Kathy flopped down on a rock. Her anger gripped her tighter than a hangman’s noose. Blood pumped madly inside her. She clutched the branch tightly. Ysam’s lucky she hadn’t hit him over the head. He was just like every overbearing detective or attorney or judge she’d ever faced in the courtroom.

Except she hadn’t found herself kissing them.

Overreacting was not in her repertoire of skills. As an attorney, she had to remain calm in a crisis if her client was going to trust her.

But not her dragon. First he tried to seduce her with dancing, kidnapped her, then he doubted her ability to read auras. Not that she went around telling everyone she chose clients based on their auras, but this allowed her to defend the truly innocent. Sometimes her clients had been railroaded, but their innocence always shone through the darkness like a lighthouse beacon.

Lately, back on Earth, she’d had trouble trusting her auras. Usually, she could make a definite decision, but since Lisa died, she second guessed herself. But with Nucl, the answer was clear. He was being deceitful, but she just wasn’t sure how.

Ysam was wrong about Nucl. She knew it in her gut. The way he looked at her last night and then what happened on the Intrepid with overheating the engines… If Ysam wasn’t going to believe her, maybe Ryruc would.

Shuffling footsteps crept toward her and she stiffened. She glanced over her shoulder.

Ysam slowly made his way to the entrance. “Kathy, I want to talk to you.”

As if she was going to listen to any more of his condescending comments. She got up, still holding onto her trusted branch and brushed past him to look for Ryruc. He reached for her, but she easily dodged his hand.

Ryruc was talking quietly with his brothers and with some other Arians she didn’t know at the other end of the cave. She started in that direction, when Nucl quickly walked past them with his head down. Almost as if he didn’t want them to see him.

Wasn’t he supposed to be an officer?

“Nulc,” Tash called. “Where are you going? We need to talk about the plan.”

Nucl clenched his fists and swore softly underneath his breath. Not loud enough for Tash to hear, but Kathy heard every word. “I’ll be vulking late, you asshole.”

She froze. Before she could stop herself, she blurted. “Late? Late for what?”

He narrowed his eyes and snarled. “That’s none of your business.”

Her heart stopped. He flashed the same evil look he had last night.

“Nulc,” Tasa called louder.

  Nulc’s gaze didn’t waver from Kathy. “I suggest you not say anything about what you heard. People have had a habit of disappearing around here.” In a split second, his evil vanished and his voice changed as he turned to face the crew. “Yes, Captain. I was just going to scout…”

Tash shook his head. “Not until we have the plan down.”

“Kathy.” A loud voice made her flinch. Ysam wobbled toward her. “Didn’t you hear me? I want to talk to you.”

Nucl glanced over his shoulder, giving her a warning look. She couldn’t stop shaking.

“What was that all about?” Ysam followed her gaze.

“Nothing.” After the conference with the Arians, he’d been so condescending she knew he’d never believe that Nucl had threatened her.

“Did you say something to Nucl?”

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. He was accusing her? “No, I didn’t. If you’ll excuse me…”

He clasped her arm gently. “We need to talk.”

She broke free. “We don’t have anything to talk about. When we get off this planet, you’re taking me back to Earth. Period.”

Probably not what Ysam had planned to do, but she wasn’t going to be a docile prisoner. Even as she said it, she thought about going back to all the humdrum men who never made her as angry or as passionate as Ysam did. Damn him.

“Ysam,” Tash motioned. “Come here.”

While the men were all huddled, Kathy stared at the ground, not sure what her next move should be. She shuffled her feet and reworked her conversation with Ryruc and Vaughn over and over again, but she wasn’t any closer to solving the riddle.

Back on Earth, she would have bulldoze right in for the answers, but she wasn’t on Earth and wasn’t even around humans. She was around aliens.

She hugged her middle. Standing here like a wall flower wasn’t going to get her anywhere. Clanking of bowls and the smell of roasting fire drew her attention to the back of the cave. Maybe she couldn’t get anything more from the men, but maybe she’d get better answers from the women.

An Arian woman with black hair was busy stir-frying greens and strange plants. She was the same woman who held a sharpened spear in her hand. Kathy walked over to her and smiled. “Can I help with anything?”

The woman smirked. “If you could get us some meat, that would be great.”

“I wish I could.”

