by Zoey Draven
“Let it drive you,” Rixavox rasped. “Let that fear drive you and hone your skills, which I know you still have. Pidixa does not have a mate. He does not have a child. He has his reputation and his status as a warrior. You have everything to lose. That is why you will win. Tev?”
“Give me a moment,” Devix said, jerking his head in a nod.
Rixavox let go of him and Devix walked to far corner of the room and back, pacing, trying to reclaim the mindset he’d had yesterday, before the fight with his female.
Warrior training had taught him how to compartmentalize. He needed that skill more than ever. But it was made considerably harder since the blood bond. He felt his female’s hurt in his mind, even then. It made him want to roar, made him want to go to her, on his hands and knees if necessary, and beg for her forgiveness, for her understanding.
Nothing had felt worse than sleeping without her next to him the previous night, knowing she was strides away, but that she didn’t want him near her. It went against every instinct that Devix possessed and it had taken everything in him to obey her wishes and give her time alone.
But he knew that his female wouldn’t want him to be distracted. He knew that he had hurt her deeply when he’d omitted the truth of the warrior trial from her, but she would never want him to suffer during training for it.
He needed to get his head on straight…for his female. He needed to.
For a brief moment, he leaned his forehead against the steel of the far wall, feeling the chill of it soothe him. He calmed his breathing, inhaling, exhaling, to a steady rhythm, one of the first exercises young warriors were taught. He’d done it countless times and it had always helped.
When he felt more focused than he’d felt all span, he lifted his forehead and faced his brother. Vaxa’an was still standing at the entrance of the training room, still watching. Rixavox had his arms crossed over his chest, expression grim and focused on Devix.
“Tev,” Devix rasped. “Let us begin again.”
Rixavox jerked his head in a nod. A moment later, they took up defensive poses, eyes carefully watching, tracking, judging who would make the first move. Devix was barefoot and he felt the cool facev floor below him, felt it ground him even further.
One more inhale.
And then his brother launched into an attack. They had no weapons, but Luxirians hardly needed weapons to execute a lethal attack. They were quick, powerful, and their claws could shred flesh and bone.
Devix dodged, twisting his body to the left before his brother could make contact. A moment later, he perceived a change in the air, felt the wind rush next to him from the movement of his brother’s quick switch in direction, but Devix rolled, once again taking the defensive.
He realized quickly that he needed to be the attacker. Rixavox’s skill had evolved since Devix had last spared with him before his exile, but his own training had returned to him, as if it had never left. His muscles remembered the maneuverings and poses that the war generals had imprinted upon his mind.
And because he’d fought in the underground fighting rings in Petrika, his fighting style had become rougher, dirtier.
He could use that to his advantage.
When Rixavox lunged forward again, Devix quickly side-stepped, before whipping his body around in a full circle. Taking advantage of the surprise maneuver, he caught his brother’s side, raking his claws down his abdomen, before kicking him squarely in the chest. That kick launched Rixavox a few feet before he thudded to the ground.
Devix gave him time to push off the blood-spattered training floor.
“Good,” Rixavox grunted, eyes gleaming. “Now we can truly begin.”
And begin, they did.
* * *
Later that night, when darkness had already spread over Luxiria, Devix paused outside the door of the dwelling they were sharing. Just like he had in the training room, he leaned his forehead against the metal and calmed his breaths.
Though he’d just come off the most intense training session of his life span, he felt like he was going into a different kind of battle, a more important one. He hadn’t seen his luxiva since the previous night, hadn’t seen her that morning before he’d left for the command center.
It had been the longest time they’d been apart since he’d taken her from Petrika.
And Devix felt that distance like a physical pain. Through their bond, he knew that Cara felt it too and it was enough to give him hope that they would overcome this.
First, Devix had much groveling to do.
When he pushed open the front door, he found her waiting in the central hub. The fire was low, but it still cast golden light over his female’s features and Devix’s eyes devoured her like he was starved.
