Page 35 of Caged

With a roar which seems to shake the dirt beneath us, Sylas lets me go and has hold of the driver again.

“My mate is injured because of you!” he snarls. “Tell me where you were taking us and who you are working for or you will lose your tail, slice by slice.”

This situation is not getting any better. Sylas is about to slaughter the Oykig in the street, and we’re hopelessly public.

Only I spot something in the distance which has my heart pounding, leaping in my chest.

Freedom.

“Wait!” I call out as he lifts the sword for a blow and the driver soils himself. “We’re at the border, Sylas. He brought us to the border.”

Sylas’ dark eyes don’t leave the gibbering creature for several long seconds.

“We are?” he finally rasps.

“We can pick up transport to wherever we want on Trefa once we’re outside. We’re nearly there! Come on!”

I do the one thing I probably should not do. I run. I run past the massive gladiator towards the shimmering wall which denotes the edge of the city. I was told, some time ago, by Ixor, itis ancient technology which might, once, have kept undesirables out.

Given nearly all of Tatatunga is undesirable, it’s stopped working.

I don’t hear anything behind me, but I’m not sure I dare look, in case Sylas has decided to deal with the Oykig how he sees fit, so when I’m lifted off my feet and into the air, I squeal in alarm, until a pair of dark eyes stare into mine.

“You ran.” Sylas’ voice is hoarse, jaw tight. “From me.”

In all my time away from Earth, at the mercy of a range of aliens, some large, some small, some with more teeth than strictly necessary, I’ve never felt more like prey than I do in his grip.

“I liked it,” he half snarls. “I want you to do it again.”

SYLAS

Seeing Alex sprint away from me closed everything down save for the parts which hunt. My vision tunneled, my claws extended, and my wings felt the strongest they’ve ever been.

She ran, and my prey drive is everything. It takes no time at all to scoop her up and everything in me not to devour her in the air.

I need to mate. I need to mate her, and I need to do it soon, or I cannot be responsible for my actions.

“Let’s get out of Tatatunga first,” Alex breathes as we fly toward the shimmering field which denotes the city limits.

I’ve been here once before, caged and bound, unable to move or speak due to the vast quantities of narcotics in my veins. The amphitheater is nearby, I can smell it.

I never want to go there again.

“Yes,” I respond to her. “We should go.” My skin chills in the heat.

“I know where there’s a transport hub,” Alex says as we pass through the limits and are out on the other side.

Somehow the air seems sweeter than before. Or it could be I have her hair in my face and her scent in my nostrils. Eitherway, I feel better for not being in Tatatunga and to be flying away from the training amphitheater.

“Ixor and I came through it on our way here from the spaceport at Belgel.”

“The tech city?”

“You’ve been?”

I land carefully, making sure I don’t jolt my little mate, and put her on her feet, sliding my hands into her hair to inspect her injury.

The one which sent me so feral I couldn’t see straight, let alone think of anything other than death.

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