“I believe skilled is the correct word,” Kier said. “I suppose now I’ve something more to aspire to. Thargen has set a new standard.”
Yuri settled her hand over Thargen’s. “I think I’m with Kayl on this one. I’d rather not puke before we get there.”
Thargen blew out an exasperated huff. “Nobody’s bleeding, Yuri. You’re not gonna puke. Sit back and enjoy the ride.” His eyes flicked toward her again, suddenly heated. “This is just the first of many now that we’re back.”
“Were you not sated enough by your couplings aboard our ship?” Kayl asked.
“And I would not call this the first since arriving,” added Kier with a chuckle. “When we landed, it certainly sounded like you were—”
“Are we there yet?” Yuri asked, cheeks flaring with warmth. Had they been that loud?
“Yeah, almost.” Thargen guided the hovercar out of the main traffic lane to follow one of the streets below. “Now I know that daevahs like to stare at people like creeps and listen in on private moments. You two aren’t winning any points for your species.”
“It was no fault of ours. At times, there seemed to be nowhere on the Fang we could not hear you,” Kayl said.
“The only thing louder was your snoring during our first day of travel,” added Kier. “I feared the Fang would be rattled apart by it.”
Yuri’s relief when she’d seen Thargen, bloodied but alive, standing in that cargo hold had been immense—even stronger than her aversion to blood. She’d hugged him as hard as she could for a long, long time, reluctantly releasing him only when he’d put his hands on her hips and guided her back. He’d told her to help with the others, that he was going to get cleaned up.
He’d managed three steps before collapsing. Yuri’s heart had leapt into her throat, and she’d rushed to his side. His skin had been more heated than she’d ever felt, but his heartbeat had been strong and steady. That didn’t eliminate her worry, but she’d seen it before—the day of the crash, when he’d sat down in the middle of an alien forest and just gone to sleep despite everything.
When he’d started snoring there on the floor, she’d been unable to hold back a smile.
She and Kier had seen to the rescued captives, tending their wounds, showing them where to clean up, opening the lockers full of clothing, and fetching several of those instantly rehydrated meals from the galley. They were all in poor condition—the smugglers had driven them hard and provided barely any food or water—but most of their wounds were minor.
Unfortunately, Riniya’s had been in significantly worse condition than the other survivors. Her broken leg had not been set, and the bone had already begun healing while misaligned. She’d been feverish, likely the result of an infection, and her body had been covered in bruises and scrapes. According to the others, the smugglers had taken their frustrations out on her—and if the camp had been moved again, it was unlikely that they would have brought her along.
Yuri had tended Riniya during the return trip as best she could, and had seen improvement during that time—but her conversations with the volturian, always brief, had suggested the damage went far, far deeper than physical.
Thankfully, the only stop the twins had made before coming to Arthos had been at a waystation they called Avarius Reach, which they described as a safe haven dedicated to the rehabilitation of liberated slaves. The staff of the waystation had said they could grant Riniya the help she needed. Tsirisa, Corgen, and Harukan—the kaital, borian, and azhera, respectively—had all chosen to stay there as well.
Apparently, Kier and Kayl had brought hundreds of freed slaves to Avarius Reach, and most had eventually recovered from their ordeal.
Vireesi and Fyr’ta, the sedhi and ilthurii—who’d been inseparable during their time on the Fang—had decided to continue on to Arthos with Yuri, Thargen, and the twins. They’d departed shortly after landing, hands intertwined and tails touching. The two had not known one another before being kidnapped, but their time in that cell together had apparently forged a very deep bond between them.
The hovercar cruised over side streets and alleys, its speed reduced despite Thargen’s earlier arguing. Judging by the lights and buildings within view, they were near a busy part of the Undercity, but Yuri lost sight of them when the vehicle dropped into a dark, deserted alley. After several turns along similar alleys, Yuri would’ve been entirely lost—had she not already been clueless as to where they were. Everything around here looked abandoned or, at best, neglected.
That only increased her surprise when the hovercar pulled up to a large bay door that opened to reveal a large garage in which everything was polished to a shine.
