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She turned away but not before I saw the scorn on her face. It seemed the mate the gods had delivered to me lacked faith in my ability to care for her. I couldn’t blame her. She’d seen me on my knees twice. I vowed she’d never see me that way again.
* * *
They kept us in ourcells during the entire voyage to Zibaru. I didn’t try to speak to Ree again. Instead I spent my time trying to remember every scrap of information I’d ever heard about the prison, creating an image in my mind so vivid that I could almost see the alien lifeforms we’d find there and navigate my way around on the asteroid before I ever set foot on it.
My people on Rylos had seen modern technology, knew its advantages. We simply chose to live the way our ancestors did. Relying more on our senses than on machines to survive. Machines malfunctioned. Technology became outdated moments after it was created.
But the ability to smell fear in an enemy, to hear the beating of a poisonous serpent’s heart just as it was poised to strike, to see the brilliant blue eyes of a raptor soaring high above fix on his prey right before he swooped in for the kill—those were skills a broken machine couldn’t take away. Skills I’d need in the hostile environment I was about to enter. I had no time to dwell on what my mate Ree thought of me, whether she had faith in my ability to keep her safe and alive. She’d see me in action soon enough.
* * *
Ihad no way to tellthe length of the voyage but by my hunger and thirst and the desperate need to relieve my bladder I guessed a full sol cycle passed before we reached our destination. The subtle vibrations of the ship’s engine slowed, then stopped. Nye’s soldiers marched in and yanked us to our feet.
I heard Ree give a muffled cry. Though I hadn’t been with her long, I knew her well enough to know it would take serious pain to make her utter a sound. I memorized the features of the soldier who hurt her when he dragged her from her cell, vowing I’d get revenge on the man.
We headed down a long corridor to the ship’s cargo bay. The huge door slid open and I got my first glimpse of the asteroid.
It looked like the hell from Rohyndan myths. A gray wasteland pockmarked with giant craters, the surface everywhere else studded with sharp spiked rocks sticking out of the ground. The only color came from waist-high red and orange flames spewing from narrow fissures slashing the landscape.
To my surprise, I could breathe, though the air carried the stench of noxious chemicals burning. I was surprised the Federation had gone to the expense of outfitting the asteroid with an artificial atmosphere. But their concern for its prisoners didn’t extend to comfort. It was hot enough to make me sweat.
We headed for a darker gray structure in the distance, with Nye leading the way. The ground was strewn with razor-sharp rocks. My feet had been toughened roaming the jungles of Rylos barefoot, and I thanked the gods that Ree had been allowed to keep her boots. I didn’t see anything I could have used to fashion foot coverings for her.
Four helmeted guards waited in front of a thick iron door.
“I’m delivering the prisoners. Aria DiMello, awaiting trial. The charge is treason. And this one.” He gestured to me. “A mercenary from the planet Rylos. Attempted murder—of an officer of the Federation.”
He raised an eyebrow at me, as though expecting me to protest. But he was right. I’d have killed him if his soldiers hadn’t rushed to his defense.
He seemed disappointed when I stayed silent. Though it was hard to hold my tongue, I couldn’t afford to react. The soldiers would beat me if I did. I had to stay strong and healthy or I’d never be able to protect my mate.
But I would not allow one wrong to go unavenged. I’d been biding my time, waiting for the perfect opportunity. As Nye’s soldiers prodded us toward the entrance to the prison, I stumbled, falling backwards against the two soldiers behind me. The one nearest me tumbled to the ground. As he fell, he slammed the one who hurt Ree against one of the giant spikes, impaling him on it.
The soldier let out a high-pitched scream. His comrade scrabbled to his feet and came at me.
“Clumsy idiot! Look what you made me do!”
I backed away, head down to hide my satisfaction.
“Leave him, you fool,” Nye spat out. “It’s your fault!” He grabbed the soldier by the collar. “Get that man off the spike and carry him back to the ship.”
He rounded on me. “As for you, I don’t want you harmed. Yet. I’m looking forward to seeing you released into the yard. The warden here runs a side business live streaming the arrival of new prisoners. Taking bets on how long they’ll survive. You may be from a primitive world but you’re a cunning bastard. I’m laying big money on you and that bitch Aria.”
He brought his face inches from mine and gave me a cold smile. “You hate me. I can see it in your eyes. But I’m a cunning bastard too. The only way to get revenge on me now is to die quickly. Every hour you live will only make me richer.”
Though they took away my weapons, they’d let me keep my leather pants, crafted for life in a primitive world, where both hands were often needed to fight or gather food. “From one cunning bastard to another,” I said, smiling back. I twisted my hips sideways, popping my dick free through the slit made for that purpose. Then I emptied my bladder on him.
