by Anna Hackett
The metal door rattled.
Her head shot up, fear and anxiety spiking. But only the small slot at the bottom of the door opened, and a plate of food was shoved inside. She heard the guards outside, moving down the tunnel, feeding the rest of the prisoners.
She knew what she’d find on the plate. Her gaze slid to the dented metal, filled with alien food. It stank, and part of it was moving.
She moved to the far corner of her cell, nausea welling. She leaned over and vomited.
Fighting back her tears, she slumped against the wall. Tears didn’t help anything. She needed to be strong, and not let her fear engulf her.
She went back to pacing. She lost track of the time. Zaabha was like that. The cells were always dark, the screams and moans constant. So she wasn’t sure how much time had passed when the door finally opened.
Blinking at the light that speared into her eyes, she watched as a large shape was shoved inside.
She straightened in shock as Magnus’ large form sprawled limply on the floor.
Oh God. She dropped to her knees beside him. All she could see were the blood and bruises. He raised his head, his gaze unfocused. One side of his face was completely swollen. God, they’d ripped his implant off. Her stomach clenched hard. Raw skin and exposed wiring was poking out of the wound.
“Magnus.” She reached out, stroking his short, dark hair. He looked at her, his gaze unfocused and confused.
A Thraxian still stood in the doorway. “You’ll never win against the House of Thrax. We are too powerful. Too strong.”
“Fuck you,” she yelled, defiantly. She was done being afraid. “We all know there is no more House of Thrax. You guys are scurrying around the desert like sand mice.”
The alien stepped inside the cell, menace radiating off him. Magnus pushed to his feet, unsteady, but still managed to rise to his full height. He placed himself in front of her.
“Maybe she is the key to breaking you, cyborg,” the Thraxian murmured thoughtfully. “We want to know Galen’s plans for Zaabha. We want to know the number of gladiators he has coming to attack us.” The Thraxian’s eyes glowed. “Drak knows that you withstood all the pain we dealt you, and you still didn’t share what we wanted to know.”
Magnus remained silent, staring at the Thraxian with eyes that were like ice.
Ever’s heart hurt. What had they done to him? What had he endured? She reached out, touching his bloody back.
The Thraxian’s lips pulled back over his black teeth. He reached up, absently stroking one of his black horns. “Maybe what will break you is knowing that she’s the reason you’re here.”
Ever frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“We programmed her,” the Thraxian continued, never taking his gaze off Magnus. “Right from the beginning, she was made to tempt you and lead you into the desert.” A scowl morphed the alien’s face. “She was supposed to bring you alone, but clearly when you removed her implant, that order was disrupted.”
What? Horror spread through her. She’d been violated? She’d been programmed to hurt Magnus?
Magnus went stiff.
“We knew the baby she was carrying belonged to you.” The Thraxian shrugged. “It was easy to send her out there to seduce you.”
“That’s a lie!” Her feelings for Magnus were real. She didn’t doubt that for one second.
But she saw Magnus’ muscles tense. His body vibrated with tension. God, did he believe it?
“She betrayed you. She’s your downfall, cyborg.”
She sucked in a breath. Did he think she’d betrayed him, just like he’d been betrayed by his military creators? He wouldn’t look at her and her stomach clenched.
The Thraxian laughed, a hollow, dark sound. “You really think she’d feel anything for a freakish cyborg like you, otherwise?” With a laugh, the alien stepped back, slamming the cell door behind him.
“Asshole.” Ever looked at Magnus. “Don’t listen to him. He’s just trying to get to us.”
Magnus didn’t move or speak. Worry bit at her insides. Quickly, she circled around in front of him.
“Magnus?”
He looked down at her. The cool look in his eyes sent ice over her skin. He looked at her like he was looking straight through her.
Panic combined with nausea washed through her. “Magnus.”
His systems were malfunctioning from the beating he’d taken.
