Page 57 of Aria's Ascension

He caught her right before she made it to the main shaft, wrapping his arms around her middle and lifting her off her feet.

Bringing her back against his chest, he hissed playfully into her ear, “Slippery female. You win this round, but next time you run from me, I am going to mount you when I catch you.”

Breath hitching, she twisted around and kissed him then whispered against his lips, “Deal.”

Chapter 31

After what had to be close to four hours of traipsing through countless tunnels, following what Tirox called false scent trails, they finally found one of the prisoners.

Aria didn’t know exactly what she was expecting, maybe a hideous being gnawing on bones in some dark cave, but that wasn’t at all what they found.

The man standing before them was, without doubt, dangerous, and she could tell he would be a formidable opponent just from the way he carried himself, but he was surprisingly… friendly.

Most importantly, he was awake. She could see the unmistakable shine of awareness in his vibrant, emerald-green eyes.

Her second impression after realizing he was awake, was that he kind of resembled Skaa.

Their patterns were different, but they both had velvety looking skin, four arms, a tail, and their features were similar. Where Skaa was white with black markings that reminded her of tree branches, this guy was a slate grey with blocky, black markings that reminded her of… rocks.

Starting on his hands and feet, they gradually diminished as they rose up his arms and legs, fading into slate grey as they reached his shoulders and hips. The closest thing Aria could think to compare it to was the pattern on a giraffe, but this was far more irregular, jagged. If the stone here had been a different color, she was sure he would all but disappear if he stood against the wall or tucked himself next to a boulder.

He was also big. Skaa was tall and muscular, but she had a lithe build. This guy was tall and burly and looked like he could turn a rock into a gravel with one squeeze of his big hands.

Realizing they’d been standing there staring at each other in silence for a couple minutes, Aria cleared her throat. In an attempt to break some of the tension and make this feel less like a standoff, she gave him a friendly, closed lip smile.

“Hello. My name is Aria. These are my mates, Kix and Tirox,” she introduced, waving to each of her men in turn. “What is your name?”

Tirox grunted, whether in greeting, disapproval of her giving their names, or approval at her asking his name, she couldn’t quite tell but suspected the latter. He had a strange fixation on names, though she didn’t really understand why.

Something to ask him about later.

The guy remained silent, his eyes narrowed as he continued assessing them, but he didn’t make any threatening moves. Frowning, she tried to read his body language to get an idea of what he might be thinking, but he was blank.

As rude as it was to talk about him like he wasn’t there, she needed to know what he was thinking. If this calm silence of his was a ploy to get them to stay there while someone crept up to attack them from behind, she needed to know.

Speaking in shorthand, she muttered questioningly, “Beads?”

“Silent.”

That was reassuring, but she needed more.

“Kix?” she whispered from the corner of her mouth.

“He is… difficult to read,” he answered promptly, knowing what she was asking.

“Yeah, I got that, too.”

“Fascinating,” he breathed, cocking his head to the side. She could tell he wasn’t talking to her and figured he must be reacting to something he’d found in the guy’s head. “His mind is layered, unlike your friend Skaa’s.”

So, he’d noticed the similarities between them as well.

“It feels as though he has some kind of natural barrier keeping me from sensing his thoughts.”

Her eyebrows went up in surprise. Glancing back at the guy speculatively, she mused, “I wonder if that’s why he’s down here. Maybe the suppression didn’t take.”

“Mmm. His emotions are easier. I sense no hostility from him. He has no fear of us. He is curious, lonely, yet understandably wary. I feel an acute yearning for… hmm, it is not companionship, exactly,” he trailed off, but Aria understood.

“He wants a tribe. Another similarity between him and Skaa. I think they’re from the same world. Maybe a different race, but definitely the same species.”

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