Page 58 of Whispers of the Void

“I brought towels and clothes.” I peek over Raiz’s shoulder at Hyva who gives me a knowing smile. “Although I didn’t realize Neev was with you.”

I try to move off his lap, but he tightens his grip on me. “Just another moment.” He quickly presses his lips to mine. “Share my bed tonight?”

I nod. “Yes.”

He kisses me one last time and then sets me beside him. “You can stay and enjoy the hot springs for a bit longer if you wish. Can you find your way back?”

I watch as he lifts himself out, the muscles of his backside flexing with each movement. The varying shades of gray that alternate along his back, mottled and blurred together look so striking in the dim light of the cave. But out in the water, it all made perfect sense, his body blended in seamlessly.

Before turning around, he tucks his cock into the internal sac that protects it. Yet another part of Zeahirian anatomy that makes them dangerously well adapted. Their muscles, their fangs, their talons, everything is perfectly designed to be the apex predator on this planet.

I set my arms on the cool stone ledge in front of me to watch while he dresses. He notices my attention while he fastens his pants. The smile he gives me sends butterflies fluttering inside my belly. The flash of fang sends a different sensation through me. I don’t know what it says about me that I love the sharp and scary parts of him just as much as the sweet words he says.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he says.

“Be safe.”

* * *

Hours later and I still can’t get over how easily he brought me pleasure. I really wish Hyva would have waited another five minutes so he would have answered my question about when he read up on human pleasure. If I were grading him, he’d be top of the class.

Once again I pull my attention back to the book I’m reading. Uzold pulled it for me and said it was one of their classic pieces of literature. It’s not something I’d normally choose, but as I’m trying to help them, a broader understanding of their culture is key. Literature is obviously a cornerstone in that manner.

I’ve really come to enjoy the time I’ve spent with the elder male. He’s sat with me late into the night in the library when Raiz has been occupied and Hyva was out. I’ve gotten good insider information on how they were growing up. All the trouble young Zeahirian adolescents get into. Tonight, he’s doing a few household chores but has told me he’ll join me in the library when he’s finished.

My stomach swoops when I hear a loud crash from down the hall. More thudding and muffled voices pull at my curiosity. I stand up and walk into the long hallway that leads to the front door and see two huge males beating Uzold.

They hear me, and Uzold yells for me to run. One of the males begins to charge toward me. He’s already near the stairs leading down to the armory and the grotto, not that I could fight either of them off. So I turn and run, the sound of metal slicing through flesh follows me and then silence. I don’t have time to look behind me, but I steal a glance as I turn down the hall toward Raiz’s quarters.

My stomach roils at the sight of Uzold’s head feet away from his body. Blood is everywhere. And I’m all alone.

I slam the door closed behind me and flick the lock, not that it’ll hold these males back. They’re huge. Bigger even than anyone on the crew of Raiz’s ship. I look around his room, hoping to find something, anything, to give me a fighting chance at survival. There are two daggers on a bedside table and a sword leaning against the wall on the other side of his bed. The sword looks heavy, so I go for the daggers and hide behind one of the curtains.

The door flies open and one of the males walks in. He doesn’t speak. The helmet he wears is similar to the one that Raiz wore the night he took me, but there’s an insignia on the side that’s not familiar.

I hold my breath as he moves through the room thoroughly checking in the bathroom, the armoires, and even under the bed. With an irritated grunt he throws open the doors to the balcony and walks through them, the curtains fly up in the breeze. His head turns, and even though I can’t see his eyes, I know I’ve been spotted.

I don’t hesitate. I aim the first dagger at his side, right where Vynia showed me to go for in a killing strike. He easily bats it away and grabs my wrist, yanking me from my hiding spot and backhanding my face so hard I see stars. Blood trickles from my temple, but I know I have to try again.

This time I lunge and manage to tear open his uniform. He looks down at the blood oozing from his side and kicks me in the chest. My head cracks against the stone floor when I fall. The room blurs around me as I’m lifted off the ground, carried onto the balcony, and thrown over the side.

Time slows as I realize this is how I’ll die. Even if I survive the drop into the water, the waves are crashing against the rocky cliff. Even the best human swimmer would have trouble in this turbulent water.

Somehow my body manages to right itself into a foot-first position, so when I hit the water, I don’t die on impact. But everything is shades of blue and gray and white. My wrist is broken, yet somehow, I manage to find my way to the surface and drag a deep breath into my lungs.

Maybe I’ll make it. Maybe Raiz will hear me. Or Uzold called out for him.

Any hope of help coming for me dissipates when a wave crashes over me. I’m pulled under the surface, tugged by a current too strong for me escape. As the water thrashes around me, I lose track of what’s up and what’s down. Another wave pushes me into the rocks, and this time everything goes black.

CHAPTER19

RAIZ

* * *

The emptiness of the connection between Uzold and my mind has me pushing my body to its absolute limits. Hyva and Altis run alongside me, easily keeping up. I reach out a mental connection for Neev, but because I’ve been so careful to keep a barrier between us, I can’t quite breach it.

If anything happens to either of them, I will lose my mind. Our booted footsteps echo down the tunnel as we run through the shortcut back to the estate. Instead of winding through the rocky hills lining the cliff, the tunnel is a straight shot.

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