Thargen pulled the hovercar inside, and the door closed as soon as the vehicle was clear.
Yuri’s eyes darted left to right, taking in the hover vehicles lined up in neat rows along the walls. This place looked like one of those garages super wealthy people had in their ultra-modern, thirty-thousand-square-foot mansions.
The hovercar drew to a stop in the center of the garage. It was only then that Yuri pried her eyes off the other vehicles and noticed the people standing near the interior door ahead. There were six of them, and five of those looked as tall as Thargen, if not taller—a sedhi, an azhera, a cren, and another vorgal, all males, and a female ilthurii. But it was the smallest figure amongst them that stood out to Yuri the most. A human woman with her blond hair pulled back and a blaster on her hip.
That must be Thargen’s friend, Shay.
She’s pretty.
And she looks like she could kick my ass.
But the one person she wanted to see wasn’t there.
“Where’s Takashi?” Yuri asked.
“Inside, probably.” Thargen squeezed Yuri’s thigh again. “Don’t worry. He’s safe.”
Yuri nodded, tamping down the anxiety rising in her chest.
“Now everyone be on your best behavior or whatever,” Thargen said as he disengaged the hovercar’s engine. “Drakkal looks kinda pissed. Not that that’s unusual for him.”
Yuri had but a moment to glance back at the group. Drakkal was the burly azhera, Shay’s mate. Yuri couldn’t deny that he did look angry. He was staring at the hovercar hard enough that she wouldn’t have been surprised if it burst into flames.
Thargen shoved open his door and climbed out of the car.
All right, Yuri. This is the easy part, right? No reason to be nervous.
She took in a quick, steadying breath, and exited the car. The twins did so just after her. She followed her vorgal as he approached his friends, clutching the gift to her chest and peering around him. It was strange to know so much about these people despite having never met them. Thargen had told her a lot about all of them.
Drakkal folded his arms across his chest.
“You saved some of that cake for me, right?” Thargen asked when he was in front of them.
“Kraasz ka’val, the first thing you ask about is fucking cake?” Drakkal snarled, fur bristling.
“No, there isn’t any fucking cake,” Shay said. “What the fuck, Thargen?”
Yuri curled her lips in to keep herself from laughing.
Thargen lifted his hands, palms up. “It was really good cake, and I promised some to my zoani. It so fucking wrong for me to ask about it?”
“Your zonai?” the other vorgal asked. He was brown-skinned and just a bit shorter than Thargen, and his cheek tattoo had slightly different symbols around the central axe. He was Urgand.
The aliens’ expressions had shifted toward confusion—or maybe disbelief.
Thargen lowered his hands. “Yeah. Why the fuck are you all looking at me like that?”
Urgand turned his face toward Yuri and ran his eyes—a startlingly clear blue—over her. “Is this terran… And you…”
“Magama’s flailing teats, stop acting so shocked.”
“I expected a heartfelt homecoming, perhaps even a few tears, but this is far more entertaining,” said the sedhi, Arcanth
“No, it’s not fucking entertaining, Arcanthus,” Drakkal’s nostrils flared, and he pinned his gaze on Thargen. “Last trace we found of you was some gang, the Zulka, taking you down in an alley with this terran and dragging you off, and we had to hack into Consortium security feeds just to find that.”
“Doesn’t Arcanthus do stuff like that all the time, though?” Shay asked.
“That’s not the point, kiraia,” Drakkal said. “We went three weeks tracking that fucking gang, chasing any lead we could find, thinking you were dead, only for you to call us out of nowhere from a shielded comm ID—and you don’t tell us what happened or where you were, just that you want us to fucking kidnap a terran. And here you are, in our secure compound, with three more strangers you did not clear with us.”
“Your…zoani?” Urgand asked again, his expression still confounded.
Yuri’s brows creased. Now she really needed to know what that word meant.
Thargen threw his hands up again, this time in frustration. “Anything else? Gonna get on me for forgetting to take out the trash or something?”
“I knew that was you,” the ilthurii, Sekk’thi, said.
