Page 225 of Gladiators of the Vagabond Boxset

Agatha

With my back to the door, I drew in a deep, shaky breath.

What had just happened? I thought he was on board.

Had I misread the situation? That would be so typical of me—thinking a guy was into me, and then just…

nothing. I was forever the girl of no second dates.

Not that this counted as a date much. He’d just barged in here, and suddenly we’d been making out.

Huh, it was hard to misread a situation like that.

Why had he withdrawn, then? Just because he thought it was a distraction he couldn’t use right now?

Or had he changed his mind when he realized what a terrible kisser I was, or something?

Admittedly, kissing around those tusks of his had taken a moment to figure out.

Remembering what it had felt like to suddenly be wrapped up in those strong arms made me shiver.

Then there were the wings. I had never felt so sheltered, so safe before.

He’d used those leathery membranes to block out the outside world, both in the heat of the moment and, protectively, when comforting the boys.

Each time had been a turn-on; apparently, the big protective type was totally my thing—even if he was really bossy and a stickler for the rules.

The moment with Amar had driven home again just how urgently we needed to get out of here, and I still had no clue what the plan even was. Instead of talking about it, we’d been too busy kissing… Oh, I guess Sunder did have a point, there.

I tossed and turned for the rest of the night, struggling to get enough rest to face the next day.

My mind just kept spinning. What was going to happen now that there was a new boss here?

How were we going to get the kids out of here?

Would the new guy try to sell them? Get rid of them?

Had that shark really meant it when he said he wanted dinner?

What about Sunder and me? Was he ever going to kiss me again?

I was a wrung-out mess by the time I’d washed, dressed, and struggled through some of the delivered breakfast. Giving up on it, I stuffed the remaining bread and fruit into my pockets and headed for the kids.

They were never given breakfast, not until they’d done the first two hours of exercise.

They were growing boys, though, so they’d eagerly devour what I offered them.

Unlike some of the picky eaters in my classroom back on Earth, these two would literally eat anything.

I tried not to think about why that was.

Amar didn’t even remember that he’d had a nightmare, so that was good, and both boys were raring to go.

They had plenty of energy despite an interrupted night—unlike me.

We stepped into the courtyard and immediately noticed that it was empty.

There was no sign of Uron, and Sunder hadn’t yet arrived either.

The sun was just shining over the edge of the pale sandstone walls, the sky pink behind it.

Sunder came winging over that wall in an aerial display of acrobatics, his body spinning as he danced through the sky on powerful wingbeats.

When he saw us, he made a second pass, twirling in a tight loop before landing in a crouch in front of us.

Dust kicked up from the cobbled ground, the wind from his powerful wings batting our hair around.

My mouth was dry, and my body was humming with desire.

He was freaking sexy when he did that, and he’d landed in a superhero pose.

What more could a woman want? Oh, that’s right, the kids liked him.

Amar and Jett squealed in excitement, clapping their hands as they watched him.

They leaped onto him the moment he landed, and Sunder let out a booming laugh as he caught the boys.

It was good to see them laughing after the tension from yesterday’s visit by the Crimelord and the nightmare last night.

If I hadn’t been watching from the sidelines, I probably never would have noticed the courtyard door open.

It swung open softly, and with a panic that I managed to translate into sounding angry, I yelled at the guys, “Enough roughhousing—start your routines.” I hoped it was just Uron arriving, as the boys scattered, dashing to start their laps around the courtyard.

Sunder straightened, snapping his wings shut tightly behind his back and crossing his arms over his chest. He faced the door, a frown compressing his features and making his sharp tusks stick out more prominently.

It wasn’t Uron who strode inside, nor was it even a Rummicaron. This male was decked out in the guard colors, the same black and purple that Sunder wore on his loincloth. I recognized him immediately, although we’d only met once: the head of security, Or’tal.

The Kertinal male was as tall as Sunder, but his spiraling, springbok-like horns towered even higher.

His skin was black, with cracked, fissure-like markings covering him all over.

Those were filled in with a deep green that matched his green-and-black mane of hair.

His eyes were the same emerald green, glowing fiercely as he stared down Sunder.

A sharply pointed tail twitched behind his back, the tip glinting with metal.

Sunder, in turn, didn’t move, didn’t flinch—he just kept on meeting that look.

I didn’t know how he could. During my interview for this position with Or’tal, I’d squirmed so hard under that stare.

I was convinced that the only reason he’d still hired me was that he really needed to fill the position and had no other takers.

Pretty sure he thought I was unfit for my job here.

The head of security visiting us was a big deal.

I could only hope it had to do with Uron and his drug use.

My head was flying with possibilities—had someone seen Sunder go into my room?

Was it about us visiting the kids last night, or Sunder helping me put them to bed?

All those things could have been the wrong move. Geez, how careless had we been?

