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GWEN
My body still ached, in the most wonderful way.
I liked the way Kaio looked when he was sleeping. So peaceful, like he hadn’t a care in the world. Which I knew was categorically untrue.
A King has every burden, doesn’t he?
Leaning over, I brushed my index finger gently down his cheek. His lashes fluttered and I froze. I hadn’t meant to wake him. Seconds later though, he was breathing steadily again, his chest rising and falling rhythmically.
Sitting up, I hugged the cape around me and stared at the water. The pool was completely still now, a perfect mirror for the sky above. I wanted to stay here, in this isolated oasis, and forget everything else. There were no other gladiators, no danger around every corner. It was just me and Kaio, and we were on vacation together. And I…
I might love him.
That was ridiculous. I couldn’t love a damn alien, even if he was the best lover I’d ever known.
What did they say in one of my favorite movies back home?
Relationships based on intense experiences don’t work. They never work.
And this was a textbook intense experience. I mean, if I went back home and was asked to modify the dictionary entry for ‘intense’ and ‘experience’, I’d draw a picture of these stupid, awful gladiator games.
Of course, I might also sketch out Kaio’s nether region anatomy. That was also, in a word, intense.
I shook my head, feeling heat in my face. Thank goodness Kaio was asleep and he couldn’t read my mind right now. At least, I hoped he couldn’t. Maybe whatever I was thinking seeped into his unconscious mind and made its way into his dreams? If he dreamed. Maybe he didn’t.
Jeez, Gwen, you don’t know anything about him. Not really.
Well—except that he was kind and generous, willing to risk his own life to save his people.
Feeling restless, I stood up and walked to the water’s edge. I pulled the cape with me, wrapping it tightly around my still-naked body and giving myself some protection from the chilly evening air.
Dipping a toe in the water, I watched as the rippling effect shifted the reflected stars on its surface. The vision undulated, the stars glowing blurs now instead of distinct pinpricks of light.
I smiled, wondering if something like this had been what inspired Van Gogh to paint his famous night sky.
As the glistening surface began to still again, I squinted at a shadowy form. It was my own, though it seemed overly large for my frame. I reached out an arm playfully, watching the shadow to see it follow suit.
Only, the shadow did not copy my movement.
My heart caught in my throat and my mouth grew dry. Someone or something was behind me. Directly behind me.
“Kaio?” I asked tentatively, slowly rotating to face where Kaio had been sleeping. It was probably him. Who else could be here right now?
Literally any of the other gladiators, idiot.I chided myself. You’re in the middle of a to-the-death competition and you’re a sitting duck.
I smiled at first, because I truly thought it was Kaio standing near me. “You woke up. You were sleeping so peacefully.” The figure was a similar height, with gorgeous dark skin. “I hope I didn’t wake you.” But then a flash of moonlight caught the figure’s face and I saw a scar of neon yellow glowing like warrior’s paint.
It wasn’t Kaio.
I backed away swiftly, tripping over the cape as water splashed against my ankles. I began shivering as the cool liquid lowered my core temperature. It was twice as cold as it had been when the sun was setting.
“Who are you?” I breathed out, voice hoarse, pulse so thick I could taste it.
“Quiet, human.” His voice was harsh and ugly, the antithesis to Kaio’s. “Unless you want to die.”
I tried to scream for Kaio, but the figure slammed a thick hand over my mouth and pushed me down into the water. It was just deep enough where I fell that it exploded over my head, liquid rushing down my throat and choking me as I fought the confines of the cape knotted around my body. I blinked up through the water, watching in horror as fire seemed to explode from the stranger’s hands and shoot out into the jungle.
Brilliant orange-red lines that looked like lightning beneath his skin raced through his body, making his short hair catch fire.
