Page 234 of Gladiators of the Vagabond Boxset

Sunder

I hated leaving Aggy’s side. More than anything, I’d wanted to take her up on her invitation and curl under the blankets with her. Not even for sex—though sex would have been great—I would have been more than happy to just hold her in my arms.

I’d seen the disappointment on her face, and I knew she thought I was going to say this shouldn’t be happening again.

Except I couldn’t, I’d never been this attracted to a female before.

Aggy was right; I shouldn’t squander that.

So after our escape, I wasn’t going to let her get away.

I’d just have to be patient. The kids were our priority, and neither of us should lose track of that.

Ducking into the bunk room in the barracks after a quick shower, I made sure Uron was in his bed, as he was supposed to be.

Then I crashed for a couple of hours of much-needed rest. I was planning to be up bright and early so I could take Uron to the courtyard for a training session before the boys woke up.

I needed some practice as soon as possible to make sure my balance was right.

The young guard had more trouble waking up that morning than I did, and he hated having to get a move on before he’d eaten breakfast. Tough, I wasn’t going to pamper him.

He needed to work; he needed purpose. It was hard enough to find one on a base filled with slaves and drug makers, so physical activity was the best thing I could do for him.

In the courtyard, we went through the standard warm-up, revised the basics together, and then we sparred for a bit.

The young Rummicaron had promise, but he was sloppy and lazy.

At least it was good enough for me to figure out how to move with a shortened tail; it was an easy adjustment, so I was reassured about my skills for the future.

When Aggy showed up with the kids in tow, I paused to look at them.

My eyes skirted over the boys, Jett’s beaming smile standing out.

They were all right, no worse for wear after a night partially under Uron’s supervision, not that they knew about that.

Aggy was dressed in what she probably thought of as her disguise: a stern ankle-length dress and a tight hairdo that made her look nothing like her usual sunny self.

Then she ruined the impression by offering me a wide smile—full of warmth and mischief, of shared late-night secrets.

My cock twitched beneath my kilt, and I lashed my shortened tail in agitation, trying to hide just how affected I was by that smile.

As I looked at Uron from the corner of my eye, I saw that the young Rummicaron had the audacity to smirk.

Unlike the normal, run-of-the-mill kind of Rummicaron, Uron was part of a small subset of his species where emotions were not quite so suppressed.

I felt for the guy because that was a deficiency in the eyes of his people, one he’d been under enormous strain to hide.

I happened to know that it was especially those of his race like him who fell victim to the Roka.

Ignoring the know-it-all look the young guard was giving Aggy and me, I took the boys under my wing for the day, all three of them.

Humans didn’t tend to be as durable as most species I’d noticed on the Vagabond.

Tori got extremely grumpy if she didn’t get enough sleep, so I’d spent plenty of nights watching her baby for her.

Aggy had to be feeling it, so I made sure she got to sit on Uron’s bench in the shade most of the day.

It was late afternoon when one of my worst fears came true.

The Crimelord and his two Xurtal guards strode into the courtyards.

This time, the females were only scantily dressed, their leather suits covering only the pertinent bits.

While that definitely drew Uron’s eyes, I kept mine on the sharply dressed male who walked in with a single purpose in mind.

His eyes swept the slightly derelict place with a look of disgust, then lit up when they spotted Aggy sitting in the shade.

Or rather, she’d leapt to her feet at their arrival and now stood nervously, smoothing out her long black skirt.

I wish I could go over there and stake my claim, but doing so would be incredibly stupid.

The Crimelord glanced at Uron with a disdainful look, as aware as I was of Uron’s differences.

The lip curl, displaying his teeth, made it very clear that, though the young male was now clean, he was still far beneath him.

The cold, black eyes landed on me next, less expected, as he’d completely ignored my presence last time.

“I heard good things about you,” the Crimelord said.

“You seem to have impressed Or’tal in some manner.

You’re an old hand, aren’t you?” He approached, and I forced my wings to remain relaxed against my back, even though I strongly felt the urge to spread them and block access to the kids standing behind me.

