Tempting Auzed: The Clecanian Series Book 4

by Victoria Aveline

  Meg and Alex screamed as the seating suddenly dropped. She clamped onto Auzed, holding on for dear life. When she heard the warm rumble of his laugh, loud and hearty, she opened her eyes.

  The seating was indeed moving downward, but it appeared only she and Meg had been surprised by it. She caught sight of Meg, and laughter wheezed out of her. Meg’s arms were spread wide, one hand gripping the table in front of her and the other hand clawing Daunet’s forearm. The look on her face was not dissimilar from that of a cat being scared by a cucumber.

  Face pale and eyes bulging, her gaze flashed to Alex now clutching her sides. “Not. Funny.”

  Alex shook her head and covered her mouth with her hand but could not form any words through her laughter.

  Meg leaned back in her seat, a small chuckle escaping past her resolutely annoyed expression.

  “You could’ve warned us,” Alex said when her laughter finally fizzled out.

  Daunet and Auzed grinned at each other. “Where would be the fun in that?”

  “What’s going on anyway?” Meg said through tight lips.

  As they’d descended, a column of ropes, platforms, and various items Alex couldn’t identify came into focus and stretched up toward a large golden ring the size of a semi-truck.

  “The third round is an obstacle course. Competitors start on the ground and have to climb to the top. Whoever makes it first wins the most points.”

  “Whoever has the biggest arms, you mean? For the climbing?” Meg muttered, leaning over the rail to get a better look at the lower section of the obstacle course.

  “Not necessarily,” Daunet replied while fiddling with the view on her screen. “There are traps and mental obstacles you have to complete along the way. Some platforms require you solve a puzzle to move them. Some ropes are not attached as securely. The course is meant to be a test of both strength and intelligence.”

  Without asking, Auzed brought Gosten up on their screen.

  Alex pouted. “Aw, he looks nervous.”

  The massive sections of seating came to a halt near the bottom of the forest, where the competitors crouched, waiting for the signal to start. The air was thicker down here. Cooler but heavier too. And the herbal smell of lush foliage and dew was more concentrated than it was in the high city.

  It was odd being so low to the ground, not seeing the emptiness below and above. After spending a week in the treetops of Sauven, it felt almost claustrophobic to have the impenetrable ground so close.

  Alex searched the faces of the men, all ready and waiting, and found Gosten hovering near the far side of the stadium. It was difficult to see him between all the items hanging along the course, but she could make him out.

  “Ooh, there’s Hulk.” Meg sighed, pointing to the large man they’d gushed over earlier. She propped her hand on her chin. “I bet he wins.”

  “Not likely,” Auzed said without malice but like there was something he knew that they didn’t.

  “Why not?”

  “The competitor listing says he’s competing for eligibility.” When both humans shot him confused glances, he went on. “It means he got into trouble and his marriage eligibility was taken away. If the crime was minor enough and the allotted time has passed, some males can petition to compete for reinstatement of their eligibility. But they rarely win. The other competitors are expected to try to knock him out—sabotage him if they can.”

  Meg’s wide eyes turned back toward the man, and she grinned dreamily. “So, he’s a bad boy on top of everything else? I might not want to marry him, but I could definitely make him feel better if he loses.”

  A sharp blast sounded, and the men all jumped into action, leaping superhuman distances to snatch the hanging ropes. The men who were smart grabbed multiple ropes, but a few only grabbed one. Just one rope proved to be a phony, though. The man holding it roared as it snapped free. He fell, shouting obscenities as an invisible net caught him.

  Just as Auzed had said, a group of five began swinging in a coordinated attack against the solitary giant, who was attempting to dodge his way past flashing tails and legs aiming to knock him off. Meg and Alex both stood and booed.

  Luckily, Gosten didn’t seem to be interested in knocking out any other player. He was slowly but carefully jumping from rope to nearby platform to hanging bar, his actions as calculated as they’d been in the last round.

