by A. G. Wilde
Seeing them together, the way Xul looked at Athena, the obvious possessiveness in his gaze...she’d wanted that. And it seemed that she was taking Kyro’s friendship and turning it into something else in her mind.
She needed to quash it before she lost the one thing that was bringing her joy in this new world. She’d lost many things so far. She didn’t want to lose his friendship too.
In the last few days, it was the only thing that had kept her from the pits of depression.
“I need to talk to you about something.” She pushed the words from her mouth quickly, before she could second-guess herself.
Even from the distance between them, she could see his eyes focus. It was clear when his pupils contracted and zoned in on her.
“It sounds urgent.”
Evren nodded. “It is. Well, it isn’t but...I guess it’s...important?”
“Go on.”
Evren let out a breath.
Yep. This was hard to do.
How could she bring up their kiss without seeming like a total twat?
“What happened yesterday...” She jumped right in. She’d found the best way to stop her mind from derailing her was to just stop thinking and let her mouth do the talking. “I just want you to know that it didn’t mean anything.”
Oh, God. Even hearing the words felt wrong.
Why did it feel as if she was lying?
“The kiss?”
Damn. Evren closed her eyes for a second. She hadn’t wanted to say it out loud.
“Yes. The kiss.” She couldn’t meet his gaze. It was too intense. His eyes were boring into her. “It won’t happen again. I don’t want you to feel as if I used you or anything. I knew what I was doing. I wasn’t drunk. So, don’t take it the wrong way.”
There was a long pause and she kept her gaze on the leaves of the plant.
“I won’t.”
That’s it?
Nothing else to say?
She didn’t know what she’d expected...didn’t know what she wanted even, but a part of her felt disappointed at the ease at which he agreed to what she was saying.
“Okay? That’s it?”
“Yes.” Kyro blinked and turned toward the door, but not before she caught it—it was there. A note of disappointment in his voice. “I will walk you home.”
13
They walked in silence on the way back to her apartment and Evren fought with the sinking feeling she had in her chest, as if she’d just done something wrong.
What she’d said felt so, so wrong and she wanted to take it back.
Her gaze was low as they walked, Kyro by her side, his eyes focused on something she couldn’t see. He was in his head again, far away.
And even though they weren’t speaking, the noise of the crowd of aliens heading to and from the market did nothing to pierce the dead silence between them.
They were almost to her apartment when she heard a voice that made her want to roll her eyes.
Not again.
Looking up before them, she saw M’Agunt standing with two yeti aliens in the middle of the street. She was just about to ask Kyro if they could walk another way when Kyro’s hand circled her arm almost protectively, his brow knit.
Eyes narrowed, he pulled her closer to his side just as M’Agunt turned and looked in their direction.
The way M’Agunt turned seemed so dramatic, it was almost as if he had been waiting in the street for their exact arrival and had only been pretending to have a conversation with the two aliens.
“Human!” he proclaimed, catching glances from some of the beings walking by them as he sauntered in their direction.
When the two aliens he’d been talking to seemed to blend into the crowd, it only furthered her suspicion that M’Agunt had been waiting for them to come by.
“Doesn’t he have wares to sell?” Kyro murmured, his tone reflecting such annoyance it made a bubble of laughter form within her just like that.
“I was thinking the same thing. I don’t know why he’s trying so hard to be my friend. It’s a bit unsettling, to be honest.”
“Maybe don’t walk around looking so mesmerizing and then the likes of him will keep away. I have seen countless males watching you as we walk. He is not the only one wanting to draw closer.” There was growing contempt in his tone and it took her aback.
She found herself looking up at him, his words repeating in her mind as she stared at him.
He didn’t look at her though, his frown was directed at M’Agunt who was still sauntering toward them, shimmering golden robe brushing just above the ground and a grin on his face.
Did Kyro just say she was mesmerizing?
“My dear human friend.” M’Agunt’s greeting scraped through her thoughts like a record scratch. “How great to meet you here?”
Pasting a smile on her face she turned to face the large alien. “It is nice to see you too, M’Agunt.”
At her greeting, Kyro’s arm tightened around her arm.
“And, nice to see you again, Borxclan Kyro.” M’Agunt’s grin slipped a little when he turned his attention to Kyro.
Kyro didn’t answer, he just narrowed his eyes some more and murmured something underneath his breath that Evren immediately caught.
“Can’t say I’m pleased to see you.”
Evren’s eyes widened.
“What was that?” M’Agunt gave him a side-eye.
Kyro opened his mouth, the corners of his lips curling, and she knew without a doubt that he was going to insult the merchant. She had to grab his hand and squeeze it.
“Is today your day off, M’Agunt? I thought you’d be in the market.” She switched the conversation quickly. She could almost feel the vitriol emanating from Kyro.
“Ah,” M’Agunt said. “Yes, but I had other...business to attend to.” His eyes focused on her with clarity and she felt as if the other business he was referring to was her.
