Wexxon the Great Alien Warrior - Juno Wells Page 0,52

to lose. He still hasn’t taken the time to analyze his own weaknesses after all these years. All he’s done is focus on mine.”

“Wexxon…” I stared down at his face, my fingers trailing down his neck, as I quietly confessed, “Grindeem is dead. Your brother killed him…because he refused to marry me to him. I…I held him in my arms as the life left his body.”

“Grindeem is dead,” Wexxon repeated the information, his expression filling with a hardness I’d never seen before. “So, Reddin has killed an innocent. Grindeem was never even a warrior. He never stood a chance in battle with anyone.”

“There was a knife in his back,” I continued, unsure of why the information was spilling out of me, the details still so vivid in my mind. “I didn’t…I just wanted to make sure that he felt warm, at the end. That he knew that…someone cared.”

“I am sure he was grateful for your attention, my love,” Wexxon replied. “I am sure your warmth carried him over to the next life.”

For some reason, Wexxon’s response filled me with a complete loss for words. And instead of saying anything else in the moment, I suddenly buried my head into the crook of Wexxon’s neck, my tears warm as they pressed into his skin, as I held onto him as tight as I possibly could.

As I held onto him as if it was going to be the very last time.

Chapter Fifteen

Wexxon

I woke up in the middle of the arena, familiar sand underneath my back, a familiar sky situated above.

Although as soon as I moved against the grains, I quickly realized that there was something wrong with the sand, its quality feeling strangely unrefined, its color a much brighter green than ever before. There was something wrong with the sky, too, its appearance seeming hollow as I stared up at it for a second time.

Reddin’s arena.

Of course, it was a peculiar, twisted imitation of the real thing, the same way everything else seemed to be in the world he’d created for himself. I then lightly groaned, feeling something heavy in my hand, something that almost felt like it was attached to my fingers themselves.

And when I looked down to see the sword that’d been forced into my grip, stitches reaching from my hand onto its hilt, I winced away the pain.

“There’s our challenger!” Reddin shouted, and I looked over to find the sound of his voice. Reddin was on the other side of the arena, a wild look in his eyes, a sword held down at his side. He then signaled toward the waiting crowd, their roars erupting all around the arena, soon cheering his name in a thunderous wave.

“Reddin the Greatest! Reddin the Greatest! Reddin the Greatest!”

Another twisted imitation.

I spared another look over at my brother as an ache formed behind my chest. Despite everything that he’d done to me so far, his threats against my Rachel, his cruel slaying of Grindeem, I still inwardly lurched at the idea of murdering Reddin, the last person to have any memory of our parents, the only other person on Xelxar who remembered our mother’s smile.

But as the crowd continued to cheer his name, as the sword forced into my hand pulled at my skin, I rose away from the sands, the ache behind my chest turning into stone.

“Finally, brother!” Reddin grinned as he shot his arms up toward the sky. “You will face me like you were supposed to so many years ago! I applaud you for finding your bravery! I commend you for your commitment to justice!”

“You have no idea what bravery is, Reddin,” I replied, just as loud as his shouting. “You don’t understand that I would’ve died for you. You’ve never understood what it took for me to choose the lash over taking your life. And now, you’re daring me to take your life in front of the only family you have left. The family you cobbled together after running away from me, after running away from Palqeet—”

My words were cut short by something slicing across my neck. I then reached a hand up toward my skin, my fingers nimbly searching for the injury.

And when I pulled my palm away from my neck, I saw little spots of my own blood. I then looked down by my feet, now noticing several tiny blades, unsure of how they were able to come toward me without being seen.

“You talk too much, brother.” Reddin sighed. “It’s not your fault. I’m sure you’re used