by Jayne Ripley
“How charming,” Nahkar said sourly. His blunt, rough voice turned Jennifer’s head. Her brow knitted as she stared at him. He was obviously angry. She wasn’t sure why he seemed as upset at Darkon as he was at the princess. “I’ll ask you again. What else haven’t you told us?”
“Nahkar,” she chided. “Darkon’s not to blame for this. He was put in an impossible situation. You know who these people are. What they’re like. They didn’t give him any choice. And they used me against him.”
“Like I said,” Darkon added with a wry grin, “we’d just watched a monster eat you alive. My problems seemed small compared to that.”
Nahkar didn’t laugh. His fierce scowl only deepened. “Then who is this Omgan Rarda who wants you dead so badly? Don’t tell me you don’t know the name, because it’s clear to us both that you do.”
Darkon didn’t answer right away. His eyes were shadowed. He moved to one of the suite windows looking out at the station’s sprawling city.
She stood there waiting, still hugging herself, watching him with increasing concern. Nahkar was angry with him, but she had a lot of concerns and a lot of things she didn’t understand, such as who Omgan Rarda was and why he’d been so eager to buy all three of them. She felt like she’d been a pawn in her own life since she’d been abducted. No, that wasn’t a good way to describe it. Because in chess, even pawns could be powerful in the right situations. She’d always taken her rights for granted when she’d been on Earth. She knew it was wrong, but it was easy to do as your life played out from day to day. But as soon as she’d been taken, she had become nothing more than a piece of property with no way to influence her life anymore. She hated that.
Nahkar and Darkon had begun to make her feel like a person again. They’d made her feel beautiful, amazing, given her unforgettable pleasure with what they’d done to her body. More than that, though, they’d made her feel like a person again, not property. Not owned.
Even though that was only a feeling inside her and her status hadn’t changed, she cherished them for it. They had brought love into her life. And they had brought hope.
Now she was going to lose those precious things if the princess had her way. Jennifer couldn’t watch Nahkar and Darkon fight each other to the death. Even thinking about it crushed her heart, made her feel like a panic attack had her in its teeth and she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. She knew that bitch princess was going to make her watch too, like their other owner had. The woman had cruel eyes and a cold heart.
But now she was beginning to fear they wouldn’t even make it to the fight. She’d hoped Nahkar and Darkon’s arguing or any of that male machismo crap was behind them. That she’d put it in the rearview mirror for good when she’d accepted both of them into her life. Once she’d opened herself to a ménage relationship. But maybe… Maybe that wasn’t possible for anyone except the Quindon. Weren’t they going against the odds anyway? So many relationships went down in flames when they were only between two people of the same species.
Did three people from different worlds, different backgrounds, different species have any chance at lasting happiness?
“Darkon,” she said quietly. “Tell us everything. Please. We can’t keep secrets from each other.”
He turned back to them and again ran one hand along his hairless head—his “tell” when he was really upset—the beautiful silver pattern on his skin glinting slightly in the light. His silver eyes were troubled. She waited, giving him the space he needed. She knew he would do the right thing and tell them what he knew about their ex-owner and why this Omgan Rarda had tried to kill him.
“I am a prince,” Darkon finally replied, surprising them both. “Prince Darkyne of the Matrava Royal House on Ketera. That was my true name, once.”
“You’re drunk,” Nahkar said. “Or an idiot. If you’re a prince, I’m the ass-end of a dadoquek.”
“Both of those things happen to be true,” Darkon quipped. “You share many unfortunate qualities with the ass-end of a dadoquek, and I am a prince. In exile, of course. Otherwise, it would be strange for a prince to be owned by corporations and now, it seems, by a bloodthirsty princess.”
She gaped at him, her mind spinning with what he’d just announced. Her life was officially a crazy person’s bad dream. She could list the reasons why. Last night she’d watched one of the most horrible things she’d ever seen: people—no, slaves—forced to fight huge monsters for sports betting. Then she’d been well and truly given the fucking of her life by two incredible males, leaving her in blissful and sated exhaustion and her heart full of love. Only she’d woken up to a princess invading their suite and telling them she wanted Nahkar and Darkon to fight to the death. And now, Darkon claimed to be a secret prince in exile. It was like a telenovela mixed with Star Trek and a Rocky movie. In short, it was crazy.
