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Chapter Ten

A xxios

Looking back, I think I’d noticed some changes before I saw the evidence of Braxx’s erection the other night. But the fact that my silver had an erection proves Brianna’s our bondmate.

I had suspicions the moment I saw her. She’s the exact image painted on the rotunda of our room. But that could have been a fluke. It wasn’t surprising when Braxx called her ‘Angel.’ How could he not?

But things have been changing inside me since Braxx came out of his coma. I’m more tuned in to Brianna’s moods as well as my own. When I stroke myself I imagine kissing her more and holding her after—which I never did before. Here on Fairea I’ve noticed my protective instincts are off the charts.

I’d always wondered what would happen when...if...we found our bondmate. For most Mythrians, nothing changes for the gold. He continues to make most of the decisions, he maintains his aggressive drives, and his sexual appetites don’t change unless they increase.

It’s the silver who does most of the transforming. He develops a sex drive while maintaining his ability to connect to his emotions.

Some golds, however, develop a closer connection to their emotional side. I think that’s happening to me. And I’m not certain I like it. I don’t want to lose my edge. I don’t want to become weak. I’m the one who ultimately has to protect everyone.

But I have to admit, Brie’s softening toward me today. She’s definitely letting down her guard, and that feels fantastic.

Her delicate, little hand snags mine and nestles in my grip. I look over at her and catch her smiling at me. Her actions seem effortless and unaffected. She simply seems happy to be in my presence. I’ve never known her to act this way before. She’s holding Braxx’s hand in her right and mine in her left and looking around at all the chaotic hubbub as if it’s the most fascinating place she’s ever seen.

“Did you each buy a knife? I want to see,” she demands.

Braxx eagerly pulls her off the path between two booths so we don’t get trampled. As the day’s gone by the crush of people has gotten worse.

“Look, Brie,” Braxx says excitedly, “I’ve never seen one like this. I think they’re only sold on the black market—and here.” He pulls out his knife. It’s about eight inches long, with a black metal blade. “But look!” He presses a button under the guard and the blade illuminates and turns red, converting it into a laser.

“Can I see?” Brianna reaches out to touch it, but Braxx immediately pulls it away. “Super dangerous, Brie. This could slice off your fingers.”

Brianna pulls her hand back as if it was burned. “Whoa, I wasn’t thinking.”

He keeps a steady hold on the knife, but steps closer so he can show her where the hidden mechanism is.

“Cool,” she says.

“Right, lasers don’t get hot.”

“Oh,” she laughs, “on Earth ‘cool’ means neat.”

Braxx looks confused.

“Okay, I’ll turn into a human thesaurus. Cool means good, interesting, excellent.”

“Got it! You and this knife are cool.”

“Axxios, make him stop complimenting me. He’s new at this. Teach him the rules.”

“Great idea, Brianna. Since Braxx is new, let’s make new rules. We can vote on them. All in favor of forbidding the use of the word beautiful say yes.”

“Yes.”

“I only hear one ‘yes,’ you’re outvoted,” I pronounce. “All in favor of restricting compliments to the beautiful lady say yes.”

“Yes.”

“I only hear one ‘yes,’ you’re outvoted.” I nod my head with finality.

“All in favor of no more massages, say yes.” I spear her with a look I hope is so blatant, so unambiguous she couldn’t possibly interpret it as anything other than the shameless proposition that it is.

“Yes.”

“I only hear one ‘yes,’” Braxx joins in the fun, but his eyes are burning with desire. What a revelation, to see my silver flirting shamelessly. I can’t wait to see more of his transformation. “You’re outvoted.”

“Are you having fun with us Axx? I wish you could see your face. There.” She points at a hat shop two stalls down and pulls me until I’m standing in front of a mirror. “Look at yourself.”

I peer at myself in the mirror. I haven’t seen this look on my face since I was a gray. I’m happy. The corners of my lips are turned up, my facial muscles are relaxed, and my eyes are sparkling.

Realizing I haven’t experienced joy in twenty years makes my chest ache. Really? Has being a gold turned me to stone? I’d never acknowledged it before, but I always envied Braxx. Being silver, he never had the pressure I did. He could be childish and silly and have fun.

When Braxx was still in a coma, Dr. Drayke showed me scans of my twin’s long bones. The doc said he’s never seen anyone who’d been so badly tortured. I haven’t had the heart to ask him about it, nor has Braxx mentioned it. I’d take the pain for him if I could. It’s what golds do.