She was reading a lot in people’s gazes today and the common variable was her. Maybe that drink she’d had did have an effect on her after all.
“What about you? I am seeing a lot of you lately,” M’Agunt continued.
“Maybe because—” Kyro began, those two words already slicing like daggers, and Evren had a feeling she knew exactly what he was going to say. Something along the lines of M’Agunt being a pest.
“—because I’ve been out a lot lately.” She finished Kyro’s sentence and smiled sweetly at them both.
“Ah,” M’Agunt’s grin deepened. With a tentacle, he gestured to a building close by. “Would you like to have a drink? I’ll pay.”
Ah.
She cringed inwardly. No, she didn’t want to have a drink. But she’d sidestepped his advances so much lately, she was beginning to feel guilty and she might even be creating an enemy in him.
“No, we wouldn’t ‘like to have a drink.’ We are tired and we are heading back to her quarters to rest…” Kyro spoke up.
“...For the rest of the day,” he added. “Without interruptions.”
His tone was still clipped.
“I see.” It was M’Agunt’s turn to narrow his eyes. “Together?”
“What does it matter to you?” Kyro took a step toward M’Agunt and she found herself holding him back. “I will be staying with her,” he added, and Evren’s wide eyes flew up to his.
Smiling at M’Agunt, she dipped her head in a slight bow as she began to pull Kyro away and down the street—a mammoth task because his entire body was reluctant. “We’re a bit tired, M’Agunt. Maybe some other time. I’ll see you in the market maybe?”
Eyes still narrowed on Kyro, his entire face gone hard, M’Agunt didn’t even look at her when he replied. “Yes, human. Some other time indeed.”
As Kyro’s feet finally mobilized and they began walking again, his hand loosened around her arm, but he still kept it there.
“What was that?” She glanced up at him.
When he met her gaze, his shoulder rose and fell with a sigh, the
contempt leaking from his bones.
“Some form of bewitching,” he said, almost as if to himself.
“Bewitching? Do you think M’Agunt is a wizard or something? Is stuff like that even real?”
“M’Agunt is filth.”
She didn’t like M’Agunt either but Kyro’s response still seemed a little extreme. Nevertheless, he seemed to have gone into a mood and she decided to end the conversation there as they walked the rest of the way to her apartment in silence.
As they approached her door, she turned to face him.
“Thanks for walking me back. I...” Her gaze sauntered to the street below as she tried to choose her next words carefully. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to say to him or if she should say anything at all.
It was during this moment while she stood there that her gaze focused on the alley connected to the street and her blood ran cold.
There, looking right back at her was Shive. He was staring unashamedly.
What the actual hell?
Without realizing what she was doing, she gripped Kyro’s arm, her eyes widening as she stared at the alien in the street.
“What the—”
As Kyro turned to see what had drawn her attention, Shive slipped out of view.
“What is it?”
“That alien that had stopped me in the market. The cockroach one.”
“Cockrosh?”
“Shive. Shive I think his name was, right?”
“Shive?” Kyro snarled, the contempt returning in his voice immediately. “What about him?”
“I just saw him. He was standing there, just looking at me.”
Kyro’s head snapped to the street and she could feel his muscles tense under her arm.
“Go inside,” he said, not looking at her as he began moving toward the gravity lift that would take him back down to street level. “Go inside and engage the locks.”
Evren nodded, reluctantly letting go of his arm as she did what she was told.
Minutes ticked by that seemed like hours.
As she paced by her window overlooking the street, she could see Kyro down on ground level.
He was moving through the crowd with such ease and grace that it didn’t even seem as if he was hunting someone. But she knew.
She was sure she’d seen Shive there by the alleyway.
What had he been doing? Why had he been watching her so much lately?
Was he still pissed about what had happened between them in the market?
Whatever the cause for his behavior, she was sure it wasn’t good.
No one stalked another person and watched them from afar like that with good intentions.
She watched as Kyro turned and headed back toward her and her shoulders sagged.
He hadn’t spotted the other alien, but she knew she wasn’t going out of her mind.
Shive had been there. He’d been following them, and he’d been watching her.
The thought made goosebumps form on her arms.
As Kyro reached back at her door and the bell chimed, she pressed the panel along the wall and the door slid open.
“You didn’t see him did you?”
“No. He was not on the street. Not that I could see at least.”
Evren gulped, moving so Kyro could enter the room.
As the door hissed closed behind him, she brought her fingers to her lips, biting the remaining nails that were there.
“I didn’t imagine him. I’m sure I saw him. He was there the other day too.”
“What?”
“I saw him. Watching me like he was just now.”
“Why didn’t you mention this before?” Kyro was staring out at the street through her window now, his eyes narrowed and his pupils contracted with focus.