She, too, was looking at him. Her eyes roamed over his body, at the bloodied cuts that had already begun to heal, at the dark bruises that marred his flesh, which would fade by the morning. Luxirians always healed quickly. They needed to heal quickly.
Devix shut the door behind him and walked towards her. He was sweaty and dirty and bloody from his training session, but when he knelt in front of her and very slowly, without saying a word, leaned his head in her lap…she immediately ran her fingertips over his head and over his shoulders.
Devix squeezed his eyes closed, feeling her soft touch, knowing that he didn’t deserve it, but soaking in every moment of it. His horns were curled around his skull and he shivered when he felt her trace the base of them.
Opening up the fellixix that ran between them, he let her see all of him, just as they’d done during their ravraxia. He let her feel his sorrow, his guilt, his determination, his fear. But mostly, he let her feel his love, the strong, powerful emotion that he felt for her, an emotion that went beyond anything he’d ever thought existed.
Cara’s breath hitched, her fingers stilling on the back of his skull.
“Devix,” she whispered.
“Forgive me, luxiva,” he rasped quietly, his lips brushing the fabric of the flowing, thin dress she was wearing, a dress he’d purchased for her on Rozun. Soon, it would be too tight around her belly, but he would buy her new ones. “I cannot handle this distance between us. I need your forgiveness.”
“You think I like it, Devix?” she asked quietly. “I hate it too. I hate fighting with you. I hate sleeping without you.”
Devix pulled up from her lap so he could look into her eyes, but remained kneeling. Her lips tightened when she saw the cuts on his face, the gash just above his eye. She inhaled a shuddering breath, but then met his eyes.
“I should have told you about the warrior trial,” he told her, his voice steady, “from the first moment.”
“Yes, you should have,” she murmured.
“I knew that I needed to,” he said. “There is no excuse for what I did.”
Cara blew out a breath, her eyes dropping to her lap before she took his hand. Devix’s heart leaped at the contact and his fingers tightened around hers.
“I know why you didn’t tell me,” she murmured. “I know it was right before our ravraxia and that you didn’t want to make me worry.”
Devix swallowed, hesitantly reaching out to touch a strand of her golden hair that had escaped from behind her ear.
“But I liked our honesty,” she murmured, her eyes falling shut briefly when she felt his touch. “I liked that even though the truth is hard, we were always honest with each other.”
“Can we start anew, luxiva?” he requested. “This warrior trial was the only instance I was ever dishonest with you, the only instance I ever knowingly kept something from you. Can you…can you see past this so we can begin again?”
“We have no choice but to get past this, Devix,” she whispered. “This doesn’t change the way I feel about you. Nothing could change that.” She let out a shuddering breath. “And if you say you have to participate in this trial…then I have to trust that you’ll win. Not only for you, but for us. For our future together.”
The heaviest weight
lifted off his shoulders and he leaned forward to rest his forehead on his luxiva’s. Their breaths were heavy between them and his female’s eyes shimmered with tears. But Devix knew, right then, that they would move on from this.
“I forgive you, Dev,” she whispered, “but please…don’t keep anything from me again.”
His voice was roughened and husky as he murmured, “I vow to you I never will.”
“Okay,” she whispered, meeting his eyes. “Okay.”
Then she grasped the back of his neck, pulling him forward until his lips met her own. Devix closed his eyes, feeling his female’s kiss, savoring it, missing it even before it was over.
“Don’t kiss me like that,” she murmured, pulling away, her eyes pleading with him. A tear tracked down her face. “Don’t kiss me like it’s our last one, Dev.”
“Luxiva,” he rasped, pulling her forward gently until he had her wrapped in his arms. His lips brushed the shell of her ear when he murmured, “It will never be our last.”
Cara’s arms tightened around his body, as if she was afraid to let him go. “Then win, Dev.”
He pulled back to look at her and she met his eyes. They were still full of tears, but her gaze held a strength, a determination that hadn’t been there before.