You’d never know what he’d been through by looking at him. He’s his usual happy self. This proves he’s stronger than I ever gave him credit.

Gods! I love my brother. I reach over and pull him to me so quick and hard he falls against me to keep from tipping over. “I love you, gem. I never forgave myself when I saw your ship blow up. I thought you were dead. I took responsibility. I’m so glad you’re alive.” I squeeze him tight.

Instead of embarrassing him and causing him to pull away, he hugs me back. Perhaps he gave his staff to Brie because he’s got me in an impossibly tight hug. “I love you, too, Axx. I’ve missed you since you became a gold. You pulled away. Our bond was never the same. I felt abandoned.”

He puts his lips to my ear, “This is the tri-bond, right? You have...emotions again? I get my brother back? I love you.” He pats my back.

I’m pulled back to the present when the shopkeeper clears his throat loudly enough to be heard two stalls down. I step back, make certain Braxx has his staff in his hand, then step completely away.

The three of us leave the little shop and huddle in an open space between two stalls. I remember when we were young enough to play with blocks. I recall toppling a building and using the very same blocks to construct a completely different structure. That’s what I feel like right this minima —like I’ve been cracked apart, disassembled and I’m in the process of being completely rearranged.

Brianna’s hand finds mine. I open my eyes to see her clutching Braxx’s hand in her other. Braxx throws his arm around my shoulder and I mirror his action, careful not to hurt his back. The three of us are in a circle—connected. Perhaps I’m hallucinating, but I feel energy circling between the three of us. The speed and intensity rises with each circuit.

“Whoa!” Briana says. “I feel like I drank a pint of whiskey.” She pulls her hands away and puts her palms to her cheeks. “Maybe I’m getting sick.”

I don’t want to tell her I think this is the bond. I think it would alarm her. Besides, this isn’t the time or place.

“Maybe it’s the heat,” I suggest while fanning her with my hand.

“Yeah, I think I’m already feeling better.” She takes a deep breath and grins. “All in favor of Axxios being able to call Brie ‘Brie’ say yes,” she says, smiling at me like she could kiss me right here in front of a thousand aliens on this dirt path.

“Yes!” the three of us shout at once. Then she kisses me. She just stepped right over, reached up on her toes, tugged my head down to hers and planted her lips solidly on mine.

I pull her farther back between the stalls. I want this kiss, I want it to be good, and I want it to be private. Braxx stands between us and the main pathway, but he doesn’t turn his back on us to allow privacy, he watches. If Brie was more familiar with Mythrian ways, she’d include him. But that would be too much to expect.

I tune out everything but Brie. I pull away for a moment and allow myself the luxury of drinking in the way she looks. Her curves in that dress could wake the dead. Her hair, braided into a crown accentuates the green of her uptilted eyes. And those eyes, they are looking at me impatiently, with longing, in a way they never have before.

We’ve known each other for two months and rutted many times, but I’ve never seen this look on her face before. A look that says she can’t wait to be in my arms.

I lift her up and crush her to my chest. Before I kiss her again, though, I whisper in her ear. “I apologize for any wrongs I’ve done you, Brie.” Her name tastes like honey on my lips. “I gave you everything I was able. I will always give you everything I’m able.”

Now I drag my lips slowly across her velvety skin from her ear to the corner of her mouth. Funny, sex always felt like a sprint before, like a race to the finish line. Now I want it to be a marathon. I want to enjoy the journey along the way.

I nibble the corner of her mouth, then work my way inward so slowly I feel her impatience. I slide my tongue along the seam of her lips and am elated when she opens herself to me. The tip of her tongue flicks mine, then we engage in mock battle. I learned these moves in captaincy school, but my studies were never this enjoyable.

Advance and then retreat. She makes a low moan in the back of her throat when I retreat, then she advances into the warmth of my mouth.

“You taste delicious, Brie,” I moan against her lips. “I apologize if I never told you that before.”

I kiss her closed lips, then enjoy breaching her threshold again. There are other thresholds I’m dying to breach, but this is a marathon. We have all the time in the galaxy for that. The three of us do.

I reach my hand into the long, thick, brown hair that was never pulled into her braid. I’m kissing her more forcefully now, plundering and taking my pleasure from her. From the low moans she’s emitting from the back of her throat, I’m giving as well as receiving.

