Bladen

by Arcadia Shield

  Bladen cupped her face in one hand. “I heard you laughing.”

  Grace ducked her head. “I may have had a... wobble.”

  “When I think about what they could have done, though.”

  Grace pressed a finger to his lips. “But you saved me.”

  “We saved each other,” said Bladen.

  Grace raised a hand to Bladen’s cheek. “Let me check on your injuries.”

  “There’s no need now; the nanobots are inside me,” said Bladen.

  “We both know nanobots need careful monitoring,” said Grace. “I want to make sure they’re not making any unnecessary repairs. And I want to see the poison has gone and the wound on your leg is healing.”

  Bladen grumbled under his breath but yanked down his trousers. “Anyone would think you’ve had medical training.”

  Grace pressed her lips together, trying to hide how impressive she found his solid leg muscles. She knelt in front of Bladen and removed the Medi-patch from his thigh. The flesh looked pink and tender, but she was relieved to see the black, toxic spread of the poison had vanished, and the slices she’d taken from his leg had filled out with fresh skin and tissue.

  “How’s it all looking?” asked Bladen.

  “Good as new.” Grace traced her fingers down his thigh and heard Bladen inhale sharply. If things were different she’d be happy to kneel in front of Bladen and make him gasp some more.

  “I’ll be fine with the nanobots inside me for now,” said Bladen. “There are plenty of injuries for them to heal before they decide to start tinkering with things they shouldn’t.”

  “Let me know if you start to feel any strange symptoms, though,” said Grace. “There are ways we can slow the nanobots before they’re removed.”

  “You’re the boss.” Bladen pulled up his trousers.

  Grace felt regret that she could no longer admire his solid, sleek muscles. But now was not the time to go lusting after Bladen. They had to focus on the mission to get out of the game alive.

  “Let me see to your wounds,” said Bladen. “We can get rid of those cuts on your arms easily enough.” He produced a Healing Stick from his kit bag.

  Grace pushed up the sleeves of her shirt to her shoulders.

  “Sit down,” said Bladen. “We have some time. The Fraken will be regrouping and deciding on their next move. That will give us an opportunity to get some rest.”

  “Isn’t it too risky to stop moving?” The feel of Bladen’s callused fingers on her arm made her heart speed up. For such a big warrior, he had a tender side.

  Bladen’s gaze remained on Grace’s arms as he treated her injuries. “If we don’t rest, we’ll die from exhaustion.”

  “You mean I will,” said Grace.

  “I know you’re sicker than you’re letting on,” said Bladen. “If we’d had more time back there, we could have gotten more medical supplies from the lab.”

  Grace watched as Bladen turned her arm over, inspecting her for more injuries. “It’s an infection in my lungs, I think. I can’t make an accurate diagnosis, but it hurts to breathe, and I’ve been coughing up blood.”

  Bladen’s eyebrows shot up. “Is your lung punctured?”

  “No, nothing like that. And you can’t do anything about it,” said Grace.

  “I thought Healing Sticks and Medi-patches would be enough to treat you,” said Bladen. “If I’d have known your lungs were damaged, I’d have packed more medical supplies before coming into the game.”

  “You knew I was sick even before we met?”

  “Your friend, Jessie, told me,” said Bladen. “Well, she passed on the information through Axen. She said you’d been struggling with a cough.”

  Grace blinked away tears, overwhelmed by how much she missed Jessie and the others. “I'm going to see them soon.”

  Bladen lowered the Healing Stick and grabbed hold of Grace’s hands. “They are alive and out there waiting for us. They can’t wait to see you again. They’re excited about everyone being back together.”

  “I really want that,” said Grace, her voice shaking. “I want to be out of this game.”

  “And we will be.” Bladen caught a tear that fell from Grace’s eye. “It won’t be long now. Let’s get some rest, and then we can carry on.”

  Grace licked her lips, her gaze moving over Bladen’s face. She wanted to be strong enough to stand up to this challenge and face it with Bladen.