“Kick Pidixa’s ass, okay?” she murmured. “And come back to me.” She placed his hands on her swelling stomach. “Come back to us.”
A sensation that he’d never felt blanketed over him.
“I will, luxiva.”
SIXTEEN
TWO DAYS LATER, Cara woke to the sound of drums, so loud that they echoed around the entire city, funneling through the terraces. So loud it sounded like they were knocking on the door of their dwelling.
Which, in a way, they were, Cara couldn’t help but think grimly, her stomach roiling from nerves and worry.
Devix was already awake. Neither had gotten much sleep the night before, but they had taken advantage of it in other ways. Devix had once told her that Luxirian warriors channeled their power from sexual release, from arousal and the intimate act of mating. Cara had spent the better part of the night fueling him, taking him into her body again and again.
Tears pricked her eyes just thinking about. Sometimes, he’d looked at her, made love to her like it would be their last time. And she hated thinking things like that, but she couldn’t help but worry that it would be.
Cara had faith in Devix’s fighting abilities. She’d seen him training, had seen his skill. But, just like he’d taught her, it only took one misstep, one single moment, one single mistake, and it could mean one’s death.
Devix couldn’t afford mistakes, not against another Luxirian warrior.
Instead of saying ‘good morning,’ which she always said to him, she said, “Tervax rixa.”
It was a running joke between them, but it felt like anything but at that moment. He’d once told her that the equivalent of ‘good morning’ in Luxirian was tervax rixa, which Devix had translated to meaning ‘fight well.’
Devix understood. Beside her in their bed, he pressed his forehead against hers. “Good morning, luxiva,” he replied.
Cara nodded, hearing what went unspoken. Licking her lips, she murmured, “I love you, Dev.”
And even though he’d never said it to her out loud, he spoke it right then. “I love you, luxiva. Always.”
It was enough to bring tears to her eyes, but she needed to be strong for him. She didn’t let them fall. She kissed him instead and then a moment later, when the drums increased in tempo, he pushed out of bed, dressing in the clothes he’d worn as a mercenary, similar to the ones he’d worn when she first saw him. Grey suede pants, a dark tunic, and a dark brown vest.
She climbed out of bed, swallowing the bile down her throat when it threatened to rise. Her hands shook, but she clenched her palms together.
Cara was nude when she went to him, when she smoothed her hands down his vest.
“I have to leave soon, luxiva,” he murmured, looking out the window, towards the rising twin suns. He met her eyes, touched his palms to her stomach.
Cara nodded. “I’ll see you at the trial.”
“I wish you would reconsider coming,” he told her honestly.
The night before, they’d argued briefly about her attendance. Apparently, Vaxa’an had announced the warrior trial to the citizens of the Golden City, as was the custom. It was a public fight that would be held in an arena inside the mountain. Anyone could attend, but no one could interfere. Considering Devix’s reputation, Cara guessed that the arena would be packed.
Devix didn’t want her to come, worried that she would be vulnerable and unprotected at the fight, when most, if not all, Luxirians would be against Devix winning. But Cara had held her ground. There was no chance in hell she wouldn’t be there.
“I would never let you go through that alone,” she told him, her voice firm. “I will be there.”
Devix knew better than to dissuade her. Again, the drums increased in tempo and he inhaled a quick breath.
“Are you ready?” she whispered.
He met her eyes, opened his blood bond. To her surprise, she didn’t sense nervousness. She felt fear, but not for himself. It was for her.
“Tev,” he said, kissing her one last time. Outside the window, a hovercraft landed on their terrace and she saw Vaxa’an standing there, waiting. The Prime Leader would escort Devix to the fight and Cara would go with Rixavox and Cecelia.
“I’ll see you later,” she murmured, intentionally not saying goodbye. Because it wasn’t a goodbye.
Devix nodded, understanding. He gave her a brief smile and her shoulders relaxed only slightly at the sight of it.
