by Anna Hackett
His hand tightened on the glass, so tight he expected it to shatter. “I want the Thraxians and the Srinar taken down.”
Her face turned serious. “We’re working on it. Galen’s talking with the other gladiator houses who helped us close down the underground fight rings. The Srinar are in hiding, and the Thraxians are conveniently denying any involvement.” Her mouth flattened. “Cowards. But Galen won’t stand for it.”
“So many of my friends died in the Thraxian attack on my space station.” Blaine thought of all the innocent scientists, engineers, and security staff. He thought of his boss and friend Sam.
His gaze moved over to where Dayna, Winter, and Mia were standing. He hadn’t known these women—they’d been on a spaceship inbound from Earth to the space station when they were attacked. But he was damned glad they’d been rescued from the fight rings. They were talking with Rory—a former engineer from the station—and Harper, and they were all smiling. At their feet, a small robot dog circled, leaping up on Rory’s legs.
After everything they’d been through, they could smile. Even Winter, who’d been blinded by the Thraxians in captivity, was adjusting better than he was. Hearing their laughter warmed his heart.
There was nothing more shocking than learning that your planet, all your friends, and your family were on the other side of the galaxy, and that there was no way back.
“Blaine?”
Saff’s voice had gentled, and he dragged in a breath. “I’m fine.”
He would be. He’d damn well make sure of it. He’d beaten the hard edge of his withdrawal from the drugs…and he’d beat the lack of control still plaguing him. The dark thoughts and the anger were never far away, always choking him, and waiting for the chance to spring.
At least they’d all been able to send some messages home. Madeline Cochran, the civilian commander of Fortuna Space Station, had been working with a tech genius here in Kor Magna. Using micro-wormholes, she’d managed to get some messages back to Earth. He’d sent one to his sister.
Rhonda was all he had in the way of family. He missed her like hell, but she was happily married, with a wonderful husband and two great kids. She was well-looked-after, and that eased something in him.
Saff brought her glass to her lips to take another sip, when they heard the sound of glass shattering, followed by a heavy thump behind them. They both spun, Blaine instantly recognizing the sound of a body hitting stone. Saff gasped. One of the mid-level gladiators was on the ground, convulsing, his glass in shards beside him.
Blaine frowned and took a step toward the fallen man, but a second later, another gladiator recruit staggered, coughing and choking. Blaine shoved his untouched glass back on the table.
“What the drak!” Saff dropped to her knees beside the first man. Blaine helped the second gladiator to the ground, tipping his head back.
Both men were convulsing, green foam ringing their lips.
“Poison,” Saff spat.
“What do we—” Blaine broke off as Saff’s eyes rolled back in her head. Her body started to tilt to the side.
He caught her before she fell, and lowered her to the ground.
“Saff!”
“Can’t…breathe,” she wheezed.
“Stay calm.” He laid her out flat, pressing a palm to her forehead. She was burning up. “We need the medics,” he shouted. No, that wasn’t the right word. “The healers.” He heard the sounds of shouts and running footsteps. “And no one touch any of the food or drinks.”
Saff made a horrible wheezing sound. He saw the faint smear of green foam on her perfectly shaped lips.
“Saff! You stay with me.” Panic skittered through him. She was so vibrant and alive, and to see such a strong fighter taken down by something as insidious and cowardly as poison cut through him. “Look at me. Look at me.” The last words were shouted.
Dark brown eyes met his. He saw fear and pain, but her gaze locked with his, and deep in them, he saw the core of strength that was all Saff. For a burning second, he felt connected to her, like he could actually feel her pain and determination.
The thunder of running steps caught his ear, and a second later, Harper, Raiden, and Regan appeared.
“We need the healers,” Blaine told them. He didn’t look away from Saff, watching as her body trembled. She was fighting back the convulsions. Brave, strong woman.
Regan nodded. “I’ll get the heal—”
A massive explosion rocked the building.
Rocks, sand, and debris rained down from above, and without thinking, Blaine threw his body over Saff’s.
