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She’s silent, and I glance behind her to where Nevada is tense, her face cold.

  “We think the aliens who bought us might be coming back,” Nevada says.

  Ivy pulls away, looking up at me silently. She’s terrified.

  “I made you a promise, little Flame Hair,” I say.

  She blinks up at me.

  “No one will take you from me.”

  A tear falls from her eye, and I wipe it away. She smiles, her mouth quivering. “You always know what to say.”

  It seems she doesn’t quite believe my words, but that is okay. I will do whatever I must to keep her safe. I glance at Nevada, who is getting ready to mount the mishua tied to mine. I know Rakiz feels the same. And Dexar would never allow anyone to take his qatal from him.

  This morning, when Nevada mentioned using the ship to leave this planet, Ivy did not protest. Did not tell Nevada that she would stay with me. I gaze down at her beautiful face as I remember the vows I made to her in that hole across the Great Water. Does she not believe me? Or does she not want to stay with the Assassin of Agron?

  We’re all silent as we mount our mishua, and I can’t help but pull Ivy close as I sit behind her. Ivy has explained to me how this GPS works, and while it sounds like sorcery, I can understand her fear. If the blinking light is not this GPS she speaks of, then we do not need to worry.

  But if it is…

  We must prepare for the worst.

  A dark shadow falls over us, and we all glance up.

  “Holy shit,” Nevada says. “Is that—”

  “Charlie!” Ivy screams. There’s no reply from the figure who is currently riding the dragon as if it is a mishua. The dragon turns toward its territory, and it’s obvious that neither of them have seen us as they get further and further away.

  We’re all silent. I turn and find one of Rakiz’s guards staring at me.

  “Was that—”

  “The Great One,” I breathe. “Yes.”

  Ivy is peering at the spot where the dragon just disappeared, while Nevada turns to us both.

  “Are you guys thinking what I’m thinking?”

  We both look at her, and she throws up her hands.

  “We may not have fancy technological weapons, but Charlie was just riding a motherfucking dragon. Riding it. As if she was out for a Sunday horseback ride.”

  Ivy stares at her. “You think that dragon would help us?”

  “I think if it’s letting her ride him, maybe it’d also be willing to blow some flames at any purple assholes who decided to land on this planet.”

  She strokes a hand over the small bump of her stomach. “I’m not being taken from Rakiz. So if our best chance is a dragon? That’s what we need to use.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Ivy

  All of us are silent on our way back to camp. When we arrive, Vrex helps me off the mishua but doesn’t move to follow me into camp.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask, searching his face. His expression is hard, but his eyes…there’s something in them that I don’t quite recognize.

  “Nothing. I have something that I must do,” he tells me. “I will be back tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow?” My mouth drops open, and Nevada moves away, giving us privacy as I attempt to deal with this bombshell.

  He nods, and I try to tamp down the panic that’s threatening to rise up and take over my mouth.

  “Are you…leaving me?” He was happy in his cabin in the woods alone. Maybe he’s realized that he was happier there than with me and all this drama.

  “No.” He takes my hand in his and pulls me close. “I will return. I promise.”

  My eyes burn, and I swallow around the lump in my throat. When did I get so needy? It’s that thought that makes me pull my hand away with a smile.

  “Okay,” I manage. “Sounds good. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  I don’t ask where he’s going. He would have told me if he wanted me to know. Instead, I step back.

  “Ivy—”

  “Travel safe.” I turn and walk back into camp, ignoring the sympathetic look that Nevada sends me.

  The sun is setting, and I wander toward the kradi I shared with Vrex last night. I change direction at the thought of being alone, heading back toward the healers’ kradi.

  “Ivy?”

  I whirl. “Beth?”

  She jumps toward me, laughing and pulling me into a hug. I blink.

  “Wow,” I say, closing my eyes as she squeezes me tight. “It’s so good to see you.”

  Beth pulls away, her eyes wet. “You too. I’m sorry I couldn’t get back to you.” She moves back a few feet, and I note the slight limp of her gait.

