on the handle of his sword. “You are being allowed out of your quarters, human.”
“What? Seriously?”
“Yes. Every day you will work at the docking bay repairing our vehicles and ships. You are not allowed to leave the docking bay without asking Melu permission first. Is that clear?”
“Yes.” My voice was giddy. “This is awesome.”
“Do you know how to fly ships?” Krey asked.
“Why?”
He stepped even closer and I automatically moved nearer to Sigan. Not that I thought he would protect me if push came to shove, but he didn’t make me feel weak and afraid like Krey did.
“There is concern that you will try and steal a ship and escape,” Krey said.
“I don’t know how to fly a Draax ship.” I wasn’t technically lying. A game simulator was different from the real thing, right?
“Galan had to work hard to convince both the king and Melu to allow you this freedom,” Krey said. “If you try to escape or perform poorly at your tasks, it will reflect badly on Galan. Do you understand?”
I nodded. “I do.”
“Sigan, can you leave us, please?” Krey said.
“All right. Goodbye, human.”
I swallowed hard. “Bye, Sigan.”
When the door shut behind him, Krey marched forward. I backpedaled until my back hit the far wall.
Krey loomed over me, his handsome face solemn. “If you hurt Galan, human, I will hurt you. Is that clear?”
“Yes,” I said. “I won’t hurt him.”
“See that you do not,” Krey said. “This is a gift from the king. If you try and escape from the docking bay, you will be sent to Iron Gate. No second chances, no excuses. You will spend the rest of your time on our world locked away. Is that clear?”
“Perfectly.’
He backed away and I took a deep breath. “So, when does my new job start?”
“Tomorrow morning. Adrix will take you to the docking bay and you will work until Melu says you are finished.”
“All right. Who’s Melu?”
“He runs the docking bay. He will not like you,” Krey said. “He does this only as a favour to Galan. Keep your thoughts to yourself and do not try Melu’s patience. He is not as easy going as I am.”
“Right,” I said. “Um, how is Galan doing?”
“He is fine,” Krey said.
“Will you tell him I said hi?”
“No,” Krey said. “It is best if the two of you do not have any contact. You are a thief and will be sent to prison as soon as the war is over. Spending time with Galan, hoping he will fall in love with you so that he will convince the king to forgive your crimes, is not wise, human. If you attempt to manipulate Galan in this manner, I will make certain you regret it.”
“I’m not trying to do that,” I said. Anger was taking over my fear. Who the hell did this Krey guy think he was? He didn’t know anything about me, and he was acting like I didn’t care about Galan at all, or that I didn’t know what Galan had done for me.
I stepped forward and glared up at him. “Do me a favour and quit judging me. You don’t even fucking know me, you big green asshole. I’m not trying to manipulate Galan into anything. He’s my friend and I miss him, so I asked you to tell him I said hi. That’s it. Stop thinking you know anything about me because you fucking don’t.”
The look of surprise on Krey’s face faded and was replaced with… shit, was that admiration?
“You are feisty for a human,” he said. “I still do not understand Galan’s obsession with you, but I am beginning to think we could be friends.”
“Doubtful,” I said. “You’re too much of an asshole.”
He laughed before tapping me playfully on the forehead. “You are a cute little human.”
“Make that condescending asshole,” I said as he headed toward the door.
He laughed again and used his tail to open the door. “Goodbye, human.”
“Bye, Krey.”
Chapter Twelve
Ellis
“You are even smaller than I thought.”
“Yeah, well, you’re pretty short for a Draax,” I said.
I suppose short was a relative word. The Draax was over six feet but after being around Galan and Krey and Adrix who were all at least 6’5 or larger, he looked short.
The short and grumpy Draax shot the young one a look when he snickered at my words. The young one turned a dark shade of green before clearing his throat. “Hello, human. My name is Uzel.”
“Hi, Uzel, I’m Ellis.”
“I am Melu,” the grumpy one said. “You will do what I say when