Chapter 27 Not a Prize #2
“My Senate?” There’s a serious air to his tone, but his expression hasn’t changed. “Why would they want me dead?”
This is going to suck.
“Well, from where I’m sitting, it seems like they all know about the slave trade and were clearly trying to keep you from sticking your nose in it.
If they have vested interests in keeping the trade going, it would be a pretty bad call to let you become king.
I mean, you’ve already shown them you wanted to end the trade.
It would make sense that they might not want you to be king at all. ”
He frowns, but there’s something else there. A flicker of fear he can’t hide from me. And yet, he waves his hand and says, “No. I doubt the Senate would be part of such a thing.”
It’s clear he’s reached his daily limit of discovering betrayals, so I take a different tactic.
“Maybe I’m overreacting, but will you just keep it in mind as a possibility while planning our way out of this?
If they aren’t involved, great. But if they are, I’d prefer we don’t die because we failed to consider it. ”
He gives me a brief nod. One battle at a time, I guess.
“Back to Gaius,” I say. “You knew he was trying to kill you?”
Vexar shrugs, distracted, but he does answer me. “When I discovered I was injured, I suspected he might be responsible.”
“And why do you think Gaius wants you dead?”
He links his fingers together, elbows still caught on the outside of his knees.
“He has long sought control over the trade routes surrounding Calidus, and before my mother died, she promised him a contract that would give him temporary control over those trade routes, but she never delivered. From what I understand, at least.”
He knew Gaius and his mother spoke, and he still didn’t want to believe she was here? Damn. Denial is one hell of a drug.
With a serious expression, he continues. “Gaius knows I will not give him power over those routes, but my sister, Aelrith, who is next in line for the throne,” he sucks in a breath, “is more easily persuaded.”
“So you think he shot you and left you to die over trade routes?”
“He did not leave me to die. He sent me you.”
I laugh, but quickly stop when Vexar’s expression doesn’t soften. “I’m sorry, what?”
“If I am not mistaken, he planned on you entering my cell. He knew if I was injured and a nurse helped me, I would either leave in a body bag or with indisputable evidence of my broken vow.” He pats a hand over the bandage covering his stitches—the ones he got from me, a female nurse.
“If everyone believes I chose my life over my vow, there will be no investigation into my death. It will be seen as a natural consequence of my moral failings.”
I’m stunned silent for a second before I say, “Holy shit.”
“Yes, holy shit.”
I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me that Gaius himself would have a reason to want Vexar dead, but it makes sense. It also explains why the guards didn’t try to stop me. They knew.
“Wait, how did he know I would do it? Enter your cell, I mean.”
“He did not know, but it is clear why you were selected for the task.” I stare at him blankly, and he gives me a disappointed frown. “You cannot tell me you have never done something against your own self-interest to save a life.”
“Well, yeah, but not here—” I pause, and an annoyed huff escapes me. “Fucking Thoratliums.”
“Thoratliums?” he asks with a lopsided grin, clearly no longer fixated on the issue of the Senate.
I wave my hand dismissively. “Ok, he wants everyone to know you broke your vow so they don’t come digging and find out he’s a treasonous sack of shit? And then he plans to … what? Kill you in the arena?”
Vexar nods and stretches one of his legs out. “I believe that is the plan, yes.”
My muscles tense with a strange kind of rage, and I swear, if Gaius were within arm’s reach right now, I’d rip out his jugular with my fucking teeth. Vexar, clearly noticing my rage, appraises me with a hungry look that does nothing to cool the fire beneath my skin.
“Don’t look at me like that when I’m angry,” I snap. “It’s …” I let out a groan and drop my head into my hands, looking up through a curtain of hair. “Why are you so calm about this? He’s about to ruin your reputation and kill us both.”
“He is not about to do either of those things.”
I straighten, and Vexar’s eyes catch on my very exposed breasts.
I snap my fingers to get his attention. “Hey, sexy alien.” When he looks back up, I say, “If we both survive this, you can look at my tits whenever you want, but right now, I need you to focus.
Why can't Gaius ruin our lives and kill us?”
“My reputation will be fine. As I said before, our bond supersedes any vow or rule about mate determination. My people will rally behind us—behind you—once they know what you have done. You have done the impossible and ensured Gaius’s plan will fail.
Now all we must do is survive and clear our contracts. ”
“But I broke your vow.”
“My people will forgive that when they learn that you have awoken the ancient miracle of my people.”
“Ancient m…miracle?” I stutter out.
“The Zhyrrak bond,” he says plainly.