What the fuck? There were screams and shouts. The rubble continued to fall, and a larger-sized chunk of rock struck Blaine in the back.
Moments later, the dangerous storm abated, and Blaine lifted his head. He saw Raiden hunched protectively over Harper and Regan. They were straightening, staring all around them at the screaming and moaning people.
“Stay calm,” Raiden shouted. “Check the wounded.”
Not far away, Blaine saw smoke pouring from the bottom level of the House of Galen. Around them stood dazed gladiators, covered in blood.
Then he heard the rattle of Saff’s labored breathing. He leaned down and saw her panicked eyes. He grabbed the fastenings of her vest, flicking them open so she could breathe more easily.
But he knew she needed the healers if she was going to have any chance of survival. He knew Galen spent a lot of money on the Medical center, the tech, and the experienced team that worked for him.
“Where are the healers?” Blaine shouted as he pressed a palm to Saff’s cheek.
Raiden looked over, face grim. “The explosion was in Medical.” Each word came out like a bullet.
Fuck. Blaine’s chest contracted. He pressed a hand to Saff’s chest. “She’s dying. She needs help now. So do the others who were poisoned.”
Suddenly, a big, muscled form came out of the smoke and shadows, black cloak snapping behind him. Galen, Imperator of the House of Galen, was several years older than most of his gladiators, with a rugged face. A jagged scar crossed his left cheek, and a black patch was fitted over his left eye. His right eye was an icy-blue that missed nothing.
“Raiden, go to the House of Rone. They’re our closest allies. Tell them we need healers. Now.”
Raiden nodded and tugged Harper up beside him. The couple broke into a run.
Galen’s icy gaze turned to Blaine, and then dropped to Saff. A muscle ticked in the imperator’s jaw. “Keep her alive.” He spun to help the others.
Other gladiators were arriving, pulling the injured to safety, and checking wounds.
Saff was heaving in air, her body jerking, although her eyes were still open and glittering. They were really such a beautiful, velvety brown, and combined with her dark, glossy skin, she was stunning. Such a contrast, this woman. Such a tough, experienced, and competitive gladiator, with almost gentle, elegant lines—all the way from her long neck to her slim legs.
“Stay calm.” Blaine wasn’t sure if his words were just for her, or himself as well. As he listened to her rattling breath and the pained moans around them, anger exploded in his blood. Before, when he’d worked security, he would’ve been composed and focused in this sort of situation. He would have known exactly what to do.
But now, he was a mass of anger. All he could do was focus on the woman dying in his arms.
“I want to see you fight.” He leaned down so his lips were close to her ear. “You are magnificent and strong. I like that. Too much.”
Her dark eyes stayed locked on his, but the green foam on her lips intensified. She was gasping for breath now.
“No, Saff. Stay with me.” Helplessness, his constant companion since he’d been abducted, washed over him. He wanted to smash his fist into the wall.
He remembered fighting together with Saff in the underground fight ring to take down a vicious gordo beast. He’d worked with her, side by side, and she’d helped free him from that hellhole.
The place had been his never-ending nightmare. He’d been mired in death and killing, and been forced to kill in order to survive.
He’d had enough of death. No more. He wasn’t letting Saff die.
But beneath his palm, he felt her chest go still. No!
In the next instant, her heart stopped.
Ignoring the risk of poison, Blaine leaned over her and started chest compressions. Then he fused his mouth to hers and breathed.
He forced air into her body, and fought back his rage.
Blaine lost track of time. He just kept breathing and pumping. His mind cleared of everything.
Soon, he felt strong hands trying to yank him away. He fought them off.
“Let the healers do their job, Blaine.” Galen’s deep voice.
Two healers crouched on the other side of Saff’s prone body. They were Hermia, like Galen’s healers, but wearing vibrant-purple rope belts around their sand-colored robes. They were from another gladiator house. Both were long and slender, with composed faces of bland features. Their brown hair wasn’t long or short, and he knew they were neither male or female, but some sort of genderless species.
