Stolen by the Zandian - Renee Rose Page 0,25

society, but they are free. I told you that.”

“Free but with masters.”

“Yes. Usually their mate.”

Mate. I dart a look at him, heat suddenly swirling between my legs.

Would he be my mate? My sponsor?

My...master? I hated the word before now, but remembering the way he corrected me on the ship, I might not find such a master so unappealing.

I sneak a glance at his impossibly large hands. The way his horns tilt and lean in my direction when he catches me looking. His nostrils flare like he catches my scent, and I flush, realizing, suddenly, what he must smell.

My arousal. I’m wet for him. What would it be like to breed with such a male? I’ve never thought of such a thing without shuddering, but now, I find myself suddenly quite interested.

I give my head a shake. Focus, Kailani. We have flowers to pick.

My hands blur as I gather as many flowers as I can, stuffing the bag until it’s overfull, and I have to push the flowers down to close the water-tight seam. Then I start on filling my next sack.

“I’m getting the dried seeds, too.” He snips some withered blooms and shakes them into another container.

The sky rumbles. A sudden mist descends, patchy fog, thicker in some areas, swirling like smoke. “Veck, this weather is odd. We need to go soon. Let’s finish.” Khrys’s voice is taut.

I glance upward. The clouds have darkened and seem lower. Is the air thicker?

“I think it’s going to storm right now,” I whisper. “The pressure is changing fast. I feel it in my body.” I touch my ears and my chest.

Khrys nods. He says something, but it’s drowned out by a louder crash from the sky, like boulders tumbling down a metal chute. The closest antlex tense up; one flicks its tail, and another goes silent, head to the side. Without warning, I feel the unease that Krys seemed to sense before, but I can’t tell why—

Suddenly Khrys’s horns shoot up. “Kailani!” His voice is sharp. “Get down. Now.”

He grabs me and tugs my arm hard, and I crash down beside him into the packed earth, crushing flowers beneath my body. Something whirs over my head, and the flower beside me is sliced clean from the stalk. By an arrow.

“We’re not alone. The locals have found us.”

My breath comes fast and my cheek presses into the dirt and rough detritus of old stems and leaves, dried out and scratchy. The scent of the crushed leaves and blossoms, green and woodsy, rises. “Where?”

“Straight out. And behind us. They’ve encircled us. Veck. They must have used the herds of antlex as a cover.”

“And now that they’re attacking, the animals are scared.” I put my hand out and touch the sack. “We have to get away.”

“Here.” Khrys grapples at his waist and slides something to me. “It’s a laser gun. I’ve set it to high stun. Use it when you have to.”

He doesn’t even hesitate. The fact that he trusts me with an actual weapon—something I could turn on him instead and kill him—fills me with such gratitude and emotion that I can’t focus on the danger for a second.

He has another one, and he adjusts something on the handle. “We’re going to fight our way out of this.”

I bite my lip, forgetting about my surge of feelings—all that exists now is our escape. “When?”

“Soon.” His voice is terse. “Wait for my command.”

I scan the area, but see nothing. “Where?” I can’t believe my enhanced eyes can’t find them. The mist plays tricks, showing me figures where there are none, hiding the real beings. “I don’t see.” My body begins to tremble with fear and frustration. “Why don’t I see them? With my eyes, I should.”

“They’re in camouflage.” He sounds disgusted with himself. “I should have seen it. Point it at a being’s chest and pull the trigger. Don’t flinch. The laser sight will show you when you’re locked on.”

“I still can’t—”

The grass around me erupts into motion. The closest patch of flowers rises and moves toward me, with arms and legs and a face. I scream. I can’t understand what’s happening, and before I realize that it’s a being in a cleverly created suit of foliage, an arrow flies at my face—

“Move!” Khrys grabs me and jerks. My arm explodes in pain from the tug but the arrow zings harmlessly past me, so close to my ear that I feel the barest brush of the feather tail. “Fire, Kailani. Now.”

I raise the weapon. I force