“Why did you keep this a secret?” she asked, looking into his silver eyes.
He smiled at her, though it was a sad smile. “I haven’t thought of myself as a prince in a long time. I was exiled by people in the Ketera government—a coup against me. It came down to ugly politics and greed. Other nobles wanted a contract with the Germast Consortium to laser-mine tyrerium on Ketera, only the ore they’d found was deep inside Chekagawa, a mountain with deep religious significance for the Quindon culture.”
“Laser-mine?” she asked, frowning. “Like…strip mining?”
“I don’t know that term,” Darkon admitted. “But it would have destroyed Chekagawa Mountain. I refused. They upped the price. I still said no. Soon after that, I was facing corruption charges that were clearly manufactured to undermine my place in the royal family and the provinces I ruled.”
“Cowards,” Nahkar said, the word as stinging as any profanity coming from his mouth. “Your enemies are weak.”
“But they were devious. People loyal to me in the government started to uncover the plot and that the Germast Consortium was behind it, but by then it was too late. I’d been stricken from the lineage of the Matrava Family and exiled from Ketera.”
“All these years we have known each other,” Nahkar said, eyeing Darkon coldly. “You have never mentioned this before.”
“Why would I? That life was lost to me. I was a freelance pilot for years afterward, trying to make ends meet under my new identity as Darkon Trava. Then I was enslaved. I told you that story already. Besides, who would ever believe me? I barely believe it, and it’s my life.”
Jennifer moved beside him. She put a hand on his arm, trying to comfort him. She knew a touch could help heal in a way that circumvented the clumsiness of words. He spoke about his exile casually, like he spoke about being made a slave, but she could tell it was still a wound inside him that had never healed. He was only pretending it had.
“That’s why you fight wearing the mask,” she said, suddenly understanding. Nahkar had never known life off this station. He’d been trapped in the slums his whole life until he was bought for the arena. Darkon had lost everything and ended up in the same place. Only he’d lost his identity as well—his name, his face. “You didn’t want anyone from your home to see you fighting in the arena.”
He nodded. “I didn’t expect that secret to last as long as it did. It was absurd, but part of me wanted to be found. Maybe I was looking for punishment after I failed all the people who counted on me.” He smirked at her. “It was a little humiliating how little I proved to matter. No one seemed to care about hunting me down.”
“Do you think that’s still true?” she asked.
“I know it’s not true anymore. I’ve been noticed. And it has put both of you in danger.”
“What danger?” Nahkar demanded, folding his big arms across his broad chest. “More secrets you haven’t told us?”
“When I helped Nahkar fight the slavers who had abducted you, my face was recorded. It didn’t take a scientific genius to figure out who I was. Computer facial recognition software across the galaxy could have me identified in a microsecond. But I
do still have a few friends in the universe outside the arena. One of them told me the Kindros Family now knows I’m alive…and where I am.”
“So what about Omgan?” Jennifer pressed. “He was a Quindon, right? I…I think I met him.”
Both males turned and looked at her with concern.
“Where?” Nahkar asked.
“When?” Darkon pressed.
“Last night. Before the show or the fight or whatever people call it. I didn’t want to watch. I knew you didn’t want me to watch. The whole thing was making me feel sick. I tried to leave the viewing box to get some air. A Quindon stopped me in the hallway and kept me from leaving. He knew I was a slave.” She quickly described him, his face and clothes and demeanor. “His voice was different, but I was certain he knew too much. There was something fishy. I meant to tell you both about it.” She found herself blushing a little. “But after all that happened…I forgot. I know that sounds crazy to forget something like that…”
She shrugged helplessly. After Darkon and Nahkar had survived their fights, she’d been completely focused on the three of them. Together. Too much had happened last night all at once. This morning had been just as insane.