Her hands move from where they’ve been planted on my shoulders slowly down my back to rest on the exposed globes of my ass. She presses me against her, my engorged cock captured against her belly.

“Two security guards on hovercraft are approaching,” Braxx interrupts. “We should probably get to the mronck exhibition if we’re going to attend.”

I pull away to catch a look at Brie before she shutters her expression. She looks mesmerized, lost, with a faraway expression in her eyes. I know this female. Is she going to doubt herself? Re-examine her own emotions? Question her decision to let me in?

“All in favor of going to the mronck show say ‘yes,’” she says.

“Yes,” we all reply, then move back into the path toward the arena.

“Um...all in favor of never mentioning what just happened say ‘yes,’” she says.

Other than her voice, neither of us chime in.

“What’s happening is wonderful,” Braxx says with authority. “We don’t need to name it, or quantify it or do scientific experiments on it. Let’s just let go, explore, and see what happens.”

Brianna

That kiss must have put us behind schedule because we’re almost jogging to the exhibition. There are so many people on the pathway it’s hard for the three of us to push our way through the press of flesh—and spikes and scales.

I’m holding both their hands, Axx in front, parting the sea of people, Braxx behind. This gives me a moment to contemplate what just happened back there.

I’m a bit hazy and confused; that happened before the kiss. I glance ahead at Axx, his golden skin glistening in the sun—and there’s a lot of it exposed in the loincloth and skimpy black leather outfit he’s wearing. It’s no secret that I’m attracted to him, I thought he was gorgeous the first moment I saw him. Well, not the exact first moment I saw him. That moment was filled with terror. I’d just been kidnapped from my bed and thrown into a cell with a huge metal-looking alien.

It was shortly after my pumping adrenaline slowed that I realized how gorgeous he is. But that kiss just now? The one I initiated? That was amazing. I’ve never experienced that level of intimacy with him before. I shake my head as we run through a muddy area strewn with hay.

And Braxx? He just stood back and watched us kiss for goodness sake. Does this mean I’m falling into a relationship with the two of them?

There’s no time for me to explore this further, the circle of flags billowing in the wind up ahead must signal we’re almost there. Axx pays our entry fee, then wends his way toward the front. The stadium reminds me of the setup for a rodeo back home. There’s an oval area a little larger than a football field that’s filled with leveled, red dirt. Rows of benches surround it, stepped up higher and higher so all the seats have a good view.

But Axx seems intent on procuring the best seats. We arrive at the front row, which isn’t full. There’s a little amphibious creature standing in front of the seats, facing the crowd. I can’t tell whether it’s male or female. It’s in a gray jumpsuit with a horse’s head logo on it.

“How much?” Axx asks.

“For three? One-hundred twenty credits.” It sticks out a warty, khaki-colored hand, and the transaction is completed in a second.

“Did you just bribe him for these seats?” Why this, out of everything I’ve seen today, surprises me I have no idea.

“Yes, nothing but the best for Brie ,” he emphasizes my name, like he loves the feel of it on his tongue.

“All in favor of paying extra credits for the good seats say yes,” Braxx says.

“Yes,” is shouted by two male voices.

“Brie’s outvoted. Let’s enjoy it,” Braxx pronounces.

I’m too antsy to sit, so I go to the stockade fence a few feet in front of us and look out at the arena. Not much to see but red dirt at the moment. When I turn around I see my two guys flanking my spot on the bench. They’re both looking expectantly at me, like I’m the most interesting thing in the entire arena.

My stomach does an interesting somersault in slow motion, my hands and jaw clench. Is this really happening? Am I entering into a relationship with two guys? Two gorgeous guys who have been nothing but sweet to me? I gaze into two sets of turquoise eyes. They’re not looking at me like a man on the street looks at a woman he wants to proposition. No, they’re looking at me the way a man looks at a woman he likes, and admires, and enjoys and...wants to propose to.

Fear arrows through me and goes straight to clench in my belly. I never saw this coming.

I hear the blare of trumpets and take my seat. A silver hand grabs my right, and a gold snags my left, and then I focus on what’s happening in the arena.

Four green-skinned males dressed in colorful silk slacks and shirts play a rousing rendition of peppy music on large brass instruments as the huge crowd hushes itself quiet.

“Males and females,” a hidden female announces, “welcome to our exhibition.”

