He’s saying exactly what I told myself just yesterday. There’s no reason for my temper to rise, and yet, I have to take a deep, calming breath to keep myself from rising to his bait. “Her luggage,” I repeat. “I’d like it.”
“It will cost you.”
I incline my head in agreement. “What do you want?”
“Access to the ThoughtVault,” he replies promptly.
The device chooses that moment to beep. I look at the message on the screen. “According to the predictor, you have a week before the rains come.”
He nods. “Do we have a deal?”
When we first arrived on the prison planet, Dariux spent hours poring over my ThoughtVault, looking for something. I don’t know what he was searching for, but I don’t think he ever found it. In fact, I thought he had abandoned his quest. For the last twenty years, he’s expressed no interest in borrowing it from me.
Now, he’s looking again.
The human women have come to our camp. Belfox and Herrix are borrowing Dariux’s skimmer, and now, Dariux wants to comb through my copy of the ThoughtVaults. Are these things connected?
“Yes. Bring me back Olivia’s luggage, and you can have access to my ThoughtVault.”
He smiles triumphantly, and once again, I can’t shake off a feeling that I’m walking into a trap.
9
Olivia:
Bryce is the only one in Dariux’s treehouse. “Everyone else is still out with their respective guys,” she explains before I can ask. “Except May. She went to be zapped by Dariux’s gadget.” She tilts her head to one side. “I didn’t expect to see you back until the evening.”
I sit down on the wooden floor. “It’s a long story.” I’m not ready to think about Zunix and Liorax just yet. “So you’ve just been sitting here by yourself?”
“Yeah,” she sighs. “You know what I do when that happens? I worry.” She gnaws on her fingernail. “I really hope the others are okay. May told me that Viola, Ryanna, Harper, and Sofia went to look for food and water. Talk about a bad break, right? Had they been on the ship, the Draekons could have rescued them too.” She takes a deep breath. “At least they have a gun.”
“A gun?”
She nods. “It was Beirax’s. May said that the four of them had taken it.”
The tight knot of anxiety in my chest eases a little. The situation is still dire, but it’s not quite as hopeless as it was last night. Liorax and Zunix are certain there are other Draekons, and the women have a weapon. “May’s going to talk to her mates about the others,” Bryce adds. “See if they can come up with a search party.”
“That’s good,” I say automatically.
“If you ask me though, the only way that’s going to happen is if someone completes the mating bond. That’s when they can become dragons at will, right?”
I look at Bryce with newfound respect. She’s certainly on the ball. Flying is the only way we can get back to the ship. It’s too far away to journey there on foot. What had Liorax said? It’s going to take a month to get there.
“I’m pretty sure it’ll happen soon enough.” She leans back against the wall and stretches her legs out. “I only hope it’s not too late.”
What did I miss while I was on my date with Zunix and Liorax? “What do you mean, it’ll happen soon enough?” Why do you think so?”
“Oh, come on, Olivia. Have you seen the Draekons? Talk about tall, dark, and handsome.” She fans herself exaggeratedly. “The guys are a cross between male-supermodel and sex-on-a-stick. Three months? I doubt it’ll take longer than three weeks. Plus,” she adds enviously, “Did you see the way they looked at them?”
“Let me guess,” I say dryly. “Like we’re the turkey in a Thanksgiving feast?”
She shakes her head. “That’s what I would have expected, but no. I was watching Paige’s two guys. The way they looked at her…” She pauses. “It’s as if their dream had come true.”
Because soon they will be able to transform at will, I think cynically. But that’s not right. Not all the Draekons seem to care about being dragons. Only Zunix.
My lips twist bitterly. Just my luck. I have four guys fighting over me, but I’m fairly sure that none of them want me for me.
Stop feeling sorry for yourself, Liv. You’re safe, while Viola, Harper, Ryanna, and Sofia are somewhere out there, lost in the jungle.
“I want to go explore,” she continues wistfully. “But I couldn’t find anyone to tell me if it’s safe out there.”
“You want to go exploring?” I give her a puzzled look. “I thought you’d be freaking out.”
