Page 11 of Stone Awakened

I heard a rapid, angry exchange going on between the two men, and then there was the loudest, most obnoxious groan ever. It would do a teenager proud, that groan. A look over my shoulder showed me that Uron had gotten to his feet and while fiercely glaring at Sunder, he was starting a lap around the courtyard. Sunder was keeping pace with the male the entire lap, urging the much younger guard on.

I wondered if Sunder knew what he was doing at that point, Uron hardly looked like he was in any kind of shape for physical exercise. He was a recovering addict, maybe not even willing. You could hardly call under threat of death the right kind of motivation for doing this. Or maybe it was? It just wasn’t very ethical.

I took the boys into the sandy portion of the courtyard, the sparring pit with the broken fence. I’d started practicing the most common script used in the Zeta Quadrant with them the past few days. It had been a tough learning curve for me when I’d gotten stuck in this area of space five years ago, but Kimar had patiently taught me how to read and write, and how to speak the Traders Common most used in space itself.

Jett loved it, finding the letters I’d carve into the sand with a stick fascinating and eagerly practicing his own. Amar, not so much, but he was a little young to even learn, and he loved wrecking my careful symbols.

Lifting my stick, I pointed at the sandy ground when Sunder and Uron passed, checking with Sunder if this was okay or not. I was relieved when he nodded, and then he stuck up a thumb in such a human gesture that tears suddenly filled my eyes. A wave of nostalgia, of homesickness, washed through me that surprised me. It was just a simple thumb up, but no one in the Zeta Quadrant did that, how did Sunder know it?

A question I was going to spring on him later. With Uron back on duty with us, even if it seemed like Sunder was now his boss instead of the other way around, we needed to stop sitting around. I needed answers, Sunder could act like he didn’t want distractions, and that we needed to carefully plan our escape. I couldn’t help if he didn’t share his plans.

The sickly-looking Rummicaron managed four laps of the courtyard, even Amar could do a dozen more, and at a quicker pace. He collapsed where he ended and lay panting on the ground for at least an hour. Afterward, he opened his eyes and grinned that shark-toothed smile at Sunder, his eyes gleaming. “I can’t believe that worked…”

“You’re not my first Roka recovering Rummicaron, doubt you’ll be my last,” Sunder said, arms crossed as he came to stand near where Uron was still resting his head on the cobblestones. I thought I saw something pass behind the shark-like eyes, something vulnerable. I hurried to look away when the male started tilting his head in my direction.

“You know?” he asked, his voice pitched low. I still heard it because Uron’s voice was a sharp sound that easily carried. I pretended not to, even though I was intensely curious. Sunder didn’t reply, but I suspected he’d responded. Unlike Uron, he definitely could pitch his voice low and quiet, all I’d heard was an indecipherable buzzing noise.

This time, when we finished training, lessons, and play, Sunder didn’t come with us to share the evening meal and tuck the boys into bed. He lead Uron through the tunnels back to the barracks instead, the three of us watching them go with mixed feelings. I really wanted to talk to him, I should have done that sooner, but I’d struggled to come to terms with our kiss and his response after. Now it felt like my chance was slipping through my fingers.

I was pretty sure Jett and Amar were just sad that they were missing out on one of Sunder’s fantastical bedtime stories. He always had many about brave gladiators and sneaky spies. Sometimes, when he spoke, I thought he might be retelling memories rather than making things up.

Once I was back in my own room, the boys asleep, I’d taken my datapad and read for an hour. I couldn’t sit still, so I did it pacing across my small room, striding from one side to the other while the voice on the datapad read one article after another out to me about Arakon. From predators to dangerous plants, I tried to cover as many useful subjects as I could.

Stripping out of my uncomfortable dress, I pulled on my nightclothes and braided my hair. I was much too wired to sleep. Something told me we were losing our window of opportunity, the Crimelord, Carator, was going to remember that he was interested in me, that he had little boys training to be gladiators. What if he decided to move them to one of his own training facilities? I’m sure he had them, and I’m sure he’d remember that at some point.

During yet another rather boring article on the plant life of this planet, a knock came at my door. My heart started racing in anticipation, was that Sunder? Had he finally come back for another round of kissing? I really hoped so, but I suspected it was going to be something much more boring. I shouldn’t be so eager to kiss him again anyway, that was just my hormones talking. We were not a good match. A little voice in the back of my mind insisted that that didn’t matter, the sex would be fantastic. I didn’t know what exactly a Tarkan was packing, but I was pretty sure it was going to be impressive.

Flicking off the datapad, I opened my door with a smile, surprised to find not just Sunder on the other side, but Uron too. What the heck? Any hope of a few kisses and cuddles was immediately dashed. Why was the Rummicaron here? Why would Sunder trust him? He was an impassive, lazy, and addicted guard, he was definitely one of the bad guys.