  He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his side. “We’re going to do this. Now, rest and I'll wake you when it’s time for us to leave.”

  ***

  Bladen blinked his eyes open and cursed silently to himself. He hadn’t meant to sleep while Grace was resting, in case the Fraken decided to spring a surprise attack on them.

  But with her warm body pressed against him and the heat of the sun, he hadn’t been able to stop his eyelids from lowering.

  He looked around, but couldn’t see any threat. He inhaled deeply and then listened to any sounds of approaching Fraken or their beasts, but there was nothing. They were alone.

  He let out a long sigh, his gaze on Grace, whose head rested on his shoulder. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was deep, although her chest rattled every time she inhaled. She must be suffering from her lung infection, and she was a strong woman to be able to keep going, despite how terrible she must feel.

  Bladen stroked his hand down Grace’s dark hair and pushed it out of her face. She had a noble beauty, with a strong, straight nose and firm, full lips. But there was a softness there, as well, especially when she relaxed and laughed, something he’d rarely heard her do unless she was fighting with her sanity.

  He wanted to find out what made her laugh in happiness and show her there were other things in the world to get excited about. He sensed a deep loneliness and frustration in Grace, as if she’d almost given up on life. And he felt the same, at times. When you’re surrounded by violence and death, it makes you hard, makes you forget there are things to do that make the heart sing with joy and not terror or fury.

  But in order for Grace to experience happiness, Bladen needed to get her out of the game. The Fraken would be everywhere soon, and Tyran had also escaped. Bladen frowned at the thought of the disloyal Vorten going missing. When he was at full strength, he knew he could take him in a fight. But Tyran was twisted and lethal. Bladen had encountered him several times during training, and Tyran fought dirty, concealing the fact he didn’t train as hard as the other Vorten by using underhanded tactics to disable his enemy in a fight.

  Axen had turned down Tyran's request to join his squad on several occasions. That must have left a bitter stain on Tyran’s mind, one he was now taking out on Bladen by seeking his own petty vengeance by siding with the Fraken. But it would be Bladen who had vengeance against Tyran over the way he had mistreated Grace.

  His hand moved down Grace’s shoulder and slid along her arm, running across the now faded cuts on her warm skin. They would be gone soon, nothing more than pale pink memories of her time with the Fraken. And he hoped her memories of this game would fade along with them. He hoped Grace wouldn’t have nightmares having been here with him. He didn’t want her to associate him with fear and terror.

  As he continued to run his fingers up and down Grace’s arms, he felt himself stir, that elusive feeling of passion and desire that had faded such a long time ago. He enjoyed being physical with women, but it was to fulfil a need, nothing else. But the feeling he got when he was with Grace was different. He wanted to know everything about her, find out what made her smile and laugh, and make sure she felt safe and happy and that she knew she was desired. A lick of passion ran through him as he felt her warm softness beneath his fingertips.

  Grace stirred in her sleep and made a small moaning sound. It made Bladen want to drag more of those moans from her lips, cries of pleasure as he explored her body and discovered ways to bring her to life, free her own passion, and show her life was for living.

  Grace
’s eyes blinked open, and she smiled up at Bladen, making his heart clench. “I’m glad we’ve both survived. Thanks for saving me.”

  Chapter 16

  Bladen smiled down at Grace. “You’re welcome.”

  Her eyes still felt heavy with sleep, and she wished she could return to her dream. It had been full of desirous thoughts about Bladen. She’d dreamt of him holding her tightly and investigating her body with his strong hands and tasting her with his tongue.

  As Grace shifted her position, she realized Bladen’s hands were, in fact, on her, resting on her hip and curled under her head. It was as if he was touching her to keep her reassured nothing bad was going to happen when they were together. She liked that feeling and didn’t want it to go away.

  Despite the fact they were in the middle of a dangerous Fraken game, Grace felt safe next to Bladen. She trusted him now and felt foolish for fighting him so hard.