The healers put bags down and began pulling out equipment.
One attached something to Saff’s chest—a small metallic device that sat on her smooth skin. Colored lights began to blink on the device and the healers murmured quietly to each other.
A second later, one of the healers held a small vial over Saff’s lips, dropping a bright-red liquid into her mouth.
Blaine curled his hands into fists and set them on his knees. Come on, Saff. For so long, Blaine hadn’t wanted anything, except to survive the next fight. Now, more than anything, he wanted Saff Essikani to live.
Suddenly, she gasped, her back arching.
She pulled in a deep breath, and her chest starting rising and falling normally.
“Shh, Saff, take it easy.” He grabbed her arm.
The gladiator flopped back, her eyes open and dazed. “Blaine?” Her voice was a raspy croak. “What…happened?”
“Just relax. Catch your breath.”
Beside him, Blaine heard Galen release a long breath. Blaine suddenly realized that his own hands were shaking.
He pressed one flat against her muscled bicep, and the other against her hand.
Slowly, her fingers tangled with his. The helplessness choking him faded.
Nothing mattered right now, except for the fact that Saff was alive.
Chapter Three
Saff tried to sit up, but her head was throbbing, and her mouth was as dry as arena sand. A team of Thraxians seemed to be hammering inside of her skull.
Strong arms wrapped around her and helped her to sit. She looked around, blinking and squinting through the smoke, at the dazed and bloodied gladiators. Chaotic emotions battered at her, and she slammed down on her empathic ability and cut it off. The damage done to the building—to her home—made her stomach turn over.
“I want to help.” Her voice came out far breathier than she’d expected.
“You just died.” Blaine’s voice was a growl. “You need to rest.”
She shook her head, ignoring the agony that exploded inside her temples. She turned her head, her gaze snagging with Blaine’s dark one. “We need every spare hand.” She nodded over to where she saw Raiden and his fight partner, Thorin, helping the injured out onto the sand. The two huge gladiators could be gentle when needed.
Her own fight partner, Kace, was working to shift rubble, the muscles in his lean, toned body flexing. The man had spent his life in the military, and he looked calm and centered in the middle of the crisis. The other high-level gladiators, Lore and Nero, were also helping. Mountainous Nero lobbed giant rocks away with ease, with the leaner, more charming Lore working beside him. Just beyond them, Saff saw the Earth women, Rory, Regan, and Madeline, carrying drinks and wet cloths back and forth to the wounded.
Who would dare attack the House of Galen like this? They had to know that Galen wouldn’t stand for it and would retaliate in a swift and merciless way.
She looked again at where the smoke was pouring out of the arched windows. Her stomach cramped when she realized the location. “They attacked Medical?”
Blaine gave a sharp nod.
It went against every unwritten rule of Kor Magna. Healers were considered off-limits. Non-combatants.
Through the billowing smoke, she saw the dark shape of Galen emerge.
He was pointing and shouting at some gladiators. Saff’s chest went tight. She’d seen Galen relaxed, composed, and angry. But the icy rage—sharp as a blade—on his scarred face right now was beyond scary. She felt it prickle along her skin like ice crystals.
“Get me up, Earth man.”
Blaine muttered under his breath, but she ignored the comparison to a stubborn ass, whatever that was. He helped her to her feet, and it took her a second to find her balance, wobbling there like a newly born daarn bear kit from her homeworld. Drak, she hated feeling weak.
But determination filled her. This was her home. The one she’d claimed for herself. She moved over to help some blood-and-dust-covered recruits, who were struggling to get to their feet. She helped them up, and then moved to shift some rubble. Instantly, large hands were there to help her. As she moved through the destruction, Blaine stuck to her side, following wherever she went.
They fell into a routine of helping the injured out onto the sand, and clearing away the rocks. Galen would want everything back in order as quickly as possible. It was one of the most important rules of the arena: don’t show any weakness.
