Olivia:

Bryce is the only one in Dariux’s treehouse. “Everyone else is still out with their respective guys,” she explains before I can ask. “Except May. She went to be zapped by Dariux’s gadget.” She tilts her head to one side. “I didn’t expect to see you back until the evening.”

I sit down on the wooden floor. “It’s a long story.” I’m not ready to think about Zunix and Liorax just yet. “So you’ve just been sitting here by yourself?”

“Yeah,” she sighs. “You know what I do when that happens? I worry.” She gnaws on her fingernail. “I really hope the others are okay. May told me that Viola, Ryanna, Harper, and Sofia went to look for food and water. Talk about a bad break, right? Had they been on the ship, the Draekons could have rescued them too.” She takes a deep breath. “At least they have a gun.”

“A gun?”

She nods. “It was Beirax’s. May said that the four of them had taken it.”

The tight knot of anxiety in my chest eases a little. The situation is still dire, but it’s not quite as hopeless as it was last night. Liorax and Zunix are certain there are other Draekons, and the women have a weapon. “May’s going to talk to her mates about the others,” Bryce adds. “See if they can come up with a search party.”

“That’s good,” I say automatically.

“If you ask me though, the only way that’s going to happen is if someone completes the mating bond. That’s when they can become dragons at will, right?”

I look at Bryce with newfound respect. She’s certainly on the ball. Flying is the only way we can get back to the ship. It’s too far away to journey there on foot. What had Liorax said? It’s going to take a month to get there.

“I’m pretty sure it’ll happen soon enough.” She leans back against the wall and stretches her legs out. “I only hope it’s not too late.”

What did I miss while I was on my date with Zunix and Liorax? “What do you mean, it’ll happen soon enough?” Why do you think so?”

“Oh, come on, Olivia. Have you seen the Draekons? Talk about tall, dark, and handsome.” She fans herself exaggeratedly. “The guys are a cross between male-supermodel and sex-on-a-stick. Three months? I doubt it’ll take longer than three weeks. Plus,” she adds enviously, “Did you see the way they looked at them?”

“Let me guess,” I say dryly. “Like we’re the turkey in a Thanksgiving feast?”

She shakes her head. “That’s what I would have expected, but no. I was watching Paige’s two guys. The way they looked at her…” She pauses. “It’s as if their dream had come true.”

Because soon they will be able to transform at will, I think cynically. But that’s not right. Not all the Draekons seem to care about being dragons. Only Zunix.

My lips twist bitterly. Just my luck. I have four guys fighting over me, but I’m fairly sure that none of them want me for me.

Stop feeling sorry for yourself, Liv. You’re safe, while Viola, Harper, Ryanna, and Sofia are somewhere out there, lost in the jungle.

“I want to go explore,” she continues wistfully. “But I couldn’t find anyone to tell me if it’s safe out there.”

“You want to go exploring?” I give her a puzzled look. “I thought you’d be freaking out.”

“Are you kidding me?” For the first time, her eyes gleam with enthusiasm. “Olivia, we’re on an alien planet. How many people on Earth can say they’ve visited an entirely different, habitable planet?”

“We’re not visiting as much as we’re stuck here for the rest of our lives,” I point out.

She shrugs, unconcerned. “You can’t get me down about this. I’m just too excited. If I had a knife or a gun or something, I’d set off on my own, but after the sea of crabs last night, I thought it might be a good idea to look before I leap. My brother always used to say I was too impulsive.”

Brother? I’ve looked through the files of the women chosen by the Zorahn, and the one thing they have in common is an absence of close family. Then I remember the details. Bryce’s twin brother died of a drug overdose last year, and ever since then, she’s been fighting depression. She’d even tried to kill herself after his death.

A sudden surge of sympathy for the other woman runs through me. “Come on.” I get to my feet. “You’re right. There’s no reason to be cooped up in here when there’s an entire world out there to explore. Let’s go for a walk.”

“Umm, Olivia. The predators?”

“Don’t worry.” I point to my chest. “Even on an alien planet, the girls attract attention. I’m sure that the moment we go out, someone will show up to ogle them. We’ll ask if it’s safe before we set out.”

She gives me a questioning look. “It doesn’t bother you?”

“I’ve had boobs since I was thirteen,” I mutter. “I’m used to it.”

“Ouch.”

Ouch indeed.