I wished she hadn’t done it, but I understood all too well. Aggy had calmly made her way toward me and was now standing beside me, her skirts flaring out as she did what I’d wanted to do—hide the kids behind her.

Forcing myself to remain calm, I shrugged lazily. “That so?” The Rummicaron crimelord was a prime example of his species. He remained cool and calculating. There wasn’t a shred of emotion on him as he scanned my form, his eyes noting the odd scratch and scar, leftovers from my gladiator days.

“You look familiar. Have we met before?” Carator asked, his arms crossing over his massive chest, a frown creasing the skin above his eyes.

I felt nerves settle like lead in my belly in response.

Had he once seen me on the sands? I hadn’t been in an arena fight for a good five years, maybe even longer.

Shrugging casually, I said, “I’m pretty sure you haven’t.

I would have remembered.” Then I purposely swished my newly shortened tail to draw his attention, hoping that the change would make him second-guess whether he remembered me.

It seemed to work, or maybe he just didn’t care enough to really puzzle over it.

His eyes slid from me to Aggy, and his posture changed, conveying an urge to be closer to her, an urge to touch her.

It was a basic kind of lust, one this male had no need to suppress.

He was powerful, and he could get what he wanted whenever he wanted it.

It drew out all my protective instincts, but one wrong move here, and we were all dead, or I was dead, and the others suffered an even worse fate.

So I bit the inside of my cheek and held still.

Aggy remained standing, her back ramrod straight, in front of the two boys.

She wore a grimace that I was sure was meant to pass as a smile.

The Rummicaron probably wouldn’t know the difference, because he didn’t feel that kind of amusement himself.

I could tell that the Xurtal women and Uron did notice it, but nobody said a word.

“Agatha, such a pretty name for a pretty woman. I came to see you, actually,” Carator drawled in a fair impression of a flirty voice.

Then his tone turned hard and cold. “You’re not going to deny me your company tonight.

Come, follow Atra, she’ll make sure you are properly attired.

” He was separating us, taking Aggy away from her job and the kids.

A sick feeling started in the pit of my stomach.

What would she have to go through to make it to the deadline I’d set with my brothers? Was two days too long?

My Fire brushed her hands over her skirts, her head tilted at a snobbish angle, as if she were contemplating saying no.

My throat closed up in fear. If she did, I wasn’t sure Carator wouldn’t just draw the short knife holstered on his hip and cut her throat.

No one said no to a male like that and lived to tell about it—unless you were willing to cut his throat first. I was willing, but I wasn’t sure I’d survive fighting the two Xurtal females; they had that look of zealous loyalty about them.

I allowed my hand to drift closer to my blade, preparing, just in case.

I ignored the sparks of pain that spiderwebbed across my body as my battle-form skin tried to tighten further.

Aggy delicately held out her palm to the Crimelord, curtsying demurely while her eyes remained as cold as his.

“I am honored by the invitation,” she said, her fingers curling into the Rummicaron’s palm as he took her hand.

They turned together, the Crimelord guiding her hand to the crook of his elbow, escorting her like a gentleman from the courtyard.

One of the Xurtal females glided ahead of them, her green body all lethal grace.

Whoever had trained these females had been an expert, working with real talent.

I was past my Prime fighting days; against two of them, I wouldn’t stand a chance—a galling thought to swallow.

Especially when every instinct inside me was clamoring to snatch up my knife and cut off the male’s head for touching Aggy.

“You!” the Crimelord called out. I almost jumped out of my skin, wondering if he’d read the murderous thoughts on my face.

“Follow Iol. She’ll see you geared up. I’m promoting you to my personal guard.

I want to see what you’re made of. Do not fail me.

” He gestured imperiously with a hand at the second female guarding his back, and while she kept looking at me, he had already lost all attention, focusing solely on Aggy hanging from his arm.

I had no choice but to follow, but I made sure to skewer Uron with a fierce, warning glare, then shared a look with my son.

I could see the fear and worry on his face, but he gave me a warrior's nod, his arm and wing curling around Amar—a vow to look after the smaller boy.

My heart hurt for how much responsibility he carried on his young shoulders.