“Sorry. I’m just tired of eating leaves and roots. Three weeks of eating this stuff is making me crazy.” The woman tilted her head toward some plants that were laying on a rock. “If you’d like to shuck those and cut off the roots, that would be helpful. Since we can’t go into the forest to forge for food, we’re forced to eat greens, which won’t keep up our strength. Arians need meat.” She threw another purple plant onto the frying pan.

Kathy picked up the knife and cut off the roots of the purple plants that remind her of seaweed. “I’m Kathy by the way.”

“I know. I’m Ollae.” She wiped the sweat off her forehead. “I’m one of the Intrepid’s engineers, reduced to being the head cook.”

The other women were busy repairing what looked like uniforms or washing the dishes.

“How long have you been on board the Intrepid?” Kathy asked.

“I have served under Captain Tash for the last three years. He’s a good and fearless captain. What do you do?”

“I’m a defense attorney. I defend people who have been accused of crimes they didn’t commit.”

Ollae dished the fried vegetation onto plates. “I know what an attorney is based on a class I took at the Confederation academy. On your planet, is there a great need for defense attorneys?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

She gathered up the greenery Kathy had been working on and laid them in the pan. “From my studies, I didn’t think humans had the ability to know whether someone was guilty or innocent of a crime.”

“Most don’t, but I can read auras, and I can tell if someone is lying or not.” Or at least, she used to trust her ability.

“Really? What’s an aura?”

“An aura is a colorful energy field that encloses around a human body or an animal or an object. I have the ability to see the aura’s size, color and type of vibration. Each color represents something different, so by reading my clients, I could read their energy and know whether or not they’re lying.”

Ollae frowned and stopped stirring. “Do Arians have auras?”

“You’re a living being, so you do.”

Curiosity filled her green eyes. “So, what’s mine?”

“You have a distinctive green aura that surrounds you.”

“Which means?”

“You like stability, security, and balance. Anything you do is well played out and you rarely make rash mistakes.”

She smirked. “Greens would be a natural engineer.”

Ollae smiled. “Yes, I loved my job.”

Kathy giggled. “They also make good cooks.”

Ollae blinked, then laughed. “Maybe that’s how I ended up head cook.”

Her laugh made Kathy smile. It was good to hear laughter. Kathy muscles loosened just a little bit, but she had a job to do and forced herself to go into lawyer mode.

“So, do you know most of the crew members?”

“Most of them. Why?”

“Do Arians fight all the time, especially the men?”

Ollae’s brows furrowed. “No, why?”

She lowered her voice in case Nucl could hear. “Last night Ryruc and Nucl seemed to be having a fight. I almost thought they were going to start punching each other.”

“Figures. Ryruc’s never forgiven him for the pushing the engines too hard, but it’s not just Ryruc that Nucl has a problem with.”

“What do you mean?” Kathy’s eagerness picked up a notch.

“Nulc has had a problem with Vaughn. Ever since Tash appointed him to be science officer.” She shrugged. “What can you do when the captain is your opponent’s brother?”

Kathy slowly cut the vegetables intrigued. “You don’t think Vaughn should have been made science officer.”

She glanced over her shoulder, then said quietly, “Um, I wouldn’t say that. I just think Tash should have had Admiral Erript make the decision, so there weren’t any hard feelings.”

“So, there’s bad blood between Nulc and the three brothers?”

She stopped frying the vegetables and didn’t answer. Kathy bit her lip, wondering if she’d pushed too far.

Ollae blurted, “Nucl’s tried to pretend getting passed over doesn’t bother him.”

Her hard voice struck a chord with Kathy, her heartbeat stepped up a beat, but she pretended not to notice. She asked nonchalantly, “You don’t believe him?”

“No, he worked really hard for that position. It wasn’t fair what Tash did.”

Bitterness broke out in her tone that made Kathy’s eyes widened. She went back to cutting the roots, not sure whether she should keep probing Ollae after hitting an obvious nerve.

She happened to glance up to find Ysam, watching her curiously. She found her spine and cleared her throat. “I’m curious. If Nucl was so frustrated, why did he stay?”

“The Intrepid was the fastest and newest Aria ship. Turning down a post wouldn’t be the smartest career move to make.”

Vaughn hadn’t told her that he had a problem with Nulc.

“Kathy.” Ollae pointed her spatula at her. “You’re throwing the roots into the bowls. The roots are inedible.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” She quickly fixed her mistake. “Do you think Nulc is angry over this?”

She shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know. He’s probably still upset like anybody else would be, but he’s a good navigator.”