“Yeah, it was. Now before I address anything else…did you really think I was dead?”
“When someone like you disappears, Thargen, it doesn’t tend to be temporary,” Arcanthus said. “You do have a habit of looking for fights.”
“All right, I guess that’s fair.” Thargen jabbed a finger toward Drakkal. “But I didn’t tell you to kidnap him. I just said pick him up and bring him in.”
“Whether he wanted to come or not,” Drakkal said.
“Wait, are you talking about Takashi?” Yuri asked, stepping out from behind Thargen. “Is he okay? You didn’t hurt him, did you?”
“No, but he nearly knocked Razi on his ass,” Drakkal replied. “That terran packs a surprising punch.”
Yuri smiled. “He’s been into martial arts since he was a little kid.”
“We were aware of your brother before Thargen called,” said Arcanthus, pushing away from the wall. His tail languorously swayed behind him. “We IDed you from the holos we pulled looking for Thargen, and finding your brother was easy afterward. He was quite zealous in his search for you.”
Relief flooded Yuri knowing that he was all right.
“He’s in back, waiting for you,” Shay said, offering Yuri a smile.
“But nobody is going back until I know who the fuck they are.” Drakkal dipped his head toward the daevah twins, who’d been standing behind Thargen, largely ignored, the whole time.
Thargen ran his palm over the scars on the side of his head. “I kinda…offered them Arc’s help.”
Drakkal’s eyes narrowed to a furious glare. “You did what?”
“Didn’t think you’d have trouble hearing with ears that big, azhera,” Thargen replied.
“You offered them Arc’s help and brought them here without talking to any of us about it first? Vrek’osh! You must be stupid.”
“He’s not stupid,” Yuri said, giving Drakkal a glare of her own. “They saved our lives.”
Thargen gave Yuri a quick look—a you’re so fucking hot kind of look—before returning his attention to Drakkal. “And you and Arc have brought people here without asking anyone, too. Don’t act like you haven’t.”
“We run this fucking place!” Drakkal roared.
“I know that!” Thargen roared back. His voice was normal when he added, “We can talk about the three weeks’ backpay you owe me later.”
Drakkal’s hackles rose, and he stepped toward Thargen. “Kraasz ka’val, you fu—”
Shay reached out and grabbed Drakkal’s belt, tugging him to a halt. “Calm down, kitty. He’s right. You offered me a place here before even knowing me.”
Drakkal’s lips twitched, revealing his fangs, as he stared at Thargen. Tension crackled in the air between them.
“Regardless of any precedent that may have been set, this is still an issue,” said Arcanthus, his lower eyes shifting toward the daevahs while that third eye at the center of his forehead remained on Thargen. “We have all had to learn some difficult lessons over the last two years, haven’t we?”
“Yeah, we have.” Thargen held Drakkal’s gaze for a few more moments before looking at Arcanthus. “But you barely knew me when you offered me a job. You took a shot on me—and when I recommended you hire Urgand, too, what did you ask me?”
Arc’s eyebrows fell. “I asked if you trusted him.”
“Right, because you trusted me and my judgment for whatever reason.”
“Because you’re open and honest, vorgal.”
“And I am fucking loyal. I would die for anyone in this building, and you know I’ve come fucking close plenty of times. I told you I trusted Urgand that same way because he saved my life more than once.” Thargen twisted his torso slightly, pointing back at the twins. “Same with them. They saved me and my zoani, fought alongside me, and rescued people who didn’t deserve what was done to them. I didn’t offer them a fucking room next to yours or anything, Arc. But they’re doing good work out there, and if you want us to be making a real difference in this universe, we should at least consider working with them.”
Arcanthus pressed his lips together and lifted a hand, brushing his metal fingers along his jawline.
“Shit, Thargen,” the cren said, “you write that speech beforehand or what?”
“Fuck you, Koroq,” Thargen replied, one corner of his mouth lifting.
With a thoughtful hum, Arcanthus stepped past Thargen and Yuri, stopping immediately in front of the daevah twins. Seconds passed as the daevahs and sedhi studied each other, all three silent and seemingly wary.
