But Zunix’s treehouse is in a different league altogether. First, it’s on multiple levels, with stairs winding up the side of the tree. Second, it’s on the banks of a small lake. Third, dangling from one of the upper balconies is a canoe. I don’t care much for wildlife, but I used to row in college. I love the water.
My mouth falls open. “But everyone else…”
“Are fools,” Liorax cuts in. “Most people in camp follows Dariux’s lead, bartering for everything. He has them convinced it’s the fairest way. This, on the other hand, is a demonstration of what a little cooperation can do.”
“I don’t understand.” I’m not saying it to keep up my cover identity; I genuinely don’t get it. “Your house isn’t hidden. Everyone can see it. Why haven’t they tried to copy it?”
“I helped Zunix build this house because I knew that he would help me with mine,” Liorax replies. “Not everyone has the same level of trust.”
I think about the tiny room that we slept in. With five of us, the air had been hot and stifling. When May had a bad dream in the middle of the night and kicked out in her sleep, she’d accidentally connected with my shin. Painfully. “You could have offered us your house last night,” I accuse Zunix.
“That would have been unwise,” he replies. “Dariux is perceived to be neutral in this matter. I am not. Shall we go in?”
So the other Draekons might get in a snit if he swoops in and moves us to his fancy-ass treehouse. Men have such fragile egos. Not much different from Earth then.
We climb up the flights of stairs until we reach the top. Zunix holds his palm over the door, and it swings open.
Interesting. Every indication so far is that this is a primitive world. A prison planet. Yet the Draekons seem to have access to some technology. Dariux’s med-kit yesterday, Zunix’s palm-reading door today. What else are they hiding?
Zunix allows me to enter first. The room I walk into is large and circular, with a couch running all the way along the curved wall. It’s covered with soft cushions, and could easily seat a dozen people.
I give into temptation and sink down, belatedly remembering that I haven’t thanked them for my meal this morning. “Thank you for breakfast.”
Liorax sits down as well. “What was your favorite?”
Ah, so they were responsible for the assortment of dishes. You should pick these guys, Bryce had said. Whoever assembled this package put some thought into it. They gave you choices.
Pushing her words to the background, I reply to Liorax’s question. “The fruit. The fish was pretty great too, but I’m not used to eating seafood for breakfast.” Another thought occurs to me. “There was a lot of food. Did you really think I could eat the whole thing?”
Liorax gives me a small half-smile. “Not really. None of the others thought to feed your friend though, did they?”
I shake my head ruefully.
“I’ll take care of it,” he says grimly. “None of you will go hungry.”
“Thank you,” I mutter. Ditz-Olivia would be happy with that answer, but quite honestly, I’d really much rather learn how to survive here than be dependent on the two Draekons. No matter how gorgeous they are.
Liorax gives me a sidelong look. “If you’d like,” he says. “I can also teach you how to hunt.”
“With a bow and arrow?” I’ve got to admit, watching him hit that target had sent a thrill through me. Excellence in anything is incredibly sexy.
“If you’d like.”
I doubt I can actually bring myself to kill an animal, but I appreciate his offer nonetheless. He seems like a good guy, Liorax. The kind of guy a girl could trust and depend on. Even if he’s making it perfectly clear that he’s not interested.
Zunix settles down on the couch next to me. “Tell me, Olivia,” he asks, “what do human courting rituals look like?”
Oh boy. He’s really close to me, and he smells yummy. Like fresh air and pine trees, and something else that’s entirely male. For a second, a powerful heat washes over me, short-circuiting every thought in my head. “Well, everyone’s different,” I murmur.
His voice deepens. “What do you like, Olivia?”
My breathing quickens. What do I like? I like men who don’t treat me like a brainless twit. I like guys who see past my boobs to the person underneath.
Zunix is just asking these questions to win the contest, I remind myself.