“Ollae?”

She turned around. “Yes, Captain?”

“Is dinner about ready?”

“Yes, Captain. We just need five more minutes, and we’ll be ready to eat.”

“Good. We’ve come up with a plan.” He glanced wearily at Ysam. “Not a good one, but a plan.”

Ysam’s eyes didn’t meet hers. After working with a gluten of testosterone over the years, she’d no doubt they’d come up with something dangerous and stupid.

Nulc gave her another deadly stare. She wanted to ask Ollae if he had any special abilities, but she found herself having to get dinner ready and there wasn’t time for more questioning. The other women joined them and bowls of the vegetables and clear liquid were set on a large flat rock in the cave. The flat rock couldn’t have been part of the cave. Someone had to have brought it in here. On Earth, men would have had to use a bulldozer to move it.

After the plates and food were put on the table, men and women dished their plates up and found a place to sit. Kathy took her plate and sat close to the entrance, reviewing her conversation with Ollae. She wasn’t sure being passed over for a promotion was a strong enough motive to kill the entire crew of the Intrepid.

“Kathy, can I join you?” The hair on the back of her nape lifted at the sound of Ysam’s voice.

Ysam stood holding his plate, looking extremely pitiful. He reminded her of a nervous nerdy high school boy asking to sit next to the most popular girl in school.

“Yes, of course. As long as you don’t criticize me.”

He grinned. “I promise I won’t.” He gingerly sat and only one hand held his plate as if his other one was too weak.

Without asking, she snagged his plate so he could sit without spilling his dinner all over the ground. He cast her an appreciative look. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Once he was seated, she handed him the plate and their fingers brushed briefly, sending tingles and warmth up her arms. The smallest touch made her squirm uncomfortably. She avoided his gaze and scooted away. She immediately focused on her food. “By the way, how are you feeling?”

“I still hurt, but the pain’s not as bad.” He stabbed a bunch of the fried vegetables with a fork. “Tash is going to make an announcement about tomorrow.”

His heavy tone sent prickling chills down her back.

“And?”

“We’re going to attack the shield generator tomorrow.”

Her stomach crunched into a tight, wad of paper. She played with the fried vegetables in the bowl unable to force herself to take a bite. “More Arians will die.”

“We’re going to use a decoy.”

She jerked her head up. “Who?”

“Vaughn, Tash, and Ryruc. Nulc is going to take us to the generator.”

She quickly looked at Nulc, who had a black aura hovering around him, and was stuffing his face with greens, probably taking more than his fair share of the food. “So, you can fly?”

“No.”

She scowled. “What?”

“I’m going to climb the face of the cliff. Then, the others will distract the Gogs.”

“You can’t even hold a plate. How the hell are you going to climb a cliff?”

“My shoulder will be better by tomorrow.”

His determined voice only made her want to punch him in the gut and the shoulder to prove to him the audacity of his plan.

“Huh, huh.” She returned to stirring her greens around on her plate. Her stomach growled, but she hesitated in taking a bite.

He swallowed. “It’s not bad.”

“Did you know that Nulc competed to have Vaughn’s position on the Intrepid and Tash chose his brother over him?”

“No, I didn’t. What does…Oh, wait, you still think Nulc is a traitor because of his aura, don’t you?”

She tugged on her ear. “Yes. No. To be honest, I’m not sure. My auras have never been wrong before, but he’s an alien….”

“Maybe they’re wrong when it comes to someone who isn’t human.”

She dropped arm and sighed heavily. Maybe he was right. She forced herself to take a bite, thinking about what he said. The green and purple plants were crunchy and had a distinct vinegary taste to them. She gobbled down two more mouthfuls before she answered him.

“Um, I read you correctly when I met you.”

“Maybe that was just a coincidence.” He bumped her gently with his shoulder.

Heat flushed over her face and she lowered her gaze. “Perhaps. But earlier Nulc said he was late for something and was angry when Tash called him over.”

He tilted his head back toward the cave. “He could have been wanting to meet with a woman.”

“All the women were preparing the meal.”

“So, maybe he wanted to talk with the guards to find out if they saw anything.”

“Then why wouldn’t he just ask Tash? Besides, Tash had just come in from outside and had already gotten the guard report.”

Her voice picked up speed.

His aura turned to a dark blue, meaning he couldn’t face the truth. She was wearing him down.