  He leapt for a bar and missed, falling in midair. She let out a gasp, her heart fluttering to a stop as he fell. With his tail and a flailing palm, he caught a nearby rope and slid for a few feet before coming to a halt, his teeth clenched. She hissed. The insides of his palm and tail would be raw.

  She hadn’t realized how tightly she’d been gripping Auzed’s hand until he tugged his fingers out of hers with a chuckle. He shook out his hand with an exaggerated wince of pain. She slapped at his arm and rolled her eyes.

  “Careful. I need that hand for other things,” he whispered into her hair while wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her against him.

  She caught Meg’s joyous gaze and grinned when the woman gave her a ridiculously nerdy thumbs-up.

  The seats in the arena rose in time with the climbing men in order to keep them in view. One by one, the competitors fell until ten remained. Unfortunately, under the pressure of four against one, the large hulking male had finally been knocked out. The roar he released rattled the audience, and some spectators applauded his ferocity even though he’d lost.

  They were only a few feet from the golden ring now, and a lanky forest-green man with an exceptionally long tail was in the lead. Gosten was second.

  “If Thren gets to the top first, he’ll win,” Daunet said, leaning in toward her and Meg and staring at the lanky man. “He has enough points that the bump in score would put him far in the lead.”

  The other six men had been delayed below, trying to work out a projected puzzle not unlike an Earth Rubik’s Cube.

  The lanky man paused when he reached the top of the attached ropes. They ended short of the golden ring. In their place were two shining metal hoops spaced too far apart to be of any use.

  Everyone in the crowd seemed to lean forward as the lanky man in the lead tensed to jump. He sprung toward the hoop, airborne, and the crowd sucked in a collective inhale. He’d never reach it.

  At the last second, he flipped in midair, catching the hoop with his tail. Using the momentum of his swing, he propelled himself up toward the final hoop. With an unnecessary flourish, he flipped onto the stage above the golden ring and raised his arms in triumph, taking in the booming cheers that thundered all around him.

  A loud jangling sounded from the crowd rather than applause, and Alex looked around to find the source. The Sauvenians, now on their feet, had begun to swish their tails rapidly like rattlesnakes, creating a cacophony of jingles from the rings circling them.

  From a pocket under the table, Auzed pulled out a collection of gold rings bound by a leather rope and handed a bundle to each of them. They shook the bundles in the air, joining in the applause.

  The sound only grew louder when Gosten, using pure power, propelled himself directly to the hoop, not needing to use his tail, and climbed onto the stage with the other man. He smiled and waved. Meg put her index finger and thumb in her mouth and whistled loud enough to make both Daunet and Auzed flinch. The boisterous cheering carried through until the fifth man climbed onto the stage with a slight limp.

  The bride, dressed in a gorgeous multicolored gown, floated to the stage, smiling at the man who’d won. His grin was wide and infectious as he watched her approach. She walked up to him and demurely wrapped her tail around his. The cuteness of the gesture sent Alex’s brain into overload, and her heart fluttered. Meg had much the same reaction, releasing a squeal and pressing her hand to her chest.

  After a while the stage was cleared, but the loud chattering of the crowds continued as people filed out of the arena toward various gatherings around the city.

  “You guy
s ready for a party?” Meg shouted, excitement lighting her grin.

  Chapter 24

  Auzed watched Alex from across the room as she chatted with Meg and two other Sauvenians he didn’t know. The heart-pumping game they’d witnessed earlier today had helped to distract him, but it was no match for the turmoil charring his insides.

  All night and day he’d thought about what he should do. Should he ask her to stay with him forever? Should he really forget everything he ever valued, change his core beliefs in order to be with her?

  He was using this party as a test for himself. As soon as they’d entered, he’d been on edge. Males and females peered at her and Meg, covertly attempting to sniff them as they walked by or pushing their way into their conversations. Every muscle in his body was strung tight.

  He was barely able to carry on any conversations of his own because his heart always leapt into his throat every time a new person approached her. Would this one be the one to recognize her and take her away from him forever?

