by T. S. Ryder
"The bloodstore first," Gylden directed. "I've lost a lot of blood."
"Right."
Bianca pulled out the slight tube and injected it into Gylden's veins. It would restore the lost blood. Next, she began to put on the fleshseal, to bind the wounds and prevent further blood loss. A quick antibac injection would clean the wounds from the inside out.
The drones were buzzing around them again. Even though Bianca longed to ask why he would take her punishment for her like that, if it was really just for the viewers or if he had another reason, she couldn't trust anything that he said when they were being spied on like this. Her lip trembled and she bit down hard on it.
This wasn't how she was going to live the rest of her life. She wasn't going to be a slave looking over her shoulder. Even if she survived the arena–if Taskus Draw decided that her popularity with the viewers outweighed his personal dislike of her for taking back to him–every aspect of her life would be on display.
Gylden could win their freedom, but she knew what that meant. The T'shav would be a trainer. Still bound to this constant cycle of death, just not facing the blade himself anymore. His life, and consequently hers, would still be live streamed constantly. That wasn't life. That was reality TV taken to its most extreme, and she knew she couldn't live like that. She had to find a way out of this. A way to escape.
Did she dare try to bring Gylden with her?
"Do you remember your life before you came to the arena?" she asked.
She finished laying the fleshseal over the last of his wounds and gave him the antibac before she found a cloth and began to wash up the blood. It was only then that she realized that her own hands were stained red. She had been too concentrated on her task before. Her stomach roiled, but she pushed it aside.
"Well? Do you remember anything?"
"Not enough to count. I remember my mother telling me about Starmates."
"Starmates?"
Gylden grunted. "Something about souls being born in the same star. It was long ago, I don't really remember exactly what it was. True love, I suppose is the simplest way of putting it. I just remember my mother's face when she told me. She was so happy. Almost glowing. I always wanted that. I didn't think I would find it."
Bianca's heart skipped a beat at the soft, sensual tone he used. As if he was telling her that she was his Starmate. But that had to be for the cameras, didn't it? There was no way he could actually be in love with someone he just met. This was a story for their unseen audience. She wasn't his 'one true love'.
"That should do it," she said, her voice unintentionally brusque. She threw the bloody cloth into the laundry corner, then went to wash her hands. "Do you have a regenerator?"
"Not for my personal use. I was told I will have two days to heal with regular visits to the regenerator before I have to fight again." He sat up and smiled at her. "Well worth it, not to see you in pain."
"I don't know about that," Bianca muttered. "I should have been whipped, not you. I'm sorry. I wish that…"
She trailed off as a drone pushed right into her face, blocking her eye contact with Gylden. She turned her back on him and shook her head. "I'm just sorry. You shouldn't have to deal with this."
"It's worth it, for you. Now come to bed, Bianca. I might be out of the fights for right now, but I still want to work on your swordsmanship tomorrow. I won't have you getting killed in the arena." He patted the bed next to him.
Bianca stiffly joined him. She had almost slept on the floor the previous night to stop herself from giving into sexual desire, but had ultimately decided that getting no sleep while sharing a bed with a stranger–whether because she was fighting her desire or because she had given into it–was better than getting no sleep laying on the floor. He had kept his back to her then, but now he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her snug against him.
He pressed a kiss to the back of her neck, sending shivers down her spine. She moved closer, her tense muscles relaxing. It was going to take at least two days for her to get all the components for her EMP generator. She had the circuit from the holoscreen, but she still needed a switch, some sandpaper and to dig out something she could use as a capacitor.
Maybe she could… No. No, she couldn't get any deeper into this life she was sharing with Gylden. They had barely met.
She couldn't risk her life for his. It was harsh but true. There wasn't even any telling if he wanted to leave this. A tear leaked from Bianca's eyes, and she squeezed them shut, hiding her face from the probe that hovered inches above her.
Chapter Five – Gylden
Over the next few days, Gylden felt something shift in Bianca. It was hard to put his finger on exactly what was happening. She grew stiffer in his arms every night, and during the day she spoke less and less with him. It was almost like she was trying to distance herself from him.
Not that the first twenty-four hours that they had been together was really enough for him to understand who she was. But he had hoped that she would relax around him, not become warier. She just tinkered with the various pieces of technology in his room, often ruining them while claiming she was trying to fix them.
He knew it shouldn’t make this much of a difference to him. It wasn't like there was anything between them. And even if there was, it wasn't substantial. Sooner or later she was going to die in the arena–because one thing was certain. He might be willing to take her punishments like being whipped, spare her some pain, but he was not dying for her. Besides, if he was killed protecting her, she'd just be killed soon after, anyway.
Or worse, given to one of the other gladiators who had already lost their mates. Well, some of them might not be so bad, but three women had been killed by the gladiator himself when they fought against him in their private rooms–two others had taken their own lives, probably for the same reason.
If I knew what exactly how much popularity Bianca had, I'd know how to use it better.
He had considered giving the public what they wanted with her. She was a beautiful woman, and he couldn’t deny that he ached to see her naked form himself. But he knew she would never go for it, and undressing her against her will left him feeling sick to his stomach, dirty, and ashamed.