“Easy to change a voice over a speaker,” Darkon mused. “I’m sure you’re right. You met Omgan Rarda. He was keeping an eye on you. Gloating. He’s the Quindon who bought the three of us after he recognized my face.”
Nahkar grunted. “Killing the slavers set all of this in motion.”
Jennifer glanced at him, and her heart went out to him then. Was he still blaming himself for that? “Maybe, but it brought us together too. And I’ll never forget that.”
Nahkar held her gaze and gave her a solemn nod. “You and I are of one heart on that, little mate.” As her heart soared, he glanced at Darkon again. “Tell us more about our enemy.”
“Omgan Rarda is a wealthy and powerful noble. He was also one of the loudest voices for my exile. He was behind the laser-mining deal and made millions of credits on it, so he had reason to hate me for trying to stop it. It might have been only a coincidence that he was here at Quasarask Station when everything happened, or he flew in after seeing my face. It doesn’t matter. When he realized who I was—that Darkon Trava the arena fighter owned by a consortium was actually Prince Darkyne Matrava—he seized the opportunity.”
“So you believe he recognized you and bought all three of us. Why not just you?”
“To manipulate me. He guessed you were both important to me, judging from the holo-vids of our attempt to rescue you. You were both leverage. Oh, and I’m sure he meant to make money on you too. That’s how he is.”
“But now your enemy has sold us to Piedasa,” Nahkar said.
“His plans failed,” Darkon replied. “He failed an imperial princess—a dangerous person to be indebted to. I’m still certain he meant for me to die in the arena last night. Nahkar wasn’t told about being sent in to save me at the last minute. He wanted Jennifer to see it happen too.” His expression was angry and grim. “No, if I had gone along with it, I would be a razor-dreng’s meal right now.”
“I’m glad you weren’t.” She gave him a hopeful smile. He returned it, but Nahkar remained all scowls.
“Death would serve you right for bringing your problems and your enemies into Jennifer’s life,” Nahkar growled, surprising her with the fury in his voice. “You are a threat to her. I can’t believe you fooled us into going along with your stupid da’katal. Or was that all a lie too, just to get Jennifer into your bed when clearly she belongs with me?”
“Nahkar, stop it,” Jennifer said, shocked by his words. Her heart clenched in dismay. “None of that’s true, and you know it. I want him in my life, just like I want you. It was my choice.”
Nahkar rubbed at his cheek, staring at her as if she’d said something that disappointed him deeply.
“You don’t know what you need, little mate. You’re like a lost child out here. I know what’s best to keep you safe. Darkon can’t be trusted. He has proved he’s full of secrets. Those secrets are going to get you killed.”
She put her fists on her hips and glared up at him. “Don’t you dare tell me you know what’s best for me. You don’t. Besides, it is your princess who owns all of us now. She’s the one who is going to make the two of you fight and kill each other, just to break my heart. So you leave Darkon alone.”
Nahkar blinked at her, stunned by her ferocity. The look in his eyes was deeply pained. Her words had hit him hard, but she wouldn’t apologize for them. He was out of line. She loved how he commanded her in bed, made her feel as if he understood and controlled every part of her pleasure. What girl didn’t want a powerful, take-control male in her bed who would drive her wild?
But that was in bed. Outside of incredible sex with them both, she was owned by no one. She was nobody’s property. It didn’t matter if slavers had kidnapped and tagged her. They kept telling her she was a slave, but she hadn’t believed them yet. She wouldn’t let them break her spirit. And she needed her two alien males to respect her. To be her partners and friends and lovers. They could protect her. She was no fool; she knew she needed help in this dangerous world where she understood so little. Yet, there was definitely a line.
Nahkar had crossed it.
But Nahkar didn’t seem to realize it yet. “If I need to throw you over my shoulder and haul you out of here to keep you safe from this ‘prince,’ I’ll do it in a heartbeat, little mate. You can call me every name you can think of, but I won’t put you in danger. Not like this bastard. I risked everything to save you.”
