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GWEN
Istill hadn’t quite shaken the nerves from Kaio’s story by firelight. The warring factions. Magick in the mix. At odd intervals, the goosebumps would come back.
Like we were being watched.
Which was silly, because of course we were. There were cameras everywhere, capturing every bloodshed, every word, every kiss.
And now they were about to get another show. The gorgeous body of water was calling to me and I could not deny that it was currently the most beautiful sight in the universe.
Without even worrying about modesty, I stripped off my clothes and waded in. Maybe in another situation, I would have hesitated, but, god, I just wanted to be clean. The water in the pool underneath the falls was clear and blue. If I hadn’t seen him coming, I would have screamed when Kaio swam by, his shoulders brushing against my calf.
As it was, I yelped when he turned without taking a breath and came back toward me from behind, shoving his shoulder into the backs of my knees and knocking me off my feet.
He let me go and I splashed down into the water, and then came up laughing.
“Why did you do that?” I asked, using my hands to create a splash that went almost directly into his eyes.
He grinned. “I thought we could use some fun.”
Fun.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had fun. Certainly not at work, no matter how much I had enjoyed my job. Not ever with Rich. I mean, I had enjoyed his company—at first, anyway—but we were far too much alike. Too intent on making our marks in the world. Too competitive, even with each other.
But this? This was close to the vacation I had imagined for myself in the Maldives.
Minus the fight to the death that waited for us at the end, of course.
But the rest of it? A secluded pool under a sparkling clear waterfall surrounded by tropical flowers, a giant alien male who rivaled Jason Momoa in looks and in muscles, and not another soul in sight.
I was pretty sure that this was paradise—at least for the moment.
“Here,” Kaio said, reaching around me from behind to hand me an enormous lavender bloom.
“Um. Thanks?” I twirled the flower around. The petals were giant, floppy, and delicate. The bloom wouldn’t survive the next hour, much less be useful as a souvenir. Still, it smelled pretty. I held it up to my nose and sniffed. The scent was like a cross between oranges and hibiscus—floral and a little citrusy.
“It’s a Verukan sudsflower. Watch.”
Kaio rolled it rapidly between his palms until the flower disintegrated into a soapy pile of bubbles. Then he scrubbed it into his hair. I followed his example and almost moaned in delight when I began lathering myself up with the flower-soap.
“The flowers are edible, as well,” Kaio told me, “but I’ve always thought they tasted a little medicinal. Still, there are worlds where the Verukans are a delicacy.”
“At least it’s not lizard meat.” I held my soapy palm up to my mouth and took a tentative lick. Almost immediately, I spit my mouth full of suds back into the water. “Yuck.”
Kaio laughed cheerfully, then ducked under the water to rinse off.
I stepped out from under the spray of the waterfall, feeling clean for the first time since I had been transported to this godforsaken planet by a giant alien land-squid.
Or its tentacles, anyway. Funny enough, I realized, I’d never seen its face. I wondered if it had a face?
I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to work out the tangles, then slicked it back against my scalp as I made my way out of the pool.
I moved toward our pile of belongings on the beach.
They were covered in blood. I didn’t think about it longer than a second before I dragged my old clothing and the new uniform boots we had stolen into the water with me, where I attacked them with a handful of flowers, as well.
“You might want to—” Kaio began, but stopped as the last item of clothing hit the water.
“What?” I asked.
