Chapter 21
I didn’t like Idjiij. Everything about him, from his washed out periwinkle skin, his writhing head limbs, to his blank, dark eyes reminded me of the suffering I’d endured at the hands of the sytos. Every male in the fleet, aside from the Elite, were cloned from a handful of origin sytos.
Idjiij’s face was nearly identical to the scientist who’d spent most of my life enhancing and torturing me. The only differences were the signs of age missing from the officer’s face, and the extra muscle required by his position as a guard.
He was wise to avoid looking too long at my mate’s naked body.
Naomi seemed oblivious to the reaction she was triggering in the former drone but I was not.
Idjiij may not want to take my female, but her beauty was enough to draw his attention and every few minutes his eyes would dart towards her exposed breasts and back to my face.
I made sure to meet his gaze every time.
Naomi was happy to include him in our plans but I’d just as soon leave his brains smeared on the floor as we made our escape. But we needed him.
Neither Naomi or I could read the syto language, we knew nothing of space travel, flying ships or even opening the many doors that stood between us and freedom.
“What do you know of the turoch who I fought yesterday?” I asked the syto. Idjiij’s eyes widened and he clutched the edge of the control panel.
“He escaped. He attacked the Qwin’s balcony, stole the prize female, took Captain Uriish captive and disappeared with the best shuttle on the cruiser. The Qwin has issued an order for his arrest and a reward that will have every bounty hunter in the fleet searching for him.”
A weight lifted off my chest the longer he talked. The mated male had survived.
“He promised to welcome me into his band if I escaped, is there any way to see where he went when he left?”
He cocked his head to the side.
“I’m sure if there was, the Qwin would have sent that information to everyone. But she may have bigger concerns right now.”
***
THE SYTO PROMISED TO do his best to discover the destination of the stolen ship and Naomi abandoned the comm suite to find the spare uniforms he claimed were in the supply closet. After a moment's hesitation, I unhappily turned my back on our captive and followed my female.
I found her on her toes, straining to reach the top shelf in the empty closet. Folding myself around her, I retrieved the folded uniforms and cradled her to my chest for a moment.
“Hey.” Her hands smoothed over my arm as I held her. “Are you okay?”
Nuzzling into her hair, I savored the feeling of her body relaxing into mine and closed my eyes.
“You are the most important thing to me, and I am not equipped to protect you the way you need.”
“Carn,” Naomi’s voice hardened and she tried to turn in my arms. Not willing to let go of this moment of closeness, I gripped her waist harder, keeping her in place until she gave up.
“We’re a team,” she said quietly. “You and me. And I guess, now Gigi. But if he snatches up the first woman he finds, you’re going to have to crack his head open.”
“Gladly,” I rumbled into her hair.
She giggled and leaned against me.
“I know you don’t like him, and I don’t blame you. But I think, maybe, the sytos are victims, too. They’re literally worker drones. They were born to serve their upper class, they have no rights, and when they get old and aren’t useful, they’re recycled.” She shuddered and I hummed soothingly.
“If that means what I think it means,” she hesitated like just the thought was hard to bear. “I don’t know, I weirdly feel like we need to save Gigi.”
The thought of ‘saving’ a syto left a sour taste in my mouth.
“If his help is necessary to protect you, I will tolerate him. But if he makes any move that puts you at risk, I’ll rip his head off,” I swore.
Naomi snorted and wiggled out of my arms, stealing the folded uniforms in the process.
“What do we do if we can’t find your friend’s camp?” she asked, looking through the pile of stiff gray fabric.
“We can’t stay here,” I admitted. “But it would be wise to have allies.”
She cocked her head to the side. “I haven’t even had time to wonder what Earth looks like now. I really didn’t leave my house after everything started blowing up and I was captured as soon as I went outside.”
The thought of the sytos having my mate in their clutches made my skin itch, even knowing she was unharmed and right beside me. Naomi continued, speaking more to herself than me.
“The power was out, I’m guessing it’ll be full apocalypse by now. But there are turochs and sytos to think about. Safety in numbers is probably the best plan.”
I nodded but she didn’t seem to need my input.
“Two days,” Naomi said, chewing on her bottom lip. “We can stay for two days, assuming nothing changes, but we can’t risk any longer. Anywhere on Earth is better than up here.”
I agreed with my mate. My heart ached to rejoin my people, but I didn’t believe the mated male’s words. No band would accept me after my past. I’d be lucky if they drove me off without killing me.
Naomi shook out the syto uniform she’d picked and held it against her chest.
“This is not going to fit,” she muttered.
“Too many legs,” I agreed, watching as the left leg flapped uselessly below her knee.
My mate gasped and clutched the uniform.
“Did you just make a joke?”
My ears pinned back as I tried to gauge her tone. She sounded shocked, but I couldn’t tell if she was offended or excited.
“Should I not?” I asked cautiously.
A huge smile lit up her face and she shook her head.
“I’ve never heard you joke before, I’m just happy you still can.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I stayed quiet as she wriggled into the coarse gray material.