Page 31

CHAPTER

TWENTY-TWO

AIDY

My stomach is worse today. I move between bouts of cooking for the snow-people and vomiting in a quiet corner of the cave, in an empty bag that's going to need to be tossed when Corvak returns.

If he returns. I don't like that he's been gone so long.

It's been days since I've seen him, and I know he's trying to trap the enemy.

I just wish he'd check in, or let me know that things are going all right.

Something. What if he never returns because he's been caught—or worse—and I'm stuck in this cave until the game is over?

What if the game is never over?

The thought makes me retch again.

Sweating and pale, I forget all about cooking for a moment and move to the front of the cave.

The snow-people are just outside, hovering in wait.

I don't see Pinkie—she hasn't been coming to the cave since I ran out of roots.

I know she has to feed herself, but I feel like I lost a friend.

The ones clustered just outside are all males, hungry for soup, and today's dish is fish that smells like it turned a week ago.

I boil it up anyway, because they'll eat it, and I'm afraid not to feed them.

As long as they keep bringing me carcasses, I'll keep cooking.

Right now though, I need fresh air. So I don't go quite to the front of the cave. I stay at least an arm's length or two back, lean against the cave wall and sink to the floor, and just breathe in fresh, cool air as it wafts in.

"Aidy?"

I jerk awake, horrified to realize I've fallen asleep—or passed out, more like. Scrubbing a hand over my sour mouth, I blink at my surroundings. Corvak crouches in front of me, a look of concern on his face.

"More sickness?" he asks, as if he can smell it on me.

"I'm fine," I say, blinking off the last of the disorientation.

"Just a little off today. How did it go?

You're safe? You're well? No injuries?" I run my hands over his crude clothing, looking for rips or dried blood.

Corvak isn't the type to complain if he's wounded, but I'd still want to take care of him.

"Let me know if you have any scratches. You could get infected with anything. "

He touches my arm. His mouth flattens into a thin line and my spirits plummet. Oh no. Failure, then. He wasn't able to capture the stranger. I reach out to reassure him?—

There's a cacophony of hooting outside, and the sounds of a scuffle.

"Get your hands off! They don't belong there!" shouts an unfamiliar voice. "The tail is off-keffing-limits, you idiots! Hey, you! Call off your lackeys!"

Corvak exhales entirely through his nose, his face set in what can only be resignation.

He gets to his feet, and I stand, too. He deliberately places himself in front of me, as if trying to block my view of the cave entrance.

I peer out from behind his shoulder anyhow, too tired to complain that he's being overbearing.

I'll add it to the book of grudges to discuss later.

A moment later, a large figure limps to the cave entrance, favoring one leg. He leans on the rocks and glares at Corvak. "No, no," he drawls. "It's fine. I can manage on a broken ankle. Don't get up."

"I found him. Our enemy," Corvak says, his hands moving back as if to brace me. "And he won't be silent."

I'm surprised. For some reason, I hadn't given much thought to what the other aliens we landed here with would look like.

I'd assumed they'd all look more or less like Corvak.

The man at the entrance looks…well, he looks like a cat.

Where Corvak seems to have a few feline traits, this stranger looks as if someone mushed an oversized human with an equally oversized cat and made a person out of them.

He's even got the split mouth and muzzle of a cat, unlike Corvak, who has heavier-but-still-human features.

His triangular ears are flat with dislike, and I can see his tail swishing.

That's different. Corvak has the Manx-like stump, but the stranger's tail is long and fully furred.

He's tall and broad, but the downy fur that covers him is short and a pale gray with a hint of striping, like a tabby, whereas Corvak is dark gray all over. This man even has whiskers .

"You brought him back," I whisper to Corvak. "Thank you."

"You won't be thanking me in a few moments," Corvak continues, voice dry. "Like I said, he won't be silent."

The man hobbles a few steps more into our cave, and then his nose twitches. He recoils and looks at us in horror. "I thought it smelled bad outside, but what the kef are you cooking?"

"Nothing you'd want to eat," I reply, and for some reason, I want to smile.

Is this one of the gladiators we're supposed to be fearing?

He seems cranky and a little fussy…much like a cat.

He's not instilling me with fear, either.

He seems more like a put- out guest than a dangerous enemy.

I rest my hand on Corvak's back, staying behind him just in case I'm reading things entirely wrong.

The man shakes his head, limps in a few more spots, and then sits down away from the cooking fire. He leans against the wall heavily, panting, and his long tail thumps on the ground like he's irritated. "Your nose must be useless if you can live with all these smells."

"Don't you worry about my nose," Corvak growls at him. "Just sit there and behave. And don't talk to Aidy."

The cat man smiles, even as he stretches out his wounded leg with careful precision. "Aidy? Is that her name? I see why you were so eager to get back here."

Corvak growls, and I can practically see him bristle. "Do not?—"

The cat man waves a hand at us, dismissing Corvak's fury. "Don't worry. I'm not interested." He grimaces, leaning forward and rubbing his calf muscles. "I'm Valmir, not that you asked, and I'm far too tired to get into a pissing contest with a male that hasn't had the stones to mark his door."

"Mark his door…?" Corvak bites out the words, baffled. He glances back at me and then at the stranger. "What are you going on about? What is it you think you know?"

"Guess that's not an instinct thing, then? Huh." He shrugs. "Like I said, not interested in your female. I'm…already taken. Sort of. And I'm keffing tired. And I hurt. You don't have any herbs do you? Something for pain?"