He gestured with his arm. “Maybe he didn’t realize Tash had already spoken with them. I don’t know.”

“I think you might be making a mistake in trusting Nulc.” She leaned closer, inhaling his woody scent that made her feel gooey inside. “He was meeting someone, but what if he wasn’t meeting with one of us?”

He jolted. “You’re not serious.”

She fiddled with Lisa’s bracelet. “Fine. Don’t believe me, but I believe you’re walking into a trap.” She stabbed her vegetables and pretended they were the most delicious thing she’d ever eaten––not once looking at Ysam’s doubting gaze.

Ysam returned to eating his greens and didn’t say another word to her. He got up and headed back to the cave.

Twilight had settled on the jungle, and the same creaking creatures sang their nightly song, reminding her of crickets. Immediately a case of homesickness settled onto her and the fried greens lost their appeal. She dropped her spoon into the bowl and got up, but a firm hand gripped her shoulder shoving her down.

“Ysam, what are you doing?” She looked up into Nucl’s glaring stare.

“I hear you’ve been asking questions about me.”

“Let go of me.” Her heart beating quickly, she twisted her body and knocked her bowl over, scattering the greens onto the dirt. She tried to glanced behind him to see Ysam, but Nulc’s girth was too wide.

He gripped her shoulder tighter, and she winced. She looked at the guards for help, but they were wolfing down their greens and gulping down the tasteless liquids.

“Don’t scream.” His fingers turned into claws, digging into her flesh. “I’m telling you this one more time,” he whispered. “Stay out of my business.”

Her lower lip trembled. “Stop, you’re hurting me.”

“Is there a problem?”

She’d never been so glad to hear Ysam’s voice.

Nulc immediately released her.

She darted to Ysam’s side and gripped his arm.

Nulc glowered. “I don’t like her putting ideas into my woman’s head that I’m up to no good.”

“Your woman?” Ysam carefully unwound Kathy’s stiff fingers then stood closer to Nulc. He was a couple of inches shorter, but he wasn’t the least bit intimidated. His golden eyes burned brighter and he curled his upper lip. Nulc took a step back and looked nervously at the two guards, who were now looking at them curiously.

“Ollae is my woman.”

Kathy groaned. Stupid mistake on her part. She should have found out who was who, before she did her interrogation, but since Lisa’s death, she wasn’t thinking straight.

Ysam tilted his head toward Kathy. “She won’t be harassing Ollae with questions anymore.”

Nulc cast her a superior look. “Good.” He strolled back into the cave, satisfied Ysam would keep her in line.

Kathy rubbed her throbbing shoulder and glared at Ysam. She plopped down next to her bowl and started to clean up the mess, her appetite gone.

Ysam knelt down next to her and examined her shoulder. “Did he hurt you?” he asked softly.

She hesitated before she answered. “Why? Are you going to believe me now?”

He picked up her hand and squeezed. She jerked it back, but he refused to release her. His grip wasn’t crippling but strong.

“Listen to me,” he said quietly. “The Arians are very protective of their mates and you questioning Ollae about Nulc is considered an insult.”

“She didn’t act like she was upset.”

“Obviously she was, otherwise Nulc wouldn’t have come over here.”

She thought about hers and Ollae’s conversation. “No, her aura never changed to dark red, which would mean she was angry.”

He gripped became tighter. “Kathy, you’re not listening.”

“Ow!” She pulled on her hand.

“I’m sorry.” He immediately released it. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Her fingers had gone numb, and she shook her hand to get the blood moving. “I think it’s quite the opposite way around. Nulc probably saw us talking and asked Ollae what we talked about. The conversation made him mad, not Ollae.”

His gaze turned serious. “But promise me, you’ll not be doing anything to aggravate the bears. Without them, we would be vulnerable. We need the protection of the cave.”

“I’ll be careful.”

He cocked his eyebrow and ran the back of his hand across her cheek, making her throat run dry.

He kissed her, then playfully tugged at her lip. “That’s the best I’m going to get from you, isn’t it?”

His voice was so tender, his kiss so hot, she’d forgotten he was an alien. She had to admit––she liked it. She who had sworn off all aliens.

Afraid to fall under his captivating spell and end up kissing him again, she edged back. “I’m not a fool, Ysam, but I can’t ignore the auras. The last time I did, it ended in disaster.”

Before he could ask her, she quickly got up to take her dishes back to the cave. She didn’t want to dwell on the past. The past was only full of pain.