Page 66 of Shielded Heart

Picking up the bottle, she brought it to her lips and drank. It burned going down her throat and roiled like liquid fire in her belly. She gasped and coughed.

Koroq leaned back in his chair and laughed. “I knew you terrans were soft, but I didn’t think you werethissoft.”

Kiloq lifted his foot, bent his knee, and kicked Koroq’s leg. “Want me to tell her about the first timeyoutried it?”

Sekk’thi pounded a hand against Sam’s back until her coughing subsided.

“It’s okay,” Sam wheezed. “It was just…unexpected. I’m fine, really.” She cleared her throat. The burn was gone, but warmth lingered in her belly. Thegurosh’saftertaste was surprisingly sweet.

“You will grow accustomed to it,” Sekk’thi said. “Just drink in little sips.”

When Samantha returned the bottle to her lips, she followed Sekk’thi’s advice and took a single, small sip; the burn was far more tolerable.

“Never cared for the taste,” Razi said. Hunched forward, he perused his cards, his gaze occasionally flicking to the board; given his size and the breadth of his shoulders, his posture looked almost comical.

“It’s not about the taste,” Kiloq said, “it’s about theexperience.”

Sekk’thi leaned closer to Samantha, grinning. “Razi has refused to drink since he awoke one morning in an unfamiliar bed with a tralix beside him.”

“He still won’t tell us what happened,” said Koroq. “Claims he doesn’t remember. I don’t believe that.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Razi muttered, sliding one of his cards into place on the board. “She was clingy. And she was bigger than me. Made me uncomfortable.”

Sekk’thi laughed.

Samantha grinned. “Might be why Razi wins so much. He keeps a clear head.”

Razi met her gaze and lifted a finger to tap his temple, smiling.

She chuckled. She’d never been so welcomed by a group of people before; it was an amazing feeling.

Koroq glared down at the gameboard with a scowl. “He always wins whether or not he’s out of his wits. Just takes him longer to decide his moves when he’s drunk.”

“Always win because I never had competition before.” Razi dipped his chin toward the board.

Samantha glanced down; his portion of the map was still the largest, but—to her shock—her territory was a close second.

“Beginner’s luck,” Koroq muttered.

Sekk’thi snickered.

They continued the match, and Samantha—who could’ve counted on one hand the number of times she’d had alcohol before this—continued sipping from the bottle. As time passed, she grew steadily used to the drink’s taste, though she didn’t chance taking another mouthful like she had the first time.

Her territory grew; by the end, she was only a few spaces behind Razi, with the other three players nowhere close. She took a larger portion of the prize pool than she had up to that point, and Razi offered her a wink as he gathered his payout.

“Why do we bother trying?” asked Kiloq as the gameboard reset.

“Because I buy the drinks,” Razi replied.

They all laughed—all but Razi.

He kept a surprisingly straight face as he said, “What’s funny? It’s expensive. And I’m not even drinking.”

They played a few more rounds; Sekk’thi offered a full bottle at some point, which Sam accepted happily. By the end of their final match, only Samantha and Razi had any significant amount of credits remaining.

Koroq threw his hands up, rose, and walked to one of the screens by the couches. He flicked through the control menu, muttering to himself, until he found what he wanted. A twist of his hand raised the volume.

Music flowed from unseen speakers, beginning as light, electronic tones before building to a pulsing melody with a thumping beat beneath it. Unexpectedly, Koroq began dancing to the music—the sort of dancing she might’ve seen in Earth nightclubs had she ever mustered the courage to provoke James’s ire by visiting one.

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