Alien Conquest (Fated Mates of Xaensskar #2) - Jude Gray Page 0,8

way to becoming men.”

Bo shrugged and gave me a wry smile. “Hard labor is hard labor,” he said. “And when they see what Corsov holds for them, they will probably beg you to take them to jail.”

It would take us about three days to reach the woods of Corsov, which were the entrance to and the barrier between Corsov and Brighmin. Corsov was a large region of deadlands, also called badlands and darklands, depending on the person speaking, where people went to disappear. People who were hunted by the law, mostly. At times, a bounty hunter would brave Corsov in search of a fugitive. Rarely did he make it back out.

Corsov had once been my home, a lifetime ago. I still visited occasionally, but there was really nothing there for me anymore. Still, the place called to me, and I would take the excuse to get out of the city.

Not even then would I admit that for some reason, I was hesitant to part with the street boys. Something had touched me when I’d looked at the older one. What, I couldn’t have said. Not then.

Avanya threw herself at my feet when she heard we were leaving.

“Let me accompany you,” she begged. “I can take care of your needs.”

When I looked at her askance, she hastily added, “I only mean I could cook for you. Wash your clothes, and whatever else you might require.” She didn’t meet my eyes for a moment but then, when the silence dragged on, she looked up at me. “I could take care of you.”

I shook my head. “No. I understand that you want to be near your son, but now is not the time. When I bring him back, he will be different. Perhaps then, you and he can start over.”

I took six of my best guards and some necessary supplies—tents, sleeping bags, and clothing. Because I wanted to stay in the less populated part of Corsov, we would need camping supplies and little else.

Nothing was modern in Corsov, not even in the “city.” It would be good for the boys. Uncomfortable, yes. But right now, they didn’t need comfortable. They needed to work. They needed a strong male to guide them.

I missed Corsov. It was a dark, grim, angry place. It was an unforgiving place. But something about it was…right. The deadlands called to a man’s wild soul.

By the end of the day, we were ready to go. I had not seen the two boys. I’d left them in the courtyard until the very last moment. I knew they would be worried, afraid, uncertain. They’d expected to leave Eastmeadow early that morning. I instructed the guards to tell them nothing. Let them stew for a while.

When Bo told me that they were not looking well, I only shrugged. “They need to toughen up.”

“Corsov will certainly toughen them up,” he said.

“As will I,” I promised grimly.

It was good to have a purpose. At heart, I was not a city dweller, and the harsh Corsov was where I wanted to be. It was like going home.

Home to the deadlands—and I was taking two street boys with me.

Only time would tell if they’d still be alive when I brought them back out.

Chapter Five

KREIA

They wouldn’t tell us anything. The guards had loaded Vihn and me up in the back of a transport vehicle, locked us into the windowless back, and then began to move.

I clutched Vihn’s hand as we huddled together, my stomach tight with dread. “Are they finally taking us to prison?” I wondered.

“Maybe,” he said, his voice strained, “to a prison planet.”

We both shuddered. Being sent to a prison planet was about the scariest thing that could happen to a person, though we both knew that usually, the only criminals that were sent to prison planets were serial murderers.

We were only street thieves. Surely our punishments wouldn’t be too harsh. It was punishment enough, in my opinion, to be stuffed into the back of a transport with only a cloudy skylight to illuminate the darkness and no idea what was about to happen to us.

Of course, the big Craeshen was devastated by the death of his little grosen, and he believed that Vihn and I were at fault for that. I mentally pictured him, staring at the small animal with pain in his eyes, pain I doubted he even realized anyone else could see. Dexx Tavin seemed the type to mask his feelings.

What amazed me was the fact that a male like him—especially a Craeshen