Chapter 16
Vaelor
Vaelor took Mara’s hand and led her down the marked pathway. There were a couple of players ahead of them and the rest were behind them. The Bestial male and his partner were pushing ahead of them. They used their brute strength shoving past ice boulders.
“Where are we?” Mara asked.
“The beginning of a crevasse. The pathway is getting rockier. I would carry you through this part but it's narrow. Only one of us can fit through at a time.”
“I’ll put my hands on your waist while you lead. Just go slow.”
“Move!” someone shouted from behind Mara.
Vaelor caught her before she fell. The Rasilian and Slurchan pushed through. He growled at them.
“Watch it!”
They snickered.
“I’m okay, Vaelor. Keep going.”
“Wrap your arms around my neck from the back and hold on. I’ll carry you down the rest of the way.”
She quickly did what he told her to. She was so light, he could carry her half way across the entire planet and not get tired. But this was not how he imagined holding her to him. And he imagined quite a lot the past few days.
It wasn’t just the biometric tether binding them for the games. They had begun to connect emotionally. There was also an intense attraction between them as well. Her beauty was undeniable, but her inner strength and determination was a big part of the appeal. His people would love her.
“How are we doing?” she asked.
He could hear the strain in her voice.
“We are almost at the bottom. Are you okay?”
“Yes. Keep going.”
A few minutes later, Vaelor stopped to lower her carefully to the ground.
“Be careful. This next stretch has the field of Screech-Ice that is extremely sensitive. We will need to walk slowly and steadily, no sudden movements.”
“I wish I could see,” she said.
“It’s not a lot different from what you have already seen of this planet. But the field here is very shiny and clear.”
“So, what’s beneath the ice floor?”
“You don’t want to know.”
“Trust goes both ways. You have to trust me to handle it.”
There was hesitation.
“This is a crevasse. A deep crack in an ice sheet. We are traveling between near-vertical walls. Below us is the ice sheet floor. And under that is a long fall to the icy water below.”
She cleared her throat. “How long would we survive falling into that water?”
“The water's extreme sub-zero temperatures would cause immediate cold shock and rapid hypothermia. With our biosuits we may have a minute or less.”
“No one would get to us in time,” she said.
“No.”
“Okay. Lead the way.”
He was so proud of her. Vaelor could scent her fear, but she pushed it down, remained calm and was ready to do whatever they needed to do to get through.
As they moved carefully over the ice, a shaking vibration made them stop and wait. When it calmed, they began walking again.
“Can you see these buckets they talked about?” she asked.
Looking up, he could make out three shadowy objects. “I believe I see three.”
“Are they moving?”
“Yes, the wind is pushing against them.”
“Can we avoid going underneath them?”
“I’ll try but there is not a lot of room to maneuver in this crevasse.”
Another bout of shaking started, followed by a screeching sound. Ice was breaking somewhere. The high-pitched frequency affected Mara stronger than him.
“Oh man. My equilibrium is off and I can’t seem to balance myself.”
Vaelor held onto her to keep her steady.
“It’s the male Bestial and the Aquatic They are trying to shove through a tight space with brute force. They are stomping on the ice floor in their efforts. They are panicking instead of being careful.”
“They need to stop.”
“There’s nothing we can do. Let’s wait here until they have cleared the area.”
Another screech sounded, a solid crack in the ice.
Mara reached for his hand. “Oh no.”
The screams filled the air as the two males fell to their death. The bucket above their heads swung threateningly.
He took her in his arms holding her to his chest protectively. She was crying. It broke his heart to hear her tears. Vaelor soothed her by rubbing her back and whispering soft words. He waited patiently until she calmed.
“We need to keep going.”
“There’s a crack up ahead where…”
“It’s already sealed back up.”
“How?”
“Some planets have volatile natures. Paths can change quickly as ice panels break and reform.”
“That would be fascinating if it wasn’t so tragic.”
She gasped at the sound of the ice grinding back together so loud it mimicked another scream.
“Come, we will get through this,” he tugged her to come with him.
“I’m glad I can’t see any of this.”
He made sure to get them through the narrow path, as quickly as he could without disturbing the ice or the buckets above them. He could hear the audience in the distance celebrating someone clearing the challenge.
As they continued, he could see lights getting closer. The audience erupted in applause for another team crossing the line.
Mara stiffened. “I think I can hear something up ahead.”
“The end is close. We need to keep pushing forward.”
The vibrations started up again. They both froze in place. This time, the vibrations got faster and faster.
“Oh no!” Mara whispered.
“We’re not standing underneath a bucket. It’s behind us.”
The vibration of the ice thorns hitting the floor behind them made Mara shiver. He could feel the cold on his skin and knew she felt it as well.
“There’s one team behind us, right?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“We won’t worry about that right now. Let’s keep going.”
She didn’t argue with him, just held his hand and kept walking.
The lights became brighter and when they stepped out of the crevasse, he felt a big relief.
“We made it,” he told her.
“Thank God. I think I need to sit down.”
“Hold on a little longer, the Game Master is about to announce our arrival.”
Mara’s visor cleared and she practically threw it back off of her head. She blinked as her eyes adjusted.
He could see that the color in her face had drained and there were tears streamed down her face. All his instincts told him to take her in his arms and comfort her. But that had to wait to do that as well.
The last set of players came through the crevasse.
The Game Master’s voice boomed across the frozen expanse. “Our final players have arrived! It is Blaine the Bold and Dugan the Borg!”
The audience erupted. The sound rolled over the space like a physical force, vibrating through the ice beneath their boots.
Mara let out a long breath she’d clearly been holding. “Thank God Blaine made it.”
The words were casual. Relieved. Unthinking.
They struck Vaelor harder than the freezing wind ever could.
He told himself it was foolish to react. Blaine was her species. Her kind. Of course, she would care whether he survived. It was logical. Reasonable.
And yet, something tight and sharp curled in his chest.
Vaelor watched her as she tracked Blaine’s approach, her posture loosening now that she knew he was alive. The relief on her face wasn’t exaggerated, but it was real. Honest. And it unsettled him in a way no battlefield ever had.
This was not a concern for a fellow competitor. His current game partner.
This was personal.
The realization settled slowly, unexpected but undeniable.
Jealousy.
The word tasted foreign. He had not felt it before, not like this. On Crytharia, bonds were declared or dismissed with clarity. Possession without purpose was weakness. Wanting what another had served no survival function.
So why did the sight of her caring for another male feel like a threat?
Vaelor folded his arms, forcing himself to remain still, composed. He would not let this show. He would not shame himself by reacting like an unseasoned youth.
But his instincts betrayed him anyway.
He stepped subtly closer to Mara, close enough that his shoulder brushed hers. Close enough that anyone watching—audience, players, or Blaine himself—would see where he stood.
Mara glanced at him, startled by the proximity. “Are you okay?” she asked softly.
“Yes,” he said, though it wasn’t entirely true.
His gaze remained fixed on Blaine as the other male approached the gathering, accepting the cheers with a tired grin. Vaelor assessed him without mercy—his build, his injuries, the way his eyes flicked toward Mara almost immediately.
The assessment ended with a single, unwelcome conclusion.
He wants her.
That tightened something else inside Vaelor—something darker, more dangerous. Not anger. Not yet.
Resolve.
Mara hadn’t chosen anyone. She owed him nothing. Vaelor knew that.
Still, as the cold wind whipped across the space and the cheers faded into noise, he understood one thing with startling clarity.
Whatever he was becoming to her—whatever this fragile, growing bond was—he would not surrender it easily.
And that knowledge, more than the Games themselves, felt like the most dangerous thing of all.