And with that, a procession of amazing animals and people enter the arena. The mroncks look like horses in every way except they have six legs. It takes a full minute of watching their feet move before I can focus on anything else. You’d think they’d look clumsy or stumble, but their movements are graceful.

For a moment I’m reminded of that scene in The Wizard of Oz when they finally arrive at Emerald City and they see “a horse of a different color,” because that’s what I’m seeing. There’s a stunning green one with a mustard-yellow mane and tail, a blood-red with midnight black mane and tail, and a cobalt blue with turquoise hair.

“Wow, guys, they’re so gorgeous,” I say without taking my eyes off the spectacle. And it is a spectacle. The trumpets are still blaring, and the people are leading the horses by their bridles. The males and females in the arena are every shape and size, all wearing silky uniforms of every color and description. The whole extravaganza is total eye candy.

The first act consists of six of the animals, each with a male and female pair standing on top of its back. It starts out slow and graceful, but by the end, they’re racing and zigzagging so fast I realize I’m clutching the guys’ hands in excitement.

For the next act, they let about twenty mronk s loose in the huge arena. At first, they just mill around, nosing the dirt for a blade of grass. Then a willowy female, maybe six feet tall and one hundred pounds is carried in on a fancy litter. Dressed in a gauzy dress, she jumps down and stalks around the arena like she owns it. The animals immediately lift their heads, focus on her, and walk toward her.

Then the animals, begin to move in unison with no discernible cue from the trainer. At first, they simply move from one end of the area to the other, as if pulled by invisible strings. Then they do increasingly complex tasks like walking in a circle, then in unison, changing direction.

By the end of the act, they’re galloping in perfect formation. The final task is what we used to call “thread the needle,” where horses come from opposite directions. When they merge, they alternate who goes first with perfect precision. Of course, I’ve only seen this before where there were human riders giving the cues. My mind is boggled that the animals are doing this without riders and seemingly without physical or verbal direction of any kind.

I tear my eyes from the spectacle for half a second to check on the guys, and see both of them are watching me with amused expressions on their faces. They’re getting more of a kick out of my enjoyment of the performance than the performance itself.

“Like it, Brie?” Braxx asks, his voice deep and low near my ear.

“I love it.” I have a huge smile plastered on my face.

I enjoy the rest of the show, but that was definitely my favorite act. I still can’t figure out how she did it. Maybe she had telepathy with the mroncks . When I get home I’ll have to ask Tyree, who's psychic, if he can communicate with animals.

When the show is over, we wait until the stands empty out. We’re in the front row, no need to fight through the crowd to leave.

“That was fantastic!” I gush. “Did you guys see this when you were kids?”

“I couldn’t get over the female communicating with the mroncks all those years ago,” Axx says, “and I still don’t understand how she does it.”

“It’s the same female?”

“Looks identical, but maybe it’s her daughter.”

“There are so many things in this universe I don’t understand,” I admit.

“Thirsty, Angel?” Braxxus asks.

I nod.

“I think you’d like premmod. It’s tart and sweet and quenches your thirst.”

“Sounds like lemonade. That would be perfect.”

The three suns are all high in the sky and look close to converging, even though they all started far from each other this morning when we got off the ship. I hadn’t noticed because I’d been so fascinated by the performance, but I’m melting in this dress.

“Let’s get a drink and find some shade,” I say as the crowd thins out.

As we’re walking up the steps to leave the arena I notice two of the deepest cuts on B’s back are weeping.

“Braxx, you’re bleeding,” my voice is alarmed.

We stop and both Axxios and I inspect. We don’t want to pull off the plas-film to look closer, we have nothing to replace it with.

“It doesn’t look serious to me, what do you think Brie?” Axxios asks.

“It was a lot worse a few days ago, but I don’t think it should be bleeding at this point in his recovery. Should we call Dr. Drayke?”

“I think we should just make our way back to the ship,” Axx pronounces. “We’ll take our time, take it easy.”

“Do I get a say in this?” Braxx asks.

“No,” Axx and I reply in unison.

“I’m not ruining Angel’s day because of a trickle of blood,” Braxx insists.

“All in favor of returning to the ship say yes,” I say.

“Yes,” Axx and I respond.

“Braxx is outvoted. Let’s get a drink and work our way to the Slacker .”

The two guys are looking at each other seriously, not taking their eyes off each other. I’m going to have to get some clarification when we’re back on the ship. Are they having a silent psychic conversation? Is this the Mythrian twin thing Axx kept talking about?