Magnus fought to block the pain, but he couldn’t. And he couldn’t block the emotions, either.
The Thraxian’s words echoed in his head. Ever had been a trap. Whatever she felt for him wasn’t real.
He remembered how it felt when he learned the military had been using him. How he felt when he discovered Jaxer was set to be destroyed. The betrayal he’d felt when he’d left the military. He remembered how he felt being used by them.
Used. Betrayed.
He stared into Ever’s pleading eyes. Had everything between them been a lie?
“Magnus.” She reached a hand toward him.
Without thinking, he stepped back.
Pain flashed in her eyes, her hand dropping to her side. “We met before the Thraxians did anything to me. We connected in a cell much like this one.” She tossed out a hand, anger pumping off her. “I wanted you then. It was hot and fierce and real. Nothing, nothing I feel for you is a lie.”
She spun away, pacing the cell. Then she stilled.
“Did what we share mean so little to you that you doubt it so easily?”
Magnus rubbed a hand over his face, fighting through the pain. His head throbbed where his implant had been damaged, and his body ached. He was too unfamiliar with all the sensory overload.
Right now, he couldn’t focus on any of this. The only thing echoing through his brain was the command to keep Ever safe.
“We need to get out of here.” His voice was deep and raspy. “We need an escape plan.”
She turned, her lips trembling before she firmed them. “Okay.”
It was like a light had been switched off inside her. He stared at her for a second before he turned. He did a lap of the cell, looking for anything useful—potential weapon, escape routes. Of course, there was nothing.
His scanners weren’t working well, either. They were flickering on and off, detecting faint bio signatures, but unable to detail numbers or exact location.
Suddenly, a noise started in the distance. It grew like a wave, like the sound of thunder.
Ever wrapped her arms around herself. “The spectators. They’re in the arena and chanting for the fighters.”
Her voice was flat, but Magnus detected the fear buried in it. He didn’t like hearing her defeat. “Galen will come.”
“What if they moved Zaabha after we were captured? What if we’re nowhere close to the others?” She sagged against the wall, like she couldn’t hold herself up anymore. “Oh.” She wrapped an arm around her belly, a grimace on her face.
“What’s wrong?” He stepped closer, but she turned away from him. That hurt worst of all, a slashing pain to his chest.
“Nothing,” she murmured. “Everything.”
He took another step closer.
She lifted her chin. “I always dreamed of meeting the man I’d fall in love with. A man I’d love like my mother loved my father. I always knew I’d feel it deep inside, in every cell of my body.” She threw her arms out. “That’s you, Magnus. Everything I feel for you is real. Every part of me is yours. And if you believe that damn bastard Thraxian over me…”
He stepped forward. “I don’t.”
Tears shimmered in her eyes but she dashed them away. “Then why did you back away from me?”
“I’m drowning in sensory overload, Ever. Pain, memories of my betrayal, fear for your safety, and a hundred other emotions I can barely process. And because I do wonder how you could feel anything for someone like me.”
She held out a hand. “Someone like you? An honorable, heroic, dedicated, protective imperator.
”
“Ever.” He clasped her fingers. Everything else be damned, Ever was his. He needed her to know that. As he reached for her, she lifted that beautiful face, pain swimming in her eyes.
The cell door slammed open.
Magnus swiveled sharply as two Srinar guards entered the cell. The two men had large tumors growing on their faces and grotesque patches of peeling skin. They were holding two sets of chains.
“Ready to fight?” One of them said, a smile distorting his malformed mouth. “The arena is waiting.”
Drak. Magnus stared at the guards. How could he keep her safe? Ever in the Zaabha arena was his own personal nightmare.
She looked up at him. “Before we go out there, you should know that I love you.” Then she lifted her chin and brushed past him. She held her hands out for the chains.
Loved him? Magnus felt a strange flood of emotions—elation, terror, happiness, fear. And something warmer, brighter, that he wasn’t sure he had a name for.