She stared him right in his golden eyes. Why couldn’t he understand her? Why was he being like this? She was already afraid his words would break their newly formed bond apart.
“You did save me,” she said. “I’ll never forget that. You’ll have my thanks forever. But you’re forgetting something. Darkon was right there, saving me too. He has as much a claim on my heart as you do.”
Jennifer stopped, biting her lip as she realized how much she had revealed. Had she given away too much? Had she tipped her hand about her true feelings for them? But she was so angry and shocked at what Nahkar had said that the words had burst out of her. She couldn’t believe how he was turning against Darkon as if the time the three of them had shared meant nothing. She didn’t want to be the one to drive apart two friends, but that seemed to be exactly what was happening…and she was helpless to stop it.
Nahkar took one long look at her and ignored her. Instead of taking her words to heart, he wheeled on Darkon again as if she hadn’t just poured her heart out, desperate to make him understand.
“You heard the princess,” Nahkar told Darkon. “She told us we can leave this suite now. So you need to get out and go back to your room in the barracks before I throw you out.”
“Yes,” Darkon replied in a voice as sharp as a sword. “I heard what your precious princess told us. At least my enemies want to kill me. She just likes you leashed like a pet, and you like it.”
“Do you want to do this right here, Quindon?” Nahkar stepped toward him, his fists bunched. “I’m sick of your words. I should have known the kind of creature you were when you tried to move in on my mate.”
“Stop it!” Jennifer yelled.
Finally, she got through their thick male skulls. They seemed to remember she was here and stopped advancing on each other.
What the hell was wrong with them? It was like they’d both suddenly gone insane. She didn’t want this. She didn’t need this. But she had to stop it before it went any further.
“You should both go,” she said, tears burning in her eyes, her voice breaking with emotion.
She didn’t want to lose them, even for just a night, but what else could she do right now? They were at each other’s throats. Her words couldn’t get through to them. If she didn’t get them apart, they would end up fighting each other again. And she couldn’t pick only one of them to stay with her while sending the other one away. She
knew that would be exactly the wrong thing to do. They were males. Their egos were everything.
It already deeply bothered her when she’d seen them fighting over her earlier. Now that horrible princess was going to make them fight to the death in the arena. But they were one-upping Princess Nasty. They were ready to tear each other apart over Jennifer, right here, right now, without anyone forcing them to fight.
She had no way to stop them from turning against each other if they wouldn’t stop and listen to her. It was breaking her heart more and more with each passing minute.
“Jennifer,” Nahkar said, his golden eyes dismayed. “I am the one who has the mara vrhon, not him. You belong to me, and I belong to you. I won’t leave you.”
“You will,” she told him defiantly. “If you have any feelings for me at all, you will.”
“That isn’t fair. I am only thinking of you, my mate.”
“This is my choice,” she said in a voice barely above a whisper. “If you’re thinking of me, then you will respect it. Right now, I’m choosing to have you both leave. Please. I can’t watch you fighting. I just…can’t.”
Darkon looked stricken, his silver eyes filled with pain. “Are you certain of this, na vaniya? I will obey if it is truly what you wish.”
“Yes,” she said, not looking away even though her heart was in her throat, and she felt as if her stomach was an empty hole. “I need… I need time to think.”
“What is there to waste time thinking about?” Nahkar demanded. “He lies. He hides things, even from those he claims as friends. He cannot be trusted.”
She glared at him. “I’m not happy he didn’t tell us the truth about who he was. But he’s lived with that secret for a long time. I have faith he would have shared it with us when he was ready.”
Nahkar clearly didn’t like that. “You are too kind, little human. That is not always a positive trait.”
“If it’s a flaw, then it’s one I accept about myself. But right now, you both need to leave. And stay away from each other.”
Darkon was usually better at hiding his thoughts than Nahkar, who wore every emotion and passion on his sleeve. Or his shoulder, since half the time he would not wear a shirt. But she could see how upset Darkon was right now, his eyes full of bitter regret.