for a fight and refused to get her hopes up yet again. If any of them started to get aggressive, she planned to run for the transfer arm and take her chances in space.
Except Harzt removed her hood and started to disengage the survival suit. He didn’t mess with the restraints on her wrists, unfortunately. Just unhooked hoses and deflated the supports, all done in silence and without looking at her. As if she meant less to him than the effort of retrieving the Sraibur’s survival suit.
She turned her attention to Wyzak as the second-in-command glowered at the Slasu. “We have gone out of our way to return this to you.”
“And we are both appreciative and surprised,” the Slasu said. Its greasy smile spread as it eyed EJ, narrow tongue flicking out to taste the air. “It was surprisingly altruistic for a ship... like yours.”
Its tone betrayed how little it thought of the Xaravians. Neither Wyzak nor Harzt appreciated it, based on the way their scales shifted hue, but neither of them fell for the provocation and reacted.
Harzt finally said, “You got your own chains, or do you expect ours for free, too?”
The Slasu spread its hands wide in invitation and regret. “Of course we do. Horgal, deal with it.”
One of the Horgut stepped forward, beady dark eyes expressionless, as the Xaravian finally removed the restraints and the metal chain around her waist. EJ held her breath, hoping neither of them noticed the small comms device tucked in her belt. Luckily the males were more concerned with glaring at each other—for no reason she could understand—and didn’t notice when EJ tugged at the chain to make sure it overlay the comms device and continued to hide it.
She tolerated the Horgut’s proximity as Harzt stepped back, the guard lumbering closer with a new set of laser restraints. A knot formed in her throat. It was really happening. She’d be dragged back to the cell and locked in, and not given another iota of freedom until they kicked her off the ship onto a barren, uninhabitable rock. If she survived that long.
EJ took a shaky breath, tensing as panic surged, but froze when one of the other Horgut, manning the transfer arm, made a surprised sound.
Everyone froze. A flurry of indecipherable Horguti flew back and forth, then a light appeared near the airlock. Someone else was in the transfer arm. Someone else? EJ took a slow breath. She wasn’t going to hope. Chances were it was just Faros, on his way over to rub it in her face one more time that he’d won and she was worth nothing.
The airlock hissed as it began to disengage. As everyone else looked at it, EJ managed to do two things: she triggered the comms device and moved farther from the restraints that the Horgut meant to put on her. If they were distracted long enough, maybe they’d forget they hadn’t put the cuffs back on. That kind of carelessness had helped her before.
EJ breathed easier once she knew the comms unit broadcast to someone, hopefully to Violet, and finally looked back to see what caused Wyzak to curse. Her heart thumped in her ears as someone else climbed out of the transfer arm.
A big, burly Xaravian with silver flashing eyes found her in the crowd of others filling the loading bay. EJ’s heart cracked but she hardened her feelings. Nokx. Nokx showed up to watch her get turned over to the prison guards. Just lovely. EJ refused to feel anything for him. He’d abandoned her. He’d made his choice. That was it. Whatever reason he decided to show up on the Hollbrd didn’t really matter. Not to her.
She turned away and kept her attention on the Slasu, refusing to acknowledge Nokx’s entrance. The danger was ahead of her; no help arrived for her.
Chapter 32
Nokx
Something painful and heavy in his chest eased when he saw EJ. And then someone’s arm slammed across his chest and reignited the pain, and Nokx found himself nose-to-nose with Wyzak—more furious than Nokx had ever seen him. The second-in-command glared, clearly pissed that he’d disobeyed orders and managed to break out of the ship, but instead of throwing Nokx right off the Hollbrd, he growled something about him being late.
They couldn’t show even a flicker of conflict in front of the Hollbrd’s guards, who looked to be mostly Horgut merchants and a half-Slasu with greasy gray skin and far too much hunger in its eyes. Nokx would pay for his