Page 35 of Hooded

“What sort of fight?”

“A challenge,” Klynn says. “Death games are death games, but these are something different. The arena fights back, and it is relentless.”

“So, what’s the point?”

“Whosoever’s champion lasts the longest gets the prize, and believe me, it’s more credits than you or I could ever imagine.”

“I like to think I can imagine a lot of credits.” I gently elbow Klynn in his side.

In the time we’ve spent together, he’s revealed a sense of humor which is as dry as mine. My big feral gladiator loves a joke, and the occasions I get him to laugh, to lift his lips, displaying his fangs in a genuine smile, are the very best.

“Same here,” he responds. “I’d spend all mine on a nest for you.”

I stare at him. He maintains a poker face. “You would?” I query. “I’d buy a massive pulsar cannon and fix it to my ship so I could blast pirates into atoms.”

I can tell he doesn’t want to laugh, but his face succumbs long before he can stop it. A smile which looks like it should belong, if only he’d let it.

“Maybe I’ll do the same.”

“Don’t you dare. I want a big nest,” I respond. “The biggest there’s ever been.”

“You don’t want much, do you, little fury?” Klynn says, pulling me to him and kissing me until I think I might pass out. “How about an escape plan? Will that satisfy my mate?”

“On Kelion? I think that’s the last place we want to escape, isn’t it?”

“We’ll go before Kelion. I believe I’ve worked out the frequencies for both the forcefields and the immobilizer.”

“I don’t understand.” I can feel my brow dipping with confusion. “Have you got some tech you haven’t told me about?”

“One of the things done to me by the Drahon was intended to enhance some of my natural abilities,” Klynn says, as if this is the most natural thing in the galaxy. “I can tune into electrical fields and manipulate them.”

“So, the time”—I swallow hard—“the time you tried to go through the forcefield, you really believed you could do it?”

“I can do it, providing I get enough time to feel the fields. How do you think I got out of your cell?”

“I never really had time to think about it.” I reel from his revelation. “And just how is this part of your natural abilities?”

KLYNN

I don’t want to tell my Fern about the thoughtbond. But as we have not manifested it as fated mates, I can only assume the Drahon took it from me when they changed who I am. When they changed everything, meaning even if I originally wanted to go back to my unit, on the assumption they were still alive, any chance I had for a return was destroyed.

Our prime wouldn’t accept an altered Gryn, I know it. After Proto, my disappearance and the mutations made to me would put him and the rest of the szent council on guard.

I want to go home, but I don’t think I can.

I want to nest for my mate, but they’re never good enough.

I want to make Fern mine, but until we’re free, I can never be sure she is.

We need to be free.

The insistent buzz of the forcefield drops in tone, as it always does when they’re about to cut it off.

“Get back, Gryn. Against the wall,” the guard on the outside snarls.

It seems none of the Tormelek are too keen on the big metal suits they have to wear in order to be protected from the immobilizer. And once they decided I was being cooperative,they quickly ditched them in favor of shouting instructions instead.

“What do you want?” I snarl.

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