We’re sitting on a bench, drinking our premmods , which are indistinguishable from lemonade, and eating an intergalactic version of something resembling fried okra. I have no intention of investigating the nature of its ingredients.

The guys forgot to distract me and have me seated directly across from a stall with a huge picture of a reven . I never thought Axx knew me very well, but he was right on the mark when he tried to keep me from getting an eyeful of the poor thing.

It reminds me of that scene in The Fly where some animal goes into a machine and comes out dead with half its insides on its outsides. The reven looks inside out and hairy and bloody and gross. I shiver. It’s repugnant.

Until I saw it I had my eye on a cheesecakey-looking thing at one of the other booths, but I’ve lost my appetite. I’m still shuddering when we hear a commotion from our left.

It takes my brain a few seconds longer than the guys to grasp what’s going on. It sounds like explosions!

Axx and Braxx have pulled their guns and are already standing before my brain is fully engaged. “Braxx, take point!” Axxios yells over the din of the explosions and cacophony of people yelling. Axx pushes me in front of him and the three of us take off at a run toward the ship.

I hear screaming behind us. It’s clear from the noise that people are being hurt, possibly killed. I don’t spare a minute looking backward. I just keep my eyes focused ahead and follow B.

“Jog left,” Axx orders from behind. I assume he wants us away from the herd so we don’t get trampled. He’s directing us back to the more sparsely-traveled paths we came in on.

Lasers have a high-pitched whine when they’re fired. That’s not what I’m hearing. It’s more like the bombs or mortar rounds I’ve heard in movies about Vietnam. Fear spikes up my spine. I’m worried not only for myself but for my guys. Braxx’s plas-film is now filled with blood, and some is trickling out the bottom. There’s no time to mention it and nothing we can do about it. We just have to keep running.

I smell smoke and something terrible I assume is alien gunpowder. I hear the surreal sound of people shouting behind me. The muscles in my calves are burning from running without a break. I’m trembling with terror, but still moving forward.

I realize Axx put Braxx in front for a reason. He’s the weakest link, and that person should always be at the front of the line so he doesn’t fall behind. His pace is slowing and he’s leaning on his staff harder with every step.

I have no idea how far it is to the ship, I’m just following Braxx’s bloody back and trying not to totally freak out. Braxx stops in his tracks and turns around. When I follow his gaze I see Axx is down on the ground—he’s been hit! Braxx must have felt Axx’s pain through his twin bond.

“ Drack !” Braxx shouts as we run back to Axx. He’s sprawled on his stomach in the dirt path. He’s still alive, but unconscious. It’s clear he’s been badly hurt. His back is peppered with bleeding cuts. Some look deep. My heart clenches in pain. I care for him. I don’t want him to die.

Braxx tosses his staff into the dirt, kneels down on one knee and scoops up his brother. I can’t imagine this will work. Axx probably outweighs him by forty pounds and Braxx is weak and bleeding already. I don’t say a word, I’m not stupid enough to believe for a moment that Braxxus won’t do everything in his power to help his gem.

There’s nothing I can do to help, so I just keep quiet and jog next to Braxxus. Blood is pouring from his back now, the plas-film isn’t holding back the flow. Braxx isn’t running so much as lurching down the road, favoring one leg.

The sound of gunfire or explosions sounds closer. I’m not sure any of us are going to make it. My pulse is hammering and my throat is on fire, but I keep moving forward.

We’re not jogging anymore, just walking, our pace slowing with every step. Braxx probably isn’t even aware that he grunts every time his right foot hits the ground. The sound and even the sensation of the bomb concussions are getting closer. I can’t imagine we’ll get out of these fairgrounds alive.

“Angel, go right at the end of this aisle. You’ll see the flags at the entrance. Head there and then out to the airfield. Don’t stop until you’re on board. Remember where we are so you can tell Zar. Go!”

“No.” He’s crazy if he thinks I’m leaving him.

“Angel,” is all he says. I’m sure he doesn’t have the energy to argue.

I look over to my left and see the dog-man. There’s a panicked look on his face. He’s standing up at the end of his tether, the chain straining.

“Let me go, I’ll help you,” he pleads, his round, brown canine eyes boring into mine.

