Page 54 of Shielded Heart 1
“Boss? Ar… Er, Alkorin?”
Kiloq snickered. “It’s okay, terran. Anyone he trusts enough to work in this part of the compound knows his name is Arcanthus.”
Relief eased her tension. For a moment, she’d feared she had already violated Arc’s trust by revealing his name. “Oh, okay. Good. You’ve…you’ve been following me, haven’t you?”
“Yeah. He told us to keep you safe.”
“Us?”
“Me and my brother, Koroq.”
She waited for the flare of anger that should’ve risen in her gut. Arcanthus had selected Sam from her identification file, stalked her, lied to her, and sent some of his men to keep an eye on her. None of that was okay. None of that wasright. And yet…she wasn’t upset, wasn’t angry, wasn’t scared.
Because Arcanthus still felt right to her.
Being with him felt right.
She was gladfor what he’d done; this city might well have swallowed her whole were it not for his intervention. Maybe she would’ve eventually found her way, her place, but there was a good chance she might’ve ended up kidnapped or dead first.
“It’s nice to meet you, Kiloq,” she said, offering the cren a smile.
He returned the smile. Despite the three-centimeter-long tusks protruding from his lower jaw, the expression had unexpected warmth to it. When she’d first encountered Kiloq, she’d been terrified of him. She realized now that he’d had a friendly, gentle air about him even then. She didn’t doubt he was capable of ferocity, but that was true of Arcanthus as well, wasn’t it?
“My brother, Koroq, is around somewhere,” Kiloq said. “He looks like me, only uglier.”
Samantha laughed.
He chuckled. “Boss is expecting you, terran. Come on.”
The cren turned and walked along the hallway.
She followed him. The soft flow of air over the bare skin of her chest and right leg as she moved reminded her of what she was wearing, and her cheeks burned.
Kiloq led her through several long, high-ceilinged hallways, all of which exhibited a strange blend of the sleek luxury and wealth on display in Arcanthus’s room and a gritty, industrial aesthetic. The bare, unpolished metal and dark concrete somehow paired well with the patterned crimson carpeting and elegant but practical light fixtures. Most of the doors they passed were large and looked durable, but they were made less imposing by the intricate isometric designs etched upon their faces.
The place was like a military bunker that had been purchased by a very rich individual with a taste for extravagant simplicity in his décor.
They turned down another corridor, which ended at a lone door. Kiloq tapped the control panel beside the doorframe.
“Yes?” asked Arcanthus through the speaker.
“Samantha is here to see you, boss,” Kiloq replied.
The door slid open. The cren stood aside and gestured her onward.
Samantha remained in place for a moment, glancing at the cren before turning her full attention to the doorway. She’d been excited at the prospect of seeing Arcanthus again, but now that she was here, anxiety sank its claws into her heart.
I am strong. Even if I don’t feel it.
Taking in a deep breath, Samantha stepped past Kiloq and crossed the threshold.
The doorway led her into a large, long, rectangular chamber. Several huge fish tanks, filled with creatures both vaguely familiar and utterly alien, were built into the wall across from Sam, separated from each other by sections of wall with soft red and purple lights that gave the room a moody luminescence. The strength of those lights was enhanced by the dark floors and furnishings. At the far end of the chamber to the left stood a huge blast door. A carpet, decorated with isometric patterns that were the same colors as the lights, ran down the center of the room. It was flanked by long, low couches on either side.
“You’ve finally come. I was getting ready to join you in the bath,” Arcanthus said, calling her attention to the right.
At that end of the room, a set of wide, low steps led up to a raised platform. The desk set at the platform’s front edge was about half the width of the platform, and it was covered with at least a dozen monitors and holo screens. More screens lined the nearby walls, interrupted only by larger equipment she couldn’t identify.
Arcanthus stood just to the side of the desk. He wore a silky, royal purple robe; the garment hung open to reveal the muscles of his lean torso and his dark loincloth. His lopsided grin made her knees weak.
