Olivia:

Come on. Of course I was going to follow Herrix and Belfox.

I’m not a complete idiot. I’m not going to be the too-stupid-to-live heroine who runs into the haunted house, ignoring all signs that it isn’t safe. Before I slip away, I grab Bryce’s elbow. “When Dariux is done,” I whisper. “Tell Liorax and Zunix to find me.”

She gives me a dubious look. “You know they don’t like you to be alone with Herrix and Belfox,” she murmurs.

She caught that? Bryce is far more observant that I’ve been giving her credit for. “I have to. Trust me. I have my reasons. Tell them I’m headed west of Lake Ang.”

She nods, and I slip away, my heart pounding in my throat.

The two Draekons seem unaware that they’re being followed, and I’m planning on keeping it that way. I stay well back and move as silently as I can.

In the tumult of the last day and a half, everyone’s forgotten about the spaceship, but as leverage goes, it’s a pretty valuable bargaining chip. I have a sneaking suspicion that whatever Dariux is searching for, it’s not as important as getting off the prison planet. If I tell him the location of a working spaceship, will he let the two prisoners leave?

It’s not much of a plan. Roman would sneer at me if I ever presented something so half-assed to him, and he’d have several cutting things to say about me setting out on the tail of two dangerous men without backup. Sorry Roman, I think ruefully as I walk. Circumstances alter cases. For all I know, Herrix and Belfox are ready to leave. If that ship gets off the planet, we are almost certainly facing war. I can’t allow that to happen.

Shit. Have I lost Herrix and Belfox? Neither man is anywhere to be seen. I take a quick step forward, and someone clamps a hand over my mouth. “Well, well,” Herrix says, his voice satisfied. “Just the person we’re looking for. Load her on the skimmer, Belfox. She’s our way out of here.”

Herrix brings a small vial up to my lips. I start to struggle, but it’s no use. Both men are far stronger than I am. I feel Belfox sling me up on Dariux’s borrowed—or stolen—skimmer, and then, darkness descends.

The sun is still overhead when I wake. Not too much time has passed then. Two hours, max.

My hands and legs are tied, and I’m lying on the ground. I look around and try to figure out where we are, but the area isn’t familiar to me. Zunix had mentioned once that the area to the west of Lake Ang was pretty hilly.  Given the direction we were headed, if I had to guess, I’d say that’s where I am.

In front of me is a large cave mouth. I can hear voices on the inside, and some muffled swearing. Is this where they’re storing the spaceship? I twist my wrists to and fro, trying to get free, but whoever tied me up knew what they were doing. All I manage to do is chafe my skin badly.

Find a stone, Liv. Something with a sharp edge.

I hear footsteps before I can act on that plan, and Herrix appears in front of me. “Ah, you’re awake,” he says. “That’s good.”

I lift my chin up and give him a defiant look. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I snarl. “Do you think you’re going to get away with this?”

“Why that’s exactly what I think, human.” He gives me a chilling smile. “Who’s going to rescue you? Dariux is holding the Firstborn hostage, so he’s not even going to notice that his skimmer is missing. My kinsman, Liorax, will be too busy playing the hero to pay much mind either.”

I don’t bother to reply. Think, Liv. How far away were the hills? I try and remember what Zunix had said. A day’s journey, maybe a day and a half. That’s too long.

But Zunix and Liorax aren’t fools. There are six dragons in camp. They’ll ask for help. They won’t try to search for me on foot. They’ll be on dragonback.

“What do you want?”

“Ah, now we get to the interesting part.” He rubs his hands together, and a prickle of unease runs down my spine. “See, the ship that Belfox is busy assembling only holds four people. Luddux was going to be my pilot, but he got quite uncooperative when he realized he couldn’t bring his mate along.” He rolls his eyes. “Stupid fool. A chance to get off the prison planet and he bleats about some human woman.”

He’s not making any sense. “What does Luddux have to do with me?”

Herrix is in a chatty mood. “Why, isn’t it obvious? I need a fully transformed Draekon to pilot the ship, Olivia Buckner. That’s my only hope against the asteroid belt.” He raises an eyebrow. “Did I ever tell you I used to fly ships on Pleno? All that’s stopping me is the lack of a mating bond, and,” he smiles again, “here you are. Like I said. You’re just the person we’re looking for.”

Belfox appears in the cave opening. “Herrix,” he growls. “We talked about this. I won’t take the woman against her will.”

Bonus points for Liorax and Zunix. They’ve pegged the men perfectly. Herrix is an amoral wannabe rapist, while Belfox still appears to have some integrity.

Then again, all the Draekons want to get off this world pretty badly. What’s one teeny-tiny rape going to matter against that? I’m not holding out hope for Belfox’s honor. Not for long.

But will it be long enough to give Zunix and Liorax a chance to find me?

The two men start to argue. I listen intently, trying to figure out what they’re saying, and look around for a rock at the same time. There’s one, almost within reach. Are they distracted enough by their conversation that I can grab it?

A flutter of movement in the corner of my eye distracts me. My heartbeat speeds up as Herrix, moving faster than I’d think possible, grabs me and yanks me to my feet, holding me against his chest and pressing a knife to my throat. “Show yourself,” he snarls. “Or I kill her.”

Liorax and Zunix saunter out. “Don’t be ridiculous, Herrix,” Zunix says calmly. “How stupid do you think I am? You need Olivia alive to pilot the ship through the asteroid belt.”