Well, that’s something we’ll have to dig into at some point.
Pushing my hair back from my face, I ask, “Why are you so confident he’ll let us leave here alive? We know he’s committed treason, so aren’t we a massive liability to him?” If I were in Gaius’s shoes, I would definitely not let us leave here alive.
“He doesn’t know about our bond,” Vexar says thoughtfully.
“Ok …?”
“So, he won’t see us leaving as a risk. Not a large risk anyway.
From his perspective, he has already won.
Even if I survive the arena, my vow is broken and my throne is lost. He will be confident that anything I do after that point will be seen as little more than a desperate attempt to regain power.
No one would believe me. I would have lost all credibility.
All we need to do is ensure that Gaius is in a position where letting us leave has a more favorable outcome than killing us. ”
“And how do we do that?”
With a sly grin, Vexar says, “Visibility. If there are millions of eyes on us, any action he takes will be heavily scrutinized. He will be forced to maintain the illusion that everything is normal, or risk implicating himself in a serious crime.” He scratches the short stubble on his chin.
“When I win my fights and claim my prize, we will leave as conspicuously as possible and avoid ever being at his mercy.”
“Your prize?”
“You. You will be my prize,” he says simply.
My eyes feel like they’re bulging out of my skull. “First, I’m not anyone's prize; I’m a person. Second, I can’t tell if you’re delusional or just really bad at explaining things. Gaius doesn’t want you alive. What’s stopping him from doing what he already did and just shooting you?”
Vexar smiles. “He wants his fights. That is how he makes his money, and the fights of a future ruler bring in a shocking sum. He will not do anything that might jeopardize his income unless he sees a larger risk at play.”
“Ok. Then what’s stopping him from putting you in the arena with a monster that’ll definitely kill you?” That’s what I would do. “And on top of that, how are you planning on getting me in the arena, too? And how the hell are we supposed to leave?”
He nods gently and waves a hand, beckoning me to him. “Come here.”
Without shoes on, I’m not risking stepping on the floor, so my plan is to jump the gap. But, before I can even stand, Vexar’s arms wrap around my waist, and he lifts me onto his lap with ease.
“Show off,” I say.
He smiles and takes my hands in his. “Do you remember when I told you that I am a very different monster than I was before?”
An hour later, I finally understand why Vexar is meant to rule an empire. He’s smart, and it’s clear he has an excellent understanding of how to manipulate people. Honestly, it’s a little scary. Scary and sexy. Is it wrong to find Scary-Vexar so hot?
“And you think he’ll agree to that?” I ask.
Vexar gives me a dark, devious grin, flashing his long canines. “It is a deal he thinks he cannot lose.”
I’ll give him this, Vexar’s thought through everything, and despite the numerous variables, his plan is simple and solid.
On top of that, he listened to my thoughts, concerns, and recommendations, and adjusted things accordingly.
For the first time, I feel confident that we might actually survive this, and that realization stirs up a hornet’s nest of emotion.
Noticing the change in me, his demeanor shifts. His eyes soften, and he takes my face in his hands. “I know it is hard for you to trust, but please, trust me when I say we will survive this.” When I don’t respond, he adds, “Tell me where these tears are coming from, mek Lysaer.”
I’m crying? How did I not notice I was crying?
I quickly wipe my eyes. “Why do you keep calling me, ‘mek Lysaer’?” My translator says it means, ‘warrior first’, which I don’t get. “Is that like a pet name or something?”
He shakes his head. “Do not avoid my question.”
I groan. “Fine. I knew you wanted to keep us alive, but without a firm plan, I didn’t think it was possible.”
“Amara,” he says in that deep rumble that makes my heart pound, “my word is stronger than my axe. I have said it already, but I will say it again. We will not die here. Not you. Not me. Neither of us will die here. We will leave this place and live out very long, very happy lives. Do you understand?”
His pupils expand until there is nothing but black in his eyes, and I find myself getting lost in them. I wasn’t expecting to feel like this, but I guess I was holding onto more doubt than I knew.
“Do you understand?” he repeats, after I fail to answer.
I nod, my vision still blurred. “It’s a good plan.”
He kisses me and brushes his thumb under my eye, wiping up another escaped tear. “I have just as much brain as muscle, remember?”
I laugh through my brimming tears at the fact that he remembered my earlier dig. “You know, I meant that as a compli—”
The sound of something metal in the hallway pulls our attention, and before I can register what’s happening, I’m on the bed and Vexar’s on the other side of the room, standing between me and the cell door, fully naked, looking like some sort of imposing god.