  “I’m just glad you got to safety. I heard you were hurt.”

  She nods. “Yeah.” Her expression is sad for a moment, but then her delicate face lights up like the sun. “This is Zarix,” she says, and the huge warrior gives me a grin as he reaches us.

  “Thank you for encouraging Beth to escape,” he says.

  Beth snorts. “Encouraging? I believe the last words she said to me were ‘Buck up, champ. You’re on.’”

  I can’t help but laugh. “Yeah, I’m all about that tough love.”

  Beth glances behind me. “Alexis, come see Ivy.”

  I didn’t remember which woman was called Alexis when Nevada mentioned her, but I definitely remember her gorgeous face, long blonde hair, and light-blue eyes. She looks like she should be tanning on a beach somewhere.

  “I remember you,” Alexis says. “The firefighter.”

  “That’s me. That feels like a lifetime ago though.”

  “Girl, I hear you.”

  “What are you guys doing here? Not that it’s not great to see you…”

  Alexis gestures toward the healers’ kradi. “Ellie, Vivian, and Zoey are waiting for us. Zarix was planning to meet Dexar here for his meeting with Rakiz, so we figured we’d all join him and finally get to spend some time together.”

  “That sounds amazing.” And a perfect way to distract myself from wondering where Vrex is going and what exactly it is that he’s doing.

  We make our way to the healers’ kradi, where Nevada is also waiting for us. She raises her eyebrow at me as I enter, silently asking if I’m okay. I nod. Maybe I’ll pick her brain about Vrex later. After all, she seems to have an enviable relationship with her warrior.

  Is that what you want? A relationship? On Agron?

  I stare at the walls of the kradi while the other women greet each other.

  I…do. With Vrex. The warrior who just took off to God knows where without any warning.

  I force myself to focus on the conversation around me. While everyone is laughing and catching up, the subject continually turns to Charlie.

  “Well,” Alexis says, “how are we going to get her back?”

  Ellie chews on her lip. “From what Nevada just told me, it doesn’t sound like she’s being hurt, at least.”

  Beth tilts her head. “What do you mean?”

  I describe the sight of the small figure perched on the dragon’s back, her body tiny compared to the huge beast. Everyone is silent for a long moment.

  Zoey coughs and blushes as we all glance at her. “Is it possible it could be a…friendly dragon?”

  Alexis snorts. “It sure as hell wasn’t friendly when Dexar and I saw them. I thought it was going to turn us to ash at one point.”

  Nevada frowns. “But you said it wasn’t hurting Charlie, right?”

  “Right.”

  I snort. “So all we know right now is that Charlie was taken by a dragon and now she’s somehow using it as her form of transportation.”

  Vivian lets out a low whistle. “Why hasn’t she flown it toward us, then?”

  We all contemplate this for a moment.

  “I remember Dexar calling the dragon ‘possessive,’” Alexis murmurs. “Maybe it’s nice to Charlie and only Charlie.”

  “Well,” I say, “that’s a problem. Because that dragon may be our only h
ope if those aliens come back.”

  Zoey turns sheet white. No one has told her, I realize. Nevada turns to the group as everyone begins talking at once, and I sit back while she explains our theory.

  Alexis nods. “It could be some kind of GPS system. But it could be something else too. I’ll get Dexar to take me to it tomorrow. Maybe I can try and disable it or something.”

  I blow out a breath in relief. “If not, we’re going to need a backup plan. These warriors might be the scariest motherfuckers on this planet, but they’re only armed with swords. So the only real backup plan we have is that dragon.”

  Zoey looks so pale that if she weren’t lying down, I’d worry that she was going to pass out. I still remember the sound of her ribs cracking as one of those purple aliens kicked her on the slave planet. No wonder she’s scared.

  “Sure,” Nevada says grimly. “But how do we get a giant, fire-breathing dragon to cooperate?”

  None of us have any ideas.

  Ivy

  I wait all day for Vrex. Then I pace our kradi for most of the night as well.

  He said he’d come back. Did he change his mind?

