Page 115 of Rok's Captive
“No,” he says calmly. “Not anymore.”
Tharn physically recoils, shock evident in every line of his body. His gaze darts between Rok’s loincloth and my face, his expression a mix of disbelief and growing curiosity.
“Let me see the male,” he demands, trying to circle around Rok to get a better look at me.
Rok moves with him, keeping me firmly behind his bulk. “Fe-male,” he corrects. A growl rumbles low in his throat.
“Impossible,” Tharn scoffs.
“Possible,” Rok counters.
There’s a long pause, the tension between them almost palpable. Then Tharn’s mental voice comes again, quieter but no less intense.
“A daughter of Ain?”
Rok doesn’t answer, but I feel a ripple of unease from him. The silence stretches. I could cut the tension with a steak knife.
I can’t take it anymore. Ducking under Rok’s arm, I step out from behind him, ignoring his growl of warning.
Tharn stares at me, his amber eyes widening a fraction. Up close, I can see the differences between him and Rok more clearly. He’s bulkier, his features more angular, his skin a deeper golden bronze with patterns of darker markings across his shoulders.
Remembering how Rok had initially reacted to my voice, I decide to try this telepathy thing first. I focus on projecting my thoughts directly to Tharn, hoping he can hear me as clearly as Rok now can.
“I am female,” I think firmly. “We…landed here. Rok helped me. He is no liar. I owe him my life.”
Tharn’s eyes narrow, his head tilting in a gesture so similar to Rok’s that it makes my chest tighten with an unexpected wave of fondness.
“You claim to be female, yet look as a male does,” he thinks back, his mental voice laced with skepticism. “Only smaller…softer…” His brow furrows, and I can almost see the confusion and disbelief warring with his stubbornness to not believe. “Why would Rok risk himself for an outsider? This does not make sense.”
“Trust me,” I respond dryly, “where I’m from, I’m definitely female. Though this is the first planet where my lack of curves has been mistaken for a different species rather than just bad genetics.”
Tharn’s gaze flicks to Rok, who stands tense beside me, ready to intervene at the slightest provocation.
“You claim this one is female?” Tharn asks Rok directly. “This small, pale thing?”
“I do not claim,” Rok growls. “She is.”
Tharn circles me slowly, his movements predatory. I stand my ground, refusing to show fear even as my heart races.
“She barely reaches mychest,” Tharn observes. “The daughters of Ain were said to be like gods—females bigger than the males of our clan, bigger than any Drakav. While you…” He gestures at my slender form with something like disappointment. “You are small. Fragile.”
He stops in front of me, nostrils flaring as he leans in slightly. “Though there is…something.” Those golden pits fasten on me. “Something on you smells of Rok.”
I feel heat rush to my cheeks and see the moment he rears back at the sight. Of course—I’m probably covered in Rok’s scent after our activities in the cave. The thought is both embarrassing and oddly thrilling.
“She is my female,” Rok states, the possessiveness in his thoughts unmistakable. “We are returning to clan grounds. She has others like her. Those we must find.”
Tharn’s head snaps up at this. “Others? More…females from the stars? More females like her?”
“Yes,” I interject. “My sister and…many many others. They need our—your help.”
Tharn stares at me for a long moment, then turns to Rok. “Kol sent search parties when you did not return many sols ago. I was tracking your scent when I found you.” His gaze shifts back to me. “If there are indeed daughters of Ain fallen from the sky, he will want to know immediately.”
“Aye,” Rok nods and Tharn looks at him like he’s suddenly a strange thing he’s never seen before. I realize a little later it’s because of the nod itself. That’s something Rok learned from me.
“We will continue to clan grounds,” he projects to Tharn. “Lead the way.”
Tharn doesn’t respond. Casting one more suspicious glance at me, he turns to head across the sand.
