by S. E. Smith
Cat was now striding along the sidewalk like she owned the city. Mace was walking ahead of them.
Soon, they reached the ramp leading down into the market. It spiraled down, cut into the rock walls of a natural sinkhole.
“Oh, my stars.” Calla’s steps faltered. Her face was alight as they stepped into the markets.
The cavernous space was filled with stalls and people. A hubbub of noise echoed off the smooth, stone walls. Light filtered in from the sinkholes above, and orange lamps attached to the walls added to the glow.
But all Zaden could do was watch her face. His gut tightened. What other things would put that look of wonder on her face?
“Look at all the stalls.” She gravitated to the food stalls, eyeing all the colored fruits and vegetables.
Mace moved ahead with a nod. Zaden scanned the food items on display. His gaze zeroed in on a purple-colored habith. He thought she might like it. He quickly held up his House of Rone medallion, and the stall owner nodded. Zaden grabbed a habith and held it up to Calla.
“Take a bite.”
Smiling, she leaned forward. Her small, white teeth sank into the purple flesh, then she moaned.
This time, Zaden felt a very confusing flicker of heat in his gut. He frowned at the sensation.
“Here, you try it.” She snatched the habith from his hand and held it to his lips. The tart juice trickled into his mouth.
It was sweet, and too bold for his blander palate, but he wanted to make her happy. He took a small bite and his lips brushed Calla’s fingers.
She gasped, pink filling her cheeks. Then she licked her lips.
Zaden now realized the growing need in his gut was desire. He quickly stepped away from her.
She turned, looking at and touching some of the other fruits, asking questions of the stall owners.
When she stretched up onto her toes, trying to reach a fat etten at the back of the display, he used his telekinesis to lift the melon and bring it to her. Her hand closed around it and she spun to look at him.
“You can levitate things?”
“Telekinesis. I told you, my species has that ability.”
“That’s amazing.”
No one had ever called it that—it had been a curse, abomination, weapon, but never amazing. It certainly hadn’t been amazing when he’d killed his mother and brother. All his life, his power was a monster to be contained.
“Zaden?” Calla touched a hand to his chest.
He pulled in a ragged breath. “My implants… I have them to control my power. I’m dangerous, Calla.”
She looked him directly in the eyes. “I’ve seen dangerous, Zaden. I’ve seen dangerous and cruel, up close and personal. That’s not you.”
Suddenly, a hawker’s cry split the air, announcing a sale. Calla spun, and then made a beeline toward a stall selling baked goods. Zaden followed her.
Smiling, she eyed everything. “What tastes best?”
“I’ve never tried any of these.”
“What?” She looked horrified. “Well, we’ll have to change that.” She looked back at the store owner. “We’ll take one of those, and one of those.” She pointed out the items.
“Calla, I have nutritionally balanced meals at the House of Rone—”
“There’s more to food than just nutrition.”
He drew his brows together. “There is?”
She nodded. “Did you know that I’m a chef? I make food for a living. It’s my thing.” She lifted a tiny slice of something that had a wobbly, yellow substance on the top. She bit into it and moaned. Some of the yellow cream coated her top lip. Her plump, pink lip.
Again, her moan elicited something inside him that he couldn’t quite process.
A demanding meow filled the air. Zaden blinked. He’d forgotten about the cat. With a laugh, Calla dropped down and fed a bit of the sweet treat to the animal. Cat wasted no time lapping it up, and Calla laughed again.
When she rose, she turned back to Zaden. She went up on her toes and pressed a piece of the treat to his mouth.
“Try it.”
Resigned, he took a bite. A delicious taste exploded into his mouth, the flavor more muted than the tart fruit.
“Better? I could tell you didn’t really like the fruit.”
He stiffened. How could she read him like that? He knew his face hadn’t changed and given away any of his thoughts.
His lips touched her fingers again and their gazes locked. Her fingers were coated in cream and powder.
He could hear her heartbeat. It sped up, beating fast. Before he could stop himself, he reached out and gripped her wrist. Gently, he pulled her hand closer. Then, he licked the cream off her fingers.
A sweet, spicy scent burst into the air, and he realized what it was—her arousal. For him. He barely suppressed his shudder.
“Zaden.” Her voice was breathy.
He clenched his other hand into a tight fist. “This is not advisable. I wasn’t lying when I told you that I’m dangerous.”
But still, he drew her closer.
“You aren’t dangerous to me,” she said.
But Zaden wasn’t so certain of his control, and he never wanted to hurt her. She’d been hurt enough.
“Have you…kissed someone before?” she asked.
He shook his head. “No.”
Her lips parted.
“I’ve never wanted to,” he told her.
“And now?”
He was caught in the moment, in the pull of her. “Now, I do. Will you show me?”
She nodded and he lowered his head. She pressed her hands to his shoulders and rose up on her toes.
Their lips met, hers moved over his. Then her tongue slid between his lips, stroking. His blood thundered through his veins. He mimicked the move.
As they continued to kiss, the world melted away. As she deepened the kiss, it felt like the ground tilted beneath his feet.
He was sinking into her, into all the sensations and feels, when he felt the prick of claws on his leg. Cat let out an annoyed cry.