After the injured were healed and the repairs started, then it would be time to find who had done this.
A scream echoed faintly through the commotion. Saff froze and lifted her head. She scanned the chaos, but didn’t see anything that should be ringing alarm bells. There was so much noise and confusion, maybe she’d imagined that scream.
But then she heard it again, the faint sound reverberating through the House. She turned, staring down a corridor that led into the heart of the House of Galen. She tilted her head and expanded her ability.
“What is it?” Blaine demanded.
“I thought I heard—”
Then the scream came again, louder than before. A feminine scream. And this time, Saff felt a faint stab of someone else’s fear. When Blaine’s body stiffened, she knew he’d heard it, too.
“Come on.” Saff broke into a run.
Blaine cursed, and together they sprinted down the corridor. They turned a corner and Saff strained, trying to hear the noises again. Nausea rose, her body protesting the exertion, but she forced it away.
Another scream and some alien shouting.
Saff and Blaine powered around another corner. Ahead, she saw Dayna, Mia, and Winter struggling with four masked opponents. Whoever the attackers were, they towered over the smaller Earth women.
Dayna was the tallest and fittest of the women, and she was fighting back, throwing hard punches. Saff remembered that the woman had been some sort of law enforcement officer back on Earth. Mia was a spaceship pilot, and while she wasn’t big, the petite blonde was swinging and kicking with all her strength.
Winter was backed against a wall behind the women, terror written across her face and throbbing off her.
Blaine let out a growl that raised the hair on the back of Saff’s neck. He charged ahead of her, barreling into the fight. Saff followed him.
She landed a hard kick into the gut of one attacker, pushing him over, while Blaine wrestled with another man. The two of them slammed into a wall before hitting the floor and rolling. Saff spun, jamming a sharp blow into the shoulder blades of the third attacker. The fourth man was still fighting with Dayna, but she was clearly outmatched. Her opponent was bigger and stronger, and she was still recovering from her months of captivity.
Saff ducked several blows, and jammed her own fist into her attacker’s side. This was where her ability was most usefu
l. Getting hints of what her opponent was feeling—anger, fear, determination, rage—helped her refine her attack. When he stumbled, clouded in fear, she leaped into the air, swung her leg around, and smacked her foot into the man’s face.
His head flew back, but he didn’t go down.
With an angry roar, he charged her. He grabbed her around the waist, lifting her off her feet. As Saff slammed a hard hit into his back, she heard Dayna cry out. Saff lifted her head and saw that one of the attackers had backhanded Dayna. The woman crumpled, unconscious. A second later, the man grabbed her and tossed her over his shoulder.
Saff fought free, and once again traded blows with her opponent. Then a woman screamed.
Mia had been snatched up, and her attacker was struggling to hold her. Mia kicked and flailed.
But the moment of distraction cost Saff. Her own attacker landed a hard punch to her stomach. Saff slammed backward and hit the wall. Pain flared inside her, the air rushing from her already-sore chest. Drak. Lights danced in front of her eyes.
She glanced over and saw that Blaine had his man down, was straddling the man’s chest, and pummeling his fists into the attacker’s face.
The other two aliens were subduing Dayna and Mia, and were huddled near the adjacent wall. Drak. They couldn’t let these sand-suckers escape with the women.
“Blaine.” Her voice was a hushed rasp, and he was too far lost in the blood-lust of the fight.
Her attacker backed away from Saff and grabbed Winter’s arm. The woman screamed.
“Lemons!” Winter yelled. “Lemons.”
Saff had no idea what the woman meant. “Let her go,” Saff croaked out.
They were in the heart of the House of Galen. These bastards had nowhere to go.
But suddenly, a small explosion rocked the corridor. Blaine’s big body hit Saff, taking her to the ground. He braced himself over her as rubble rained down around them.
“Up.” She pushed Blaine off her. “Get up.”
He rolled off her and she jumped to her feet, ignoring her aches and pains. Something had hit Blaine, and blood covered his face, sliding into his right eye.