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His eyes widened a bit, lips parting in surprise. “He will send scouts looking for us.”
“So,” I continued, practically trying to burrow inside him. “Staying here a month will suck, but we can do it. And at some point, they’ll find us. Don’t you think?”
Finally, he wrapped his arms around me, holding me close and resting his head on top of mine. “He will send ships to search. And Kaelum... well, if anyone will care to find us, it will be him. And the king will agree to look, if only to give Kaelum what he wants. Or to give himself a reason to attack whomever he believes responsible for our disappearance.”
“A few weeks. A month. We just have to stay alive, and they will look.” I wasn’t going to say it, but even if Kaelum didn’t follow through, I didn’t doubt for a second that Lucas and Ree would. They’d been the first to say that we human captives had to stick together, and I didn’t doubt they would hold true to that.
Lucas had saved us from the lab, hadn’t he?
We weren’t lost and forgotten on a ball of ice in the middle of nowhere. We were going to do something I’d gotten very good at: we were going to survive.
CHAPTER12
JAX
“Here.” Wesley held up a wrapped travel ration, complete with all of the nutrition we needed to survive, and none of the joy I had come to expect from meals in the palace.
Considering I had not planned to breach the atmosphere of Thorzan, I had not packed extra food, but the ship was outfitted for the prince’s travel, immaculately maintained by those who served the palace. I was not afraid that we would die of starvation, be forced to pick which of us was meatier and more sustaining.
Still, had I known that we would be going off planet, I would have planned better, brought more comforts—Zintari furs to keep Wesley warm, food that tasted like more than nothing that melted in your mouth with a texture that was both dry and sticky at once.
When he handed me one of the ration bars, my fingers brushed his. I got the sense that he wished to provide, understanding zinging through me. It was important for Wesley to sustain himself, to provide for me. While I did not require it, I knew the value of service. It was one of many ways to show you cared for someone else, were a capable and generous mate.
Inclining my head the way my human father did, I thanked him. He rewarded me with a warm, pink-cheeked smile.
“No problem,” he muttered, fiddling with his glasses. He sat near me, his leg pressed against my side, and took a small bite of his bar. “So you said, you, um, haven’t had a lot of experience getting close to humans?”
I swallowed the bite I was chewing and shook my head. “I am close to my father, Murphy of Earth. But hybrids, warriors like me, were created to sustain our species. If we were to mate humans, the Thorzi would die out.”
“You mean your warriors would be littler, right? That’s the big issue.” He frowned.
And stars above, I knew that feeling—sensing that those around me doubted my prowess and ability because my skin was a shade of brownish pink instead of deep blue, because I did not stand as tall.
I sighed. “It is something to consider, yes. Thorzan is a perilous place. If we cannot contend with its dangers, that too could destroy our kind.”
“So the only way to survive is to be the biggest and baddest around?”
I grinned at him. “No. The strongest.”
But there was no warrior on Thorzan who was as strong as they had once been, now that we were all that was left of our kind. I sighed, raking my hand through my hair and back. Thorzi hair hung straight, typically, but mine held a wave, mimicking the curls of my human father’s dark brown hair.
“Once, there were Thorzi who could amplify the marks of a warrior, spread their power. They were far greater than any warrior, able to protect whole armies, guide them into battle. But they were also vulnerable.”
Wesley tipped his head to the side, curiosity furrowing his brow behind the frames of his glasses. “What do you mean?”
I was lost in the remembrance of my Thorzi father’s face. He had died cycles ago, but still, that hollow sadness when he spoke of his first mate had stayed with me, frightened me.
Zul had loved my human father, but he had worried, always.
“My father watched his first mate push his power too far. It consumed him, and he died.”
A stretched out silence followed, before Wesley’s hand settled on mine. “I’m sorry.”
I shook my head, my grin returning at once. “No reason. Had he not died, my fathers would not have met. I would not be here to protect you now. But great power can mean great sacrifice. There are many Thorzi pleased to have human mates, happy to know they are safe and protected, that they won’t go into battle or burn themselves through with power that is too big for anyone.”
Wesley frowned with renewed frustration, raking a hand through his thick brown hair. “We’re not weak though.”
“No, but... there is a difference in strength.”