  As soon as the sun rises the next morning, I head to Rakiz’s tashiv. The guards have obviously been instructed to let me pass because they simply nod at me as I knock on the door.

  Nevada opens it and gestures for me to come in. Alexis and Beth left yesterday, but we all promised to get together soon.

  There was something incredible about being together with a group of women who’ve all been through the same experience. I’ve never had many girlfriends. Spending all your time working in a male-dominated industry will do that to you, and I was mostly a tomboy growing up. But I’m on my way to becoming fast friends with most of the other women.

  I’m still on the fence about Vivian, and she grinned at me when I left the healers’ kradi, as if reading my mind. There was no malice in the grin, and I invited her to join me for lunch one day soon.

  “That sounds great,” she said.

  As much as I’ve always felt like one of the guys, it was…nice to hang out with the other human women. To come together and try to figure out a plan to find Charlie and prepare, just in case the purple aliens come back.

  We didn’t come up with much, but whatever happens, we’ll face it together.

  Nevada points me toward a few comfortable-looking chairs near an unlit fire. “You hungry?”

  “No.” In fact, my stomach has been roiling with tension since it got dark yesterday and I accepted that Vrex wasn’t returning.

  Nevada’s gaze examines me. “What’s up?”

  “I’m actually hoping to talk to your mate.”

  The word still feels weird to say, and Nevada winks at me as if she’s reading my mind.

  “Rakiz,” she calls, and a door opens, revealing Rakiz with a fur slung low around his hips.

  If I hadn’t seen Vrex naked, I’d be taking a mental picture of the tribe king’s eight-pack.

  He raises his eyebrow. “Yes?”

  “Vrex never returned yesterday.”

  I was hoping he wouldn’t look worried. That he’d wave a hand and tell me that there was nothing to worry about. But his eyes sharpen, narrowing on my face.

  “He left alone?”

  I nod, and Rakiz frowns. “One of our hunting parties was attacked yesterday. Most of the Voildi are dead after they attempted to attack a Braxian tribe, but those who are still alive are desperate for food and supplies. The hunting party all survived, but…”

  “But Vrex was traveling alone.”

  He angles his head. “Did he tell you where he was going?”

  “No.” The tribe king’s gaze turns curious at that, and I feel my cheeks redden. Yes, the warrior I’ve been sleeping with every night just disappeared with no warning. And no, I have absolutely no idea where he could’ve gone, unless he ditched me to go hang out alone in his house in the woods.

  My chest tightens. What if Vrex was attacked by an entire pack of Voildi? He’s an incredible fighter, but he’s still injured.

  “Can you send some warriors after him?” I ask.

  Rakiz gives me a sympathetic look. “We have groups of warriors already hunting, and I will send messengers asking them to warn Vrex if they see him. But with no way to know where he went…”

  I nod, and Nevada reaches for my hand.

  “Vrex is a huge, mean son of a bitch. I’m sure he’s fine.”

  I nod again, but my stomach is twisting. I mumble my goodbyes, my mind elsewhere, and then I practically sleepwalk back to my kradi.

  I’m sitting on the bottom step of the staircase when they arrive. Mom opens the door, and I hear a sound I’ve never heard her make before. The kind of sound our dog Jax made when he was hit by a car.

  I peer around the bannister. There are two men at the door, and I recognize one of them. He works with my dad. His eyes meet mine, and they’re so full of sympathy that I immediately know what has happened.

  Mom falls to her knees, slapping at the men as they attempt to help her to her feet. She’s howling now, her hands gripping her hair as she rocks back and forth.

  Dad went into the towers. And he’s never coming out.

  I’m shaking, sick to my stomach as I pace. Is this what’s about to happen to Vrex? Am I about to learn that he was attacked and he’s never coming back?

  I can’t face the other women, and they seem to understand, giving me space. I spend a few hours near the camp entrance, and then I return to our kradi, where I pace until I fall into an exhausted heap on our furs.

