Page 9 of Xefe
On instinct, he licked her palm, devouring every drop of blood he could consume, soaking her in, eating her alive.
The rush ofGlrtsstllllorogggseized him, burrowing inside. The amount she contained in her system must be astronomical. For the briefest second, her essence coated him, burning a trailthrough his insides as if she’d branded him in on a cellular level. The tattoo on his arm pulsed and burned.
The uncomfortable feeling of destiny lingered but eventually faded. He’d never been so grateful theGlrtsstllllorogggkilled his response. Once again, he was comfortably numb.
“Wha—why did you do that?” Loxo spluttered next to him, his mismatched eyes going wide.
Why did I?“I harmed her, so I healed her.”
“You licked her hand.” Loxo’s ridged brows went high. “Why not use healing salves?” He pointed toward the supplies against the wall of the alien ship.
Xefe ignored Loxo and looked at Veras, who appeared strangely satisfied with his actions. “She is drowning inGlrtsstlllloroggg. How did this happen?” There was no way the supreme would allow this much of the golden elixir to be shared with an unidentified alien species.
Xefe caught a glimpse of sly-eyed Tontoh stiffening across the room. He’d pretended to leave but spied on them the whole time.
“She overdosed onGlrtsstllllorogggwhen she battled Tontoh,” Veras replied.
His chest felt tight, and he rubbed the unexpected ache “Will she survive it?”
“We don’t know. She is experiencing phases of pleasure and pain. Each pass more intense than the last. We have no idea how it will affect her alien physiology. Even the most advanced users have never received such a high dose. It is literally remaking her on a cellular level. Who knows if her DNA can take the strain.”
The earthers’ wide eyes fluttered shut.
The taste of her blood remained on Xefe’s tongue. It coated his throat, creating a buzzing warmth. Why did he have the urge to lick her from head to toe, to breathe in her earthy musk?
And why did his spikes straighten when he contemplated her demise?
Veras and Loxo moved on from the earther to study two other fighters. They held no interest for Xefe. Instead, he leaned in and spoke to the earther as he would one of his warriors, “Fight true, fight hard.” He couldn’t resist adding, “Make it past the night, and we will see each other again.
CHAPTER 5
My scalp ison fire!The itch was maddening, as if a swarm of wasps attacked my head, biting and stinging until my scalp felt like raw meat.Déjame en paz. Leave me alone!
Night surrounded me. I was enveloped in black velvet that lacked the metallic stain from before. When I lifted my hands to scratch my scalp, they slammed into something sharp and stony that didn’t feel anything like my cube.
My brain sizzled and fractured as images raced through my mind: dick-tongues, golden liquid, breaking glass, and sexy sunsets.
Need to get away. Freckles is going to—
Twin vices wrapped around my ankles and yanked. My back scraped against stone, coating my skin in dust. After I’d been dragged a few feet, the light beyond my eyelids lightened, and I took in my first lungful of real air—not tainted, chemical weirdness.
But I couldn’t see.My lids are sealed shut.
“Where am I?” I asked. Except, those weren’t the words that came out of my mouth. My heavy lips wouldn’t wrap around the syllables—making them a garbled mess. My tongue swelled and pressed against the back of my teeth.
What the hell had Freckles done to me?
“She’s awake. Won’tthatbe fun?”
“Nieve? Is that you?” The familiar voicealmostsoothed me, the lilting human words a balm against my ears. No high-pitched shattered glass. Hers were the first human sounds I’d heard in alifetime. “I can’t see you. Why can’t I see anything?” The words were jumbled. All that came out wasguuuuuuuhhhh.
“Dios mío!They fried her brain. I didn’t think anything would be worse than what happened to the newbie, but this might be it. I actually feel sorry for her.”
Oh, hell no.Nobody feels sorry for me. I feel sorryfor them. I needed to get my shit together, but there was nothing I could do about my speech. Yet.
I concentrated on opening my eyes. Slowly, my fingers responded, and I scraped at my lids, digging away mounds of mucous. My whole body felt caked in the oily substance. My skin, and my damn itchy scalp, all felt layered in tar.
I removed the film from my eyes and wiped it in my hair. I couldn’t stand it another minute. I scratched my scalp raw.Bliss.