“Well, I like flowers.” I bat my eyelashes for maximum effect. “And shoes and pretty clothes.” Perfect. I’ve brought the topic around to my clothes again. “My poor luggage.” Okay, time to add some sexy to the mix. I put my hand on Zunix’s bicep—holy crap, somebody works out—and lean forward, so that my boobs are just inches from his chest. “I’d be ever so happy if I could get my luggage back.”
Liorax snorts. Man, the guy is not charmed by me in the slightest. It rankles a little. “It can’t be done,” he says bluntly. “It took us more than a month to get to the Lowlands. Even if one of us sets out tomorrow, we’ll never arrive before the rainy season.”
“A month?” I’m aghast. “It didn’t seem that far.”
“That’s because we flew,” Zunix replies. I’m still leaning into him, still resting my hand on his arm. When I realize it, I pull back, and he doesn’t make any attempt to stop me. “To the east of us, there’s a desert. Past the desert is a mountain range, and the only safe crossing is a five-day journey south.”
“What were you doing so far away from home?”
To my surprise, Liorax actually answers the question. “Every year, men fail the Testing and are exiled to the prison planet,” he says. “But we’ve never found any of the others. We were searching for them.”
“Why?”
“Why not? Time hangs heavily here, Olivia. Looking for the others gives us a purpose. A goal.”
I seize on the thin thread of hope that his words offer. If there are other Draekons, maybe they’d have found the four missing human women. “But you think they’re here? Others?”
“I do,” Zunix replies. He’s watching me curiously, and I realize I’m acting uncharacteristically interested in something that isn’t shoes, clothes, or my manicure.
Okay, time to thrust the boobs in his face again. That’ll distract him.
I lean forward, and his eyes glaze over. “So there’s no way to get to my luggage quickly?”
Zunix’s lips curl into a smile. “One rather obvious way, Olivia,” he says. “If you complete the mating bond…”
They’ll become dragons.
I know I said I was ready to put out to ensure the safety of the other women. I shouldn’t hesitate. Zunix is basically telling me that if I mate with him, he’ll get me to Fehrat 1.
Should I do it?
Liorax cuts in before I can open my mouth and reply. “Enough.” His voice is cold, and his blue eyes glitter with anger as he rises to his feet. “I will take you back to the other women.”
What the hell just happened?
My emotions are decidedly subdued as I follow him back to Dariux’s house.
Liorax is immune to my big boobs, and I’m just a pawn to Zunix. I’ve achieved nothing this morning except a guarantee that Bryce won’t go hungry and an offer from Liorax to teach me how to hunt.
Yes, there might be a slight hope that Viola, Harper, Ryanna, and Sofia found another set of Draekons, but it’s not enough. The truth is, I’m no closer to finding the other women.
So far, Step 2 is a colossal bust.
Sigh. Hopefully, tomorrow’s two Draekons are easier to manipulate.
8
Liorax:
I escort Olivia back to Dariux’s dwelling, then return to Zunix. “Are you out of your mind?” I demand. “Bartering with her? Implying that you’d fetch her luggage if she completes the mating bond?”
He takes in my obvious anger. “Relax,” he says. “I wasn’t planning on following through. I was just curious to see if she would accept the offer.”
Games. Always games with Zunix. I give him a hard look. “You want to transform again, don’t you?”
“Yes.” His lips twist. “And I can’t do it without you. What’s it going to cost me?”
He’s direct, I’ll give him that. “I want this camp to change. I want us to cooperate with each other.” I stare at him. “Dariux set the tone around here when he demanded payment when Jorix was hurt and needed the med-kit. Remember?”
“That wasn’t his finest moment.”
“There were twenty-four of us on the drone ship. Herrix drove away the Lowborn right at the start. Jorix and four others left after that fight with Dariux. We don’t know if they’re alive or dead. We’re down to fourteen.” A familiar anger rises in me. “The camp is toxic, Zunix. Rezzix couldn’t believe I was giving him a translator without wanting anything in exchange. Why are we doing this? There’s no tech on this planet, but we have everything we need. Food. Shelter. Why are we fighting like seerats over a bareth corpse?”
Zunix frowns. “We’ve been this way for sixty-five years. What’s different now?”