We climb down the rope ladder, and sure enough, we haven’t taken two steps when a Draekon appears, one of the two that set up the target in this morning’s shooting match. I’m pretty sure his name is Bolox. “Can I help you with something?” he asks my cleavage.

Time for Ditz-Olivia. I flutter my eyelashes. “Bryce and I thought we’d go for a walk.” I giggle a little. “It’s such a warm day, and I thought we could work on our tans.”

He gapes at me. Before he can think of a reply, a familiar voice cuts in. It’s Liorax. “I’ll show them around, Bolox.”

I frown at him. I’m not ready to deal with Liorax just yet. He’d escorted me back to Dariux’s treehouse twenty minutes ago without saying a single word to me, and I admit, I’m a bit resentful about it. “I thought you said you had some work to do,” I say sulkily.

His lips lift in a smile. “What could be more important than spending time with my mate?”

He lies with such ease.

Redheads are supposed to have a temper. I’ve fought against that stereotype my entire life, staying steady and calm even when I’ve been tempted to lose my cool. But I’ve had enough of Liorax’s hot and cold act. I open my mouth to tell him exactly what I think about his so-called desire to spend time with me when Bryce jumps in. “Hi,” she says with a wide smile. “I’m Bryce. Thank you for getting us out of the ship yesterday.”

“It was my pleasure,” he says. “Is your leg well enough to walk, Olivia?”

Yes, he’s concerned, and that’s nice, but there’s no need to swoon all over him because of that. “Yes,” I say shortly and ungraciously. Bryce gives me a sidelong look. “I’m fine.”

Liorax’s blue eyes rest on me. “Let me know if it gets painful, and I’ll carry you.”

As if. Bryce suppresses a giggle at the mutinous expression on my face. “Where are we going?” she asks eagerly. “Is it safe to walk around during the day? Are there animals that are going to eat us?”

Liorax’s lips twitch at her volley of questions. “There are two lakes within walking distance,” he says. “One large lake immediately to the north of us, Lake Ang, and another one, Lake Tuli, to the south.”

We went north this morning, and we’re heading the same direction now, though if I’m judging the distance correctly, we’re heading for the western edge of the lake.

“Is it safe to walk around?” Bryce asks.

“As long as you don’t get lost,” he says. “Just make sure you get to safety by dusk.”

“Because of the detsena?”

He nods. “The karvil hunt in packs,” he says. “They’re about this high.” He taps his knee. “But they won’t attack; they’re more afraid of you than you are of them. Don’t wander north of Lake Ang,” he cautions. “The great beasts run there. They won’t eat you, but they will trample you.”

The detsena, the karvil, Lake Ang, Lake Tuli,” I ask him curiously. “Your exile batch named them, right? Or do they exist on Zoraht as well?”

He shakes his head. “We named the things we encountered frequently,” he says. “That’s why your translator isn’t translating the word to the nearest human equivalent. The words aren’t Zor.”

We are indeed west of Lake Ang. I see glimpses of blue water through the tall blue trees. When we pass through a gap, I get a clear view of Zunix’s house to the south, and I catch a movement out of the corner of my eye. It’s Dariux, and he’s leaving Zunix’s house. I see him hurry in the direction of the camp, and for a second, I wonder what the two men were talking about. I haven’t had much time to form an impression, but as far as I could tell, there’s no love lost between them.

“Hey, are those the berries we ate for breakfast?” Bryce sounds enthusiastic.

I snap back to attention. While I’m sure Roman will be fascinated about the power dynamics in this camp, and what we can extrapolate about the Zorahn from it, my immediate priority is survival, and finding out which plants are edible will go a long way to ensuring that we don’t starve.

“Yes,” Liorax confirms. He leads us toward the lake and points to some pink and purple plants that are half-immersed in the water. “Don’t eat the green ones.”

“They’re poisonous?”

“For us. Humans might be different, but according to Zunix, our physiology is quite similar.”

How does Zunix know? I add it to my mental list of stuff to investigate.

Liorax is watching me. “You said you wanted to learn to hunt, Olivia. Do you want to try the bow?”

I’m not sure I can kill anything. I mean, I eat meat, but it’s one thing to order a steak in a restaurant, and it’s another thing to personally slaughter the cow. Or the small rabbit-like things that bound through the woods, or the glimpses of the orange-hued karvil through the trees.

