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Tristan sighed. “You should tell her the truth before she gets too attached to the idea.” Then Tristan leaned forward against the counter, arms casually folded in front of him. “So what is your impression of her?”
Orik used his teeth to rip off another chunk of dried meat. “I doona know.”
“Is she sweet, like my Juniper?”
He snorted and shoved the last of the treat into his mouth, then grabbed for another one. Sweet? She had threatened his life, set off a bomb in his face, and shot him clean through the chest. Contrarily, June had been all smiles and curiosity…mostly. “I doona know.”
“Is she attractive?”
Devastatingly. When he had come upon her in that Kayadon ship, the first thing that had struck him, even before her bullet, had been her decidedly marked beauty. Had he ever seen a creature with such divine features? Not that he could recall. But he couldn’t admit that to Tristan. “Uh, I doona know.”
Amazingly, even after she’d shot him, he’d been captivated by how her fierce expression made her sultry eyes flash, with how she donned the countenance of a warrior when she’d brazenly brandished her knife….
He felt for it, then froze.
Tristan groused. “Well, whatdoyou know?”
Patting his belt where the wench’s knife should have been sheathed, he replied, “I know she is currently armed.”
6
Jessie crept through the castle halls like a phantom, silent and unseen.
The rooms werecolossal, likely because dragons prowled these halls. What would she do if she came across one? What woulditdo?
She reached behind her to make sure her top concealed the sheathed blade in her waistband. Whenever she went out into the dangerous wild, her father’s knife went with her, no exceptions. Well, this place was about as wild as she could imagine. She wasn’t contending with the likes of bears or mountain lions here. No, no. She was contending with mother-freaking dragons.
She wasn’t deluded into believing she could fend off a dragon with her trusty Ka-Bar—there was no chance of that—but having it was comforting nonetheless…like a pacifier to a baby.
The echo of voices approached from the end of the hall she’d just entered. She ducked into a dark alcove as they passed by, looking shockingly human. In fact, if she hadn’t been trapped on an alien ship for weeks and then “intercepted” by these people, she wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference. Luckily, they didn’t notice her presence, and once they’d disappeared out of sight she resumed her mission. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for, an escape route, maybe?
But realistically, on a foreign planet, was there really anywhere to escape to?
Evidence of enslaved humans, perhaps? It was a worst-case scenario, sure, but it would be better to find out now rather than wait for her invitation to the high-tech alien brainwashing party, should there be one.
She hoped there’d at least be cake first.
In any case, when dropped in enemy territory, reconnaissance was key. Her best chance of survival was to study this place and gain as much knowledge of the land and its people—freaking dragon shifters—as possible.
She edged down a stone spiral staircase, making her footsteps as light as mosquitos on the Mississippi River. On the landing, she found herself in a large study with plush seating and bookshelves stuffed with manuscripts.
Bright sunlight poured in through a row of lanky arched windows that lined one wall. Her eyes widened at the picturesque scene beyond. A patio and outdoor seating area was surrounded by a lush garden populated by birds and other buzzing creatures. A charming stone path vanished behind a spread of thick shrubbery. She longed to be out there, exploring, soaking up the sun. Absorbing nature. She’d been so long without that it almost hurt on a visceral level.
When she heard a soft click, her heart nearly leapt into her throat. Movement caught her eye. At the far end of the room, a door leading outside cracked open. She lunged for cover, ducking behind a small sofa. After several quiet, uneventful moments, she braved a peek around the edge.
No one was there.
She waited several more tense seconds and then poked her head up. Had the door somehow opened on its own? Maybe it hadn’t been closed fully and a breeze had caught it.
Careful not to make a sound, she tiptoed across the room and tentatively peered outside. The patio was empty as well. Letting out a hard sigh of relief, she glanced behind her to the line of books, surprised to find she could understand the words written on the spines. Many of them seemed to be textbooks in subjects like science and philosophy. Perhaps these books could tell her about what sort of people she was dealing with…
She itched to dive in, but something kept pulling her back toward that open door.
It wasn’t so much the idea of freedom or escape that tempted her as it was the fact that she hadn’t felt the warmth of the sun on her skin in weeks. In the end, her decision was easy. When she stepped out onto the cobblestone, the sun hit her with its full force and she nearly swayed from the delicious impact. She lifted her chin to let the sultry rays beat down on her face. Floral scents from the garden tickled her nostrils as a light breeze tugged at tendrils of her hair. Pure bliss.I could stay out here forever.
Click.
Gasping, she whirled around and jiggled the door handle.Damn!Somehow it had closed and then locked her out.