No. He couldn't even bring himself to ask her to bare herself to him, let alone anything else. For some reason, it was important to him that her last few days alive be as pleasant as he could make them.
If only he knew of a way to make sure she survived… but there was no way to do that, and he had to resign himself to the fact that he was going to lose her. Just like he lost everybody in the arena.
***
Bianca slipping out of his grasp was what woke him.
At first, he didn't think much of it. She was often restless at night. But then he realized that the constant, familiar buzz of noise that the drones made was gone. Worse yet, there was no light streaming in through his lids. His quarters were constantly lit, to give viewers the best shots of him.
His eyes snapped open as the door to his room opened. Gylden bolted upright. It was pitch black. What had happened? A power outage? But how could that kill the drones? Bianca's footsteps were disappearing down the hallway. A feeling of dread rose up in him.
She was trying to escape. Anybody who tried to get away was always killed. He dashed after her, heart in his throat. The only chance she had was if he got her back to his room and found an excuse for the dead drones–how had she managed to deactivate them?
The lights were all out in the corridor as well. An eerie feeling prickled the back of Gylden's neck. He hadn't been in utter and complete darkness since he was a little boy. But the sound of scuffling footsteps was coming from his left, and he followed them as quietly as he could. A faint light bobbed up and down the corridor. Bianca?
He hurried after her. Soon the blue glow of a crackling energy field, which separated the gladiators from the rest of the Rayne Five Network, was visible ahead. It bathed Bianca's form. Gylden saw her raise a small device, aimin
g it towards the energy field.
What was she doing? He ran forward. Bianca jumped and turned, but before she could do anything, he was on her. His hand clasped over her wrist. She dropped her device, eyes widening, and he pulled her in against him.
"What do you think you are doing?" he hissed. "This place is set up to stop gladiators from escaping. If you try to step past those gates, you'll be killed by the guards. Not to mention the drones will show Taskus Draw exactly where you are as soon as they come back online."
"Which they won't." Bianca pushed against him, and so he pinned her against the wall.
Rage bubbled in his stomach. How dare she risk her life and his freedom like this? "How can you say they won't?"
Her eyes narrowed. "I built an electromagnetic generator. Crude, but more than enough to knock out the drones and security and everything else."
Gylden's eyes widened. "How? How do you even know how to build one, let alone find the pieces?"
"I scavenged the supplies I needed when I said I was fixing your holoscreen and… that's not important. We don't have much time. You can come with me, we can escape this place."
"No. We'll just get killed."
His voice was heavy with emotion, a fact that surprised him. He snatched the small EMP generator from the floor and stuffed it into the nearest garbage disposal. There had been multiple ones installed every few feet down the corridors when viewers complained that the facility was too dirty. Bianca cried out, fighting against him, but he only gripped her tighter.
"I am not going to let you get yourself killed like this," Gylden said, gripping her arms. "Is it because you doubt my abilities in the arena? Do you think that I'm going to let you get killed like the other gladiators have let their mates be killed?"
"Let go of me."
"I won't let you die."
I can't stop her from dying. Why am I promising something I know I can't do?
"You won't let me die?" Bianca glared up at him. "Because you love me so much? You would feed me to the wolves in a second if it benefited you, and now that we don't have cameras in our faces, you can go ahead and admit it. Admit it!"
His hands tightened on her hips. What was he meant to say? That he didn't want to care for her, certain that Taskus Draw would find a way to kill her no matter what he did?
But then why did he stop her from getting herself killed while trying to escape?
"If you're too afraid to try to leave, at least let me go." Bianca clutched his shoulders. "Please. I can't live like this. And I think you know that. If I don't get out of here, I'm going to die. Please. Please..."
"It's not all a lie," he blurted. His heart hammered. Damn. He did care. And he was willing to die to for her. What was he going to do?
She bit her lip.
"I have come to care for you far more quickly than I thought was possible. I've never had to fight for anybody before. Just myself. But…"
Tears glistened in her eyes. He wanted to kiss them away.
"If you die, I'll die with you."
Bianca shook her head. "That's not very comforting."
"It's better than dying alone, isn't it?" Gylden stepped back from her. His hands remained on her hips, though. "They'll be looking for whoever killed the drones. If we're in my quarters when they come looking, we might still have a chance out of this."
Neither moved for a long moment. The blue glow of the energy field cast Bianca's face in a strange light. She wore an expression that Gylden couldn't decipher. Uncertainty, maybe. Hesitation. And yet a strange sort of determination mixed in with it all. Her hands rested over his and slid up his arms, a strangely… erotic gesture.
Gylden swallowed hard. He released her and headed back down the corridor to his quarters. His mouth felt dry and his knees trembled as if he had just been fighting all day in the arena.
What was wrong with him? Everything that had happened since Bianca came into his life was insane. He shouldn't be letting himself be whipped to spare her. He shouldn't put himself in a position where he might be caught looking like he was trying to escape. He shouldn't be doing any of this. And yet he was.