Or’tal and Sunder seemed to end that stare-down in a tie when Or’tal made a harrumphing sound and shrugged his wide shoulders.

His immaculate uniform made him seem even broader, and his leather boots were so shiny I could see the courtyard reflected in them.

“Tell me about Uron’s drug use. Did you tell him to get his act together or die?

Is that the way you go about scaring people into sobriety? ”

The question seemed to take Sunder by surprise, because he dropped the closed-off pose, uncrossing his arms and tilting his head. I was surprised too, but I couldn’t mingle in this, so I made sure I was near where the little ones were doing their warm-up runs while I listened.

“I told him Carator wouldn’t tolerate that shit, and in this business, there’s no pretty out-clause.

You know that, Or’tal.” The tone in which Sunder spoke was definitely not that of a male talking to his superior; he was speaking to the head guard as if he were talking to an equal.

I was braced for that to go wrong, because Or’tal was just as intimidating to me as Carator had been yesterday—though the two achieved the effect through very different means.

“Hmm,” was all the Kertinal said, his head finally sweeping around the courtyard to take in the austere space.

A row of training dummies lined one side, half of them in serious disrepair.

I’d taken red strips of cloth from one of my old sets of clothing and tied them around the ones I’d deemed unsafe to use.

Dust covered the cracked ground, and the sandy area where practice fights took place had only a little broken fence left around it.

The male settled his eyes on the one stone bench in the corner, the place where Uron had spent most of his time. Unerringly, they lingered on the spot where Uron would leave his brew bottle once it was empty.

Bright green eyes swept back past Sunder and the kids to linger on me.

They slid from my black-clad shoulders, down the sharp line of my uncomfortable black smock, to linger on the toes of my scuffed boots.

My heart pounded under the scrutiny. Was this the moment where he’d say, “You’re out! You’re an impostor?”

From the corner of my eye, I saw how Sunder’s wings flared out sharply.

Then I realized that my discomfort had telegraphed, even more, Jett had shifted into his battleform and was glaring holes into Or’tal’s back.

Oh, shucks, get it together! I didn’t want to get the boy in trouble over some silly nerves.

The head of security made another harrumphing noise, almost like a bull snorting, a smirk curling his lips.

Then his eyes flicked away from me and back to Sunder.

“When he’s clean, you willing to take him under your…

wing? Keep his nose out of trouble?” The request surprised us all, but Sunder didn’t pause before giving a sharp nod.

I thought the instinct to care for others—to guide and to train—was much too strong for him.

“Good. Roka clears from the system fast. He let me lock him up in the cells, but it’s rough on him.

Don’t expect much when you get him back,” Or’tal sneered as he said it, his green eyes flashing from Sunder’s back to me.

It was almost like a silent jab, telling me he wasn’t expecting much from me either.

He turned crisply on his shiny black heel, stalking from the courtyard. He passed Jett and Amar as he did, and I saw him pause for a brief moment as he took in Jett in his battle-form. His head turned, looking back at Sunder, brows lowered in concentration. Had he just seen the family connection?

Or’tal didn’t say anything, just left with a swish of his sharply pointed tail.

“He knows,” I said as soon as the courtyard door closed behind him.

Sunder’s face was drawn in even more severe lines than usual.

Crossing his arms over his wide chest, he flared out a wing behind my back; a not-quite hug that settled my frayed nerves.

Something about the head of security was so intense, so calculated and cruel that it rubbed me the wrong way each time I met him.

“I think he suspects something. The question is, will he sit on the information, or will he use it to get in with Carator?” He sounded thoughtful as he spoke, unconcerned, almost. It was, to be honest, rather infuriating.

“It’s bad news for us regardless. We need to get out of here!

” I said, my eyes going to where Jett and Amar were now playing.

They appeared to have found one of the many small lizards that often scuttled about the place, and were chasing after it in a game of inquisitive hide-and-seek.

It was so good to see them play; we needed to protect them at all costs.

Sunder’s wing shivered near my shoulder, and I wasn’t sure if it was from tension or amusement.

“I suspect he’ll hold on to this knowledge and leverage it for his own gain later.

” The tone was rather final, and he seemed calm about it, as if that’s exactly what he would do if the situation were reversed.

He didn’t want to talk about it after that and headed for the kids.

In his low rumble, I heard him gently warn the boys not to touch the tiny lizard.

I wasn’t sure if I heard him right, but was he warning them that it was poisonous to touch?

My eyes darted around the courtyard, noticing dozens of the creatures.

I hadn’t once considered that they were dangerous.

Everything felt shaky; I felt so ill-prepared.

I needed to step up my game if even a simple little lizard posed a risk…

What other things had I missed? I vowed to use my datapad to read up on everything I could about the flora and fauna of this planet.

I needed to be better prepared. Maybe, if I proved to Sunder that I wasn’t completely impulsive, he would think better of me and my badly planned-out rescue mission.