  He’d wanted to see if he could handle the constant scraping against his Traxian side, and he was finding out he couldn’t. Mild annoyance continued to build and morph into something far more dangerous. The next person to clasp her hand for too long when she taught them her Earth greeting was going to lose it.

  “How are you doing tonight, Auzed?” His attention shifted to Relli, who had at some point walked up to him. Her brows were lifted in a mixture of curiosity and concern.

  “I’m well, Relli, and you?” His head snapped to the side at a flash of movement near Alex, but it was only Meg, returning with drinks for herself and Daunet. He exhaled.

  “Are you well?” Relli asked.

  It took Auzed a moment to process her question. He looked back at her and saw in her expression that she already knew the answer.

  She let out a long sigh, and he saw a glimmer of understanding light her yellow eyes. “How far gone are you?”

  He clenched his jaw and drank deeply from his glass, forcing his attention to remain on Relli. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  She pursed her lips at him and raised a brow.

  His shoulders fell with his deflating exhale. “I am consumed,” he muttered finally, not knowing quite how to describe the overwhelming feelings he had for Alex. How could any emotion simultaneously lift you higher than you’ve ever been and smother you in weighted blackness?

  Relli nodded, a knowing smile playing around her lips. “That’s how I felt for Jut.”

  “But…” he trailed off, not used to speaking so personally to near strangers, especially female ones. “But isn’t it difficult, the way everyone treats you two, and…well, what if more humans come? What if he recognizes somebody else?”

  Relli’s face paled a fraction, and guilt swamped Auzed. He should’ve never put that thought into her mind. It’d been unintentional, but it was cruel all the same.

  She peered over to where Jut stood, politely listening to a very drunk and very happy Gosten, retelling the same story he’d been barking about since he’d arrived, and smiled gently. “Say it did happen.” She turned back to Auzed. “If he recognized someone else. It would break my heart, but it wouldn’t change all these happy years we’ve spent together. At least I’d have that. When I think of where I’d be if I hadn’t stayed with him…” She gulped. “I would still be miserable and alone. Floating through marriages and pretending that each time I had to leave a new home, I didn’t feel hollow.”

  Her words hit him hard, constricting his chest, because that was exactly right. When Alex wasn’t around, he felt like a shell of himself. She’d brought him to life.

  “But,” Relli added with a pitying look, “I will admit this isn’t quite the same. I didn’t have females beating down my door to speak to Jut. And being recognized was never a concern. With so few humans, it still isn’t. I understand it’s different for you. And I can sympathize with your apprehension.”

  And he was back to where he’d started. Auzed took another long gulp from his glass.

  “Have you talked to her about it?”

  “I decided to wait until I knew what I wanted myself. It’d be no good to come to her with more problems. She’s been through enough.”

  Alex caught him staring and beamed. She gave him a small wave from across the room. Meg looked between them, then leaned toward Alex to whisper something. Alex’s grin faded a fraction. She tilted her head toward the balcony, and they walked away, disappearing through the sliding glass.

  “Auzed!” Gosten boomed, stomping over to them and weaving slightly. “Did you and Alex watch the game today?”

  Here we go. “Yes, we did.”

  “Did you see that ending? Yeeshutu was incredible!”

  “And so were you.” He grinned, slapping the male on the back.

  Taking that as his opening, Gosten replayed the game from his perspective. “I was halfway up when I saw…”

  Auzed couldn’t help but grin and listen to the male repeat his story of success. It was no wonder he was so elated. The points he’d received would likely double his overall scores. He was almost guaranteed a wife in a few weeks.

  Auzed pushed down the spike of envy and forced himself to be happy for the male.

  ***

  “So, what is going on with you and the hunky ice ball?”

  Alex smiled, but it was forced. “I don’t know, really.”

  Meg raised her brows in surprise.

