Page 61 of Tribute
At what?Aled wanted to ask, but he kept his gaze down.
Palk saluted. “Carry on, Kai Mexr.”
Kai moved forward as Palk and his entourage left. “We have four more weeks of training to complete. We will start tomorrow.”
He sounded exhausted. Aled was marched back to his new quarters, and the door was locked behind him. There was a blanket laid out on the floor, so he went and sat on it. Within a few minutes, the door opened and Kai came in. Aled jumped to his feet.
“Sir.”
Kai barely looked at him. “Put the shower on.”
“Yes, sir.”
He slipped past Kai into the tiny bathroom and started the shower. When he turned back, Kai was stripping off his clothes. His movements were uncharacteristically slow and his body was a mass of cuts and bruises. Aled sucked in a breath.
“Are you . . . all right, sir?”
“Shut the fuck up, Price, and get out of my way.” Kai stumbled toward the shower stall and Aled pressed himself against the sink to allow him to pass. Kai groaned as the water sluiced over his skin, and spoke without turning.
“Get my medical kit from under the bed and have it ready when I come out.”
“Yes, sir.”
He found the kit and put it on the bed, his fingers trembling with anger or fear—he wasn’t sure which—as he unlocked it.
Kai came in and sat heavily on the side of the bed, his towel beneath his ass. He peered into the box and took out a spray bottle.
“Start with this. Spray it all over me, concentrating on the cuts.”
Aled took the bottle and Kai closed his eyes, his shoulders gradually relaxing as the spray worked its magic on the small cuts and bruises on his arms and chest. Aled went on his knees spraying lower, making Kai’s breath hiss out.
“Sorry.” Aled smoothed an apologetic hand over Kai’s knee.
“Don’t be.”
Ignoring his well-learned lessons not to speak unless spoken to, he continued. “Did you do this for me?”
“No. I like the way Palk fucks.”
Aled stopped spraying to look up at Kai’s face. “I don’t believe you.”
“You think I’m some kind of hero?” Kai’s mouth twisted. “Well, fuck that. Heroes don’t do what I do.”
“Sometimes they have to, if it means that others will survive because of their sacrifice.”
“You are such a fucking . . . patriot.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that.” He got off his knees and walked around to the other side of the bed to spray Kai’s back. “And you are a hero.”
Kai stood up so suddenly that Aled flinched and almost dropped the spray. “I’ll finish the rest, Price.”
For a moment Aled held his gaze until Kai reached across and grabbed the can. “Go to sleep. You’ll have a busy day tomorrow.”
Picking up the medical box, Kai retreated into the bathroom and quietly shut the door.
Aled sighed into the silence. Whatever Kai said, he knew his trainer had literally saved his skin. He wished Kai hadn’t. It was much easier when his only aims in life had been to complete the training and kill his trainer. Now he felt like he had an obligation to Kai Mexr, who would probably laugh at the very idea.
Almost two weeks later, the idea of killing Kai was again a top priority for Aled. He and the other three trainees had been transported into the equivalent of hell. And he’d wasted his opportunity to murder anyone. Now he was restrained and being either physically or sexually challenged to the limits of his endurance.
