Page 29 of You're Not My King!

It made sense. I didn’t trust them, so how could I expect them to trust me? Voh-ack might have been a lot of things, but I doubted he’d become leader by being stupid. He obviously sensed that I didn’t want to be there, and was taking extra precautions to make sure I stayed in his bubble. It was inconvenient and suffocating, but I would have been more shocked if he’d let me wander around the territory completely unchaperoned. At least this way, he was sort of respecting my personal space. It just meant I’d have to be patient and earn Voh-ack’s, and his clansmen’s, trust.

I knew how cold that sounded—like a movie villain’s plot, gaining the faith of the people only to betray them—but I had to. I wasn’t about to give up my shot at returning to that happy life I once knew.

I couldn’t stay here.

I stopped by Fiona’s hut to borrow a basket before heading toward the edge of the forest. All I needed was a red cape and the scene would have been set—I wondered if there were any big, bad wolves in there. The trees swayed and waved as if to lure me in, and a shudder ran through my entire body. Why couldn’t I have been good at something that didn’t involve scavenging among the stranger-danger tentacles for materials? Like cooking or cleaning. Those were done inside the camp. Harmless.

Unless you were me and somehow managed to burn cereal, but whatever.

I latched on to what Fiona had said yesterday—that it was safe for me to venture out if I stuck to the edge—and it got my feet moving closer, step after step. I inhaled deeply, just about to break through the tree line, when a large body lunged in front of me, halting my advance.

It was Knee-tar. I guessed he’d finally gotten bored of spying from afar.

“Where go?”

“Um, in there.” I pointed to the forest, and shook my basket deliberately. “Need branches.” It took him a second to digest the words, so I swerved around him, hoping to get in and out before I could talk myself out of it.

He grabbed my arm loosely, scanning the trees with unsure eyes. “I follow.”

“No,” I snapped, regretting it instantly at his crestfallen look. I sighed. “I won’t run, I promise. I just… I need a little privacy. Okay?”

Knee-tar looked torn, like a lost puppy stuck between refusing and respecting my wishes. I felt a little bad for him. He seemed genuine, and there I was, asking him to disobey his king just to make me happy. In the end, he sighed, his tail and ears drooping, before letting go of my arm. “I wait here,” he said. “Be fast.”

I nodded. “Thank you.”

I peeled away before he changed his mind, looking over my shoulder to check that he was, in fact, staying exactly where he said he would. It wasn’t as if I was lying—I wouldn’t run, not yet, but if I had any hope of gaining their trust, I needed to prove that I could be left alone outside camp without incident. Today, the outskirts of the forest, and tomorrow, a little farther.

Baby steps.

The trees kept to themselves as they had last time, veering out of my way and parting above the path ahead as if to always give me a ray of light. They were… helpful trees? Still weird and slimy, but I could deal. The gentle swish of their branches was actually kinda relaxing the more I listened, like waves rolling in on the tide. I closed my eyes and imagined the beach I used to go to as a kid, the golden sand under my little toes, the laughter, my family. It was one of those memories that used to flash into my head when I’d needed its comfort most, one I still chased, hoping to relive again.

“Knee-tar…”

I jerked back to the present, the rumbling voice in the distance motoring on with word after word in their native language. It was another of the aliens that had brought me here, the disinterested one—Eyk-layoo, my mind helpfully supplied. He didn’t seem so indifferent now, smiling and chatting away with Knee-tar like regular ole besties. It was obviously just me he had beef with, and I’d definitely have to investigate that.

Not meaning to be a creep, I watched them for a beat. The friendly back and forth, the playful nudges, and the—Oh.

‘Friends’ may not have been the right label. Eyk-layoo was leaning in close enough that I felt like an intruder, and trailing his claws up a blushing Knee-tar’s arm, his expression and body language aggressively flirty. They were lovers? Was that the reason he wasn’t my biggest fan? Knee-tar had stayed by my side the whole journey to camp. He’d hand-fed me and offered a piggyback when my feet had hurt. Was Eyk-layoo jealous?

Of me?

It didn’t matter, because even if he wasn’t, Knee-tar’s reaction to the attention was… very useful. He was distracted, paying absolutely zero mind to his charge in favor of being seduced. I could probably shout and scream or run for the hills, and he wouldn’t be able to tear his gaze away from his lover’s lips. I couldn’t blame him—there was something wicked about these aliens. They had a power, I was sure of it.

I filed the info away for when the time was right, and slipped behind a tree, wandering deeper into the forest. I was testing the limits, observing how long it took for Knee-tar to notice my disappearance, but at the same time, I hadn’t picked up a single branch so far, so I had no choice but to venture farther.

Why were the trees being so stingy?

I was so preoccupied with my scavenger hunt that I clearly missed the signs of being stalked until the sensation dawned on me. Eyes boring into the side of my head, the rustle of paws against sand, and a low, continuous growl that skittered over my spine, filling my ears. I froze, gulping the spit gathering under my tongue, and for a long moment, my mind went blank as I gaped at the creature prowling out of the shadows between the trees.

Give me a break.

Its eyes were fiery orange, body black and sleek like a jaguar or panther. The only difference was the spikes on its back—long, sharp, and tipped red. My basket fell from my hands as I retreated, steps slow and silent, but too soon, I was backed against a tree. I was trapped, and my dumb ass was the only one to blame. Not a brain cell to be found here, Your Honor. I didn’t know what to do. My options were woefully limited since screaming and hoping Knee-tar reached me in time was off the table. I’d seen the fuck-me eyes Eyk-layoo had fluttered at him, and for that reason alone, he would be as much use to me as a marzipan dildo right now.

No, either I fought this thing, or I could die.

I was spoiled for choice.

The beast snarled, snapping me from my ill-timed contemplation, dropping its torso low like a housecat readying itself to pounce. Great. I really was gonna die. I was gonna be torn apart by an alien-panther thing under a tentacle tree, on a planet a billion light-years away from my home. I didn’t know how far it actually was, that just sounded poetic.

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