  “Let me ask you something,” she said, tucking her leg under her and facing Meg. “How realistic…or, I guess how likely is it… Ugh I don’t know how to ask this.” She sighed. “Is it possible? That they’ll let us go back to Earth, I mean?”

  “Ah.” Meg nodded. “Worried to start something you can’t see through to the end?”

  Alex grimaced. Like an idiot, she’d already started it. “More or less.”

  “You want the truth?”

  “Yes,” she groaned.

  “I think it’s a real possibility. Maybe not soon, but soon enough.” Meg tipped her head and stared through the forest. “If it were just us humans complaining about it then I wouldn’t give it a second thought, you know. But it isn’t. Everyone and their mother wants humans to come here. Every city, every leader, every Clecanian. A whole planet of evolved, powerful, space-traveling beings are all working together to make this happen. I can’t even begin to imagine how quickly the red tape is going to get cut with everyone fighting desperately for the same cause.”

  Alex deflated. Part of her had hoped the notion of going home would be so farfetched that she could give up on it. But if there was any possibility at all, she had to try…didn’t she?

  “From what I’ve heard in the meetings the Queen has at the Temple, the only thing she thinks will hold us up are the other planets within the Alliance. They don’t give two shits about revealing themselves to humans, mind you,” Meg added with irritated pursed lips. “They just want to use their votes as bargaining chips to get other resources from Clecania. Or so the Queen thinks. She’s a smart cookie. Fair and firm. Doesn’t spew the bullshit we’d expect.”

  Alex gazed at the lights twinkling around the hanging nests of Sauven. They were brighter tonight, and colorful. If only she felt the same.

  “Is that what’s been bothering you today? You miss home?”

  “Of course I do. I miss my family and my friends. I miss movies and familiar food and sunlight. I miss not worrying about how I act every. Single. Second.” She threw her hands towards the sky. “I need to find a way back home. I can’t imagine what my family is going through.”

  “What about Auzed?”

  Alex had to take a steadying breath; the tears that sprung to the surface just imagining leaving him burned. “We’ve known from the beginning that this was temporary. He has his job to go back to, and he can’t be married while he’s head guard. If I’m just going to leave him to go home, then what’s the point anyway?” She needed to start resigning herself to this. Bitterness at
how unfair it all was rose in her throat. “Besides, he’s so rigid. We would’ve never worked long term. He barely tolerates the idea of demskivs as it is.”

  The clearing of a throat behind them had them both turning. Alex’s heart stopped.

  Auzed stood in the doorway to the house, muscles tensed and eyes as hard and cold as ice.

  Meg cursed under her breath and aimed an apologetic glance at Alex. Then she hissed through her teeth. “Maybe I should…go.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Auzed all but growled. “King Bet would like us to meet him at the nest to discuss our departure tomorrow. Now.”

  How much had he heard? Alex took in a shaky breath. It wasn’t as if anything she’d said was untrue, though.

  Meg pulled her into a hug. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning, alright?”

  Alex nodded thickly as Meg scurried by Auzed and out of sight.

  He held her gaze for a long moment, a nerve twitching in his jaw. “Go inside and say your goodbyes.” Stalking past her, he headed toward the herd of travel platforms waiting to be used.

  Heart still thrashing against her ribs, she dashed inside. They’d made a point of saying goodbye to their new Sauvenian friends throughout the night, knowing they wouldn’t be seeing them again before heading out the next morning, but she couldn’t leave for good without a final goodbye.

  Her mind was half gone, focused on the furious, hurt male waiting for her outside as she forced a smile and shook Fenut’s and Calep’s hands. “It was so wonderful to meet you. I hope I can see you again someday.”

  “Maybe you could come back when I compete in a few years.” Calep grinned.

  “Yeah, maybe,” Alex replied. She hoped one day she’d feel comfortable enough to visit Sauven again, but her forced imprisonment here for the last week might take more than a few years to get over. She peered over to Gosten passed out on a low couch with a huge grin curling his lips. “Can you tell Gosten I said goodbye? And tell him congratulations for me again. He was stunning.”