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“I guess you’re pretty pissed off at me,” she said, her tone blunt instead of sheepish. There was no apology coming for her recklessness. Her eyes were not only angry but defensive.
“Of course I am,” I replied. “They could have easily killed you. You were valiant against the digger crab, but what if something else had come along while you were pinned?”
Her gaze skated over to meet mine and then slid away again. “Guess I would have died.” She took a deep breath. “But that doesn’t change the fact that those women can’t wait on your pack politics.”
My jaw tightened so much that it hurt. “We’ve had this discussion. You pretended you understood. But the whole time, you meant to deceive me.” I couldn’t keep the emotion out of my voice.
That got to her. Her shoulders sagged slightly. “I’m sorry. I wouldn’t have done that if I didn’t feel like it was necessary. But I had to go now, and I couldn’t afford to let you keep me behind any longer.”
I felt a sharp pain in both temples and unlocked my jaw. “Amara. Did you mean to force me to go with you? Because where you go, I must follow.”
Her expression shifted. I had startled her. She blinked slowly, then sat down on the log that had been our makeshift camp bench. “I was planning to lead a revolt, not force you to do anything.”
“A revolt? Would any of those women be in fighting shape? You’re not fully in it yourself yet. Your feet still hurt. You bear it well, but I can tell.” At least she hadn’t really been entertaining some fantasy of taking the slavers on by herself.
“I’m willing to risk it.”
I frowned. There was one detail about this plan that troubled me most of all. “You say that sector seven made a purchase. But my Beta is not the Gladiator who…”
“If your Beta is a good guy who would never buy women, then he’s not the one leading your pack right now,” she said bluntly, speaking my concern almost word for word.
I let my breath out in a rush.Yes. Things are definitely all wrong back home if my pack is seeking mates through the slavers.I should have guessed before now. Perhaps I hadn’t wanted to see it. “That means I may have to retake my position by force.”
“And if you get killed doing it, there goes my only reliable backup.” She rubbed her temple in a gesture I had learned to associate with aggravation. “If I can rely on you. Which look, I’m grateful that you’ve helped me so much and saved my life and all. You’re a great guy or a fantastic actor. I want it to be the first one. But that second possibility is still a possibility.”
I nodded, feeling exhaustion wash through me suddenly. “Yes. It is.” I had to think about it for a moment, trying to calm down as I did. “I can only continue earning your trust, Amara. There is no one thing I can say or do that would win it undeniably.” Though I wished that there was.
“That’s true. So what do we do? If you try to keep me here, I’ll just sneak out again.”
“A compromise.” I considered while she frowned at me thoughtfully. “We shall leave today, as you wished. I know a shorter path, but the most dangerous creatures in the wilderness surround it. If we take it, there is a great probability that we will arrive before the slavers. I shall take stock of the situation once we arrive in my sector. If I can retake my position with a minimum of complications, I shall do so, and all the pack will come to aid us in ending the slavers. If I don’t succeed. I will ask my strongest allies in the pack to come with us.”
She stared at me. I could see her digesting my proposal. Then, just as I was getting restless again, she spoke up. “Deal. But if you go back on your end when we get to your sector, I’m moving on by myself. And you’ll have a hell of a time trying to stop me.”
CHAPTER15
AMARA
The thick, earthy scent of alien flora filled the air as we set out just after dawn, once the temperature had risen enough that my teeth didn’t chatter. The jungle looked all the same to me as I rode. Naxer jogged beside us, but he insisted this was the trail the slaver search party had used. Soon enough it would meet up with the same trail the slavers had cut through the jungle on our forced march.
The trail would have been different now either way, just from the company. With the slavers, the wilderness had been an angry green-and-gold blur, its constant threat only coming into clear focus when one of us had died from it. But now the blur had resolved into specific plants, from thick pads of rugmoss to carnivorous pinwheel flowers with their paralyzing, toxic pollen. Vines as thick as pythons hung overhead, fine hairs on their surface shimmering with beads of moisture. The towering trees came in endless varieties, some of which could move on their own. Others used passive methods to draw in prey—sweet smells to call insects, rotten-meat smells to call scavengers. Both scents led to a sticky death wrapped in gluey tendrils or a quicker one drowning in a deep, greasy pool with no way out.
It seemed like every plant that Naxer pointed out was carnivorous or came with defenses so deadly that it didn’t matter whether the bodies it piled up nourished it. He spoke of them all calmly and seriously, like a ranger leading a hike. I kept up easily now that I had gotten some rest.
Riding Chaser was a million times more comfortable than walking with my feet still sore. However, now and then as we went along, I insisted on getting off to stretch my legs. I was worried about stiffening up while I was in the saddle.
Strange cries echoed through the jungle, likely from creatures not found on Earth. The walk was not peaceful, at least not entirely. Now and then, something would shift in the surrounding jungle or Chaser would growl or Naxer would suddenly come alert and reach for his blaster or his blade. Then one of the carnivorous plants would attack, or some hungry creature would come lunging out of the underbrush. And then it would be a fight, if a brief one.
It wasn’t like I’d enjoyed fighting that giant trapdoor spider-lobster hybrid that had nearly killed me last night. Naxer was here now, and between the two of us and Chaser’s warnings, we could dispatch whatever came at us with ease. Naxer moved so fast that I had trouble tracking him. It was almost beautiful to watch.
I asked him about it after we took out a small herd of what looked like gigantic earwigs, which had come out of their nest near the path at our passing, hungry for our flesh. They let out a horrible smell when smashed by the force blasters. I could still smell it a little.
“How long did it take you to get this good at fighting?” I asked, shifting in Chaser’s saddle. His girth was a little much for my legs, and they cramped now and then.
“They train us from the moment we can pick up a wooden sword,” he said thoughtfully. “Regardless of whether we find a pack to sponsor us, every Gladiator has a duty to protect both ourselves. We know that from the beginning, and we train for it.”
“So none of the Gladiators become, say, doctors, scientists, or any of that? You’re primarily warriors?”
“We have medics, but none who cannot also fight. It would be unhealthy for any of us to avoid a battle for too long. Our Wulfaen thrives on battle.” He glanced at me and seemed relieved, probably because I was neither shocked nor disapproving.