“Ever—” Chains were clamped around his wrists, as well, and he was roughly shoved forward.
“Move it,” the Srinar growled.
Chin stubbornly lifted, Ever walked out of the cell. Drak, she was so strong. He followed, vowing to tell her just how he felt as soon as he could.
As soon as he got her out of this sand-cursed place.
Chapter Fifteen
They were marched into the Zaabha arena.
As the sights and smells of the cheering crowd washed over her, Ever set her shoulders back. She felt tired and sore. More strongly, she felt fear. But she wouldn’t let these bastards see it.
One step ahead of her, she watched Magnus scanning the sand, tense and alert.
The crowd was jeering and throwing things onto the fighting floor. Some sort of alien fruit landed nearby with a rotten splat.
The retractable roof was open and sunlight from both the big suns speared down on them.
She’d fought here before. Her throat tightened. She’d managed to avoid having to kill anyone, but she’d spilled blood.
Her gaze caught on something new. In the center of the arena, several long, wooden poles had been set upright in the sand.
“Move.” One of the Srinar guards shoved her and she stumbled.
Magnus moved, slamming a shoulder into the man. The other guard spun and slammed a staff into Magnus’ back.
Ever pressed her lips together to hold back a cry of fear. They were led over to the poles and the Srinar set to work unceremoniously chaining them to the wood. Her arms were yanked painfully above her head.
“We figured the cyborg needed a bit more of a challenge,” the Srinar said in a grating voice, checking Magnus’ chains. “Can’t have you carving through all our fighters in seconds. Crowd won’t like it.”
She stared across at Magnus, who was chained opposite her, just a few meters of sand separating them. All around them, the bloodthirsty crowd cheered and stomped their feet.
God. She yanked against her bindings. “There’s no way out.”
In the bright sunlight, Magnus looked worse than he had in the shadowed cell. He was covered in bruises and scrapes, and smeared with blood.
His gaze met hers. “I will protect you.”
Ever sighed, her heart hurting. She knew that. This man would protect anyone who wasn’t as strong as him, anyone who needed his help. “I know.”
“I would die for you.”
Tears pricked her eyes. “I’d prefer you didn’t.”
A clanking sound echoed through the arena, and she closed her eyes, recognizing it. The gates were rising, no doubt letting some horror free. Something that would be out for their blood.
Opening her eyes, she turned her head and she watched the first of the animals come out of the shadows.
Oh, God. The first pair of beasts prowled in and made her think of lions. They had powerful bodies and four strong legs, but instead of fur, they had thick scales like a reptile. As they moved closer, she also saw they had powerful, long tails—like a crocodile’s—that dragged on the ground behind them.
She swallowed painfully, and then blinked as something else skittered out of the tunnel.
The next creatures were bigger. They let out wild screeches as they scuttled across the sand.
Each had six legs, and they looked like giant bugs crossed with crabs. They were heavily armored, and their two front legs were tipped with sharp pinchers. Their backs were covered in spikes.
She yanked against the chains again. There had to be a way out. She had to save her baby.
“Ever.” Magnus’ voice was cool and calm.
She glanced his way.
“I never felt much before you,” he said.
She stared at him.
“I controlled what I felt and when I felt it. I…deliberately didn’t let myself care for too many people.” His gaze fell to the sand. “I never had happiness or caring love in my life before. And when my military commanders betrayed me, I realized that feeling too much hurt.” Those tortured eyes moved back to her for a second before he closed them. His chest was rising and falling fast. “I’m not good at this. You…you blindsided me. I like to plan, assess, and win. But I’ve been scrambling to catch up ever since you arrived in my life.”
Her heart melted. Her cyborg loved her, he just didn’t know it. “What are you saying, Magnus?”
His eyes opened, his gaze boring into her. “I never thought someone would love me.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the creatures stalking closer. God, what a time to be having this discussion. Par for the course for her life lately. But as she looked at her strong, handsome cyborg, she knew she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I love you, Magnus. You’re honorable, protective, strong. You’re a good man.”
