Chapter 9 #6
Which is why she stayed silent now as Valorii and Brava argued about whether her pup puke colored hair or her gray smudged eyes were uglier. They agreed off top that she was already deformed because she had only two eyes and no tail.
“No, I just don’t see it,” Valorii said, stepping back to look her up and down.
“I don’t know why all the males on the planet are going stupid just looking at you humans.
There’s nothing at all about you that interesting.
You’re weak, you’re primitive, you’re deformed, you’re ugly, and you’re helpless.
There’s just nothing redeeming about you. ”
Brava was humming in emphatic agreement. “And this one thinks she’s worthy of being interested in Romival.”
Valorii barked a single laugh. “As if. Listen here, little human. Our Dominani may have a fetish for your kind, but trust me, no other male would want you. Not if they got a closer look at you. They’d see just how weak and tiny you are, and their cocks would wilt from disappointment.
And Romival? Please. You two wouldn’t even be able to hold a conversation. ”
“Valorii. Brava. What are you doing?”
A new, feminine voice interrupted their soft chuckles.
Holly turned her eyes up, looking through the curtain of her hair to see what was happening now.
A new female domini was approaching. She recognized this one too.
It was Ryna, Second Scholar. She had a tablet nestled in the crook of her arm, her hand held over the surface, stopped mid-action.
Her eyes were drifting between the two domini before settling on Holly. She blinked her three, pale pink eyes before focusing back on Valorii.
“What are you doing here?” She asked, lowering her tablet, other hand on her hip, frowning. “We’re supposed to be preparing the meteorological report for the season for Romival. Your region is big. You don’t have time to be messing around with a human.”
“We were just admiring her hair,” Valorii snickered, pulling on the strand again. “What do you think of this color?”
“It’s yellow. Can you focus, Valorii? You’re Sixth Scholar now. That comes with a lot of responsibilities. You have to get to work.”
Valorii scoffed, finally stepping away from Holly. “You’re right. I really can’t be affording to waste any more time on a primitive, pre-contact species.”
Ryna let out a quick breath, annoyed. “Then stop doing it and get back to work. I’m tired of having to keep tracking you down because you’re not doing your job.”
“Please,” Valorii tossed her hair. “I’m Sixth Scholar now. No one is even close to testing high enough to replace me.”
Ryna gave her a dull look, pointing back behind her. “Get to work. And stop making me chase after you. I won’t do it again.”
“I’m coming, I’m coming.” Valorii turned a sneer on Holly. “Bye, human. By the way, I decided, it’s definitely your hair, not your eyes. That color… ugh…”
Valorii and Brava continued to snicker together as they walked away. Ryna gave Holly another look she couldn’t read before turning and walking after them.
Holly was left behind, rubbing at her bruised arm.
She turned to reach into the pod to pull her combot free.
She didn’t really feel like continuing to hang around here.
She was so excited to see where Romival worked, she had forgotten that Valorii worked here too.
Lingering around suddenly didn’t seem as enticing an idea anymore.
She was about to release her combot into the air to call her bodyguard back when a hand closed over hers, trapping the device in her fingers. She jumped, whipping her head around to see that Romival had come to stand just behind her.
“Hello, Holly,” he greeted, his voice was warm and friendly and in such direct contrast to Valorii’s harsh mockery that hearing it made an ache bloom in her chest.
“Romi, hey,” she murmured, unsure why she suddenly wanted to cry. “Are you, er, are you looking for Ryna or Valorii, because they were just here.”
“I know. I sent Ryna to find Valorii.”
“You did? Then, why are you here?”
Instead of answering her, Romival turned her arm and began pulling up her sleeve.
She took in a breath but wasn’t sure what she was even going to say.
Before she had a chance to think of anything, he had the sleeve high enough that she could see the red mark on her arm in a very clear shape of Valorii’s hand.
She said nothing as Romival turned it around. He traced the outline of the color. Then poked it to see it blanch, but only the once because when he did so, as gentle as his touch had been, she flinched from the pressure.
Then, still without saying anything, he lowered her sleeve back down and instead took her hand.
“Come with me,” he said, pulling.
“Where?” She asked, slipping her combot back into her hip pouch. She didn’t really fight his grip, but she was hardly eager as she trailed behind him.
He didn’t answer. Instead, he took her past the welcome desk and back onto the lift, up out of the room. The rain was falling even heavier than before. A constant roar mixed with the white noise of the drops beating against the heavy canvas fabric stretched over the walkways.
“This way,” he said, turning and guiding her around the tree.
Holly’s head was down, shame a heavy weight around her neck.
She wasn’t even sure exactly what she was feeling ashamed about.
The idea that she had a chance with someone as incredible as Romival.
The humiliation of being seen being bullied like a grade schooler.
Maybe even the possibility that Romival had heard them mocking her for being interested in him.
He was definitely only interested in her as a case study, a research project.
He stopped in front of a seemingly random part of the tree, turning to face her.
“Do you trust me?” He asked, still holding her hand.
“Er, I guess. With Wha-ah!”
He jerked her hand, positioning her behind him.
He caught her other arm, tugged them over his shoulders, wrapped them around her neck as he kneeled.
He released her arms, reached around, caught her thighs, then jerked her up against his back.
He placed her legs around his waist as she grabbed her elbows, holding on tight, trying not to choke him.
But he didn’t even seem to notice the force of her weight pressing against his windpipe as he encouraged her feet to twine together.
“Hold on tight,” he said.
That was the only warning she got before his claws extended and he jumped, grabbing onto the tree, claws digging into the bark as the rough soles of his shoes helped stabilize his feet. Holly gasped, her eyes going wide as all the muscles in her limbs locked at the same time.
He was already moving up. Climbing the tree. While she was hanging off him!
“Am… Am I choking you?” She asked, her voice high and breathless as she stared hard right ahead at the dark bark of the tree so she didn’t risk looking down.
He was climbing. Climbing so effortlessly. Chuckling at her question. Oh, god, how high were they now?! She whimpered, clinging tighter to him.