“Are you kidding me?” For the first time, her eyes gleam with enthusiasm. “Olivia, we’re on an alien planet. How many people on Earth can say they’ve visited an entirely different, habitable planet?”
“We’re not visiting as much as we’re stuck here for the rest of our lives,” I point out.
She shrugs, unconcerned. “You can’t get me down about this. I’m just too excited. If I had a knife or a gun or something, I’d set off on my own, but after the sea of crabs last night, I thought it might be a good idea to look before I leap. My brother always used to say I was too impulsive.”
Brother? I’ve looked through the files of the women chosen by the Zorahn, and the one thing they have in common is an absence of close family. Then I remember the details. Bryce’s twin brother died of a drug overdose last year, and ever since then, she’s been fighting depression. She’d even tried to kill herself after his death.
A sudden surge of sympathy for the other woman runs through me. “Come on.” I get to my feet. “You’re right. There’s no reason to be cooped up in here when there’s an entire world out there to explore. Let’s go for a walk.”
“Umm, Olivia. The predators?”
“Don’t worry.” I point to my chest. “Even on an alien planet, the girls attract attention. I’m sure that the moment we go out, someone will show up to ogle them. We’ll ask if it’s safe before we set out.”
She gives me a questioning look. “It doesn’t bother you?”
“I’ve had boobs since I was thirteen,” I mutter. “I’m used to it.”
“Ouch.”
Ouch indeed.
We climb down the rope ladder, and sure enough, we haven’t taken two steps when a Draekon appears, one of the two that set up the target in this morning’s shooting match. I’m pretty sure his name is Bolox. “Can I help you with something?” he asks my cleavage.
Time for Ditz-Olivia. I flutter my eyelashes. “Bryce and I thought we’d go for a walk.” I giggle a little. “It’s such a warm day, and I thought we could work on our tans.”
He gapes at me. Before he can think of a reply, a familiar voice cuts in. It’s Liorax. “I’ll show them around, Bolox.”
I frown at him. I’m not ready to deal with Liorax just yet. He’d escorted me back to Dariux’s treehouse twenty minutes ago without saying a single word to me, and I admit, I’m a bit resentful about it. “I thought you said you had some work to do,” I say sulkily.
His lips lift in a smile. “What could be more important than spending time with my mate?”
He lies with such ease.
Redheads are supposed to have a temper. I’ve fought against that stereotype my entire life, staying steady and calm even when I’ve been tempted to lose my cool. But I’ve had enough of Liorax’s hot and cold act. I open my mouth to tell him exactly what I think about his so-called desire to spend time with me when Bryce jumps in. “Hi,” she says with a wide smile. “I’m Bryce. Thank you for getting us out of the ship yesterday.”
“It was my pleasure,” he says. “Is your leg well enough to walk, Olivia?”
Yes, he’s concerned, and that’s nice, but there’s no need to swoon all over him because of that. “Yes,” I say shortly and ungraciously. Bryce gives me a sidelong look. “I’m fine.”
Liorax’s blue eyes rest on me. “Let me know if it gets painful, and I’ll carry you.”
As if. Bryce suppresses a giggle at the mutinous expression on my face. “Where are we going?” she asks eagerly. “Is it safe to walk around during the day? Are there animals that are going to eat us?”
Liorax’s lips twitch at her volley of questions. “There are two lakes within walking distance,” he says. “One large lake immediately to the north of us, Lake Ang, and another one, Lake Tuli, to the south.”
We went north this morning, and we’re heading the same direction now, though if I’m judging the distance correctly, we’re heading for the western edge of the lake.
“Is it safe to walk around?” Bryce asks.
“As long as you don’t get lost,” he says. “Just make sure you get to safety by dusk.”
“Because of the detsena?”
He nods. “The karvil hunt in packs,” he says. “They’re about this high.” He taps his knee. “But they won’t attack; they’re more afraid of you than you are of them. Don’t wander north of Lake Ang,” he cautions. “The great beasts run there. They won’t eat you, but they will trample you.”