Liorax, with a grim expression on his face, pulls out his bow and lines up an arrow. “Let her go,” he says.

“Put down your bow, or I’ll slit her throat,” Herrix warns.

“If she is harmed, you will die,” Liorax retorts. His knuckles are white as he grips the bow tightly, but his hands are steady.

We’re at a stalemate.

Herrix realizes that too. “I’ll make you a deal,” he says, a thread of desperation in his voice. “You transformed when you saw her too. You take her. Complete the bond.” He gives the two Draekons a persuasive look. “There’s room for four on the Cloakship.”

Damn it. That’s one way out of the impasse.

Except, the thought of Liorax and Zunix leaving sends a stab of pain through me, sharp and hot and jagged.

Love is about making the hard choices, Liv.

“You should take the deal,” I call out, the knife edge of Herrix’s blade at my throat. “Think about it. I’d be alive, and you’d be free to leave the prison planet.”

“No,” Liorax says at once. His eyes bore into me. “What did I tell you, little human? Leaving is meaningless if you’re not there with us. I won’t trade one form of exile for another.”

I swallow hard. They’re choosing me. They’re voluntarily opting to stay on the prison planet because of me.

If we all get out of this alive, I’m going to jump them so hard.

“We won’t pilot your ship. We won’t stand by and watch you take Olivia,” Zunix says to Herrix. “There’s only one way out.”

Belfox lifts his head hopefully. He hadn’t wanted to rape me. I get the sense that he’s as trapped by this situation as I am. Well, not exactly. I do have a knife to my throat, after all. “What’s that?” he asks Zunix.

“You’re not going to get everything you want, and neither will we,” he says. “Let Olivia go, and we will let you fly your ship out of here. Take your chances with the asteroid belt. You are Draekon. The mutation lives within you. For all I know, you might succeed.”

“We’re not going to do that,” Herrix snaps, but his knife wavers slightly.

“That’s your only option, Herrix,” Zunix continues calmly. “We will trade Olivia’s life for your lives and your freedom. Choose wisely.”

“You might shoot us once we let her go,” Belfox says.

Liorax shakes his head. “You have my word as the Firstborn of Laris. If she is unharmed, you can leave here.”

The silence stretches out. Finally, Herrix breaks it. “Fine,” he snaps. “Take your pathetic, useless human.”

He pushes me toward them, and I stumble, but Liorax is there to catch me. He circles me in his arms and faces his kinsman. “You would have taken her by force,” he says coldly. “You are an affront to everything I believe in, Herrix. You stain the name of the House of Laris.”

Zunix grips his own bow. His eyes are wary, watchful. “Leave.”

The two men back into the cave. I hear the roar of engines, and then a long, red ship with a narrow body and sleek wings flies out. It hovers outside for a second, and then it streaks off into the sky. I watch it until it’s no longer visible. “Do you think they’ll get away?”

Liorax takes a deep breath. “I don’t care,” he replies. He pulls me against his chest and wraps his arms tightly around me. “What were you thinking?” he scolds, the sheer relief in his voice taking away the sting of his words. “When I saw Herrix with a knife to your throat, I was terrified, Olivia.”

“You could have got away.” They gave up their freedom for me.

“No.” Zunix places his fingers on my chin and tilts my face up. He brushes a soft kiss on my lips. “What kind of men would we be if we took our freedom at the cost of yours?”

“I love you, Olivia,” Liorax says. “I can’t imagine a life without you. Leaving was never an option.”

I cling to them for a few minutes. Finally, the other events of the day push back to the forefront. “What’s going on at camp? I snuck away at the start of Dariux’s speech.”

Zunix’s lips twist. “He has convinced everyone that Arax means to demand their deaths for daring to attack him. The entire camp believes that Dariux is negotiating with the Firstborn for their lives. In the meanwhile, Bolox and Narix are guarding the two Draekons, and this time, with orders not to let anyone in, no matter how perfect their breasts.” His eyes rake over the aforementioned body part, and I shiver at the arousal in his eyes.

“Rezzix is flying to the other Draekon camp,” Liorax adds. “He’s supposed to tell them that Arax is unharmed, and if they want to keep it that way, they surrender Raiht’vi.”

Fuck. What a mess. “Will they?”

Zunix shakes his head grimly. “Arax says no. I believe him.”

“This means war, doesn’t it?”

“Yes,” Liorax admits reluctantly. “If we can’t find a way to head it off, Draekon will fight against Draekon.”

What does Dariux want that badly that he’s willing to risk this kind of death and destruction? I don’t understand what could possibly be that important. “So what now?” I ask them.

“We wait. It will take Rezzix a few hours to reach their camp, and it will take them longer to respond. Nothing will happen until tomorrow or the day after.”

It’s the calm before the storm. And if we have the rest of the day and the night to ourselves, I know exactly how I’m going to spend the time. “We should start walking back to camp,” I murmur. “And maybe we go back to your house and pick up where we left off this morning?”

Zunix meets my eyes. “Arax said that when he left his camp, only four Draekons had transformed. Which means that if we complete the bond, our numbers will be evenly matched. Six under Dariux’s control, six for Arax.”

My lips curl into a smile. They had a chance to leave the prison planet, and they stayed. For me. “Is that why you want to sleep with me?” I tease the two of them.

Liorax smothers a laugh. He places my hand over his erection. “What do you think?” he murmurs.

A hot shaft of desire pierces me. “If that’s your way of asking me to put out,” I whisper, “I’m totally on board.”