Chapter 38 On Our Own
ON OUR OWN
AMARA
“brEATHE,” VEXAR WHISPERS.
I shake my head, pulling against his grip as I watch Gaius disappear into the shadowy passageway. I don’t want to breathe; I want to tear out Gaius’s jugular. He was laughing while Vexar was dying, and I would really, really like to return the favor. He can’t have gotten that far. If I could just…
Vexar turns my face back to his, sliding his thumbs over my cheeks. There’s a deep, calming reverence in his gaze that I want to sink into.
But Gaius is so close.
“Stay with me,” Vexar whispers.
But I…
Choose, a voice whispers in the back of my mind.
Can I even do that? I can hardly think straight. The rage is too much. I need to finish what I’ve started. I need to end Gaius.
Can you live without him?
The question is loud and commanding, and my answer is clear. I can’t. I can’t live without Vexar. Slowly, my fury melts, dripping down my spine and slipping away in the wind.
“We will come back for him. I promise,” Vexar says.
I let out a heavy breath and nod. “Ok.”
Vexar looks at me with a combination of gratitude and admiration and kisses me. He tastes like pain and sweat and joy, and I don’t want to let go.
“We need to get out of here,” he says against my mouth.
I suck in a sharp breath. “Did you get it?”
He releases me and reaches down to his grieves, pulling out a small, black device that looks a lot like a cellphone. It takes a considerable amount of effort not to pump my fist with excitement. While it’s great we have a way to call Marius, we aren’t out of danger yet, and I need to remember that.
Vexar stands and starts tapping on the small screen as I try to regain my situational awareness. My brain is still fuzzy, but I push through it. First things first. We need cover. I spin around, taking in the skybox we’re in.
“We need to move,” I say, planting a hand on Vexar’s chest and guiding him back against one of the only two walls available.
The box is shaped like a fat piece of pizza, with the crust facing the arena, and a passageway where you’d take your first bite—if you aren’t a complete psycho, that is.
The walls start about halfway back from the crust, and they end at the tip where the passageway is.
Also, there’s no roof. No matter where you stand, you can see about 300 degrees of a sniper’s wet dream, and I’m dressed like a fucking disco ball. Awesome.
My fingers dig into the leather strap secured over the bandage wrapped around Vexar’s ribs.
“I’ve got a question for ya,” I say as I use both hands to toss the leather strap over my shoulder.
The metal cuffs burn my skin, but I ignore the pain and start working the bandage free.
“If you were trying to kill someone at a distance without anyone seeing you, how would you do it?”
“What?” His eyes flick down to mine in confusion.
“Don’t stop what you're doing, just answer me. I need to know what I’m looking for here. Do y’all have sniper rifles? Like, am I looking for people or robots or what?”
“Reflected light or movement. No robots.”
Alright. Same as Earth. Cool.
My eyes flick between all the high points around the arena while I finish unwrapping the bandage so I can use it on his shoulder.
When the bandage is free, I glance down at his exposed ribs and groan.
A deep purple bruise has started to form, and it looks bad.
Really fucking bad. I watch his face as I press my fingers into the bruise. No reaction. Ok…
Prioritize and execute.
I start packing the wounds on his shoulder with the gauze that somehow made it out of the fight mostly clean, and ask, “Is it working?”
“Patience,” he says, still focused on the screen.
Right, yeah. Patience. I’ve got a shit ton of that.
About two minutes later, the wounds are packed, and I use the leather strap to secure it all in place. It looks ridiculous, but the bleeding has slowed, so I’m considering it a win.
My hair whips against my face, stinging my skin and pulling my attention to the weather.
“The dust storms are rolling in,” I warn.
Our safety hinges on being in the public eye, and if we don’t hurry, we’re going to lose that safety net.
I glance down at the stands. “And people are starting to leave.”
“I know,” Vexar says.
With Vexar as patched up as I can get him, I turn my full attention to our surroundings. We’re in the worst place imaginable right now, and there’s nowhere else to go.
“How much longer?” I ask, shifting nervously and trying to ignore the burning pain in my feet.
“Marius?” Vexar says. He’s holding the device to his ear like a cellphone. It must be working. There’s a beat of silence, and Vexar starts speaking quickly in Vhorathi. My translator tries to keep up, but the wind must be interfering with the microphone because it’s missing every other word.
Sand swirls around us as my eyes flick between sectors, praying I don’t see a flash of light. Hopefully, this storm moves faster than the crowd. The last thing we need is an empty arena while we’re still sitting in the open.
