I squeeze his hand. They’re both such good guys.
When I enter the mansion, I find, to my surprise, that Bryce isn’t alone. Felicity is with her, her eyes red and her face blotchy.
“Is everything okay?”
“Of course not,” Felicity snarls, as charming as ever. “Would I be here if it were?”
Bryce rolls her eyes in my direction, and I bite back my grin. “Let me make you a cup of tea,” she says soothingly. “We’re here to talk if you want.”
It’s not really tea, of course, but I’ve acquired quite a taste for the faintly lemon-mint taste of the purple-leaved plant. Steeped in hot water—the kettle a gift from Zunix’s syn—it almost feels like the real thing.
I’m still floating in a happy, well-sexed haze, but something tells me I’m going to want something stronger than tea to deal with Felicity. The Draekons distill the creamy white berries into a sort of brandy, and Zunix and Liorax have made sure I’m well stocked. I pour myself a shot and curl up in an overstuffed chair—once again courtesy Zunix’s syn—prepared to listen to Felicity’s tale of woe.
I don’t have to wait long. “They don’t pay attention to me anymore,” Felicity complains as soon as she takes a sip of the tea. “At the start, they would bring me presents every single day. Now, I don’t even think they know I exist.”
“Luddux and Xanthox?” Bryce asks skeptically. “But Felicity, I’ve seen them around you. They think the sun and moons rise and set on you.”
“Really? Then why have I barely seen them this last week?” Her voice is bitter. “Every morning, they head out somewhere, and when they come back, they’re too tired to do anything fun.” Her forehead furrows. “We used to do it twice, three times a day. Nowadays, it’s once a week. At best.”
I look up. Zunix thinks that Herrix and Belfox are up to something. Now, Felicity is complaining that her two guys don’t have time for her. Coincidence? I’m not so sure. “They head out somewhere?”
“That’s what I said.” She scowls at me. “Maybe if you drank less, you’d be able to listen better.”
Maybe if you weren’t so bitchy, I’d drink less.
I ignore her cattiness. Bryce cuts in hastily to keep the peace. “Have you tried talking to them? Telling them how you feel?”
“I was going to this morning,” she mutters sullenly. “But then that guy showed up, and they took off.”
“What guy?”
“One of the Draekons,” she says. “I can’t keep track of their names.”
We’ve been here for three months. There are fourteen Draekons in camp. It’s not that difficult a task. Of course, that would involve Felicity caring about something other than herself.
“One of Olivia’s admirers,” she adds. “The skinny blond one.”
“Belfox?” Unease trickles down my spine. Luddux and Xanthox are nice guys, but crafty and manipulative they’re not. If Herrix and Belfox are up to something, they’ve now managed to entangle Felicity’s mates in it.
There’s not even a shadow of doubt in my mind. I’ve got to tell Zunix and Liorax about this.
17
Zunix:
There’s a knock on my door at the crack of dawn. It’s Olivia. “We might have a problem,” she says, her face grim.
“Let’s find Liorax.”
We walk north to his house. He hears us coming, and opens the door, his forehead creased. “What’s wrong?”
“Felicity came over last night,” she replies. “She was in a snit about her mates.”
“You’re not here about a lovers’ spat.”
She shakes her head. “No, of course not. She said something that struck me. The reason they’re fighting is because Luddux and Xanthox have barely been around, and,” she pauses for breath, “that they’re going away somewhere with Belfox.”
I sit up. “You think Luddux and Xanthox are mixed up in whatever Herrix is doing.”
She nods soberly. “Don’t you?”
“But what could it be?” Liorax asks intently. “Let’s start there. We don’t know where they’re going, but can we guess what they’re doing?”
Olivia cocks her head to one side. “When did they start sneaking away?”
“After you got here,” I reply. “You remember the day we shot at targets, trying to win the opportunity to court you first?”
“The day Dariux set up the contest?” Her voice is dry. “How can I forget?”