Zaden jolted and Calla pulled back, laughing.
“I think Cat might be jealous,” she said.
Zaden looked down at the animal. The creature was a menace. “We’d better find Mace.”
Zaden was supposed to be helping the more senior cyborg, not standing in the market kissing an alien survivor.
They found Mace, and he’d already collected the parts for Maxon. Mace hefted one crate, while Zaden took the other. Calla walked ahead of them, Cat prancing beside her.
Soon, they exited the markets and walked back toward the arena.
“You take care of her, Zaden,” Mace murmured.
He glanced sideways at Mace’s rugged face. “I know I should stay away from her.”
“That’s not what I said.”
Zaden gritted his teeth. “My power cannot be allowed to break its chains.”
Mace stared at him. “Sometimes, being alone and denying your feelings is as bad as drowning in them.”
Before Zaden could reply, the sound of gunning engines rose over the normal clamor of the street. Several hover bikes zoomed past Mace and Zaden. He stared at them, frowning. They were traveling way too fast for the central part of the city.
There were five of them in total—long, sleek bikes, each with a single rider.
Then Zaden stiffened. All the riders were wearing black masks over their faces.
Suddenly, Mace dropped his crate and drew his sword.
Zaden dropped his own box.
One bike swerved off the road, heading straight for Calla.
“Calla!” Zaden yelled.
She turned. The hover bike closed in, and the rider leaned toward her. He snatched her off her feet, throwing her over the bike in front of him.
The bike sped off.
No. Zaden took one step forward, and suddenly, Cat jumped onto his shoulder. Ignoring the animal, he stared at the bikes racing away.
His muscles bunched,
power swelling under his skin. He wouldn’t let them take Calla.
Chapter Three
Terrified, Calla hung over the bike, watching the ground pass below her. What was happening?
Hard hands gripped the back of her shirt, pressing her face down on the body of the vehicle.
Suddenly, the bike swerved to the left and her stomach rolled. Her heart lodged in her throat. Fighting back her fear, she tried to sit up. She wouldn’t be anyone’s victim again.
She managed to raise herself, and slapped the man riding the bike. He was wearing a black mask.
He cursed and the bike jerked to the side.
Calla almost fell off, but he sank a fist into her shirt and yanked her closer. She started struggling.
“Keep still,” he barked.
She ignored him, then looked over his shoulder.
She froze, the air rushing out of her.
Zaden was barreling down the center of the street, sprinting toward her. Her chest expanded. He was pure power and moving blindingly fast.
Warmth burst inside her. He was coming for her.
Then the rider grabbed her hair and yanked her down. Pain exploded through her scalp.
The bike screeched around the corner, and the rider pulled onto a larger street filled with traffic. Transports were everywhere. They skirted close to a medium-sized transport, then roared across several lanes.
Calla screamed.
When she looked back, she spotted Zaden, dodging transports. He was getting closer, and she noticed Cat clinging to his shoulder.
Two of the other bikes fell back. They’d noticed Zaden as well.
One rider swiveled his bike around, whirling through the air. He sped toward Zaden, aiming right for him.
No. Calla’s chest locked tight.
Then suddenly, the bike and rider lifted into the air. The rider screamed, falling to the ground.
The bike crumpled into a ball of metal, and the rider was tossed sideways, slamming into the wall of a building.
Calla’s eyes widened. Zaden had done that. She could barely breathe. When he’d mentioned his telekinetic power, she hadn’t truly understood the depth of it.
Movement above caught her eye and she glanced up. Mace was racing across the roofs of the buildings. The cyborg leaped off one, flying across a gap, then landed on the next roof.
Zaden and Mace both drew closer. Then, Mace jumped off the side of the building. His big body arrowed downward and he landed on top of one of the other bikes. He flung the rider off, took control of the bike, and shot forward.
He was speeding after the other bikes. Two riders had blasters out, taking aim.
Transports careened out of the way and laser fire filled the street. Mace yanked his bike to the side, dodging the blasts.
Calla felt a flood of savage satisfaction. These people would regret crossing the House of Rone.
When she looked back, she saw Zaden was really close now.
The loud roar of an engine. She looked forward, and saw a huge, black transport pulling in ahead of them.
A ramp at the rear started to lower.
Oh, no. Her rider gunned the bike, aiming for the ramp. No, no, no. Calla had to buy some time. She twisted and scratched at the man’s face, tearing at his mask.
“Stop, or I’ll hurt you!”
“Screw you.” She’d heard Jayna use the phrase, and it had become one of her favorites. “I’ve already been abducted once, and it’s not happening again.”
The bike started up the ramp. Ahead, the interior of the transport was a dark shadow, but there was a small window beside the open back door.
Calla looked at the glass, and then she stilled.
A child’s face was pressed to the window. Dark eyes, wide and fearful, stared out at Calla.
The bike moved closer, so close that Calla was eye to eye with the girl. She had black hair framing pretty features. With a gold pattern around her face.
Calla felt like someone had punched her.
The girl was Rellan. Just like Calla.
The girl pressed a small palm to the glass, and Calla lifted her palm to meet it.
