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“Our next contestants in the Galaxy Games are Adone and Soo-mare!” the voice overhead said.
“It’s Summer,” I whispered.
“Summer,” Adone said, his eyes opening. They locked with mine, and I felt like melting all over him again.
“Are you magic?” I asked. “Wait.” I held up a finger and squinted at the roof of the ship. “I understand. I understand what everyone’s saying!”
“I understand you, as well,” he said.
“You’re Adone,” I said, feeling shy. I felt like I knew him but that wasn’t possible. We’d never met before the arena. “We were in suspension. Well, I think we were.”
He rose slowly and leaned against the side of the ship; his legs scrunched up in front of him. “I believe so.”
“What’s going to happen to us?” I asked, my hands shaking. I stared through the window, watching as our tiny ship approached a planet made up of pale blue, purple, and dusty pink. I couldn’t tell which masses were water and which were land. Maybe they were neither.
“We will compete in the Galaxy Games.” He palmed his face, rubbing. “Never fear. I will make sure we succeed.”
“Our two contestants will be placed in an exclusive location,” the voice said.
“They’re broadcasting this, aren’t they?” I asked. I gnawed on a fingernail.
“I do not know this term, casting the broad.”
Despite the tenuous situation, I barked out a laugh. “It means they’re shouting it out to the world.”
“Ah. Yes, that is correct,” he said.
“When they arrive, watch for the arrow with their first assignment!” the PA system said.
“How many assignments do we need to complete?” I asked. My nails were a wreck, not that they’d ever been more than unvarnished and smoothly filed. But I’d nibbled them down to the skin.
“If our lovely contestants complete the three challenges,” the voice said. “They will be given their freedom and a monetary prize!”
I scooted closer to Adone, not close enough our legs brushed, but enough that I felt the warmth melting off him. How could he be warm? He only wore a loincloth. “What happens if—”
“If they do not complete the timed tasks, they will die!” the voice growled.
“I don’t want to do this,” I said.
“We have no choice.” His intent gaze met mine. “I will do it all and watch out for you.”
“That’s nice of you, but—”
“If either contestant doesn’t do their fair share, they will be exterminated!”
My body shook. I couldn’t seem to stop it. “You should ditch me right now. I’m going to make us lose.”
“We will win,” he said with complete certainty.
“I hate that I’m not strong and brave like the others I met on the alien ship. You picked the wrong woman.”
The ship skimmed along the surface of the planet, approaching a huge, round glass shape. A dome? When the ship zipped up along the side, a hatch opened in the top of the dome.
“I picked the right female,” he said. How could he sound so sure?
“Jade tried to run,” I said. “And Anna tackled the aliens when they started to tie us up. Even Cami was badass, glaring at everyone around her. There’s no bad in me. I’m a pure wimp-ass.”
The thick, spiked ridges on his forehead wedged together, and his eyes flicked to my butt.