“I don’t know. I didn’t wanna stir any trouble and I was hoping he’d just go away. This is the Restitution...am I not safe here?”
Kyro’s eyes hit her so solidly, the gravity of his next words fell on her. “Evil can persist even in the noblest of organizations.”
A breath shuddered from her body.
“What do you think he wants?”
Kyro’s pupils dilated at that question so slowly, she felt herself warm underneath his gaze. “I think we both know what he wants. Many feel the pull. I saw them today. Watching you. Wanting you.” He almost spat the words as if the thought angered him. “You are a very attractive female.”
Immediately, she wanted to ask if he felt the pull too. Was he attracted to her as well? But she bit her tongue.
“Against human customary politeness, I demand to stay the night.”
Demand?
A giggle began in her throat as she regarded him.
“Well, when you say it like that...” She smiled at him.
That feeling of being completely at ease around him was returning.
“Do you accept?”
When she nodded, she tried not to show just how thrilled the prospect of him staying over just to keep her safe was making her.
She could see his shoulders visibly relax.
“Good,” he said, as if he’d expected some resistance on her end.
“Good,” she replied. There was no resistance on her end. As a matter of fact, her first order of the evening was to get him a blanket so he could be comfortable.
Tonight, she would have company—the first real company she’d had in many, many moons.
Completely platonic or not, she was going to take it in stride and accept it.
Nope.
Certainly, no resistance here.
14
Unknown transmission
“I have news, your excellence.”
“Report.”
“I have been watching the human diligently, as you requested. I have even enlisted the help of others to track her movements.”
“When can I expect her delivered?”
“Soon, your excellence. I am making arrangements for the shipment as we speak.”
A low chuckle spread over the connection, the laughter filled with sounds like bubbles popping. “I am pleased to hear this.”
“There is just one problem, your excellence.”
“Speak.”
There was hesitation on the other line.
“The Borxclan, Kyro, is suspicious of our movements. He is remaining in her quarters for the dark-period.”
There was silence on the other end from the receiver and if not for the crackle of the connection, one would have assumed the connection was broken.
“Hasten your plans. Extract the human to avoid complications. Failure will not be tolerated.”
“I understand, excellence.”
There was a pause and then a sharp crash as if something was thrown into a wall.
“Bring the human to me,” the voice grated, “or you will have to take its place.”
“Yes, sire.”
The call ended with a sharp click.
15
She’d rejected him.
Totally and completely.
And even though he had expected it, the blow hadn’t come easy.
It meant nothing, she’d said.
Why had those three words hurt so much?
He was Vorti. He’d been through more than any of his Rexu5 brothers could imagine, mutilated himself for his own preservation—the pain of which still burned along each wound where he’d had to remove his chets—he’d even endured years as a slave to the despicable Tasqals and yet...three...qrakking...words had cut him deeper than his own blade.
It meant nothing.
He knew the drink had caused her to do it.
Why else would she have placed her lips on his...tasted him...moaned against him when he’d opened his mouth to hers?
The memory of it now made him want to groan in anguish as if he had lost something precious.
But how could you lose something you didn’t have?
Sitting in her quarters as she moved around in her sleeping room, Kyro lifted her datapad from
where it lay on the seat and began typing in some codes.
Qrak.
His mood was sour for more than one reason.
It wasn’t just the pain of her rejection. It was the fact that others were looking at her, wanting her.
It was unreasonable, the way he felt. What was even more unreasonable was his reaction to those feelings.
This illogical out-of-nowhere urge to claim. In all his lifetime, never had he had an urge so strong.
It was similar to the urge he had when he happened upon a unique set of data and he got that push to consume it all on his own, without interference, without any outsiders getting a hold of the new information. Except, it was that same feeling multiplied by ten thousand burning ions.
Seeing M’Agunt, for instance, had made him rage inside. He’d wanted to pull Evren up against him and mouth-mate with her right in the street for all to see so they would BACK THE QRAK OFF.
M’Agunt had been annoying but his reaction to the merchant had been almost pushed to the limit because of all the outside influence.
Annoyingly, and unbeknownst to her, several males had been watching them walk down the street toward her dwelling.
Several.
Qrak. They hadn’t been watching them they’d been watching her.
She was radiant. Her pale skin and pale hair making her stand out like a beacon. And the qrakking clothing she’d been wearing... Kyro’s frown deepened as he thought about it.
It was a tempting piece of material.
Maybe he hadn’t been so wrong about her wanting sex clothing because when she’d stood there in his quarters, all he had wanted to do was take her and bend her over the table just to rip the clothing off her so he could have her right then and there.
It had taken everything within him to control himself and remain neutral.
And then she’d rejected him...
His shoulders lifted in a sigh as he tapped in the codes on the datapad.
This was bad.
Whatever was beginning to boil within him was so bad, it was beginning to affect his control.
And he could never lose control.
Losing control meant losing the life he’d constructed for himself.
