“I have you.” I roll over my mate, pinning her securely beneath my bulk, flaring both wings wide to shield her from anything else that might fall.
She sinks her fingernails into my hide. "Earthquake?" she squeaks.
Before I can answer, a voice cuts through noise.
"Attention, contestants." The voice crackles out, sounding like it is everywhere and nowhere all at once. "I have been tracking you since your arrival. It has come to my attention that you are here to compete."
Poppy goes still beneath me, her breath a fast pant of fear.
“I have caught up on the so-called reality dramas and contests of Earth and other worlds, and I have decided to render aid to your shoddy and laughable excuse of a show."
A sharp crack splits the panel beside the bed. I hold Poppy tighter.
"And did you know," the strange, tinny speaker continues, "that they intended to give all of you parcels of land on Sueva? I don’t think that’s very interesting. Yes, yes, they are going to start a colony there, it’s very clear from all the Roth comms that I’ve dug through over the last several cycles after they woke me up. But won’t it be so much more fun if you all fight to the death?"
Fury sears through me, a growl begining to build in my chest.
"I’m not unromantic, however, so you won’t be forced to fight your current partners," the voice says. "We all love a romance arc, after all, don’t we? Especially the one who got all of her friends into this. I’m rooting for her to find love. She’s the realunderdog. I mean, of course, Poppy Harrington. Poppy, it really will be wonderful television to watch you react to having to truly compete against the women you tricked into sign up for this." The voice is practically sing-song, delighted with itself.
I stiffen, my head snapping down to look at Poppy.
Her jaw is slack, horror flashing across her face as the entity singles her out.
This thing knows her.It is watching her.
And what did it mean, she tricked people? Not my Poppy.
"I have deposited gear, weapons, and what remained of the rations from the space station after I took over several hundred years ago somewhere near where you are sleeping," the synthetic voice continues. "Retrieving them won’t be easy, however, as I’ve also awoken some exciting native fauna on this station’s surface. I’ve also increased the signals to as much of space as I can, including the Draegon and Arco home planets. Those water dwellers are strange, but they do love a good mate hunt. It would be wrong of me to assist or hamper contestants, but I do love a good plot twist, so I absolutely will be. Whoever makes it to my control center alive wins. I’ll be in touch!"
With that, the voice snaps off, plunging the world into an ominous silence.
Then a far-off clamor begins—something large moving through the jungle, from the sounds of it. The front wall of our luxury dome slides open on its own, exposing us completely to the still-dark morning.
Poppy’s eyes are wide, her fingers digging into my arms. “This is bullshit,” she says. “I read our contracts top to bottom, and if there is one thing I know, and only one thing, it’s how to fucking litigate legalese!”
“Litigate legalese,” I repeat, confused.
“Don’t worry about it,” she pats my hand. “I got this.”
I bare my fangs to the darkness. I knew the mad king sent me here to die. I knew it was a trap.
But I’m done taking orders from that old fool.
"Hold onto me, Poppy," I rasp. "The game has changed."
I’ll do whatever it takes to get my precious mate safe.
Even if the voice has made it clear I can no longer trust her.
CHAPTER 10
POPPY
Guilt?I hardly knew ye.
Whatever it is I feel now is much, much worse.
It’s not a mild case of post-tequila regret.