“Oh… Hi?” I said inanely, my eyes darting from one to the other in confusion. Sunder looked serious, definitely not like he was here for a social visit. My skin prickled, did that mean we were finally doing something?

“Put on a sweater,” he barked out. Pointing his hand over my shoulder and gesturing at the wardrobe standing open in one corner. Taken aback by the harsh tone, I hesitated to do as he wanted, just because it was rather obnoxious. Then I realized that Uron’s eyes had dropped down to my chest, clinging there like my worn shirt was clinging to my breasts. Much like Sunder had done last time he was here…

Darting inside, I shrugged into one of my oversized sweaters, locating my boots and stomping into them. “Better?” I asked, heat crawling up my spine that made me realize I liked that Sunder wanted me to cover up. Was he feeling a little possessive of me after all?

“It’ll do, come on. Uron is going to sit here and warn us if the boys knock on the wall, right kid?” Sunder said, his head cocking to look at the younger guard. The Rummicaron looked miles better than he had that morning, he smelled better too. His uniform was neat and clean this time, his eyes back to normal, and was that my imagination or did he look a little more fleshed out again too?

I was shocked that Sunder would trust the male to watch the boys, that he was so willing to even let this male know that we weren’t being the cruel taskmasters we were supposed to be. Although I guess it was still unclear what we’d do should the boys knock, he hadn’t outright said that it was a signal for Amar having a nightmare.

I had to admit, that leaving to go God knows where with Sunder sounded appealing. Knowing that he’d arranged for someone to be there to warn us when the boys needed us… That also felt good. I just wondered how wise it was to trust a male who’d only last week been stoned out of his mind.

“I will call on your com the moment I hear a disturbance,” Uron said, his expression uncomfortable as his black eyes darted between Sunder and me. I hadn’t stepped out into the hallway yet, not until Sunder offered me his hand. When I took it, I found myself out of my room in moments, and Uron sidled inside, the door swishing shut behind him.

“Lock it,” Sunder ordered me gruffly. I had my hand on the lock, doing as he said before I had even contemplated the implications. Was this another way to keep the guard from falling back on old habits? Was I okay with the guard spending time in my room? Unsupervised? It made me slightly uncomfortable, but I didn’t have anything lying about that could implicate me. My com with pictures of Kimar, her mate, and Amar was on my wrist. The datapad was locked, and as I regularly left it in my room I’d made sure nothing was on it.

“What the heck is going on? Where are we going?” I asked Sunder. He hadn’t let go of my hand yet, and I wasn’t about to point that out. He lead me to the courtyard, not saying a word, or explaining a thing, the cold air a slap in the face when we stepped outside.

“We’re going for a little flight,” Sunder finally responded, and then I was finally where I’d been dreaming of being again. His arms wrapped around my waist, his front pressing against mine. His head dipped, deep gray eyes boring into mine, I thought for sure he was about to kiss me. My heart was pounding, and my fingers were digging into his shoulders.

He grinned, sharp tusks and fangs glittering from between dark, luscious lips. His eyes were twinkling with surprising mischief, the next moment, my feet left the ground with a single beat of his huge wings. I yelped, my stomach abruptly staying behind in that courtyard as we soared into the cool sky. Any noise I made was muffled when his mouth covered mine, heat spiraling into me from the point of contact.

I opened for him, forgetting about the ground, and about my stomach full of nerves. Eagerly I delved into that kiss, his taste of spice and heat, the protective way he had me in his arms, and the way I was clinging to him with my arms and legs. This was the last thing I expected him to do, but I wasn’t going to deny myself that kind of pleasure.

He pulled away before I was ready, my fingers digging into the thick column of his neck, trying to hold him close. A rough chuckle warmed the air between us, “I have to see where I’m flying us, my Fire.” My eyes shot open, my languorous mood disappearing when I took in the rapidly disappearing palace below us. I didn’t think I had a fear of heights, but I wasn’t sure how much I liked being this high up in the air, with only Sunder’s arms to hold me.

“In the sky, sound caries,” he whispered against my ear, his lips brushing against the soft shell, tusks tangling in my hair. The wind was whipping my clothing, blowing the sound of his voice away from me. I scanned the palace, the scattering of many outbuildings, and the towering walls that surrounded the place. I spotted the long swatches of farmland where they grew the disgusting Roka. My eyes snagged on the silhouettes of several spaceships parked on the landing strip.

It wasn’t until we were over the forest, the verdant green glowing in the pale blue moonlight, that I realized what he meant. The bastard had just kissed me to silence me, and that took some of the rosy glow filling my belly away. I didn’t like being played with like this, I wasn’t just somebodies convenient toy when they felt like it. I had sat around waiting for whatever attention one of my exes wanted to dole out to me once, I’d sworn I’d never go down that road again.