Page 57 of Primal Bond

Finn braced himself for the humiliation, the shame...

But it never came.

Rivek's eyes passed over Finn without a flicker of recognition. Finn blinked, stunned.

He was just another face in the crowd to Rivek, not even worth remembering.

I was nothing to him,Finn thought bitterly. Just another toy to use and throw away. His fists clenched at his sides.That'll be your downfall, you bastard. You won't even see me coming.

"Oh, you know," Zanik replied smoothly, drawing Rivek's attention back to him. "Sometimes it's nice to have a little entertainment."

The other patrons in the club leaned in, hungry for the brewing conflict between the two smuggler lords. Finn could practically feel the tension crackling in the air.

Rivek leaned back in his chair, one hand absently toying with Asher's chain. "Entertainment, huh? And here I thought you were all business, Zanik. Getting soft?"

Zanik's laugh was cold and sharp. "Hardly. Just diversifying my interests. Speaking of which, I hear you've been branching out yourself. Making some interesting new friends in the outer systems. Epsilon."

Rivek's eyes narrowed. "You hear a lot of things, don't you?"

"I make it my business to know what's going on in my sector."

"Yoursector?" Rivek's voice was dangerously soft. "You're overestimating your reach, Zanik."

As the two Borraq postured and traded barbs, Finn's mind raced. He watched Zanik carefully, marveling at how easily he held Rivek's attention. Asher was all but forgotten, kneeling silently at Rivek's feet.

This is my chance,Finn thought.We just need to keep him talking, keep him distracted…

Finn kept his head low, heart pounding in his chest as he slowly inched closer to Asher. The dim lighting and the distracting confrontation between Zanik and Rivek worked to his advantage. None of the Borraq there cared about what a mere human was doing.

He edged forward on his hands and knees, every muscle tense with anticipation. Finally, he was within whispering range.

"Asher," he said urgently, his voice barely more than a breath. "It's me, Finn. We're here to save you."

Asher didn't respond. His eyes stared blankly ahead, the life drained from them.

Finn's stomach twisted in horror. He waved a hand to catch Asher's attention, but there was no flicker of recognition, no sign that Asher even saw him.

"Asher, please," Finn pleaded, his voice cracking. "Remember me? Finn? We met on Rivek’s ship. We had escape plans, remember? Jasper was with us too."

Still, nothing. Asher's gaze remained fixed on some unseen point, his expression void of any emotion.

Desperation clawed at Finn's insides. He felt the tears sting his eyes, but blinked them away, refusing to give in to the hopelessness.

"Asher," Finn whispered fiercely, "we're going to get out of here. I swear it. Think about the plans we made. We're going to get you back home."

To the side, Zanik's voice rose, the confrontation with Rivek reaching a new pitch. His actcouldn't last long — not when Zanikwasn't ready to escalate to violence. Finn took a deep breath, leaning in closer. He was running out of time.

"Remember those nights we spent in that cold cargo hold, planning our escape?" Finn continued, his voice trembling. "You told me about your plans, your dreams. You said you weren't going to let anyone take them from you."

A flicker. It was almost imperceptible, but Finn saw it. A tiny spark of recognition in Asher's eyes. His heart leapt, a fragile hope igniting within him.

"Asher," Finn said, his voice breaking with emotion. "Just... hang on, okay?"

Rivek's voice was cold, every word dripping with venom. “You think you can waltz into my territory and just take what you want?”

There was a smirk in Zanik's voice. “Yours? You don’t own anything here.”

There was nothing else to do. Finn had to wrap this up. His heart raced as he settled back into his role, returning to crouch submissively by Zanik’s seat.

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