  It had been a long time since she’d felt like this about anyone. And, although Grace had loved her husband, he had sometimes been reckless in his actions and behavior, and as they’d grown apart, they had stopped being intimate.

  Grace missed the physical touch of a man. And it had been years since anyone had touched her like Bladen had done and made her feel like her skin was electric, tingling under his touch every time his fingers brushed her. It was something she wanted to feel more of but didn’t want to push herself onto him. He might be behaving this way because he knew it kept her calm and reassured. She cringed as she realized what a mess she was. Bladen had seen how fragile her mind was and would be willing to do anything to stop her from crashing over the edge and ruining everything, maybe even fooling her into thinking there could ever be anything between them.

  “How did you sleep?” asked Bladen, his hand lifting from her hip.

  “Well, considering where we are...” Grace pulled herself up, missing the warm solid feel of Bladen by her side. “Did I miss anything?”

  “We weren’t disturbed,” said Bladen. “But we need to be on the move soon.”

  Grace nodded, her dark gaze still fixed on Bladen. Was he truly interested in her? This was a stressful situation, and stress made people do strange things. Bladen wouldn’t feel the same about her if they’d met outside the game. A ping of sadness hit her in the stomach at that thought. She wanted to know more about Bladen and more about the opportunities for them when they got out. But she bit her tongue, not wanting to make him create a lie and give her false hope so she’d continue to fight.

  “Is everything okay?” asked Bladen. “You look pale.”

  Grace shook her head. “It’s just the illness.”

  “Let’s have something to eat and drink before we move.” Bladen pulled two ration packs from his bag and a bottle of water.

  The thought of eating made Grace’s stomach grumble unhappily, but she took the ration pack and forced some food into her mouth. “What do we do now? The Fraken will be all over this game, and we can’t keep hiding from them.”

  “We stick to Axen’s plan.” Bladen took a bite of his own food. “We start tracking the Fraken.”

  Grace frowned. “Track our enemy? Isn’t that risky?”

  “We don’t have much choice,” said Bladen. “They haven’t given me a chance to use an active comms post. They must know we’ve been using them to send messages. We have to follow a Fraken and wait for them to activate a comms link. Once it’s active, I can send the message to Axen.”

  “I can distract the Fraken while you do that,” said Grace.

  “No. That’s too dangerous.”

  “They won’t simply activate one of these links and walk away from it,” said Grace. “They need something to take their attention away from you while you input your message. I can be that distraction.”

  “Not going to happen.”

  “You don’t think I’m up to it?” Grace’s gaze narrowed as she glared at Bladen.

  “It’s not that,” said Bladen. “But you’re weak. I don’t want you to make a mistake and get caught.”

  “I won’t get caught,” said Grace.

  Bladen shook his head. “I’d rather you input the message and I cause the distraction. Or better still, stay out of this completely. You’ve been caught once.”

  Grace clicked her tongue against her teeth. “I can help.”

  “Let’s stick with tracking the Fraken. I will disable him and send the message.”

  “You’re assuming they’ll only be one of them?”

  Bladen grunted as he ate his food.

  Grace forced down more food, annoyed at Bladen's resistance to her idea. “Why did Axen insist you come into this game, anyway? He must have known the risk you’d be taking.”

  “He did, but I was willing to take it,” said Bladen. “And we had to know how much information the Fraken had on our plans. And we needed to get you out. Axen felt it was only right you were saved. And, I believe Eloise insisted upon it. Axen can never say no to her.”

  Grace laughed. “I need to learn that technique from her. Seems I can’t get you to agree to let me do anything to help us get out of here.”

  Bladen smiled. “She does have him wrapped around her elegant finger. But he’s happy about it. In fact, I’ve never seen him so happy. She’s changed Axen for the better.”

  Grace placed her half-finished ration pack down. “I know you’re only trying to keep me safe by not letting me get involved, but I do want to help. Perhaps we can rig up something so I cause a distraction without the Fraken ever finding me. Do you have any more of those fire starters in your bag?”