I don’t believe for a second he’ll help, but it’s obvious his owner abandoned him. He’ll certainly die when whoever is detonating those bombs finds him staked to the ground.

I pull Braxx’s new laser knife out of the sheath at his waist and run back toward the geneslave.

“No, Angel, he’ll kill you!” Braxx yells. He’s stopped moving and is coming back for me.

“Keep moving, Braxx. This will just take a second.”

I don’t wait to see what he does. The faster I get this done, the better. Frankly, I don’t think any of us are going to make it. This male has the best chance of survival if I just cut his chain and let him run away.

“Hurry,” he urges around his mouthful of sharp teeth.

My fingers instinctively find the hidden button that turns the knife into a laser and the red beam cuts the thick metal chain like butter.

Just as I’d assumed, he’s racing before I can turn the laser off. I’m shocked when, instead of running away, he dashes straight to Braxx. In the matter of a moment, Axx’s heavy frame is in the geneslave’s arms.

The dog-man is a tall male with a big frame, but he’s so emaciated Axx has to outweigh him by at least seventy pounds. The feds must know what they’re doing, because malnourished or not, the geneslave is carrying Axx like he weighs no more than a puppy.

I catch up to Braxx, who’s moving faster now that he’s not carrying his gem. I grab his hand and place it on my shoulder. He tries not to put much of his weight on me as he hobbles to catch up to his brother.

“Right,” Braxx shouts as we near the end of the aisle.

I see the flags signaling the entrance where we arrived. There’s a crush of people trying to file through the narrow opening to evacuate the park. Now that we’re close to others, I hear the word “terrorists” float over the other panicked noises of the crowd.

If they’d been smart, they would have stationed some of their comrades at this entrance and picked us off like shooting fish in a barrel as we come running out. Luckily, the only weapon fire I hear is behind us.

The Slacker is probably still a quarter-mile away at the airfield. The geneslave glances at Braxx, who points in the general direction and we’re all off as fast as possible.

Braxx’s back is bleeding profusely, blood trailing from under the plas-film down his thighs and into the dust. The geneslave’s carrying Axx in his arms. I’ve seen enough war movies to know Axx has been hit by shrapnel, blood is dripping from his back, making thin red trails in the dirt.

I remember I have a wrist comm, and call the ship.

“We’ll need a hover-stretcher,” I say without preamble. “Axx and Braxx both need medical attention.”

“Everyone but you is back on board,” Callista informs me. “There are a few minor casualties, only one major. Stryker can grab a stretcher and meet you in the lot.”

“Expect four of us.”

“No strays, Brianna,” it’s Zar’s stern voice. He must have overheard our conversation.

“He saved our lives. We’d all be dead in the dirt back there if he hadn’t helped us.”“Can’t put ourselves at risk. No.”

A concussion shakes the ground beneath us—definitely closer than anything we’ve experienced before. Did I hear the geneslave grunt? I pick up the pace even though my muscles are screaming in pain.

I see Stryker hustling toward us guiding the hover-stretcher, his tall, scarred body shining in the suns. The geneslave gently lays Axx on it and Stryker hustles the stretcher up the ramp and into the waiting maw of the ship.

Braxx and I are panting, twenty feet from the ramp. Panicked sounds of the crowd reach us. The fight must have followed us into the parking area. We should be inside our ship and leaving atmo right this minute, but I can’t leave the male who without a doubt saved our lives.

“I heard your comm,” his gravelly voice rumbles in my ear. I hadn’t realized he was so close. Braxx pulls me away from the dog-man, toward the awaiting ramp.

“It’s okay. Don’t risk your safety for me. Go.” He walks away.

“No!” I say, even as Braxx gently tugs me toward the ship. “No, I’m not leaving him. He saved our lives. This isn’t right!”

“Angel, we have to go.” His weight is resting heavier on my shoulder, the sounds of the explosions are getting closer. I can see a parked hovercraft explode less than a city block away. There is no time for this.

“Zar, please,” Braxx yells into his comm, “let us in. Let us all in before we die. We can drop him on the next planet. Let’s argue about it later.”

A moment’s pause, then, “Okay, but there’s a contingent of armed gladiators at the door.”

“Hey!” I scream, but he’s off running. “Geneslave!” I scream, wincing at the sound of the derogatory term coming out of my mouth.

He turns to look at me, still running in the other direction. “Come aboard,” I motion to him. It’s hard to tell, but I think that’s a smile on his face.