Chapter 12 #2
“Relax, Drathious,” he growls. “I do not have a beef with you. I knew something was up with Fenrysin. He didn’t…act right. And the tribal marking on his neck was not one I recognized. I’ve met most of our packs.”
“Forgive me if I do not trust you. It’s not the first time your kind has attacked me,” I growl.
Brynna squeezes my hand. “Fenrysin was a cloaked Talhuskin.”
“She figured it out with her…orb,” Sky says, leaning into her Mindor mate.
“And he protected Osiris and me,” Brynna adds.
I look down at her. “When was this?”
“While you were healing.” Brynna turns to him. “I never got your name.”
“Corzin.” He extends a hand, exposing the pads of his palm and his fingers, as well as the claws now embedded in my memory.
I don’t like that Brynna shakes his hand, not because of their agreement, but because he’s touching her.
“Any friend of my mate’s is safe with my pack.” Corzin releases Brynna and draws Sky against him. He licks a bite at the back of Sky’s neck, which makes her giggle.
“It’s fine, Corzin. I’ve got to go. Our race is starting.”
Brynna rises on her toes and barely manages to kiss my throat before darting off with Sky and leaving me and Corzin standing together among the crowd of males.
It is awkward. I am not ready to be without her.
My nerves are on fire with alertness. So much has already happened that I’m just waiting for the next thing.
Corzin crosses his arms and glances at me with one gold eye, one blue. “My hackles have been up since we got here. I thought it was you. Now I know it was one of us. Even though…it wasn’t.”
The starting gun goes off, stealing my attention. Brynna and Sky charge up a ramp and into a hut together, where they disappear. I don’t like it, but there’s nothing I can do about it.
“I am sorry about you having to run into Luslym,” Corzin continues.
“He is from one of our most closed-minded packs that think everyone who is not Mindoran is the enemy. Amphirans are a necessary asset to space travel, since we are not adept in that department. But all others are off the table to them, including Thorians. My pack is the opposite. So if you need something hunted, we will track a scent, even across a stream or on a sterile starship. And if Sky wants Brynna to join her in our den someday, you are welcome to come. I know you saved our females from the Denarso.”
After a relieved sigh, I hear the first chime. A female has found a golden egg. Seconds later, a female swats the bell on the tallest tower. But the race does not end.
Ohni hovers above us on a platform. “One more prize left! Who will uncover it?”
A chime rings out. At a narrow tower toward the back, Sky appears, holding a bright green egg. Brynna high-fives her.
“Skylar has found the final prize!”
Corzin arches backward and howls in celebration beside me.
“She wins a three-night stay on the Starlight Cruiser Jade.” Ohni holds up a hand and summons to life a graphic with the remaining egg prizes.
There is a golden egg in every race, though sometimes it descends for the winner, like in Glitterball.
I read the updated program packet but didn’t memorize everything with my priority set on snagging Brynna.
Now that I’ve got her, all of this is just for fun.
The ropes course has three prizes: a gold egg, a jade egg, and 10,000 credits for ringing the bell. Each egg is now associated with a trip prize. Ohni has made a few changes since I last watched the races years ago. And with more prizes to win, I now have motivation to play.
I want to give Brynna something she’ll like.
As the crews reset the game and hide the eggs, a new tower rises from the center of the course, tall, slender, and smooth like a long pole. At the top, it displays a special egg that burns like it was put there for me.
Ohni hovers down in front of us. “This is the tenth month with no winners for the flaming egg.”
Corzin elbows me. “This one is for your skill set.”
“Get the egg, and you get to choose from three prizes.” Ohni rises again.
Around the base of the tall central spire, a bag shaped like a donut inflates.
Brynna smiles as she and Sky squeeze between the other racers toward us.
Corzin hugs Sky. “Nice work.”
“Couldn’t have done it without Brynna.” Sky beams at her. “She deserves half the credit.”
Brynna shrugs. “I don’t need the trip. I’ve seen the stars. You two should enjoy it.”
My fated is giving and self-sacrificing, and that means a lot to me. But I want to give her something special, because she deserves it. And I want her to know I can be a provider, and I am not always broken. I am afraid that the way we met and started this week off has put doubt in her mind.
I have to get the fire egg.
It might not be anything special to choose from, but I want to give Brynna something in return for her putting up with all the hell she’s endured already.
Corzin whispers to me as we get ready behind the line. “You going for it?”
“What would my fated think of me if I didn’t? We hatch.”
“No shit?”
I steady myself with a breath. “No shit.”
And no pressure.
The starting gun goes off, and I take the fastest route to the second-tallest point while others rush to the base of the pole and into other towers to hunt for different eggs or strive for the 10,000 credits for ringing the bell.