But I’d love to try my hand at the bow. Especially if I’m aiming at a target, not a little critter.

“If you don’t mind?” I wish I knew where I stood with Liorax. This morning, he seemed hostile. Now, he’s offering to teach me how to be an archer. It’s enough to give a girl a major case of whiplash.

Bryce looks at Liorax, and then at me. “I’m going to keep walking,” she announces. “Can I walk around the entire lake before sunset?”

Liorax shakes his head. “It’s too large. But if you head due north, sticking to the bank, you’ll get to a point when the lake veers east. Turn back at that point.”

She grins cheerfully, completely undaunted at the idea of being all alone. “The water’s safe to drink? No creepy-crawly tentacle monsters to drag me into the lake if I wade in?”

Liorax chuckles as his translator explains Bryce’s question. “We swim in the lake daily, and we’ve never seen one,” he says, his voice coated with laughter. When I hear that note, I feel another pang, this time of jealousy. He obviously finds it really easy to be friendly toward Bryce. So it’s not all the human women. Just me.

Fucking brilliant.

Bryce winks at me over her shoulder as she sets off. “Enjoy your lesson,” she calls out. I watch her leave and then turn back to Liorax.

I’m very conscious that no one is in sight. We’re all alone.

* * *

Liorax:

I pull the light bow from my back and hand it to her. She examines it curiously. “You made this? Can you show me how to make one?”

“If you’re serious about learning, I’ll need to make you a bow anyway.”

“Oh, trust me. I’m very serious.”

I unwrap the protective strap from my wrist and put it on her arm. She’s small and delicate, Olivia. A pulse beats in her wrist, and I rub my thumb against it. She goes very still but doesn’t pull away, and neither do I. For a heartbeat, neither of us says anything.

My dragon purrs, satisfied for the moment by the simple act of touching my mate. I fight the sudden desire to lift her hand to my lips. This isn’t me. This heat, this need for her is coming from my dragon, and I will not be ruled by it. “Why do you want to learn?”

“I don’t like the idea of being dependent on anyone for survival,” she whispers. Her green eyes are luminous and bright. Her lips are soft and full, and she nibbles at them as I caress her palm with my thumb.  “What are you doing? I thought you didn’t like me.”

At those words, I return to my senses and drop her hand. She’s right. I cannot allow myself to be entranced by this human woman. “Wrap it around your wrist,” I say shortly, gesturing to the strap. “And put this protective sheath over your fingers.”

Her eyes linger on my face for another second, then she drops her gaze and wordlessly complies with my instructions. Guilt trickles through me at the flash of hurt I saw in her eyes. To distract myself, I quickly show her how to place her arrow on the rest and line it up with the nocking point. “Draw it back,” I instruct. “Don’t tense up.”

“What am I aiming at?”

“See the tree with the forked trunk straight ahead? Hit it.”

She nods. I watch her stance as she takes a deep breath and draws the arrow back. I brush my fingers against her left hand. “Relax your grip,” I repeat.

“I’m trying.”

I bite back my smile at her disgruntled tone. “Try harder.”

She doesn’t reply, but she does ease her death-grip on my bow. Smoothly, she lets the arrow fly, just missing the trunk. “Damn it,” she mutters. “Can I try again?”

“Of course.”

Her second arrow grazes the bark, and the third arrow hits the center of the trunk. “You’ve shot before,” I guess.

“Yeah, I’ve spent many hours in the range,” she replies as she lines up her arrow again, and then her shoulders stiffen. Her next shot goes wide off the mark, as do the rest of my arrows. “Oops,” she giggles as the last one lands three trees to the right of her target. “I missed. And look, I’m all sweaty. I’m going to jump into the lake to cool off.” She winks at me. “Want to join me?”

Without waiting for my answer, she strips off her clothing and wades into the water. My cock hardens at the sight of her nearly naked body. Take her, my dragon growls. Claim her.

I won’t deny that I’m tempted. I want to wrap my arms around her waist and tug her closer. I want to kiss her, to envelop myself in her softness, to hear her moans of need, to hear them change into satisfied cries as I pleasure her.

Except that she hit one arrow cleanly with a skill that can’t be hidden. A skill that is the result of long hours of practice.

Olivia’s hiding something, and I’ve learned, through bitter experience, that I’d be a fool to trust her.