His eyes flashed. “You see me as a man. Most don’t.”
“I love you, but I’m kind of worried that we’re about to die here.” A sob built in her chest.
“I never thought you betrayed me. I was just trying to process everything. I know now that what I feel for you is love, and I love you so much that sometimes I can’t breathe.”
Warmth filled her and tears welled in her eyes. Her cyborg was a romantic. “I love you, too. All of you.”
“I won’t let you die.” His voice sounded like unyielding steel.
The horrible stink of the animals reached her nostrils now. They were close. The crowd was shrieking, their cheers rising in pitch.
There was a sudden burst of movement behind Ever, and then she felt her pole wobble violently. She looked up.
One of the lion-like creatures was perched on top of the pole. Hungry, gold eyes looked down at her.
It let out a primal roar.
Fear clamped around her chest. “Magnus—” There was so much she wanted to say to him, to do with him, to share with him.
She thought of the tiny life growing inside her, and helplessness rushed into her.
They’d all run out of time.
Suddenly, Magnus let out a wild shout. His muscles flexed, and she watched him straining against the chains. The links started to stretch and her eyes widened.
She’d seen these chains hold the biggest, toughest aliens in place during fights. Surely, he couldn’t—
The chains broke.
Magnus’ dropped his arms to his sides and dashed across the sand toward her.
Magnus reached Ever and gripped her chains. With one violent jerk, he broke them, careful not to hurt her.
He sensed movement above and looked up. The nathall perched on the pole roared again, and then it dived down at them with a powerful jump.
Magnus shoved Ever down toward his feet, then he lifted his arms. The nathall rushed at him, and at the last second, he grabbed the animal’s strong jaws. It growled, the fetid stench of its breath washing over him, as it tried to slam its jaws closed. He used the creature’s downward momentum to swing it around and slam it against the pole.
But it w
as a hunter, and as it swung, it twisted its heavy body. Magnus gritted his teeth, holding on to the beast with all his strength. He shifted his focus to the animal’s neck. With a single twist, he broke the creature’s neck. With a heave, he tossed the dead beast aside.
“Jesus.” Ever bounded back up on her feet, her eyes wide.
He grabbed her arm, quickly checking her over. A fierce growl made him look up. The other animals were watching them hungrily, slowly creeping closer.
Magnus walked backward, keeping Ever at his side. He didn’t take his gaze off the animals. His flickering scanners gave him bits and pieces of information—size, strength, weight, weaknesses.
Ever moved lightly on her feet, keeping up with him. He held up his cybernetic arm and touched a certain spot. A slot opened up, and he pulled out a small electroblade.
“Handy,” she said.
He handed the weapon to her. He showed her the control and blue electricity ran over the blade. “I will protect you and our child.”
She gripped his arm. “And I you. Let’s all get out of here alive, Magnus. Promise me.”
He didn’t say anything. It was a promise he couldn’t make. Her life was more important than his.
As if by an unseen signal, the creatures attacked.
Magnus leaped in front of her. He dodged to the side to avoid the incoming ha’ri. Its sharp pincers missed him by a breath. He slid in under the ha’ri’s body. It screeched, its front legs hitting the sand around him as it tried to strike him. He reached up with his cybernetic arm and let loose with an electrical shock.
The creature jerked and shuddered. The crowd roared.
Magnus rolled out from under the dying beast. He leaped to his feet and found himself staring into the face of the second nathall. It roared, baring its wicked fangs. Its powerful tail swung from side to side behind it.
The nathall bounded into the air, aiming for him. Magnus ducked, slamming a punch into its leg. With a pained cry, it hit the sand, its leg broken. Magnus swiveled and raced closer to Ever who was slashing out at a ha’ri with the electroblade. She was dancing out of the way of the creature’s legs. Multiple bloodstains marred the animal’s sides.