As soon as they were back in his quarters, Bianca kicked the drones out of the room and slammed the door shut. As the T'shav watched, she grabbed the medical kit and strode to the small port where replacement drones came from. She grabbed some fleshseal from the kit and slapped it over the opening. The material immediately sucked itself to the wall, sealing the port shut.
"What are you doing?" Gylden asked in alarm. "There was a chance that they might not trace it back to us, but if you do this—"
"You said that if I die, you'll die with me. Well, I'm not an idiot. Taskus Draw has it in for me because I talked back to him and stopped his first game from being a bloodbath."
Gylden reluctantly nodded. "But you're popular. He won't dare hurt you."
"Killing or threatening to kill off beloved characters often pulls in more viewers than the sideline people nobody cares about. I'm not a fighter. However, this ends… chances are I won't make it. And if we're going to die together, I at least want to know if you're worth it."
He opened his mouth to ask her what she meant, but before he could, she was on him. Her body pushed against him, her arms around his neck. She rose a leg over his hip. With all of her lush curves flush against him, he felt something deep inside him stirring. A primal need he rarely got to satisfy.
With a growl, he flung her onto the bed.
Chapter Six – Bianca
Bianca bounced on the bed, making her giggle, and reached for Gylden as he followed her down. The strength of his body over hers nearly made her forget where she was. But she couldn’t forget.
Heat coiled tightly in her core, begging for his touch, and they only had a narrow window to do this. Once the drones were back in working condition, she wasn't even using the toilet without wrapping herself in a blanket, just to make sure nothing could be seen.
Her privacy was seriously violated in her daily life, and she wasn't going to give up this opportunity. She wanted him. Bad. She had wanted him from the moment he brought her to this room, and all the excuses she had thought up to stop herself from doing this were just that–excuses.
"Wait," he said. "I'm always in a low state of musth, I—"
"And I'm sure that it's affecting both of us, but come on. I've been sleeping beside you for three days now, your musth isn't why I'm doing this."
"Are you sure?"
Bianca nodded. "I'm sure. Honestly, in just about any other situation I would have already seduced you by now."
Gylden grinned. He dove into her neck with a fervor that made her gasp. How often did he get to release himself into a passion like this? A flare of anger had her hands digging into his back. It wasn't fair. It was beyond not fair–this was evil. It was evil that a man like Gylden, so strong and proud but with that hidden tenderness inside himself was forced to live a farce of a life, never being his own person.
"I want to see you," he growled into her neck. "All of you. I want your body to belong to me."
"Yes," Bianca whispered, rolling her hips upwards as he ground himself against her. It was the only word she could think to say. "Yes."
His hands fumbled with the filmy fabric she was forced to wear, finding the small clasps and buttons. He removed her clothing without tearing anything and stripped off his own garments with the same care. The T'shav sat back on his heels, gazing down at her body with an awe in his eyes. He had never seen a woman like this before. Her breath caught in her throat.
"You're beautiful. Skin so soft, so smooth. So unmarked." His massive hands cupped her breasts. "Your shape… You are the most stunning woman I have ever seen, Bianca… I've never felt this way before. I might have been acting for the public when I said I loved you, but maybe I do. I've never known love. I've never…"
His hand drifted down between her thighs, stroking in a way that made her bend herself to him. His gentleness surprised Bianca, and unexpected tears
flooded her eyes. She'd never had a man this gentle with her. Who knew she'd find him out here, long after Earth died when her own life was in jeopardy?
"You deserve love," she told him. "You deserve to know pleasure and passion and peace. It's not fair it has to be like this."
Gylden smiled softly. He kissed her lips again, his touch feather-light. "We have tonight."
Bianca nodded in agreement. As his fingers became a little rougher, applying more pressure to her sensitive areas, her own hand drifted downwards. She grasped him, giving him what he was giving her. Soon they were both writhing under each other's touch, sweat coating their bodies. Bianca didn't know how much time had passed, and she didn't care–this moment between them was all that mattered.
Unlike his buildup, Gylden's entry was rough. Bianca cried out with the slight sting that accompanied it, but that faded away into oblivion as they started moving building a quick pace they both worked at, muscles clenched in their bodies, sweat-slick skin sliding smoothly across one another with their steady rhythm.
The coiled heat in her belly became a snake, slithering up and down her spine, racing down first one leg than the other, filling her with a deep contentment she had never known before. Gylden's eyes were on hers the whole time, her fingers dancing over the raised ridges of the scars under the black tattoos that marred his devil-red skin.
He kissed her again, hard, his rhythm faltering. It felt as if every muscle in his body coiled and sprang–she felt him jerk against her, his eyes rolling into the back of his head, his jaw hanging slack. Heat rose up in her face and she followed him, writhing against his body, crying out as wave after wave of pleasure drowned her.
Gylden kissed her shoulder, panting, as their ecstasy slowly faded away. Bianca would have gladly just laid there like that forever, but all too soon the T'shav moved off her and retrieved their clothing. He handed Bianca hers, then dressed quickly. Bianca was a little slower getting into hers. She knew why they had to dress again. Who knew when Taskus Draw would have the drones up and running again?