“I suppose there’s no point in aliases by now,” Arc finally said. “I’m Arcanthus. Forger, hacker, pit fighting champion, sex god—”
Shay snorted, rolling her eyes.
Arc glanced at her over his shoulder. “I’m deducting that from your pay, terran.”
“Again, Arc, I handle payroll around here,” Drakkal said, finally seeming to ease.
“Anyway”—the sedhi turned back to the twins—“you’re here, so the very least we can do is have a chat and determine whether or not we can be of any use to each other.”
“We must know if you or any of your people have ties to slavery,” said Kayl, face betraying no emotion.
“What a blunt and oddly specific demand.” Arc’s tail lazily swished as he raised his arms—both of which were cybernetic. “My only ties to slavery were fighting my way out of it in the pits and arenas of Caldorius, as was Drakkal’s.” The sedhi turned so he was perpendicular to the twins and everyone else. “Shay was captured by slavers and sold to a wealthy businessman who kept her in his private zoo to be bred until Drakkal broke her out. Sekk’thi was born into a livestock pen full of people meant to be traded to skeks as food. And Razi, who is inside, spent ten years enslaved in a mine, extracting raw materials in the dark, usually with an electrolash tearing up his back.”
Arcanthus returned his gaze to the twins. “Does that satisfy your curiosity?”
The daevahs looked at each other, and Yuri could almost sense the unspoken words flitting across their psychic link. When they returned their gazes to Arcanthus, it was Kayl who spoke first.
“We were taken as small children, after our parents were slaughtered by pirates.”
Kier said, “We were sold to a mistress on a planet we’d never heard of and were trained to be her personal servants—”
“And to pleasure her at her whim,” Kayl finished.
Kier offered a slight bow. “I am called Sol’Kier Sevris, and my brother is Sol’Kayl Kortanis.”
Kayl mimicked that bow as he was introduced. “We hunt slavers.”
“Really? Well, it seems we will have much to discuss.” Arcanthus walked toward the interior door, waving the daevahs along. “Drak, let’s speak with our new friends in the workshop. And shall we call for a party in the break room in…two hours?”
“Better be cake,” Thargen said.
“No promises, vorgal.” Drakkal paused to nuzzle Shay’s hair before joining Arcanthus.
“So the kid gets cake, but I don’t?”
“It was her birthday,” Shay said.
Kier and Kayl offered Yuri and Thargen nods as they passed, following Arc and Drakkal through the interior door.
“Yeah, but what does that even mean?” Thargen said. “That she didn’t die for a year? Well I didn’t die for three weeks, and my circumstances were just a little more dangerous. Isn’t that worth at least one slice?”
Koroq laughed and slapped Thargen’s shoulder. “Glad you’re back, vorgal.”
“As am I,” Sekk’thi said.
“You owe us a story,” Koroq said as he walked to the door. Just before he slipped through, he added, “And the drinks are on you!”
“That bastard,” Thargen muttered.
Sekk’thi brushed her fingers lightly across Urgand’s shoulder. “I will see you soon.” Then she, too, left them.
Shay arched a brow at Thargen. “Let’s not pull that kind of disappearing act again.” She turned to Yuri and grinned. “Hi. I’m Shay, Thargen’s best friend. Don’t let Urgand tell you otherwise.”
Yuri smiled, glancing at the other vorgal who was still staring at her, seemingly in shock. She cleared her throat and returned her attention to Shay. “I’m Yuri. Thargen’s told me a lot about you…about everyone really. Oh!” She held the gift out to Shay. “And, uh, this is for you. Well, not for you, but for Leah. It’s from Thargen.”
The other woman took the gift carefully. “Should I be worried that it’s going to explode?”
“Damn it, I didn’t know explosives were an option,” Thargen said.
“I can’t tell if you’re serious or not, vorgal. You keep things interesting, I’ll give you that much.”
Thargen laughed. “This one is not nearly as great as a knife or a bomb, but it’s appropriate for a little terran.” He slipped his arm around Yuri and drew her against his side. “I had some help picking it out.”
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