"I could knock you out," Corvak growls. "Tempted to do it regardless. Just keep running that mouth of yours."

The cat man—Valmir—grins, showing sharp feline teeth. He leans back again, eyes closing, and slumps against the cave wall. "Of course. Just pretend I'm not here."

Corvak looks like he's going to bust a blood vessel.

He cups my elbow and steers me into our bedroom.

His eyes are glowing slits, but I don't have to see his face to know he's pissed.

I can feel it in the air. Even the soft vibration in his chest sounds a little pissy.

"This was a mistake," he tells me in a low voice.

"I don't like him here. I don't like that he knows where we are. "

"It's going to be okay," I reassure him. "I'm not getting bad vibes from him. And we don't have to like him. We just need to get information from him."

"He was too smiley when he talked to you," Corvak growls. "I don't like that. I don't like how he looked at you."

"How exactly did he look at me?" I've been eyeballed by creeps in the past and you learn to pick up on that sort of thing, and Valmir was sarcastic and rude, but he wasn't giving me predator vibes.

"Like…like…I just didn't like it." He heaves a gusty breath. "I don't like that he's near you. It makes me nervous because you're less protected now. I am failing you."

Is this all because he's never been around another guy since we got together? Is he jealous? "I'm not interested in him."

"I know . I just…" He sighs. "Part of me wants to fling him off the nearest cliff. He is so smiley ."

I bite back a laugh. Maybe this is the first time he's ever been jealous.

We've never talked about it too much, but Corvak mentioned that he's never been in another competition before, and that women like me are the bait or the prize.

He's probably been around very few women, if any.

All these feelings must be new to him. "It's going to be all right, love.

I promise. We'll just use him for his information about the others.

And it's not as if he can escape, right?

So we don't have to worry about him running off with intel about where we are. We'd catch him before he got anywhere."

"I guess." Now he sounds sulky and it's rather adorable. I jump when rough finger-pads touch my cheek in the darkness. "That's the first time you've called me that."

"What?"

"Love." He strokes my face. "You are not miserable here with me, then? Even though things are bad?"

"Are you kidding? If we take the snow-people out of the equation, we're doing better than we ever have.

We've got clothes and a swanky cave. We've got hot water and our defensible stronghold.

True, we've got a lot of annoying people underfoot, but let's focus on one problem at a time.

" I take his hand in mine and kiss his palm.

"And I do love you. You take care of me and you make me happy. I'd be lost without you."

"I feel the same." He curls his hand around mine, then presses both of them against his chest. Even through the thick layers of clothing, I can feel the vibration of his chest, his heart parasite humming along.

"No, I feel more than that. The words are the same, but they don't feel like enough to convey how I feel. "

"I understand. We can just show each other." I squeeze his hand. "But maybe not with our guest around."

He chuckles, the sound reluctant. "Perhaps not."

"What the fuck is he anyhow? He looks like a cat."

"He is a race called praxiian. I have some of their genes."

"You don't look anything like him."

"Good," he growls. "I don't want you to find him handsome."

"I absolutely do not. I have a thing for tall, dark, and domineering." And I tap his chest with our joined hands. "Please don't worry about that, all right?"

"I know. I'm being foolish. I know I am the moment the words leave my mouth, and yet I cannot seem to help myself." Corvak sounds annoyed with himself. "He's in my territory, in my home, eyeing my female. I will tolerate it, but I don't have to like it."

Tolerate it, huh? I roll my eyes in the dark. Another comment for the book of grudges, but now isn't the time.

My stomach growls, and Corvak goes still. "You're hungry?"

I'm really not—the thought of eating meat makes me queasy all over again, but I don't want Corvak to have another thing to worry over. "Doesn't matter. There's nothing to eat in the cave and I don't want you leaving again."

"I am absolutely not leaving your side. Not while he's around."

"It's not that he seems dangerous. I just don't like it when you're gone.

I miss you too much." The last few days have felt endless.

I can deal with him leaving the cave for hours every day as long as I know he's coming back.

I live for the quiet nighttime swims in our heated pool, the cuddling under the blankets, the foot rubs he insists upon giving me, but more than anything, I miss our conversations.

Corvak shakes his head, rubbing my arm to reassure me. "It's all part of his plan, I'd bet. He'll disarm us with his poor attitude and then wait until our guard is down before he strikes."

"You're the expert."

He releases my hand, and then a moment later, something hard, cold, and lumpy is pressed into my palm.

It takes me a moment to realize it's a root.

A second later, a few more are pushed into my grip, all of them small and oddly sized, but enough for a meal.

"I pulled a few of these for you while we were traveling.

I didn't like the thought of returning to you empty-handed. "

I could cry. Not because I'm hungry, but because it's so thoughtful. Even when he's gone and busy trying to take down the enemy, he's trying to think of me, trying to take care of me. "You're incredible."

"Just don't let the snow-people see. I want you to eat these, not them.

" He rubs my arm. "I'll get the soup served to the ones waiting outside and see what information I can get out of our guest. I can make a fire in here, too.

You stay back and roast your roots and swim, yes? You look tired, and I can handle this."

He might be trying to keep me away from Valmir because he doesn't trust him, but I don't care. I'm suddenly exhausted, and a soak in the pool, a roasted root or three, and a nap suddenly sounds like the best evening ever. "Are you sure?"

"Very sure." Corvak kisses my forehead. "I will handle everything."