

" She points up. "And those waving green lights?

I think those are Northern Lights. Like the Aurora Borealis.

At least, that's what we called them back home. "

"Are they only in the north? They look a bit like smoke."

"I don't know. I—" She breaks off abruptly as something white flashes directly above us. "A shooting star."

We both stare in silence as the thing flares brightly, a long tail streaking across the sky. It looks as if it lands just on the other side of the mountains, and a tiny dome of light trails after it.

"Holy shit, did it land?" Aidy's fingers dig into my arm. "What was that?"

I don't know. Perhaps a change to the game's rules? Perhaps we are not being bloodthirsty enough for those that are running this bout and so they seek to shake things up. "It might be a weapon drop, perhaps a tool of some kind. Supplies."

Her eyes are wide as she stares at me. "Should we go get it?"

I contemplate this. We are likely not the only ones that have seen this flaring light, this drop.

There will be others hunting for it, which is dangerous.

But if it is weapons, I cannot allow the others to get all of them and put the other gladiators at an advantage.

"We should, in the morning when it is safe. "

"I don't know if I'm going to be able to sleep," Aidy breathes.

Nor me.