I climb up the structures until I leap onto the bell tower. A Nytheralian and an Alustrian fight each other to climb for the bell.
I eye the distant pole and know I’m not going to make it without a running start.
So I pick a better trajectory as males try to climb the pole from the bottom.
Then I sprint across the bell tower’s roof and launch myself off of it.
I stretch my body out as my lighter weight in the lowered moon gravity carries me across the ropes course.
My hands catch the pole far above the sticky green goblin below me. He looks up and hisses. I ignore him and climb, using my boots and hands. The males below shake the pole, trying to fling me off. On instinct, my tail whips around the metal and coils up, tethering me to it.
I climb and move my tail. As I reach the top, the pole swings a little too far, and the egg pops loose from its platform. I see it fall, and my heart nearly shatters.
It’s not an actual egg. I know it isn’t. But instinct makes me throw myself from the pole, wrap my body around it, and let gravity do what it must.
Billowing fabric hugs me and softens my fall. Males swear and walk off as the inflatable donut deflates and rests me on the ground.
Brynna rushes up to me. “Jorusk!”
“I’m fine.” I frantically inspect the egg. When I don’t see any cracks, I hold it up, and a series of fire cannons go off around the ropes course.
My beautiful female jolts and taps her thigh as she looks back at the nearest cannon. Her hand finds nothing. “Damn it. I do not like the explosions without a weapon on me. Scares the piss out of me.”
She extends a hand to me. I offer her the egg. Brynna frowns, then takes my wrist and lugs me to my feet.
When I’m upright again, I admire the egg. “It’s like they know.”
“Maybe they do.” Brynna hesitantly touches it. “It’s warm.”
I smile, watching her gently take the egg and look it over with curiosity. The light of it reflecting in her eyes makes me reconsider a family. Brynna is a caring female, tough but gentle, protective. And she doesn’t hate my kind.
But deep down, my Inferno knows she’s not ready for us. She is still a fragile human.
Ohni hovers down beside us, three cameradrones staying close. “Congratulations, Jorusk! Secretly, I think we were all rooting for you. And I’m so glad we finally have a winner. I was starting to think that game was too hard for these guys.”
She opens a case and extends it to me. Inside are three golden cards. One is for a week's vacation on Pearl de Gaia, all expenses paid. Another is for 100,000 credits. And the last contains a data chip.
“What’s the last one?” I ask.
“There is a surprise hidden deep in the moon. That will grant you access to its wonders and a prize at the end. But beware, it is not for the faint of heart.”
Brynna wiggles her fingers in the air. “Spooky.”
Ohni grins.
“So it’s an experience?” I ask. “Or more like a vacation?”
“It is a challenge,” Ohni clarifies. “Brave the tunnels to seek the treasure. You may survive, you may not.” She laughs. “Just kidding. You’ll survive. You just may not win the prize at the end.”
“But how does it compare?” I ask.
She shrugs. “Kind of the point of a secret, don’t you think?”
A hoverdrone hums up to Brynna with a slot clearly built for an egg. She reluctantly sets the shimmering egg on the drone and watches it buzz away like she was growing attached to it.
Ohni chews a lip. “Unless you need the money or you want the trip, Jorusk, I would recommend Option Three.”
“Do you want the money, Brynna?” I ask her. “I know life is expensive in space. Or a vacation?”
She shrugs. “The mystery sounds interesting. But it’s your prize.”
“Then we’ll go with the mystery.”
Ohni frees the card and holds it up for everyone to see. “They choose the mystery prize buried deep beneath the surface of the moon!”
She extends the card to me. “When you are ready to hunt for your treasure, swipe your Abr band over this chip. It will lead you to the door that takes you below and into the tunnels. There are signs to guide your way and security drones. But there are no cameras allowed, so this stays a secret.
“Spill the beans and ruin the surprise for others. Or, well, you’ll just make more work for me because I’ll have to change the surprise. But whatever. It’s not like it hasn’t happened before. I just really like it the way it is.”
“We won’t say anything,” Brynna replies.
Ohni straightens and lifts her hands. “Lunch time! See you all afterward for the creatures tour!”
Brynna gives me an odd look as we walk back toward the main complex. “You okay?”
I take her hand and draw it to my mouth. After a kiss, I pull her under my arm. “We are born from eggs. I see one, and instinct makes me want to protect it.”
“Thought you looked like a natural up there.”
“Me? With eggs? No.” But I like that she thinks I’m good at it. “I’m too dangerous for delicate things.”
Brynna looks up at me as we enter the dining hall. “I don’t know. You’re doing alright with me.”
Because I’ve been holding back. My Inferno hates that. When he gets loose, destruction is all I’m capable of. While this feels right with Brynna, I’m still not convinced it’s what’s best for her.