  Bladen shook his head as he emptied his ration pack and licked his fingers clean. “They’re gone, but I have some flash bombs. They blind the Fraken if they’re in close enough range.”

  “I can throw those at the Fraken while you input the message,” said Grace.

  “I’m sure you could,” said Bladen. “But first, we need to find a Fraken and an active comms link.”

  Grace let out a breath. “Let’s get to work.” She leaned forward and kissed Bladen, pressing her lips against a faded scar on his cheek as she trailed her fingers up his arm.

  Bladen blinked and inhaled deeply. “What was that for?”

  “I feel safe with you.” Grace sat back, her lips tingling from where they’d touched Bladen. “And I know my friends are safe, as well. I have you and your warrior squad to thank for that.”

  “Are you planning on kissing all of them when you meet to show your gratitude?” Bladen stroked a finger down Grace’s cheek.

  “I haven’t decided yet,” said Grace. “Are they all as good-looking as you?”

  Bladen pulled Grace closer. “Don’t even think about it.”

  ***

  Bladen sucked in Grace’s scent, her face close to his. He wanted to taste her lips and explore every inch of her. Her dark wide eyes drew him in, and he saw her mouth open and her gaze dropped to his lips. Did she want him too?

  He brushed his hands up her arms and over her shoulders and saw Grace flinch back. Bladen gritted his teeth and lowered his hands. He didn’t want to spook her and definitely didn’t want to rush into something she wasn’t ready for.

  “This is not appropriate.”

  Grace let out a gasp and jumped back as if stung. “I didn’t mean to offend you. I just thought...”

  “You are sick, and we have both been injured.” Bladen realized the words coming out weren’t the right ones.

  Grace climbed to her feet. “You don’t have to explain.”

  “I do.” Bladen grabbed Grace’s hand, but she shook him off.

  He let out a sigh as she moved away. He'd handled that badly, but he wouldn’t take advantage of her gratitude. If Grace truly wanted him, there’d be plenty of time to get to know each other better when they weren’t being hunted.

  Bladen reluctantly lowered his gaze. “What are your plans when you’re free?”

  Grace looked over her shoulder at him. “Free from the game?”


  “Yes. When you get out of here, you need a plan, somewhere to go, people to be with.”

  “I hadn’t thought,” said Grace. “I always assumed my time would end here. Now, I’ve got something else to think about.”

  “You don’t have to stay with me and your friends if you don’t want to.” Bladen wanted her to stay with him, but seeing the way she’d reacted to his touch, it couldn’t be what she wanted.

  “I want to see my friends, but after that, who knows.” Grace shrugged and turned away.

  “It will be dangerous if you go it alone. The Fraken will not want you on the loose. They could hunt you when you get out of the game. They will consider you to be an embarrassment, one they will erase if they get the opportunity.”

  “I’d not considered that,” said Grace. She faced Bladen, and he saw a crease of concern on her forehead.

  “You’re welcome to stay with me, I mean, the rest of the squad.” Every word he said only made him feel like he was making things worse. Why did this woman have such an effect on him?

  “With your squad?”

  “And your friends will be there, as well. You might like to spend time with them outside of a prison cell.”

  “I would,” said Grace softly. “And with you, if that’s okay?”

  Bladen glanced at her and then looked away. She’d flinched when he touched her. Why would she want to be with him if she found his touch unpleasant? She might not think of him in the same way and not find him desirable. Vorten and human physiology were similar, but perhaps, he was too different for her to consider him as a mate.

  Bladen bit back the growl he felt in his chest at the thought Grace didn’t want him. “You’re welcome to stay with us. We can keep you safe.”

  “Only if it’s not a problem,” said Grace. “I’m guessing you’ve got a life partner, so I don’t want to be in the way of anybody else.”

  “Life partner! We don’t have those,” said Bladen. “Our women choose us for our virility and strength, take what they want, and leave.”

  Grace’s eyes widened and she took a step closer. “I assumed you would have someone. That you wouldn’t be alone.”