I smile at her disgruntled tone. I know Olivia well enough to realize that it must have rankled her to toe the line, to have Dariux dictate how she lives her life. And yet, to ensure the safety of the other women, she’d done it. “Do you remember how Herrix stomped away when he lost?”
She nods.
“They borrowed Dariux’s skimmer,” I tell her. “Dariux doesn’t lend it out very often, but they’ve been borrowing it a lot.”
“If they’re traveling east of Lake Tuli, they’re going into the desert, right? But wherever they’re going is too far to walk?” She chews on her lower lip. “Why that direction though?”
Then it hits me. All the signs have been there, right from the start. Fehrat 1 had deliberately crashed on the prison planet. Why would someone choose to maroon themselves here forever?
They wouldn’t.
“I’m a fool,” I say out loud. “I had tech, and so did Dariux. When we were exiled, we were able to pull some strings, enough for one drop.” I look up, my voice blazing with certainty. “Raiht’vi is Brunox’s daughter. Of course she’d have arranged tech.”
“Okay, but why wouldn’t they bring it back to camp?” Olivia leans forward with a frown. “You’ve been able to barter for the use of your syn. Dariux has bought power and influence with his med-kit. God knows Herrix and Belfox would be only too glad to lord it over everyone. So why haven’t they?”
“They don’t want to share.” I frown. “A weapon? Another skimmer?”
A light dawns on Olivia’s face. “No,” she says slowly. “I bet I know what it is. Herrix and Belfox talk about wanting to escape the prison planet all the time. It’s a spaceship.”
The moment she says it, I know she’s right. I stare at Olivia in shock. “It’s not possible,” I mutter under my breath. “The asteroid belt is impenetrable. Any ship will be smashed to pieces. And the Navy patrols…”
“Are you sure?” Liorax’s voice is quiet. “We’re Draekon. Better vision. Faster reflexes. Are you sure it can’t be done?”
“No.” I stare into space. “If Raiht’vi arranged a supply drop, then the ship would have been in pieces. It would need to be assembled. But Raiht’vi is a scientist. She wouldn’t have known how to do that.”
Olivia bites her lower lip. “Technicians have brown tattoos, right? That’s the convention? Mannix did, but he died in the crash.”
“Belfox is a technician,” Liorax interjects, his expression steely.
Olivia takes a deep breath. “What do we do?” She looks up at us, her expression uncertain. “You want to leave, don’t you?”
“Not without you.” I grasp her hand in mine. “Never without you. And I know you won’t leave without the other human women.”
Liorax frowns. “It won’t be a big ship,” he warns. “The smaller it is, the easier it will be to maneuver around the asteroids.”
“You could go without me,” she says, not meeting either of our eyes.
“Olivia. Look at me.”
She does as I ask.
“You are a part of me, Olivia. A part of us. Leaving is meaningless if you’re not there with us. You trusted me enough to tell me what you found. Trust me enough to know that I’m telling you the truth now.”
She stares at me, then the corners of her eyes crinkle as she smiles. “You’re just saying nice things so we get to third base again.”
What was the phrase she’d used last night? “Actually,” I murmur. “I’m hoping we could get a run.”
She giggles. “A home run,” she corrects. She chews on her lower lip again, no doubt remembering all the reasons we shouldn’t complete the mating bond.
“We’ll do as you ask,” Liorax says. “We won’t claim you together, but Olivia,” his smile is strained, “I ache to sink into you.”
“There’s nothing we can do right away about the ship,” I add. “We have the entire month to find it. And since we’re not in a hurry…” I smile at her. “Take off your clothes, little human.”
Olivia:
“Bossy,” I chide with a grin.
“I’m not hearing a protest, little human,” Zunix says implacably, his stern tone softened by the twinkle in his eyes.
Laughing, I put my hand on his chest. “Why don’t you sit down?” I give him a playful shove, and he willingly falls to the couch. I strut in front of him, getting close as I whip my shirt over my head. “You want me naked?” A smile curls on my face as his eyes blaze with heat. “Like this?”