“I will see you later, female.”
* * *
The arena that the warrior trial was being held in was massive. That was Cara’s first impression. It had the look of an amphitheater, but it was inside the mountain that the Golden City was carved out of and it could only be accessed through one wide tunnel at the base.
Inside the arena, floating blue and golden orbs of light illuminated the entire fighting floor. There was a raised dais towards the back of the arena—Devix, Vaxa’an, and another unfamiliar Luxirian male she assumed was Pidixa stood there, all facing forward, hands behind their backs—and a circle of Luxirian warriors stood to block the rapidly growing crowd that all pushed for a better view. But the way that the tunnel sloped downwards would ensure that no matter where someone stood, they would have a clear view of where the fight would take place at the very bottom, like stadium seating.
It was a steep walk down to the fighting floor and Cara stuck close to Rixavox and Cecelia. It was the first time that Cara had been around so many Luxirians, but it was too crowded, too overwhelming, too loud that she hardly registered anyone. Their faces were blurs, even as they watched her walk past.
Even from this distance, she was watching Devix. He saw her as well and didn’t take his gaze off her as she slowly followed Rixavox and Cecelia down the tunnel. Luxirians parted for them, no doubt recognizing Rixavox as one of their Ambassadors, so it didn’t take long to reach the bottom. At the very base, she saw a kind of raised balcony carved into the side of the arena wall. Chiseled steps led to the entrance and Rixavox began to climb. Cecelia and Cara followed.
Older Luxirian males were spread out on the large balcony, facing forward towards the fighting floor below. No one spoke, but all turned to look at her.
And to her surprise, another human female was among them, one she recognized. The woman that had been with her in the Pit, the woman that Vaxa’an had taken after his successful fight.
Her name was Kate, she knew, but they hadn’t been properly introduced until that moment.
“Hello,” Kate murmured, coming towards her. She was dressed in a bronze, shimmering dress that brushed her ankles, a golden band wrapped around her waist. Her dark hair was tied back in a braid, and while her eyes seemed tired, they were bright with happiness. She was a new
mother, after all, or so Vaxa’an had told her. “You must be Cara.”
Cara was proud that her voice was steady, despite the nerves that coursed through her body. “Yes. And you’re Kate.”
Kate nodded, reaching out to pull her into a hug. “I recognize you, from the Pit,” she whispered to her in her ear. Then she pulled back. “Vaxa’an told me you had arrived. I’m sorry I haven’t come to see you yet.”
“You just had a baby,” Cara said, attempting a small smile. Her eyes strayed back to Devix, checking on him, before they returned to the woman in front of her. “I imagine you have your hands full.”
“Quite full, yes,” Kate murmured, “but I wanted to be here today, for you. Vaxa’an had to go through a trial, when I was pregnant. I know how difficult it is having to watch, having to accept it blindly.”
“He did?” Cara asked, surprised. “Here?”
“Yes. He had to fight five warriors that day, in this very place. And I don’t remember half of it because I was so out of my mind with worry,” Kate told her, squeezing her hand in comfort. “Trust your male. That’s all you can do.”
Cara found the words comforting, surprisingly enough. If Kate had gotten through it, if Vaxa’an had been victor…it gave Cara hope.
“Thank you,” Cara murmured. “I appreciate that you came. And I’m glad to finally meet you. I wish it was under better circumstances.”
Another hand squeeze from Kate. The other woman opened her mouth to say something further, but suddenly her eyes focused on something behind her and anything that she was about to say was lost.
Cara turned to see what or who she was looking at, only to discover that it was a female. A Luxirian female that was being led up to the balcony by a warrior male.
Cara had never seen a Luxirian female before. She looked strong and was undeniably beautiful, her features perfectly symmetrical. She stood at least six inches above Cara with an hourglass figure, full breasts and even fuller hips. And she was dressed in similar fashion as Kate was: a flowing pale colored dressed with a band cinched around her small waist.