Movement at the back of the box catches my eye, and three guards step out carrying guns. Not cattle-prods. Guns.
Fuck…
I jab Vexar with my elbow.
He says something else into the holoCom and shoves the device in my hands. “Work with Marius. Get the ship here.”
“But I—”
“Amara,” he says sternly, not taking his eyes off the guards.
I raise the device to my ear as Vexar takes a few threatening steps towards the three newcomers. They don’t raise their weapons, and Vexar doesn’t take out his axe. Yet.
“Marius?” I ask, hoping he speaks English.
“You must be Amara,” Marius says. I let out a sigh of relief. I don’t think my translator works with phones … or holoComs, or whatever.
“I am.” I press my back against the wall as Vexar unsheathes his axe and rounds the raised dais, where Gaius’s throne sits. “Are you working on getting the ship here?”
There’s a moment of silence before Marius says, “Sure.”
“Well, the sooner the better. We have company.”
“I am aware.”
Vexar takes a few more cautious steps, drawing the attention of all three guards. The wind roars past my ears, but I can still see at least 300 yards. The storm hasn’t hidden us yet.
“What do you need from me?” I ask.
“Tell me about your bond with Vexar.”
I frown. “I don’t think now’s the best time for a story,” I say, sliding along the wall while keeping my eyes bouncing between all the potential hazards. So far, none of the guards have made a move, but I can feel the tension. We’re one spark away from this all going to shit.
“Indulge me,” Marius says calmly.
Fine. “He was wounded. Gaius set the whole thing up. I entered—”
“No,” he interrupts. “You misunderstand me. I want to know about the bond.” There’s a sharp inhale before he continues. “How did he realize you had bonded? Did you accept it? Did you complete the blood exchange?”
“Blood exchange?” I ask.
“Yes, did you exchange blood?”
“Why would we—” I cut myself short as a chill runs down my spine.
How does Marius know about the bond? I clear my throat and consider my next words carefully.
“What exactly did Vexar tell you?” My eyes catch on the metal bar that’s still pinning Gaius’s microphone to the wall, and I start inching towards it.
Marius doesn’t respond.
Vexar was talking to Marius for less than a minute. There’s no way he had time to talk about our bond.
“Marius?” I ask, breaking the silence.
“Did Vexar tell you he made a small fortune off investments in the very company that landed you in your … current line of work?”
My mouth goes dry as I realize what’s happening. Marius is trying to drive a wedge between me and Vexar.
He’s not on our side.
I take a few more steps towards the metal bar. It’s about two feet away now. Almost close enough to reach if my hands weren’t shackled together and trying to hold the holoCom to my ear. “You’re not working on getting the ship here, are you?”
There’s a heavy sigh before Marius says, “Unfortunately, I’ve been locked out of the onboard systems.”
Vexar said Marius was the only person with that access, so why is he locked out? Is he lying?
I creep closer to the metal bar, moving slowly to avoid drawing attention.
There’s a haze of sand in the air now, clouding my view of my arena.
It’s good. In this weather, I doubt a sniper could get a clean shot.
Unless they have thermal scopes. Shaking off that terrifying thought, I pin the holoCom between my shoulder and ear and extend my hand towards the bar.
“How about you stop reaching for that weapon and just go with the guards, yes? It would make our lives so much easier,” Marius says coolly.
I drop my hands and spin in a circle. He’s fucking watching us?
Focusing on keeping my voice calm, I ask, “So, did you decide to take a trip to the desert, or are you more of an ‘experience it from home’ kinda guy?”
My eyes scan for a camera, but I don’t see anything obvious. Then again, Yuxta did say, “They are watching.”
I need to get Vexar’s attention.
There’s a chuckle on the other end of the line as the guards raise their weapons. But their fingers aren’t on the triggers. They’re waiting for something…
Oh, fuck me. They’re waiting on Marius, aren’t they?
I try to think back to everything Vexar told me about his oldest friend and advisor. He took care of Vexar and his siblings when they were little. He helped guide Vexar’s training for the arena. He—
God damnit.
Marius helped Vexar investigate the Tusku slave-ships. I was right. It’s not just Gaius.
“Why do you want him dead?” I ask, as I grip the holoCom too tightly.
“It’s nothing personal.”
“Are you sure about that? Cause it’s starting to feel a little personal.” I need to keep Marius talking. If he’s the one ordering those guards, I need to distract him while I figure out how to tell Vexar what’s going on.
“Trust me, this is much more than a personal matter.”