There was a wild, feline screech, and suddenly, Cat landed on the rider’s head. The man cursed and Cat swiped out, her claws raking bloody scratches across the man’s face. Cat’s cybernetic tail whipped out, wrapping around the man’s neck and pulling tight. The man made a choking sound.
The bike slid backward off the ramp. It started to tilt to the side, and Calla opened her mouth to scream.
Before she could fall, Zaden was there, snatching her off the bike.
Cat leaped off, landing beside them, just as the hover bike spun and crashed into a passing transport.
Calla turned her head and watched the black transport speeding away.
Cradling Calla to his chest, Zaden dropped down on one knee. She was breathing fast and her body was shaking.
“Zaden.” She threw her arms around his neck, holding on tight.
He tightened his arms, holding her close, with one hand splayed on her lower back. She was so small.
“You’re safe.” He didn’t know what words to use to reassure her. He had very limited experience comforting people.
“You came for me.”
“Of course.”
Zaden realized that anger was raging through him. Fury had burned through all his dampeners. He shuddered under the force of it. Someone had tried to take her, hurt her.
“Shh.” Calla stroked the back of his neck. “I’m okay. You got to me.”
He tried to pull in some calming breaths.
“It’s okay,” she murmured. “You can relax now.”
He turned his head, and realized that several transports were floating in the air around them.
He’d lost control.
Breathing through the storm of emotion, he lowered the transports to the ground.
There was the roar of a bike and Zaden tensed. But as the hover bike pulled to a stop beside them, he saw that Mace was riding it. The big man’s face was stony.
Tied to the back of the bike was a sobbing man. He had a black mask dangling around his neck.
“Mercenary.” Mace yanked the man off and dropped him on the ground.
Zaden rose to his feet. Nearby, Cat hissed, and the mercenary flinched.
Cat moved to Calla, rubbing her body against Calla’s legs. She crouched down and rubbed the cat between the ears before scooping the animal up to her chest.
“Oof, you weigh a ton.” Then Calla pressed her face to the cat’s fur.
“Why did you target her?” Zaden demanded.
The man choked back his sobs. “A job. It was just a job.”
“Who hired you?” Zaden knew his voice was cold, cutting, but anger was still riding him.
“If they’d told me cyborgs were involved, I would never have taken the job. It was supposed to be easy. Just a defenseless woman.”
Zaden’s rage boiled, hot and scolding.
The mercenary cried out, his body rising off the ground. His back arched.
Zaden stared at him, wanting to rend him to pieces.
“Zaden.” Calla pressed a hand to his arm. He turned his head and saw her looking at him.
He remembered the look on his father’s face when he’d discovered what a five-year-old Zaden had done. In a childish fit of rage, his power had exploded and he’d killed his mother and brother. His father had stared at him like he was a monster.
But Calla was watching him with concern. Not horror or fear.
Gritting his teeth, he released the man. The mercenary smacked to the pavement.
“There’s a cell for you at the House of Rone.” Mace dragged the man up.
The mercenary turned, looking down the street. His face blanched.
Zaden looked over his shoulder.
Magnus Rone strode toward them, face blank and his hands curled into fists. Flanking him were Acton and Toren—the other two elite House of Rone cyborgs.
The me
rcenary whimpered.
Magnus came to a stop, his gaze lingering on Calla before his attention zeroed in on the mercenary. “Who hired you?”
Magnus’ voice was like ice.
“I don’t know! It was anonymous. Please don’t kill me. We got an electronic message with the job instructions and credits in our account. That’s all I know.”
“Where were they taking her?”
“We were told to ride around the city until someone found us. They were planning to take her into the desert.”
Calla made a small sound and Zaden stepped closer to her. He slid an arm around her.
“Take him back to the House of Rone,” Magnus ordered. “I want him interrogated.”
Acton stepped forward, reaching out with one of his cybernetic arms to lift the man by the back of his shirt.
“Wait,” Calla said. “There was a black transport.”
Zaden nodded. “They almost got you.”
“I saw someone in the back of the transport.”
Magnus frowned. “Who?”
“It was a child.”
Magnus shifted. He was a father, and a protective one. “Go on.”
“She had brown skin and a gold pattern on her face.”
Zaden stiffened and Calla’s eyes met his.
“She was Rellan, like me.”
Chapter Four
Calla let Ever, Jayna, and Sage hug her tightly.
“You sure you’re okay?” Ever asked.
“I’m fine. Zaden and Mace rescued me. And…” Pride filled her. “I hit the guy. I hurt him.”
“Good for you,” Quinn said from beside them. She patted Calla’s shoulder.
“I am so proud of you.” Sage hugged Calla harder, smiling. Her copper-colored hair was pulled up in a messy bun.
Calla spotted Cat stalking around the room. The animal had been sticking close to her. “And Cat scratched him up really well.”
“And Mace said Zaden scared the shit out of the merc,” Jayna added.
Calla’s heart dropped. “That little girl…”
“We’ll find her.” Ever squeezed Calla’s hand.
Sage nodded, her pale green eyes sparking. “Absolutely! We aren’t going to abandon her.”
