Chapter 42
Romival
“Follow them!” Atem roared desperately at Tuvo.
The other male was already snarling, trying to adjust course.
“Don’t,” Romival growled, angry but rational.
The hover would be able to follow them up and past the canopy, but no further.
These machines weren’t meant for high flight and, as the air became thinner, its ability to fly would similarly be hampered.
The only thing they would accomplish would be wasting time trying to catch up to a vehicle faster than theirs.
That was a landing shuttle. A small one, but a shuttle, nonetheless. No doubt, it was part of the bigger ship that they had hidden around the planet, claiming it was a merchant vessel. It wasn’t as fast as a proper starship, nor capable of subspace travel, but it was definitely faster than a hover.
There was no purpose chasing them. Not when there were ratchi to question on the ground.
Seven hissing, snarling females, spitting their anger at their hover as Romival ordered Tuvo to let them out onto the roots.
There was a second where Tuvo clearly thought about denying him. He wanted to chase after the females that, for a single moment, they had seen through the back access of the ship. It seemed that they were so close that they should have been able to just fly up and grab them.
But they wouldn’t and, though it was frustrating, Tuvo knew that. With a snarl of fury, completely disproportionate to what a male should be feeling for a female who was not his mate, he turned the hover to put the exit over the roots near the ratchi still waiting below.
They weren’t even attempting to run. They were waiting to fight.
A fight Romival was itching to deliver.
Romival was not inclined to violent tendencies. He never had been. That made him unusual amongst his own kind, but not unheard of. Males like him typically became adassis and he would have been happy in that role if he had found a female domin to be his mate.
But he had found a female to be his adassi instead. A delicate, frightful, understanding female that needed a calm male most times. But now, she needed an aggressive one to retrieve and protect her and his instincts were quick to rise to the fore.
He and Tuvo were in lockstep as they dropped from the hover, down to the exposed roots, glaring at the females that dared to stand in their way.
Atem fell after them, a disturbing calm over his face. Romival didn’t dare to think that meant he didn’t care. Atem enjoyed fighting a great deal. If he faced a battle with nothing on his face, it was a sign of just how serious things had become.
“Tell me what I want to know, and your punishment shall be mild,” Dominani promised them as Tuvo snarled and Romival’s claws extended.
“We already suffer our punishment, s’srak!” One of the females hissed as they all started to surround them, each one baring all of their exceptionally sharp teeth.
Romival didn’t know whatever insult they had just slung at them, but he also didn’t care.
He had never hungered for the blood of his opponents before.
He had even looked down on Tuvo and others like him for drinking from their defeated enemies.
But in that instant, he knew exactly what drove them to use their fangs to rip into arteries and taste the sweet tang of thick, tasty blood on their tongue.
It would be his pleasure to drink from those who took his mate from him.
“We know we won’t win,” another growled, her own claws lifting. “But neither will you. By the time you reach them, they will already be dead. You can do nothing for them.”
She, and a few others, laughed. The sibilant sound only deepened Tuvo’s growl. The large male’s fists clenched with the urge to break their necks.
Romival understood completely. But this newfound desire for violence and blood didn’t hamper his ability to think.
He summoned his combot with a gesture. The holodisplay opened, earning some hisses, like they were afraid it was going to attack them. Since they had seen what Holly’s could do, he couldn’t blame them for their caution.
But his purpose was far more simplistic.
“Comm First Voice,” he ordered his device.
The connection was almost immediate. First Voice Survii was a credit to his name and would never let a comm go unanswered.
“Yes, First Scholar?” He replied evenly.
“Track my coordinates,” he said, granting the necessary permission on his combot with a few flicks of his fingers. “A small landing ship just took off from this spot, heading for a starship in orbit. Track it and send the information back immediately.”
“Can do,” came the immediate, calm response. First Voice was always somewhere in space himself – and luckily wasn’t off somewhere performing his duties in a different galaxy. He would not only be able to track the location quickly, but he could be there immediately.
Not that Romival planned to linger here, but he always had a secondary plan.
“One last chance,” Atem said, not even a hint of a snarl in his voice. Calm and cold and all the more frightening because of it.
The females didn’t bother to speak again. They attacked. All seven at once, hissing and roaring, ready to rend them in two with their thick, black claws.
Atem didn’t even move. He remained in place as he let Romival and Tuvo meet them.
Tuvo was First Warrior. Even if he had to fight all of them at once, there was little doubt that he would be victorious. Adding Romival, even with his far lesser abilities, made the outcome so obvious as to be insulting.
Tuvo took on five.
Romival moved between two. Deflecting blows.
Using their own strength and movements against them.
The females were vicious and driven by a blatant disregard for their own safety and a burning desire for revenge.
He could even admire that spirit and strength.
They didn’t touch him, but one did manage to get her claws in his robe, forcing him to rip it off to avoid her yanking him.
It was a valid, if sneaky tactic, but they weren’t warriors.
They didn’t train. Not like Romival did, even before he had begun preparing to challenge Atem.
Moreover, thanks to Holly’s yoga, he could feel his body moving faster, smoother, than before. Ratchi were known for being boneless. Their bodies could squeeze through any space equal to or bigger than their skulls and they moved with a slippery grace.
But Romival kept up with both of them. Dodging blows, redirecting their own strikes to land against each other and themselves.
He drew first blood without even using his own claws.
He felt the warmth of the blue fluid landing across his face.
He couldn’t help but flick his tongue out to lap it up.
Such a different color, the flavor both richer and more earthy than what he was accustomed to, with a distinct, sharp tang that came from knowing he drew it in battle.
The first female screamed when Romival redirected the second’s wide swipe to land across her face. She collapsed, pain and blood loss making her shake. The second one looked horrified that she had struck her clavas sister in such a way.
While she was reeling, Romival grabbed her by the back of the head and slammed her face down onto his knee as he jerked it up. He felt her snout break from the blow. Blue blood stained his robes as he dropped her beside the other.
He checked on Tuvo. Not that he was concerned the other male needed help, but it would seem rude to finish with them and just wait for him to finish as well if he had free time.
He needn’t even worry that much. As he watched, Tuvo grabbed the last one that remained standing and slammed his fist into her gut.
She made a guttural choking sound as Tuvo dropped her limp body to the ground with the others.
All of them still alive, though only two of them still conscious, and all of them bleeding at least slightly.
Atem hadn’t even bothered. “Summon Havali,” he ordered Tuvo.
“First Scholar,” Survii called to him through their still-open communication as Tuvo pulled out his own combot to do so. “I have the landing shuttle tracked. It’s returning to its starship now. Do you want me to engage?”
“No,” Atem ordered, not wanting to risk either female in an attack or a battle in space. “Keep them in your sights. Don’t let them get away. We’re coming now.”