  Tears run down my face as I stare at the wall. I should’ve told him not to leave. Should’ve asked him to stay with me. Should’ve made it clear to him that I want to stay on Agron.

  I hiccup as I pull my knees close, curling into a ball. I can’t even imagine returning to Earth at this point. Can’t imagine leaving Vrex behind.

  But he left you.

  He said he was just going to be away for one day. Something has happened to him. I know it has.

  I wipe my face. Fuck this. If he’s not back by sunrise, I’m going after him myself.

  Vrex

  I scowl down at the dead Voildi. The creatures blocked most of the roads back to camp, lying in wait for anyone stupid enough to not recognize one of their traps.

  After what happened last time, I immediately turned around as soon as I spotted a fallen tree on the road through the forest. I decided that taking the long way back to camp—close to Dexar’s tribe—would be the better choice.

  Unfortunately, Nari was hauling a cart of supplies, and this made her slower than usual. We barely managed to escape that pack of Voildi only to be attacked by another pack when I approached camp from a different direction.

  Dexar’s warriors were in the area, and it is only due to their swift actions that I am alive.

  A pack of more than twenty Voildi waited for me, obviously those who had fled the battle for Tecar’s tribe. They took one look at the cart attached to my mishua and grinned at me, their lean faces demonstrating that they have found few options for food in this territory.

  Braxian traps are well guarded, and if they had come across a group of our hunters, they would have been slaughtered.

  Ivy’s name was on repeat in my head throughout the fight.

  I had to get back to her. Had to convince her to stay with me. The thought of her getting on that crumpled spaceship and leaving me on this planet alone…

  My inattention cost me, and an enterprising Voildi slipped beneath my guard while I swung my sword at his friend.

  The smell of my own blood filled my nose.

  I blink, returning my attention to the present.

  “We offer our healers’ kradi on behalf of our qatai,” one of the warriors says, and I tilt my head.

  “Your name is Tazo, correct?”

  He nods, and I sigh. I remember training with this male when we were young. He has no reason to kill me. In fact, my death at the hands of one
of Dexar’s warriors would cause the qatai shame and a loss of face, given that he still owes me one more favor.

  My blood is warm, dripping through my hand as I hold it clamped to my side. Dexar’s camp is several hours closer than Rakiz’s.

  But Ivy…

  I picture her waiting for me, pacing the kradi the way she would pace in my tashiv.

  What if she does not believe that I will return?

  “I need to go back to Rakiz’s camp.”

  Tazo lifts one eyebrow, turning his gaze to the steady drip of my blood. “If it is a female you are hoping to return to, perhaps you should ask yourself if she would be pleased with the return of your dead body.”

  I bare my teeth at him, frustration warring with useless rage. This trip was supposed to help me convince Ivy to stay with me. Now she will believe I have abandoned her.

  But Tazo is correct. If I know one thing about my little Flame Hair, it is that she is a logical female. She would not want me to return only to die on the way.

  If that were to happen, her rage would likely follow me all the way to the afterlife.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Ivy

  I pace the camp walls. After much pleading on my part and a long talk with Nevada, Rakiz has finally agreed to let me take five of his warriors and search for Vrex. Nevada seemed surprised that Rakiz had given in, but she whispered to me that he seems concerned about Vrex as well.

  I have no real plan other than to head in the direction of Vrex’s tashiv. If I arrive and he’s gone back to living his hermit life, I’ll kick his ass. Then I’ll come back here to live out my days as the camp tramp.

  Vrex isn’t the only good-looking warrior around here.

  I snort. Who am I kidding? Unfortunately, he’s the only man for me. And when I find him, I’m going to give him a piece of my mind for making me worry this much.

  My whole life, I’ve been afraid of letting people get too close. If I’m honest, my fear was a big part of the problem between Steve and me. Sure, my schedule was crazy, but I never opened up enough to truly let him in.

  In the back of my mind, I was always terrified that I’d be that woman pacing back and forth near the front door, waiting to hear if her husband was alive. God knows it’s easier to be the one risking death yourself than to be the one waiting at home.